We examine the self-control problems of U.S households and their effects on households’ retirement preparedness based on the Behavioral Life-Cycle Hypothesis. Using the 2010 Survey of Consumer Finances dataset, the level of retirement adequacy was estimated with income replacement ratio (IRR), and only 42% of households were adequately prepared for retirement. Results from logistic regression analysis indicated that households with loan payment and saving self-control problems were less likely to be prepared adequately for retirement compared to those without such problems. Age, education, race/ethnicity, marital status, employment status, retirement plans, expected retirement age and risk tolerance were significantly related to retirement preparedness. This study provides financial educator and researchers with suggestions on how to help household make a better retirement plan.
Even though gratitude is considered as an important virtue to possess for successful adulthood, little is known about what cultivates gratitude and its benefits associated with psychological well-being among adolescents. By examining gratitude as a daily mood, this study asked (1) whether adolescents` daily grateful mood varied as a function of daily parental emotional support and (2) whether adolescents` psychological well-being varied as a function of daily grateful mood within person across seven days. The sample consisted of 70 adolescents in 8th grade recruited from a public middle school. Participants completed daily diary checklists online each evening for seven days. On days when adolescents perceived greater parental emotional support from mother or father than they typically did during the week, they rated their grateful mood to be higher than other days. With more emotional support from father, adolescents reported more grateful mood not only on that day, but also the following day. While this result highlights the important role that parents play in adolescents` experience of grateful mood, emotionally supportive behaviors of fathers appear particularly promising for cultivating gratitude. Further, daily grateful mood on a given day accounted for the significant variance in adolescents` psychological well-being not only on the same day, but also the following day. Research and practical implications of the results are discussed.
This is a descriptive study that introduces programs that support family caregivers looking after the elderly, by focusing on the case of Georgia, in the United States. The U.S. is one of the few countries that support family caregivers by law. In this study, we focus on the evidence-based interventions implemented through the Alzheimer`s Disease Supportive Services Program (ADSSP), a federal policy that complements the National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP). Our findings show that one-on-one evidence-based programs (EBPs) for family caregivers are both economical and effective in assisting caregivers. In our discussion, we highlight how the implementation of the latest EBPs can build an infrastructure to support family caregivers. ADSSP funding is useful as it constructs a caregiver support through the implementation of programs in the local community. The result is the creation of a well-coordinated division of labor among government agencies, academia and NGOs, which produces a synergetic effect in funding, research and development, translation and implementation of programs, and staff training. We conclude that the implementation of EBPs funded by the government is a useful reference for Korea and other rapidly aging countries, if we are to create an infrastructure for caregiver support, which can effectively prevent a crisis in caregiving.
A number of studies in recent years of have begun to look at the connection between country affinity (an interest in and admiration of a particular country) and a desire to buy the products and services of that country. Country affinity has been shown to be particularly important when consumers lack other sources of information about a good or service. However, except for direct questioning, methods to identify the affinity consumers might have for another country are lacking. This study examines the degree to which attending a movie set in a particular country will be related to an affinity for that country and possibly by extension the goods and services of that country. It is not the goal of this study to suggest that movies create the affinity, but rather that that the affinity will exist for viewers of the films. Two films set in Ireland and featuring Irish actors where shown to audiences composed of Korean students and a small number of Korean adults. As a point of comparison, students in two introductory consumer classes were also asked to complete a similar questionnaire. Four affinity factors were identified from a list of 17 items. Those who attended the historical drama showed a greater affinity for Ireland than those who attended the romantic musical. Affinity for Ireland among Koreans was also meaningful in predicting interest in purchasing Irish products.
This paper presents a series of path models that were developed to test whether financial risk tolerance mediates the association between the following four variables and investing behavior: (a) male and married, (b) female and married, (c) male and single, or (d) female and single. Data for this study were obtained from a proprietary consumer survey of risk-tolerance attitudes. Four path models were developed to test relationships among the variables in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. These years were chosen to represent the depth and recovery periods in the Great Recession. The total number of respondents was 29,641. Findings showed that financial risk tolerance was positively associated with risky investing behavior (i.e., equity ownership) in each of the four periods. The associations among the gender-marital status variables and investing behavior were mixed; however, findings did indicate that risk tolerance mediates these relationships by sometimes amplifying and occasionally attenuating risky behavior. Based on the findings, implications and limitation are presented.
