Hard Times and Harder Minds: Material Hardship and Marital Well-Being Among Low-Income Families in South Korea

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (18) ◽  
pp. 2545-2566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joyce Shim ◽  
RaeHyuck Lee ◽  
Jaeseung Kim
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Married Couples ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Material Hardship ◽  
Spousal Relationship ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
Household Heads

Experiencing material hardship may bring various negative consequences for married couples and family members. However, little is known about this topic in Korea. Using a nationally representative sample from the Korean Welfare Panel Study, we examined how material hardship was associated with marital well-being among low-income families in Korea, separately for husbands (i.e., male household heads) and wives. Overall, we found experiencing any material hardship was associated with lower levels of satisfaction of both family life and spousal relationship, consistently for husbands and wives. We also found depression and self-esteem partially mediated the associations in both groups. Furthermore, among individual items of material hardship, experiencing food hardship was associated with lower levels of satisfaction of family life for both husbands and wives, whereas experiencing problems with credit was associated with lower levels of satisfaction of both family life and spousal relationship for wives but not for husbands.

Setting the Clock Forward or Back?

2002 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
LAURA SANCHEZ ◽  
STEVEN L. NOCK ◽  
JAMES D. WRIGHT ◽  
CONSTANCE T. GAGER
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Married Couples ◽  
Well Being ◽  
New Family ◽  
Covenant Marriage ◽  
Poor Women ◽  
Divorce Trends ◽  
Divorce Consequences

In 1997, Louisiana codified a new family form by becoming the first state to pass covenant marriage legislation. Soon after, Arizona and Arkansas followed suit. This act created two marriage types with substantially different marital and divorce provisions. In spring 1998, the authors conducted qualitative interviews with focus groups consisting of covenant married couples, feminist activists, and poor women living in public housing, examining their views on marriage and divorce trends, divorce consequences, and covenant marriage. All groups were concerned about the effects of divorce on children's well-being. Beyond that, the authors found little commonality in the discourse. Instead, they found major disagreements about whether family life is in decline and whether marriage law reinforcement will improve it. Covenant married couples and feminists polarized along familiar traditionalist-feminist axes; low-income women combined feminist, liberal, and conservative views in their understanding of contemporary family trends and the perceived necessity of covenant marriage.

scholarly journals “You run out of hope:” An Exploration of Low-Income Parents’ Experiences with Food Insecurity using Photovoice

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Payge Lindow ◽  
Irene H. Yen ◽  
Mingyu Xiao ◽  
Cindy W. Leung
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Eating Behaviors ◽  
Comparative Method ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Unhealthy Eating ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT Objective: Using an adaption of the Photovoice method, this study explored how food insecurity affected parents’ ability to provide food for their family, their strategies for managing household food insecurity, and the impact of food insecurity on their well-being. Design: Parents submitted photos around their families’ experiences with food insecurity. Afterwards, they completed in-depth, semi-structured interviews about their photos. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed for thematic content using the constant comparative method. Setting: San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA. Subjects: 17 parents (14 mothers and 3 fathers) were recruited from a broader qualitative study on understanding the experiences of food insecurity in low-income families. Results: Four themes were identified from the parents’ photos and interviews. First, parents described multiple aspects of their food environment that promoted unhealthy eating behaviors. Second, parents shared strategies they employed to acquire food with limited resources. Third, parents expressed feelings of shame, guilt, and distress resulting from their experience of food insecurity. And finally, parents described treating their children to special foods to cultivate a sense of normalcy. Conclusions: Parents highlighted the external contributors and internal struggles of their experiences of food insecurity. Additional research to understand the experiences of the food-insecure families may help to improve nutrition interventions targeting this structurally vulnerable population.

scholarly journals Analysis of Factors Affecting the High Subjective Well-Being of Chinese Residents Based on the 2014 China Family Panel Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (14) ◽  
pp. 2566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen Xu ◽  
Haiyan Sun ◽  
Bo Zhu ◽  
Wei Bai ◽  
Xiao Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Exercise ◽  
Influencing Factors ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Population Distribution ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Multivariable Analysis ◽  
Logistic Models ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being

