AUTHOR : 박영신,김의철
INFORMATION : page. 65~108 / 2011 Vol.18 No.1
This study analyzed factors influencing happiness among middle-aged women and men by comparing housewives and working women and their spouse. A total of 1,650 respondents consisting of 825 women (housewife=404, working woman=421) and 825 men (spouse of housewife=404, spouse of working woman=421) completed a questionnaire containing the following scales: resiliency of efficacy (Bandura, 1995), social support received from spouse, happiness scale and background information developed by the present researchers. For housewives, the following variables were predictive of happiness: social support received from spouse, resiliency of efficacy, happiness of children, monthly income, and age. For working women, the following variables were predictive of happiness: social support received from spouse, resiliency of efficacy, occupational achievement, happiness of children, monthly income, and educational status. For spouse of housewives, the following variables were predictive of happiness: resiliency of efficacy, social support received from spouse, and occupational achievement. For spouse of working women, the following variables were predictive of happiness: social support received from spouse, resiliency of efficacy, and occupational achievement. The results indicate that for middle-aged women and men social support received from spouse and resiliency of efficacy are highly predictive of happiness. Although happiness of children was predictive of happiness for housewives and working women, the same variable was not predictive of happiness for men. For men, occupational achievement was important. Although happiness of children was predictive of happiness of housewives and working women, for working women occupational achievement was twice as more important than happiness of children. The distinguishing characteristic for men was that the social support received from spouse was far more important for spouse of housewives than for spouse working women. For housewives, monthly income had a direct influence on happiness, while the same variable had only an indirect influence for working women. For working women occupational achievement had much more significant influence. For men, monthly income did not have direct and indirect influence on happiness but occupational achievement was an important predictor. Key words : middle-age, happiness, social support received from spouse, resiliency of efficacy, occupational achievement, happiness of children, monthly income.