Journal List > J Korean Acad Community Health Nurs > v.24(1) > 1058312

Kim, Sun, and Oh: Stress, Self-esteem, and Powerlessness in Korean Husbands Married to Foreign Wives

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate levels of stress, self-esteem, and powerlessness in Korean husbands married to foreigner wives.

Methods

The subjects were 183 Korean men who were living with foreigner wives in the Gwangju, Jeonnam and Jeonnbuk areas. Data were collected from January to May 2012 and analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, Scheffé test, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and backward multiple regression with the SPSS PC WIN version 18.0.

Results

The average level of stress was 4.48, with difficulties in international marriage experienced by the subjects due to differences in language and culture. The average reported self-esteem score was 29.69, and the average powerlessness score 117.76. There were significant differences in perceived powerlessness depending on the employment statuses, income levels, and nationalities of the participants' wives, and their perceived levels of satisfaction with living with a foreigner wife. Powerlessness was positively correlated with stress (r=.41, p<.001), and negatively correlated with self-esteem(r=-.63, p<.001). The factors affecting the perceived powerlessness included self-esteem (β=-.54, p<.001), stress (β=.28, p<.001), lower income (β=.13, p=.016), and working wife (β=.12, p=.036).

Conclusion

Healthcare providers need to explore strategies to improve self-esteem and powerlessness in Korean men married to foreigner wives.

Figures and Tables

Table 1
General Characteristics (N=183)
jkachn-24-29-i001

Multiple response.

Table 2
Levels of Variables (N=183)
jkachn-24-29-i002
Table 3
Stress, Self-esteem, and Powerlessness by General Characteristics (N=183)
jkachn-24-29-i003
Table 4
Correlation among Study Variables (N=183)
jkachn-24-29-i004
Table 5
Multiple Regression Analysis for Powerlessness (N=183)
jkachn-24-29-i005

Backward multiple linear regression; Independent variables: Stress, self-esteem, the presence of job of the wife, less than 1,000,000 (won/month), Philippines, and satisfaction in living with a wife.

Notes

This study was supported by research fund from Chosun University, 2011.

