Earticle

The purpose of this study, which focuses on safe living as an important determinant of the quality of life for the elderly, is to provide policy proposals for their safe living in rural areas by examining their current living conditions and related policies. To examine the related policies, we analyzed government plans including: the first, second and third Basic Plan on Low Fertility and Aging Society, first implemented in 2006, the first, second and third Basic Plan for Healthy Families, also first implemented in 2006, and the first, second and third Five-year Plan for Improvement of the Quality of Life of Rural People and Regional Development of Rural Areas, first implemented in 2005. In addition to these plans, government projects concerning safe living environments were assessed. we present the following policy proposals for the safe living of the elderly in rural areas. First, integrated, customized policies are required for the rural elderly’s everyday life. That is, elderly-friendly residential improvement policies are needed since accidents involving the rural elderly usually occur in their own houses. Policies should also be introduced to monitor and improve the elderly’s nutritional and health status. Also considering the high proportion of elderly people in rural areas, policies must be aimed at creating elderly-friendly and family-friendly villages. Second, educational sessions for the elderly are necessary to raise their awareness of safety in everyday lives, which they often overlook.

Recently, concern about family safety is rising again as an important issue with the context of family healthiness and well-being in Korean society despite of the dramatic economic growth. The purpose of this study is to examine the status of family safety of singles and single-parent households and to investigate the effect of social capital on the level of their family safety. Data are from the 10th wave of Korea Welfare Panel Study analysing one-person households(N=2,017) and single-parent households(N=172). One- person households were categorized as three groups by age(the youths/middle-aged/the elderly) and single-parent households were also three by family types(mother-child/ fahter-child/grandparent-child). The major results were as follows: First, the mean of family safety index was highest among middle-aged, while single youths had the fewest problems in terms of family safety. Second, social capital was found to vary by family structure. In the one-person households, all the levels of the social capital variables, including trust, bond, acceptance, and participation, differed significantly; only two variables, bond and embracement, differed in the single-parent households. Third, social capital differed between the low-income households and others significantly. Forth, the positive effects of social capital on overcoming family safety problems were investigated. In conclusion, social capital represents an alternative resource for overcoming economic hardship for low-income one-person/single-parent households, especially for middle-aged singles and father-child single-parent households. Based on these empirical results, theoretical implications were discussed with regard to family policy and programs.

The purpose of this study was to identify perceived work-family conflict of married working women and men with children under 12 years. Specifically, This study attempts to examine the differences of relative influence between objective time variables and subjective satisfaction variables unlike previous research. For research, this study used the data of 1012 working men and women from the 3rd Nation survey of Korean Family in 2015. The main results of this study were as following. First, Business hours and cognition of enough leisure time had more relative effect of work→family conflict than any other variable. On the other hand, leisure time on weekdays had the effect of family→work conflict with women and men. Second, gender differences of work→family conflict and family→work conflict were identified. In work→family conflict, men were influenced cognition of enough leisure time, women were influenced couple conversation time and employment status unlike men. In family→work conflict, men were not influenced subjective satisfaction variables. But women were influenced satisfaction with division of child care. Third, in family→work conflict, the addition of objective time variables in Model of men resulted in an increased -value, but in work→family conflict and family→work conflict, the addition of subjective satisfaction variables in Model of women resulted in an increased -value.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influences of work-family conciliation strategies on work-family conflict and enrichment in dual-earner couples who live in Daegu with children. The subjects of this study were 176 dual-earner couples, who have under 16 youngest children and work over 15 hours each week. The research tool was questionnaires. For data analysis, factor analysis, Cronbach α, paired t-test and multiple regression were performed. The main results of this study were as following. First, there were significant differences in management and planning skill strategy, work-family conflict and enrichment according to gender. Second, positive attitudes strategy toward multiple responsibilities, wives use, had an influence on work→family conflict in wives. Also, partner coping, management and planning skill, and positive attitudes strategy, wives use, and management and planning skill strategy, husbands use, had an influence on family→work conflict in wives. And management and planning skill and professional adjustment strategy, husbands use, had an influence on family→work conflict in husbands. work-family conciliation strategies had no influence on work→family conflict. Third, positive attitudes strategy toward multiple responsibilities, wives use, had an influence on work→family enrichment in wives. Also, partner coping strategy, wives use, and management and planning skill strategy, husbands use, had an influence on family→work enrichment in wives. And positive attitudes strategy toward multiple responsibilities, husbands use, had an influence on work→family enrichment in husbands. Also management and planning skill strategy, wives use, and partner coping, professional adjustment and management and planning skill strategy had an influence on family→work enrichment in husbands.

The purpose of this study was to examine the level of anxiety about economic change in middle-aged and elderly people and to analyze the factors that influence this anxiety. The data, derived from Korean General Social Survey(KGSS) were collected from Survey Research Center of Sung Kyun Kwan University. The samples included 821 people over the age of 40, including 529 middle-aged people who were from 40 to 59, and elderly people who were over 60. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the research model. The findings from the analysis showed that age and subjective economic status had crucial effects on the entire group’s anxiety about unemployment and poverty, housing prices, financial markets, and economic recession in the older life. For the middle-aged group, age in particular had crucial effects on all the components of its anxiety about economic change. For the elderly group, geographical region was the most critical factor that affected its anxiety about economic change, the elderly people who were living in metropolitan area and towns had more anxiety than those who were living in rural areas. In particular, region was the only factor that affected the elderly group’s anxiety about financial markets, and economic recession. These results showed that specific age of middle-aged and elderly people had the crucial effects while their sex, educational level, and the employment status of their spouse had no effects on their anxiety about economic change. Objective economic indices such as their earned-income and other income including savings and pensions had no effects on their anxiety level. While as noted above subjective economic indices such as their standard of living compared with their parents, projected economic status, and level of socio-economic success had an effect on anxiety about economic change.