[Objective] This study aimed to clarify the association between the feeling of <Childrearing Difficulty> and other parenting problems, and the influences of family functions. [Methods] A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 498 mothers who participated in health check-up at 1-month. Items were the Childrearing Support Questionnaire (Kawai et al., 2000), Family functioning Scale (FFS) Japanese version, (Kanzaki et al., 2012), attributes, satisfaction with the husband's involving and availability of external support in parenting. 264 valid answers were studied. [Results] The correlation coefficient of the parenting problems and FFS scores showed a significant negative correlation (r=-0.567, p=0.000). Multiple regression analyses were performed to develop a path model. On covariance structure analysis, the goodness of fit of this model was confirmed, with GFI=0.989, AGFI=0.963, RMSEA=0.020, and χ^2=12.51, and its degree of freedom was 11, with p=0.352. [Discussion] The results of covariance structure analysis confirmed that the main parenting problems influencing the <Childrearing Difficulty> are <the mother's anxiety or depression> and <Difficult Baby>, and they are under the significant negative influence of <Affective bonding>, <Communication>, and <External relationship> as FFS factors. The remaining factors, <Roles and responsibilities>, <Family norm>, and <Communication>, were shown to be influencing factors that strengthen <Affective bonding>. It suggested that the approach for strengthening family functions is effective for reducing parenting stress.

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[Objective] This study aimed to examine the mental health status of mothers and fathers who have children under 6. It looked at the correlations between the mental health status of mothers, quality of marriage and self-esteem. The significance of this study was to offer suggestions for better mental health care for mothers. [Methods] This is a cross-sectional study using self-administered, anonymous questionnaires. Using convenience sampling, questionnaires were distributed to 552 couples and collected by post in prefecture A. The questionnaires gathered information about social background, and included the General Health Questionnaire (henceforth GHQ12), Quality of Marriage Index (henceforth QMI), and Self-Esteem Scale (henceforth SES). Descriptive and multiple regression analyses were mainly used for statistical analyses. [Results] The results showed statistically significant correlations between mothers' GHQ, QMI and SES results. 'Mother's satisfaction with father's child rearing' showed the most significant correlation with mothers' QMI results. QMI results showed a significant correlation with SES results and SES results showed a significant correlation with GHQ results. The same correlations were found for fathers' results, including a correlation between 'father's satisfaction with mother's childrearing' and father's QMI results. [Discussion] This research showed that it is not the quality of the marriage but rather self-esteem which directly affects the mental health of mothers and fathers. Support for fathers' child rearing should improve mothers' perception of the quality of their marriage, raising their self-esteem and consequently improving their mental health. Similar correlations were identified for fathers.

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A person of object is women in the early resting period after childbirth and perinatal pregnant women and their husbands in Miyagi Prefecture when the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred. (They were all married.) A survey was conducted for the same subjects (277 responded) and their husbands (249 responded), using GHQ28 (The General Health Questionnaire 28) and examined their mental and physical health using the same measures. At the same time, the degree of satisfaction between the couples was examined to see if there might be a link between the degree of satisfaction and mental and physical health. As a result, the wives with more than 6 points of the total GHQ28 score accounted for 65.3% and the husbands accounted for 46.2%. The average score of the wives was 8.5±5.5 points and that of the husbands was 6.6±5.4 points. As for the relationship between wife and husband, the wives and the husbands who answered "satisfied" accounted for 74.2% and 85.0%, respectively, and the degree of satisfaction in the relationship between wife and husband was higher in the husbands than the wives.

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