Family Functions of Mothers and Fathers raising Babies and support of their child care

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to grasp the present situation of family functions of couples raising babies zero to three years old and discuss how to support their child care. Seven hundred and twenty-six questionnaires were sent to 363 couples raising babies and 246 mothers and fathers answered. Both the mothers (average age: 31.74±3.92) and fathers (33.03±4.40) of sixty couples answered and their answers were analyzed. Family-function and self-esteem scales were used and analysis was made by means of t-tests and correlation coefficients. The cohesion of family functions of the mothers and that of the fathers were 39.45±6.52 and 38.28±6.48, respectively, showing no significant difference. The adaptability of the mothers and that of the fathers were 30.13±6.32 and 28.50±5.49, respectively, showing again no significant difference. Regarding the relation between the family functions and self-esteem, significant correlation was observed between the condensation and adaptability of the mothers, suggesting that their ability to deal with family bonds and cope with family crises was always changing in the same direction. On the other hand, significant correlation was observed between the cohesion and self-esteem of the fathers, suggesting that family bonds had effect on the improvement of their own assessments.