earticle

영어

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of family stress on instances of depression in married, middle-aged women; more specifically, this study examined the moderating effects family strength and support have on depression in middle-aged women. Three hundred women from 40 to 60 years of aged, all of whom resided in Gyeonggi-do, participated in this study. For the final analysis, 249 self-reported questionnaires were used. Descriptive statistics, correlative analysis, and multiple regression analysis were conducted using SPSS ver. 21.0. The major results of this study were as follows. First, the mean scores of family strengths and family support were higher than the median scores. The mean level of depression was lower than the median of depression frequency, while the mean for the family stress scores was the same as the median. Second, depressions frequency was influenced by family type, health status, and average income. There was a positive correlation between depression and family stress. Third, family support had a moderating effect on depression. Family strength did not seem to have the same moderating effect, while there did seem to be a moderating effect of instrumental support from families on the relationship between family stress and depression. In conclusion, to decrease the frequency of depression in married, middle-aged women’, it may be necessary to increase family support, and it seems to be especially necessary to increase the amount of instrumental support from families.