This study was to understand associated factors with frequent exposure to Internet pornography among Korean adolescents. We used data (N = 45,783) from the 2012 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey to examine demographics, family environmental variables, Internet use time, mental health indicators, sexual behavior, and delinquency among Korean adolescents identified as frequent users of Internet pornography. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that frequent users of Internet pornography were more likely to be older males with differences in living arrangements and perceived economic status of the family. They were heavy Internet users with mental health issues, such as a higher likelihood of sadness, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, high stress, and a lower likelihood of feeling happiness. Their higher probability of exploratory (OR =1.79-4.60), and high-risk sexual behavior (OR = 2.20-7.46), and other delinquencies (OR = 1.74-7.68) requires more attention from public health professionals.
This pilot study examined programs for early childhood education and care in three Chinese cities. The samples for this study were one university-based kindergarten, one private kindergarten (rural area), and one public kindergarten (urban area). Six types of instruments were used to assess early childhood education and care services regarding quality matters. Most questions asked were open-ended; consequently, the interview answers by kindergarten directors or teachers (as well as observations made by the researcher) formed the basis for collecting the data. Quality components for each program were determined by a comparison method. The comparison allowed the researcher to understand the range of quality education and care available as well as the variability of existing kindergarten programs in China. The findings of the investigation revealed important information on; (a) demographic information (fees, class hours, total weeks of class, vacation, number of children and staff, class size, and teacher-child ratio) (b) teacher characteristics, (c) health practices, (d) safety practices, (e) work environment, (f) physical settings, (g) play materials, (h) parent involvement, (i) nutrition, (j) daily schedule. Implications within the Chinese context for quality practices and issues to further develop and strengthen early childhood education and care systems are discussed.
This study investigated the effects of persimmon-dyed clothing materials upon thermophysiological responses and subjective comfort sensations during exercise and rest in a warm environment. Six healthy, untrained women participated in two separate testing sessions, with cotton materials dyed with astringent persimmon extract (DC) and undyed cotton materials (UDC). The physical characteristics associated with heat and moisture transfer were improved in DC; also, stiffness, anti-drapery stiffness and crispness in the primary hand values were higher in DC. The experimental protocol consisted of a 10-min rest, 15-min exercise on a treadmill (at ${7km{\cdot}h^{-1}}$) and 25-min recovery at $28{\pm}0.2^{\circ}C$ and $50{\pm}3%\;RH$. The results were as follows: When wearing DC rather than UDC, mean body temperature, heart rate, heat storage and body mass loss were significantly lower during the whole experimental period. Clothing microclimate temperature showed different profiles between the two clothing materials, being lower with DC than UDC during the first half of exercise and the second half of recovery. Clothing microclimate humidity was significantly lower with DC than UDC during the whole experimental period. When wearing UDC, subjects felt significantly warmer and less comfortable during exercise, and sensed greater humidity during exercise and recovery. These results suggest that eco-friendly clothing materials dyed with astringent persimmon extract can reduce exercise-induced heat load and improve subjective sensations when exercising and resting in a warm environment, due to greater heat dissipation from the body to the outside environment compared with undyed clothing materials.
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the construal level and temporal distance of a message and consumer's Social Network Service (SNS) self-efficacy on consumers' attitudes toward SNS fashion advertising. This study employed a 2 (message configuration: high construal level/low construal level) ${\times}$ 2 (temporal distance: distant future/near future) ${\times}$ 2 (SNS self-efficacy: high/low) between-subject factorial design. The survey was conducted on Facebook users in their twenties (N=216). The results are as follows: First, attitude toward SNS fashion advertising and purchase intention was higher when the message construal level was lower and when the temporal distance was closer. Second, no interactions between temporal distance and message construal level for attitude toward SNS advertising and purchase intention were found in this study. However, interactions between temporal distance and SNS self-efficacy for attitude toward SNS advertising and purchase intention were found. When the SNS self-efficacy was high, message with the low construal level reacted significantly positive in terms of attitude toward the ad as well as purchase intention. It is expected that this study will provide insight for apparel makers or retailers to use SNS as a new advertising media for fashion marketing. Practical implications and limitations are discussed.
The current study investigated how academic stress, academic burnout, and academic self-efficacy relate to each other; in addition, this study examined the mediating effects of academic self-efficacy on the relationship between academic stress and academic burnout of Chinese adolescents. A total of 412 students attending third-grade from two different middle schools (ninth-grade in the United States) located in Jiading District of Shanghai participated in the final analysis. By using structural equation modeling (SEM) and the maximum likelihood estimation procedures of AMOS 20.0, the latent variable measurement models were confirmed. The results and conclusions of this study are summarized as follows. A positive correlation between academic stress and academic burnout was soundly supported by this study. Meanwhile, both academic stress and academic burnout indicated negative correlations with academic self-efficacy. The modeling indicated that academic self-efficacy has a partial mediating process and a direct effect on the relationship between academic stress and academic burnout. Thus, academic stress and academic burnout were significantly weaker when academic self-efficacy was higher. In the field of education and curriculum, these results are applicable for restructuring or developing Chinese middle school curriculum utilizing useful methods for adolescents to develop their academic self-efficacy.
