Korean J Women Health Nurs.  2018 Jun;24(2):116-125. 10.4069/kjwhn.2018.24.2.116.

Factors Influencing Unmarried Mothers' Parenting Stress: Based on Depression, Social Support, and Health Perception

• Oh EJ
• Kim HY

• KMID: 2429036
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4069/kjwhn.2018.24.2.116

Abstract

PURPOSE
To identify factors affecting parenting stress of unmarried mothers.
METHODS
The subjects were 108 unmarried women who were parenting their children under the age of six. The data was collected from December 15, 2016 to March 5, 2017. The instruments consisted of self-reported questionnaires that included93 items: 21 on depression, 16 on social support, 20 on health perception, and 36 on parenting stress. The collected data were analyzed by t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlations, and hierarchical multiple regression.
RESULTS
The factors influencing parenting stress were health perception (β=−.55, p < .001), evaluative support (β=−.42, p=.005), informative support (β=−.35, p=.040), emotional support (β=−.24, p=.045), partner support (β=−.20, p=.048), and depression (β=.14, p=.033), and the explanatory power was 57%.
CONCLUSION
In order to alleviate the parenting stress of unmarried mothers, it is necessary to develop programs considering the physical, psychological, and social factors of unmarried mothers. Their subjective assessment of their health can increase or decrease their parenting stress, so it is necessary to develop parenting-stress intervention focusing on health perception.

Keyword

Single parent; Parenting; Psychological stress

MeSH Terms

Child
Depression*
Female
Humans
Illegitimacy
Parenting*
Parents*
Single Parent
Single Person*
Stress, Psychological

Reference

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