Abstract
This study was aimed at (1) investigating expectant mothers' prenatal attachment according to variables (age, gestational weeks, perceived health condition, anticipating the gender of the fetus, marriage duration, and parity), (2) analyzing correlations among their prenatal attachment, spousal support, and parenting efficacy, and (3) examining the role of prenatal attachment as a mediator between spousal support and parenting efficacy. For this purpose, 221 expectant mothers living in Seoul completed a 55-item survey. The collected data were analyzed by t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and regression analyses. The findings of this study were as follows. First, among the variables, gestational weeks, perceived health condition, marriage duration, and parity showed significant differences in the scores for the overall prenatal attachment and subordinate factors. Second, there were positive correlations between the expectant mothers' prenatal attachment and spousal support and between their prenatal attachment and parenting efficacy. Third, the expectant mothers' prenatal attachment proved to mediate between spousal support and parenting efficacy. These findings shed light on the significance of prenatal attachment and spousal support during the pregnancy period; therefore, it is essential to develop education programs for expecting parents to enhance prenatal attachment and spousal support and to conduct follow-up studies to verify the effectiveness of the programs.
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