2009 Volume 23 Issue 1 Pages 23-35
The purposes of this study were (1) to examine the strength of the desire for individual-oriented self of full-time housewives in the child-caring period, and (2) to analyze the relationship between desire on the one hand, what made them decide to be full-time housewives, and self-esteem on the other hand. A questionnaire was used for 345 full-time housewives caring for children. The results were as follows: (1) factor analysis extracted five factors, namely, ① social accomplishment and evaluation, ② personal relations, ③ hobby and interest, ④ way of life not as a mother and wife but as herself, and ⑤ working; (2) full-time housewives in the child-caring period desired four factors except for the 4th factor, “way of life not as a mother and wife but as myself ”; (3) what made them decide to be full-time housewives was significantly related to the 1st factor “social accomplishment and evaluation” and the 5th factor “working”, i.e., those women retired because of the family circumstances desired “social accomplishment and evaluation “ and “working” more strongly than those retired due to their own circumstances; (4) the strength of desire for individual-oriented self was significantly related to their self-esteem: the lower self-esteem group showed a strong desire for individual-oriented self.
