기혼 여성의 출산과 결혼만족도 변화

Childbirth and Change in Marital Satisfaction of Wives: The Mediating Effects of Changes in Leisure with Husbands and in Their Housework

The birth of a child is a life-changing experience, but little is known about how it changes wives’ marital satisfaction and what explains any such change. This study addressed these questions by using data from the first and sixth waves of the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Families. The author selected married women aged 44 or under at the sixth wave who also participated in the first wave and maintained their marital relationship between the waves. Based on the women who had valid responses to the variables(N=1,250), the author first found that having a child and having additional children were significantly associated with a decline in marital satisfaction. Second, the associations were fully mediated by a decline in leisure activities that the wives shared with their husbands. Third, a decrease in husbands’ participation in housework also mediated the associations between childbirth and wives’ marital dissatisfaction. The results suggest that setting aside time for shared leisure activities and increasing husbands’ participation in housework after childbirth help married women avoid marital declines.