Experience of Child-Rearing of Filipino Married Immigrant Women / 정신간호학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify experiences of immigrant women from Philippines in child-rearing. METHODS: The study design was a qualitative research. Participants were 15 Filipino immigrant women living in rural Korea. Average age was 37 and average duration of marriage was 11 years. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and participants were interviewed once or twice between December 2009 and February 2010. Data were analyzed with Colaizzi's (1978) phenomenological methodology. RESULTS: The Four themes-clusters were identified from fourteen themes. The theme-clusters (themes) were 1) Responsibility of a mother as a foreigner (being a role-model, patience, strict upbringing); 2) Practical problems of child-rearing (parenting alone, language difficulties, financial difficulties, lack of husbands' support, cultural obstacles; 3) Worries about their children (children's emotional problems, speech disorders, maladjustment at school); 4) Hopes for the future (self-satisfaction, expectations for their children, social support). CONCLUSION: The results help in understanding the situation of immigrant women from the Philippines when they nurture their children and suggest the necessity of programs focusing on improving mother-child relationships, especially as related to mothers' limited language skills. Further comprehensive education programs to improve better father-child relationships in relating to each other should be developed.