Abstract
Objective : To obtain information from which to assess how to support family management of the main caregivers of 19-month-old infants, and how to engender cooperation from their partners. Procedure : We mailed anonymous self-response questionnaires to 743 main caregivers of 18-month-old infants who were given check-ups in "A" City, and included 241 of them in our analysis. Situations such as their own health care and cooperation with their partners, and child abuse potential risk were analyzed with respect to birth ranking, using the χ2test and Kruskal-Wallis test for comparison. Result : We detected a significant difference in the cooperative situation with partners and child abuse potential risk with respect to birth ranking. Rearing the first child engenders a stronger cooperative relationship with a partner than rearing the second and third child which creates significantly weaker attitudes with respect to "depending on power" and "fostering a sense of self-esteem" in child abuse potential risk. As birth ranking degraded, relations with partners were polarized between good and bad. In rearing the third child or later, though we detected a stratum where cooperative relations with partners waned, "the attitude which teach control of desire" in child abuse potential risk was weaker. Conclusion : In order to maintain desirable rearing, it is suggested that we need to continuously bring into view the relationship with partners from the time of rearing the first child and to support the caregiver's own health and the family according to their children's growth.
