Rearing behavior and rearing stress of fathers with children of preschool and school age.

PURPOSE This study was conducted to compare the paternal rearing behavior and rearing stress level between fathers with a preschooler and fathers with school children so that it can be utilized as a basic source for developing parental rearing education programs. METHODS A descriptive comparative method was conducted to identify the paternal rearing behavior and paternal rearing stress. Respondents were 361 fathers who had either preschoolers (n=189) or children of elementary age (n=172). RESULTS Comparing the two group's means, the rearing activity score and rearing stress there were significant differences. In the school children's group's father, 'outdoor activity' and 'guidance on discipline activity' were significantly higher than the other group. In the preschool children's fathers group, 'play interaction activity' was statistically significant higher than the other, and the child-part mean score of paternal rearing stress was significantly higher than the other group. The correlation between paternal rearing behavior and paternal rearing stress, indicates that more paternal rearing behavior means less paternal rearing stress. CONCLUSION These results of this study will help design more effective rearing programs for fathers that have either preschool children or school children by providing the basic data for paternal rearing behaviors and paternal rearing stress.