Infant-rearing experiences of parents during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea: a mixed-methods approach

Purpose This study aimed to identify the infant-rearing experiences of parents during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and provide foundational data for the development of infant-rearing support programs during pandemic situations. Methods Convergent mixed methods were used to better understand the research outcomes by converging both quantitative and qualitative data. A total of 149 parents with infant-rearing experiences during the pandemic responded to a self-report survey, and 10 parents participated in the interviews. Data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s method, descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way analysis of variance, the Scheffé test, Pearson correlation coefficients, and hierarchical regression. Results Analysis of qualitative data yielded the following three categories: five theme clusters, ten themes, and thirty-nine sub-themes. The factors influencing infant-rearing behavior were nuclear family (β=.34, p