Effects of Maternal Parenting Stress, Coping Style, and Marital Satisfaction on Preschool Children's Withdrawal Behavior

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the general tendencies of maternal parenting stress, coping style, marital satisfaction and preschool children’s withdrawal behavior as well as to investigate the effects of maternal parenting stress, coping style, and marital satisfaction on preschool children`s withdrawal behavior. The participants involved 86 mothers of preschoolers and their teachers from one day care center and two kindergartens in Seoul and Gyeong-gi province. Maternal parenting stress, coping style and marital satisfaction were assessed by the mothers’ self-reports, whereas the preschool children’s withdrawal behavior was assessed by the teacher’s report. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, t -test and multiple regressions. The collected data was analyzed by SPSS ver. 15.0. The major findings were summarized as follows: There were no differences between maternal parenting stress, coping style and marital satisfaction between mothers of boys and girls. Further, there were differences in preschool children’s withdrawal behavior between boys and girls; girls showed more withdrawal behaviors than boys. Typical stress due to parenting, outsider`s help coping style and marital satisfaction explained the withdrawal behavior of preschool children. As the level of typical stress increase in mothers, preschool children showed increased withdrawal behavior. Moreover, as mothers used fewer outsider`s help coping style and had lower marital satisfaction, their preschool children’s showed increased withdrawal behavior. In conclusion, maternal parenting stress, coping style and marital satisfaction significantly influence on preschool children`s withdrawal behavior.