Parenting Stress Changes in Both of Continuous Working and Non-Working Mothers After the Birth of Their First Child : A Focus on the Effects of the Values, Knowledge and Expectations about Their Children

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate parenting stress changes in both continuous working and continuous non-working mothers after the birth of their first child and their relationships with the cognitive variables about child-rearing, using the 3rd Panel Study on Korean Children(PSKC) by the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education(KICCE). The results revealed that the parenting stress of the non-working mothers was higher than the stress experienced by the working mothers. The increase in stress was only found both groups between the second year and the third year of childbirth. The total explanatory power of the knowledge, values and expectations regarding their children saw stress increase for the working mothers, but saw it decrease for the non-working mothers. Finally, the