Kirogi Women’s Psychological Well-Being: The Relative Contributions of Marital Quality, Mother–Child Relationship Quality, and Youth’s Educational Adjustment

Abstract

The current study is based on the responses of 153 married Korean mothers accompanying their youth in the United States or in New Zealand while their spouses remained in Korea. Kirogi means "wild geese" in Korean and has come to refer to split-family transnational living for the sake of children's education. Spillover, or a positive correlation, between indicators assessing marital and parent-child relationship quality was tested within the transnational family context. It was also hypothesized that mother-child relationship quality and youth's educational progress would be positively and uniquely predictive of indicators of maternal well-being when compared with marital quality due to education-focused Confucian values among Koreans. Results indicated positive correlations between indicators of marital and parent-child relationship quality; and only measures of marital quality had unique associations with maternal well-being.

Explicating Acculturation Strategies among Asian American Youth: Subtypes and Correlates across Filipino and Korean Americans

“…Interestingly, the separation group in general also had lower rates of heritage cultural elements in the family but more parental rejection and lower parent-child communication than the integrated bicultural Korean American youth. The separation group was also least likely to live with their fathers, even if their parents were not divorced, in a popular phenomenon where Korean fathers remain in Korea while the mother brings the children to America for the sake of education (Chang, 2018). Although not statistically significant, separation youth showed more problems than other groups; these differences might have been significant with a bigger sample sizes.…”

Couple interaction and child social competence: The role of parenting and attachment

“…This study adds to the existing literature by examining the association between these variables within the same model. In addition, while many studies have investigated the link between couple conflict and poor child outcomes, fewer studies have examined positive aspects of the couple relationship on child development (Chang, 2016;Goldberg & Carlson, 2014;Manning, Davies, & Cicchetti, 2014). For example, qualities such as positive affect and the ability to communicate with each other are positively related to child well-being (Conger et al, 1999;Goldberg & Carlson, 2014).…”

The emotional, cultural, and relational impact of growing up as parachute/satellite kids in Asian American transnational families.

“…These parents are known as astronaut parents , with the children being termed satellite kids (Tsang et al, 2003). In Korea, these families are referred to as “ Kirogi ” or “ geese” families because wild geese are celebrated for their life commitment to travel over long distances to bring back food for their offspring (Chang, 2018). The first wave of astronaut families came from Hong Kong and Taiwan in the 1990s and the second wave from South Korea in the 2000s.…”

“…In the last decade, researchers have begun to underscore the importance of education in migration and immigration patterns across the globe (e.g., Butcher, 2004;Waters, 2005). In Asia, because of the competitive college cultures such as those in Taiwan, South Korea, and China, coming to the U.S. was seen as a means to educational attainment (Hom, 2002;Tsong & Liu, 2009) with foreign educational credentials increasing social mobility and leading to higher-paying jobs (e.g., Chang, 2018;Waters, 2005). In the U.S., children from Asia seeking primary and secondary education without close parental supervision emerged in the 1980s (Hamilton, 1993a(Hamilton, , 1993b.…”