As information and communications technology (ICT) becomes increasingly integrated into the daily lives of people around the world, it is important to know how the technology is influencing the behaviors of individuals and families. This study looked at the ecology of families as it is related to ICT and the changes to processes that occur as ICT devices and services are integrated into the family. A survey of 1084 families was conducted. Five hundred of the families were from the United States and 584 families were from Korea. Significant differences were found in the use of ICT by Korean and American families although the source of this difference was not clearly identified in this study. Three clusters of families were identified based on their use of devices and services. These were labeled as; 'The Tech Savvy', 'The Wireless Users', 'The In-betweeners', 'The Wired', and 'The Just Mobile'. 'The Tech Savvy' used the greatest variety of ICT technologies and 'The Wired' used the fewest. Other clusters fell in the middle with families seemingly using the devices which met their particular needs. Two factors related to ICT integration into the family were identified. These were related to family intimacy and family relationship maintenance. The family cluster identified as 'Tech Savvy' made significantly greater use of ICT in these relationships and 'The Wired' made the least use of ICT in these areas. The other clusters tended to be between the two ends and tended not to be significantly different from each other in their use of ICT. Finally, models for ICT use by families showed that demographics, nation of origin, types of devices and services used, and attitude and interest in ICT all had a significant impact.
The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of LOHAS consumption tendency and of the perceived consumer effectiveness of young consumers on trust and purchase intentions regarding upcycling fashion goods. Data were collected from a questionnaire survey of 201 university students living in Daegu City, South Korea. The data were analyzed to investigate a structural model and test the research hypotheses, using the AMOS 20.0 statistical package. The results can be summarized as follows. First, LOHAS consumption tendency had a positive impact on trust in upcycling fashion goods. Second, LOHAS consumption tendency did not impact purchase intention with regard to upcycling fashion goods. Third, perceived consumer effectiveness had a positive effect on trust in upcycling fashion goods. Fourth, perceived consumer effectiveness had a positive impact on purchase intention with regard to upcycling fashion goods. Fifth, trust had a positive influence on purchase intention regarding upcycling fashion goods. The results of this study provide guidance for marketers and retailers who are interested in upcycling fashion goods.
This study examines the effects of time spent with parents and peers on generational differences in children's externalizing behavior problems in immigrant families. Using the Child Development Supplement and Time Diaries from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we found that first and second generation children exhibited fewer externalizing behavior problems than did third generation children, despite their lower socioeconomic status. First and second generation children spent more time with either one or both parents, and less time with peers, on the weekend day than did third generation children. We found a marginal but beneficial effect of time spent with fathers on the weekday, but not on the weekend day. The implications are that time spent with fathers on weekdays differs from time spent with fathers on the weekend, and that promoting immigrant father involvement on the weekday through school or community programs could benefit immigrant children.
Although Korean international students/scholars are among the largest groups of international students/scholars on most campuses in the United States, little is known about what types of demands their families face and how they adapt successfully in the face of demands. The purpose of this study was to explore family resilience, which consists of family demands, capabilities, and adaptation, perceived by Korean international student/ scholar families, being theoretically guided by the Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response (FAAR) model. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with couple informants. Following procedures of theorybased content analysis, data were analyzed using key FAAR concepts. Findings showed that most informants reported normative types of family demands such as hardships due to childcare; primary family capabilities were “maintaining social integration,” “affective and instrumental communication,” and “family cohesiveness,” and “nurturance, education, and socialization” was the primary family adaptation mode. New categories under family capabilities, “religious commitment” and “transnational family support” were developed. The results suggest that there is a unique set of family capabilities that contribute to the successful adaptation of Korean international student/scholar families. Implications and limitations are discussed.