(1) Purpose: The purpose of our research is to understand the subjective well-being (SWB) of Chinese adult residents and its influencing factors and to identify the key groups and areas to provide a basis for the formulation of relevant policies to improve residents’ happiness. (2) Methods: In this study, we analyzed the influencing factors of SWB of individuals older than 16 years of age, according to the 2014 China Family Panel Study (CFPS). We weighted 27,706 samples in the database to achieve the purpose of representing the whole country. Finally, descriptive statistics were used for the population distribution, chi-square tests were used for univariable analysis, and binary logistic models were used for multivariable analysis. (3) Results: The response rate of SWB was 74.58%. Of the respondents, 71.2% had high SWB (7–10), with a U-shaped distribution between age and SWB. Females are more likely than males to rate themselves as happy. There is a positive ratio between years of education and SWB. Residents who have better self-evaluated income, self-rated health (SRH), psychological well-being (PWB), Body Mass Index (BMI), social trust, social relationships, and physical exercise have higher SWB. (4) Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate that to improve residents’ SWB, we should focus more attention on middle-aged and low-income groups, particularly men in agriculture. The promotion of SWB should be facilitated by improvements in residents’ education, health status, and social support as well as by the promotion of smoking bans and physical exercise.

scholarly journals Public Policies, Women's Employment after Childbearing, and Child Well-Being

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Washbrook ◽  
Christopher J Ruhm ◽  
Jane Waldfogel ◽  
Wen-Jui Han
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Parental Leave ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Work Participation ◽  
Child Care Subsidies ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Work Requirements ◽  
Maternal Work ◽  
Low Income Families

Abstract In this paper, we consider three U.S. public policies that potentially influence the work decisions of mothers of infants—parental leave laws, exemptions from welfare work requirements, and child care subsidies for low-income families. We estimate the effects of these policies on the timing of work participation after birth, and on a range of outcomes in the subsequent four years, using a group difference-in-difference technique suitable for analysis of cross-sectional data. We find that the three policies affect early maternal work participation, but obtain no evidence of significant consequences for child well-being.

scholarly journals Connecting with home, keeping in touch: physical and virtual mobility across stretched families in sub-Saharan Africa

Africa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 404-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gina Porter ◽  
Kate Hampshire ◽  
Albert Abane ◽  
Alister Munthali ◽  
Elsbeth Robson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Urban Neighbourhoods ◽  
Virtual Mobility ◽  
History Of ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
Sub Saharan

AbstractThere is a long history of migration among low-income families in sub-Saharan Africa, in which (usually young, often male) members leave home to seek their fortune in what are perceived to be more favourable locations. While the physical and virtual mobility practices of such stretched families are often complex and contingent, maintaining contact with distantly located close kin is frequently of crucial importance for the maintenance of emotional (and possibly material) well-being, both for those who have left home and for those who remain. This article explores the ways in which these connections are being reshaped by increasing access to mobile phones in three sub-Saharan countries – Ghana, Malawi and South Africa – drawing on interdisciplinary, mixed-methods research from twenty-four sites, ranging from poor urban neighbourhoods to remote rural hamlets. Stories collected from both ends of stretched families present a world in which the connectivities now offered by the mobile phone bring a different kind of closeness and knowing, as instant sociality introduces a potential substitute for letters, cassettes and face-to-face visits, while the rapid resource mobilization opportunities identified by those still at home impose increasing pressures on migrant kin.

scholarly journals Lifestyle transitions and the developing world: Reflections on the implications for health, well-being and wealth

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Ufuoma John Ejughemre
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Middle Income

Context: The past few decades witnessed significant economic growth in many developing countries of the world. These economic changes towards increasing gross domestic product (GDP) brought with it several other transitions in these countries: demographic, epidemiological, technological, and nutritional. These resulted in improving the living standards as well as life expectancy in many of these countries. However, of public health concern is the fact that these transitions paradoxically have their negative consequences on the health, well-being and wealth of the populace in these countries. Objectives: This review therefore assesses the evidence of the extent to which these changes have affected the living patterns in many developing countries and the epidemiological implications besides others issues on the populace in these countries. Methods: By using key words, the author involved a broad search of literatures on lifestyle changes, economic growth, nutrition, urbanization, smoking and alcohol, communicable and non-communicable diseases in countries termed low and middle income. Findings and conclusion: The review identified discernible evidence base about the implications of these changes on health, well-being and wealth of these nations. Accordingly, as lifestyle transitions now come to bear, it thus necessitates an all inclusive approach that will include proactive and pre-emptive interventions as well as consistent participation from governments, multilateral institutions, research-funding agencies, donors, and other players in health systems. This is because it will provide the global community with great opportunities in uniting high, middle, and low-income countries in a common purpose, given the shared interests of globalization and economic burdens worldwide.

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