Social Support for Two Generations of New Mothers in Selected Populations in Korea, Hong Kong, and the United States

INTRODUCTiON The transition to parenthood is accompanied by a series of major changes in the lives of new parents. In order to cope with these changes, parents of infants rely on the support of kin and non-kin social networks to varying degrees. Cross-cultural comparisons of social support systems can provide useful insights into marital and child rearing practices across cultures. The purpose of this study was to explore and compare the sources and kinds of support received by new mothers in three cultures: Korea, Hong Kong, and the United States. During the transition to parenthood, support and aid provided by family, friends, and neighbors can help reduce parenting stress and can help new parents become more competent in child rearing (Cochran, 1993). Social support in child rearing has been categorized into instrumental, informational, and emotional support (Collins, Dunkel-Schetter, Lobel, and Scrimshaw, 1993). Instrumental support refers to direct help in housekeeping or child care. Informational support is providing the parents with useful advice and information about child rearing. Emotional support implies understanding how difficult child rearing is, sympathizing with the parents, and offering them words of encouragement. The availability of social support has a significant influence on women's adjustment to motherhood. A community-based system of social support is especially significant to new mothers in the United States, which is currently experiencing a trend of short inpatient stays following childbirth (Temkin, 1999). Having adequate prenatal and postpartum social support can improve women's birth experiences. Cogan and Spinnato (1988) found that the availability of support to women at the time of labor was associated with a lower incidence of excessively long labor, a reduction in the frequency of medication used to control pain, and a higher level of neonatal well-being. Other research has suggested that women's marital and postpartum adjustment is associated with the amount and nature of support provided by their husbands (Tietjen & Bradley, 1985). In addition, the availability of community-based support has been found to improve the nature of parent-child interactions. Parents who receive adequate social support from institutions and services within the community are more likely to have positive, non-abusive interactions with their children (Atkins, 1986). Because social support for child rearing helps establish the orientation of a new mother's parenting methods, it also can affect her values on child rearing (Bornstein & Lamb, 1992). Research has indicated that new mothers in the United States commonly receive support from six social network sources. They are: husbands, friends, relatives, work associates, neighbors, and institutions (Power &Parke, 1984). Sources of Social Support The different sources of social support available in a culture are in part determined by the marital structure and patterns prevalent in it. Due to the relatively egalitarian nature of marriages in the U.S., new mothers receive support primarily from their husbands. Mothers making the transition to parenthood point to support from their husbands as being their most important help (Belsky & Kelly, 1994). Research in the U.S. has suggested that there is a change in women's expectations of their husbands' support during their transition to parenthood. Women in the U.S. currently expect a high degree of support from their husbands when they become mothers (Lee, 1997). Nicolson (1990) found that women's satisfaction with their husbands' support following the birth of a baby had a significant influence on their marriage relationship. Dissatisfaction with husbands' support is often accompanied by lowered marital happiness among new mothers. In a study of postpartum depression among new mothers, it was found that women who reported inadequate satisfaction with their husbands'/partners' support were more likely to display symptoms of depression (Leathers, Kelley, & Richman, 1997). …