Effects of Socioeconomic Status on the Health of Menopausal Mothers in Multicultural Families in Korea: A Test of the Reserve Capacity Model

Based on the Reserve Capacity Model, this study examined the effect of SES(socioeconomic status) on health status on the health status of menopausal mothers of multicultural families, focusing on mediating effects of self-esteem, assimilation, integration, separation, marginalization, and daily life stress. This is a cross-sectional survey study with secondary analysis of national data on 683 perimenopausal mothers in multicultural families from the 9th Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study surveyed by the Korea Youth Policy Institute in 2019. The subjects were women aged 45-55 years and foreign nationals by origin. For path analysis using observed variables, the Mplus 8.4 program was used. Self-esteem and integration were positively related to health status and negatively related to marginalization and daily life stress. Health status was higher when self-esteem and integration were high, and work-life stress and marginalization were low. To improve the perceived health status of menopausal women in multicultural families, rather than simply focusing on SES through support for employment status and income, it is necessary to improve self-esteem by resolving difficulties caused by SES and cultural adaptation to relieve stress in daily life and to provide multidimensional coping resources that can improve health by lowering risk.