A Comparison of Adaptation to Childhood Disability in Korean Immigrant and Korean Mothers

• Published in: Focus on autism and other developmental disabilities Vol. 18; no. 1; pp. 9 - 19
• Main Authors: Cho, Su-Je, Singer, George H. S., Brenner, Betsy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thousand Oaks, CA Sage Publications 01.02.2003; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Attitudes toward Disabilities; Behavior Problems; Beliefs; Child Rearing; Cognitive Style; Community Attitudes; Coping; Cross Cultural Studies; Cultural Differences; Cultural Influences; Developmental Disabilities; Disabilities; Effect Size; Elementary Education; Emotional Adjustment; English; Family Involvement; Foreign Countries; Korea; Korean Americans; Korean Culture; Learning Processes; Morale; Mother Attitudes; Mothers; Parent Child Relationship; Parents; Preschool Education; Researchers; Social Services; Special Needs Students; Young Children; South Korea
• ISSN: 1088-3576; 1538-4829
• DOI: 10.1177/108835760301800103

We examined the variables that exacerbated or buffered the impact of child's problem behavior and/or physical differences on mothers. Participants were 32 Korean mothers of children with disabilities. Quantitative methods were applied to derive another form of understanding of our extensive interview data. We selected 5 dependent variables, identified the examples of them in our interview transcripts, and scored these examples using a numerical scale. Effect size differences and MANOVA were used in the data analyses. Overall findings were consistent with our qualitative findings that Korean mothers experienced more difficulties than their immigrant counterparts. Various explanations for the results are discussed. The advantages of combining quantitative and qualitative perspectives are self-evident in this study, and other researchers might consider using these strategies.