The primary purpose of this study was to examine to what extent adolescents' daily self-evaluation mediates the effect of experiencing intimacy in parent-adolescent interactions on positive peer interactions the next day, even after controlling for gender and grade level. We employed a daily diary method for seven days in a sample of 452 Korean adolescents, collecting checklist data at the end of each day. Data were analyzed by using hierarchical linear modeling. According to moderated multilevel mediation analyses, the variance of self-evaluation explained 83% of the variance in the lagged effect of parental intimacy on the next day peer interaction even after the upper-level effects of gender and grade level were accounted for. Forth graders were more likely than 7th graders to have a more positive view of themselves when they experienced parental intimacy the previous day. Girls were less likely to experience positive peer interactions when they perceived less intimacy with their parents the day before. Results suggested that it would be most effective for peer relationship programs to teach parents and adolescents how to experience intimacy in their daily interactions, particularly in ways that help adolescents to think more positively about themselves. It would be helpful for parents to learn about various ways to compliment and encourage the adolescent child in everyday conversations. Lastly, findings in grade level differences also suggest that these programs might be especially effective for 4th graders more than 7th graders.
Malaysian modern housing typologies (such as bungalows, semi-detached houses and terrace houses) are influenced by international style and constitute unique regional characteristics because they are modified in accordance with climatic conditions and unique social, ethnic housing cultures. This research identified unique characteristics and planning principles of how rooms and spaces of a house are related and organized into coherent patterns of form and space. For the analysis, we surveyed twenty-two residential precincts that identified twenty-five unit plan types for landed properties built in Ara Damansara, Malaysia. The methodology adopted in this study consisted of a document review and field surveys. It is difficult to find unique characteristics of space organization (except for the location of bathrooms) because the form of terrace houses is standardized and limited in design from the aspect of space organization. However, the organization of bedroom space and kitchen space has strong regional characteristics that have become stereotyped for semi-Ds and bungalows. General guideline for areas of unit plans are proposed based on the results of area analysis. We also found that the areas of L + D and MB increase as the total area of the house increases; however, the remaining rooms do not increase in area as long as they satisfy appropriate standards due to the addition of multi-purpose extra rooms. This study only examined limited cases in Ara Damansara and it is difficult to generalize the findings of other new towns in Malaysia. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to collect and systematically organize data according to typologies. Finally, the authors were able to understand the unique regional design factors to be considered for landed property housing planning in Malaysia.
This study explored determinants of family support that young renter households received to afford their housing costs. Microdata set of the 2014 Korea Housing Survey was used as secondary data for the study. Total 1,752,899 households headed by persons between 20 and 34 years of age and whose rental type was either Jeon-se or monthly rental with deposit in private rental units were selected as study subjects. For the data analysis, a series of discriminant analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS 21.0. Major findings were as follows. (1) Among the subjects, 28.2% were found to receive financial support from parents or other relatives. (2) To see the discriminant analysis results, a linear combination of seven household and housing characteristics (householder's gender, whether or not the householder worked in the previous week, whether or not the householders have a spouse, tenure type, structure type, location and deposit amount) could explain 44.6% of variance in young renter households' receipt of family support with a prediction accuracy of 77.2%. (3) To summarize the final discriminant model, Jeon-se renter households in location other than Incheon or Gyeonggi Province living in a unit in structure other than multifamily structure headed by younger householders that did not worked previous week or without spouse; with a greater deposit had the maximum tendency to receive family support to pay rental costs.
Within the field of international adoption, little research has examined the involvement of fathers in cultural socialization practices. Using secondary data analysis with a sample of 332 international adoptive fathers and mothers, the present study examined international adoptive fathers' cultural socialization practices and compared these practices with those of international adoptive mothers. The results indicated that 1) family cultural socialization practices mainly engaged in by fathers were those that require little to no integration with people of the children's race and/or ethnicity, and 2) fathers' awareness or practices were found to be similar to those of mothers. This study illustrates the importance of continuing research on fathers' beliefs, attitudes, and practices in relation to the race and birth culture of their internationally adopted children.
Abstract This study focuses on apparel production and consumption trends in major Asian economies in order to understand a paradigm change in the Asian fashion industry. A comparison of trade among ASEAN, NICs, and developed countries shows the changes that have occurred in terms of production and consumption of fashion products before and after 2000 in Korea, Hong Kong, and China. The flow of imports and exports in the apparel industry was analyzed using UN trade statistics data. The results found a change of industry structures in Asian NICs and ASEAN countries. Garment production bases have moved to lower cost regions like China and ASEAN; in addition, NICs sent a part of their export business in the fashion industry to ASEAN countries. The Asian fashion industry has transformed from a production base for developed countries into a consumption market with the emergence of newly industrializing economies. Keywords NICs, ASEAN, apparel trade, fashion industry, imports, exports International Journalof Human Ecology
