일본인의 ‘부모됨’에 대한 인식 조사 - 오키나와현(沖縄県)을 대상으로 -

Abstract

This study was conducted to grasp the degree of perception of parenthood and find out variables that affect parenthood from 445 Japanese residing in Okinawa, Japan. As a result of this study, the following conclusions were drawn. First, with regard to Japanese’s perceptions of the necessity of children, 62.2% of the respondents answered that ‘having children is better than having no child’ indicating that Japanese’s perception of the necessity of children's necessity was not absolute. In addition, with regard to Japanese’s perceptions of the value of children, the perception that ‘having children is the most valuable thing in life’ showed the highest score of 3.53 out of the perfect score of 4points indicating that Japanese’s perceptions of the value of children was high. Second, with regard to Japanese’s expectations for children, among the expectations for the son, 'personality and attitude' was shown to be the highest at 51.2% and among the expectations for the daughter, 'personality and attitude' was shown to be the highest at 53% indicating that Japanese’s expectations for their son and daughter were not different. Third, with regard to Japanese’s perception of the value of parenthood, ‘parenthood is happy and is anticipated’ was given the highest score of 3.31 out of the perfect score of 4points. In addition, with regard to emotional support for their children, the respondents showed an attitude that their emotional support would be provided infinitely for their life but their economic support would be provided until their children graduate from university. In addition, with regard to parents’ economic activity statuses by their children's growth period, the perception that ‘It is desirable that only father engages in economic activities and mother is in charge of child rearing as a full-time housewife’ during their children’s infancy and early childhood was given the highest score. As for the most necessary virtue to become good parents, 'the ability to communicate with children' was given the highest score. Overall, there were significant differences in the degree of perception of parenthood according to sociodemographic variables.