Father Involvement, Parenting Stress, and Marital Satisfaction in Dual Earner Couples with Preschoolers: A Longitudinal Actor-Partner Interdependence Model
AUTHOR : 윤기봉,지연경
INFORMATION : page. 133~153 / 2017 Vol.24 No.3
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of father involvement and parenting stress on
marital satisfaction of dual earner couples with preschoolers. Longitudinal dyadic data were drawn from
parents with preschoolers from the 5th (2012) to 7th waves (2014) of the Panel Study of Korean
Children. Paired t-tests, correlations, and structural equation modeling were employed to investigate the
actor-partner effects for data analysis. Overall, wives had higher parenting stress and lower marital
satisfaction than husbands; furthermore, when wives reported as such, their husbands followed the same
pattern. While couples with greater parenting stress reported lower marital satisfaction showing significant
actor effect, the partner effect was significant only for the negative effect of husbands' parenting stress on
wives' marital satisfaction. In addition, husbands' parenting stress had larger effects on husbands' own
marital satisfaction than the wives' parenting stress. Finally, greater husband involvement in parenting
increased wives' marital satisfaction, which was mediated by wives' lower parenting stress. These
longitudinal findings suggest that efforts should be directed toward alleviating parenting stress for husbands
as well as wives to promote marital well-being among dual career families.