ABSTRACT
Objective
To examine patterns of service needs among married immigrant women in South Korea and identify predictors of group membership.
Background
Limited research has explored the multidimensional needs of the population. Understanding these patterns is critical for developing effective support systems.
Method
Data from the 2021 National Survey on Multicultural Families (n = 3511) were analyzed using latent class analysis, one-way analysis of variance, chi-square tests, and multinomial logistic regression.
Results
Five distinct service need patterns emerged: childcare (15.86%), employment (7.01%), comprehensive support (20.39%), high needs (26.55%), and low needs (30.19%). Older age and higher Korean language fluency predicted lower odds of belonging to higher-needs groups. Conversely, longer education, being married, poorer mental health, prior employment, having young children, higher social capital, and greater aging anxiety increased these odds. Meanwhile, country of origin and total number of children showed mixed effects across the patterns.
Conclusion
The service needs of married immigrant women are deeply shaped by their family’s developmental stages and resource constraints, resulting in clustered patterns. Future longitudinal studies should examine the evolution of service requirements over time.
Implications
Services should transition from fragmented early-settlement programs to integrated life-course support systems tailored to the evolving developmental needs of women.