Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there was a difference between men and women in conceptualizing a calling in childrearing through social network analysis. The results are as follows. IAs a result of the study, it was found that mothers showed significantly larger networks and higher density than fathers did, indicating that mothers, more than fathers do, experience parenting and child-rearing based more on a concept of calling in childrearing. Parents directly linked responsibility, children's growth, direction, commitment, and parental character to a calling in childrearing. In addition, mothers also linked a sense of identity and parental growth to it. In the case of fathers, only four concepts were directly connected with a calling in childrearing. This shows that mothers, in comparison to fathers, connect essential self-concepts, such as identity as a parent and themes of growth, to a calling in childrearing. In centrality, similar concepts also were evaluated as important. The common parental closeness centrality is composed of responsibility, child growth, direction, and belief starting from the center. In the case of fathers, child growth, responsibility, and belief were evaluated in order, and in the case of mothers, responsibility, parental growth, and identity were evaluated as relatively important concepts.