가족갈등이 우울에 미치는 영향: 경제요인으로 인한 갈등을 중심으로

Abstract

Objectives: This study analyzes how financial issues - major causes of conflicts within families-affect depression of individuals, and tests the intermediary effects of self-esteem and physical health between the financial issues and depression. For the analysis, this study uses part of the general household member data, which is included in the ‘Prevalence of conflicts and social pathologies at individual level and counter measures in Korea’ conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA), as secondary data. Methods: We used multiple-group structural model to test the effects of family conflict, self-esteem, and physical health on the depression. The findings of this study can be summarized as follows. Financial issues were the major factor that increased depression caused by family conflicts. Also, family conflicts arising by financial issues significantly reduced self-esteem. Self-esteem have a greater negative correlation than physical health on depression. In addition, family conflicts affected depression, self-esteem, and physical health among groups of different ages, sexes, and income levels by the multiplegroup structural model analysis. Results: This test analyzes the significance and direction of the indirect effect exerted by self-esteem and physical health on depression caused by family conflicts. The higher a person’s sense of self-esteem and the healthier a person is, the less severe his or her depression will be. The control variables, such as age, sex, income, also exert partial intermediary effects. Conclusions: Most importantly, society as a whole needs to care more about women and the elderly who are prone to depression associated with family conflicts, and policymakers must make available a broader range of mental health services that cater to the particular needs and characteristics of women and the elderly.