Article

Daily Happiness of Mothers with Young Children: An Experience Sampling Method Study

Author

Ahn Subin, Lee Kangyi

Information

pp. 35~50 / 2018 Vol.25 No.2

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the daily happiness of mothers with infant, especially focusedon the three components of happiness: pleasure, meaning and engagement. The data were collected from76 mothers raising infants aged 6months or under, using Experience Sampling Method(ESM). The methodsused for data analyses were descriptive statistics and  verification. The major findings are as follows.First, the mother’s most frequent daily activity was child care. In addition, the activity that induced thehighest level of pleasure level was meeting acquaintances; the activity with the highest level of meaningand engagement was walking/exercise. Second, the levels for pleasure, meaning, and engagement weresignificantly different depending on who they were with. Third, the levels of pleasure and engagement alsosignificantly varied according to the time of day. These results suggest practical ways to promote happinessof mothers’ with very young children.

Keywords