References

1. Baltas Z, Steptoe A. Migration, culture conflict and psychological well-being among turkish-british married couples. Ethn Health. 2000. 5(2):173–180.
crossref
2. Choi JH. A study of stress and family strength of immigrant women in international marriages. Korean J Fam Welf. 2011. 16(4):29–46.
3. Choi MK, Lee YH. Depression, powerlessness, social support, and socioeconomic status in middle aged community residents. J Korean Acad Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs. 2010. 19(2):196–204.
crossref
4. Her S, Kim KH, Oh HS. A study on work condition, stress, role conflict and job satisfaction of infection control nurses working in general hospitals. Korean J Adult Nurs. 2012. 24(4):327–338.
crossref
5. Im MK, Kim YJ. A phenomenological study of suicide attempts in elders. J Korean Acad Nurs. 2011. 41(1):61–71. http://dx.doi.org/10.4040/jkan.2011.41.1.61.
crossref
6. Jang SH, Kim KH. Effects of self-foot reflexology on stress, fatigue and blood circulation in premenopausal middle-aged women. J Korean Acad Nurs. 2009. 39(5):662–672.
crossref
7. Jeon BJ. Self-esteem: A test of its measurability. Yonsei Nonchong. 1974. 11:107–129.
8. Jeon MH. Qualitative study about self-esteem and sociality of women who are victims of family violence. 2012. Daegu: Kyongbuk University;Unpublished master's thesis.
9. Jung EJ, Ha KS. Effect of male spouses' bicultural stress, communication and their marital satisfaction in multi race & culture family. J Korea Contents Assoc. 2012. 12(2):222–231. http://dx.doi.org/10.5392/JKCA.2012.12.02.222.
10. Kawakami N, Abdulghani EA, Alonso J, Bromet EJ, Bruffaerts R, Caldas-de-Almeida JM, et al. Early-life mental disorders and adult household income in the worldmental health surveys. Biol Psychiatry. 2012. 72(3):228–237. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.03.009.
11. Kim DS. Spousal dissimilarity in age and education and marital stability among transnational couples in Korea: A test of the transnational openness hypothesis. Korea J Popul Stud. 2012. 35(1):1–30.
12. Kim HS, Choi YS. Factors related to the awareness for the needs of family counseling for married immigrant women. Korean J Woman Psychol. 2012. 17(3):435–456.
13. Kim JB, Um IS. A study on the university students' recognition on the international marriage. J Public Welf Adm. 2011. 21(1):51–73.
14. Kim JH, Lee WJ, Lee DW. The effects of massage to clavicle region in middle age women for stress. Korean J Sports Sci. 2010. 19(1):783–793.
15. Kim JR. The status of intermarriage women in Korea. J Korean Soc Fam Law. 2008. 22(1):91–122.
16. Kim KH, Park GS, Sun JJ. Stress of mothers-inlaw form multi-cultural families. J Korean Acad Adult Nurs. 2009. 21(6):639–651.
17. Kim M, Park GS, Windsor C. Marital power process of Korean men married to foreign women: A qualitative study. Nurs Health Sci. in press.
crossref
18. Kim MJ, Hyun MH. The relationships between stress, social support, self-esteem and hwa-byung of men. Korean J Health Psychol. 2010. 15(1):19–33.
19. Kim MK. Ethnographic research on the "married life" of international married men. J Fam Relat. 2009. 14(3):179–211.
20. Kim MK. A study on life history of intermarried Korean men's family dissolution. J Korean Home Manage Assoc. 2011. 29(4):1–15.
21. Kim NY. The effect of perceived stress and self-esteem on depression among north Korean refugees: Focusing on the moderating effect of discrimination and suppressive coping style. 2012. Seoul: Seoul National University;Unpublished master's thesis.
22. Kim ON. A study on the factors affecting marital conflicts of immigrant women. 2006. Seoul: The Catholic University of Korea;Unpublished doctoral dissertation.
23. Kim YM. Neighborhood environment, family environment stress, and learned helplessness among adolescents. Ment Health Soc Work. 2010. 36:232–262.
24. Lee YH. Grounded theory approach toward marriage adjustment in Korean men with international marriage. J Soc Welf Dev. 2010. 16(3):265–287.
25. Metalsky GI, Joiner TE, Hardin TS, Abramson LY. Depressive reactions to failure in a naturalistic setting: A test of the hopelessness and self-esteem theories ofdepression. J Abnorm Psychol. 1993. 102(1):101–109.
26. Ministry of Gender Equality & Family Republic of Korea. 2010 National domestic violence. 2010. 12. 28. Retrieved January 23, 2013. from http://enews.mogef.go.kr/view/board/bbs/view.jsp.
27. Nakashima N, Park IA, Park JS, Kim JS, Nakajima K. The relations between abuse experiences in multi-cultural family couples and social-demographic factors. Health Soc Welf Rev. 2011. 31(3):140–164.
28. Park CK. A study on international married woman migrants and their husbands' adjustment on family lives in Gyeonggi-do province. Health Soc Sci. 2009. 26:137–163.
29. Park MS. Relationship between married immigrant women's self-esteem and resilience-Focused on the moderating effect of psychology happiness-. J Korea Contents Assoc. 2011. 11(5):393–402. http://dx.doi.org/10.5392/JKCA.2011.11.5.393.
30. Park NH, Seon NY. The effect of employment on immigrant women's adaptation to Korean society. Res People. 2010. 41:120–196.
31. Park SH, Kim HH. The relationship between children's and adolescents' academic stress and learned helplessness. Korean J Youth Stud. 2008. 15(3):159–182.
32. Roh KI. The study of relationship among spirituality, self-esteem and religion. Korean J Couns. 2009. 10(4):2591–2606.
33. Rosenberg M. Society and the adolescent self image. 1965. Prinston, NJ: Prinston University Press.
34. Seo H, Jeong HN. Factors affecting Korean males: Marital satisfaction of the international marriage in the Gyeognam province areas. Soc Sci Res Rev. 2010. 26(3):27–48.
35. Shin HC, Choi JH, Kim HS, Yi JY. A qualitative study on examining marital relationships for multicultural families in urban areas. Korean J Couns Psychother. 2011. 23(2):299–322.
36. Shin KM. On the development of a learned helplessness scale. 1990. Seoul: Konkuk University;Unpublished doctoral dissertation.
37. Shu BC, Lung FW, Chen CH. Mental health of female foreign spouse in transnational marriages in southern Taiwan. BMC Psychiatry. 2011. 11(4):1–9.
crossref
38. Song MY, Park KH. The decision factor on marriage satisfaction of an international marriage immigrated women in rural communities. J Community Welf. 2008. 26:53–70.
39. Statistics Korea. 2012 Life of women by statistics. 2012. 06. 26. Retrieved August, 7, 2012. from http://kostat.go.kr/portal/korea/kor_nw/3/index.board?bmode=read&aSeq=258512.
40. Wong FY, DiGangi J, Young D, Huang ZJ, Smith BD, John D. Intimate partner violence, depression, and alcohol use among a sample of foreign-born Southeast Asian women in an urban setting in the United States. J Interpers Violence. 2011. 26(2):211–229. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0886260510362876.
crossref
TOOLS
Similar articles