Associations of North Korean Refugee Mothers’ Parenting Beliefs, Attitudes, and Attachment With Preschool Children’s Moral and Conventional Behaviors

North Korean refugee mothers raise preschool children while navigating new cultural, socioeconomic, and service environments in South Korea. However, little is known about their children’s everyday moral and conventional behaviors. This cross-sectional study examined the associations of maternal and family characteristics, parenting beliefs and attitudes, and mother-child attachment with mother-reported moral and conventional behaviors among 122 North Korean refugee mothers. After accounting for other variables in the final hierarchical regression model, longer residence in South Korea, part-time employment (relative to full-time or self-employment), and single-parent or other family types (relative to nuclear families) were associated with higher scores. In contrast, older maternal age and stronger controlling-rejecting parenting attitudes were associated with lower scores. Attachment was also positively associated with the outcome in the final model; however, this finding warrants cautious, exploratory interpretation because no corresponding bivariate association was observed. Parenting beliefs and affectionate-autonomous parenting attitudes were not independently associated with the outcome. Overall, the findings situate mother-reported moral and conventional behaviors within the intersecting contexts of resettlement, family circumstances, and everyday caregiving. Although this cross-sectional study cannot identify causal pathways or specific intervention targets, the findings may inform culturally responsive, family-centered support that addresses children’s social development and families’ caregiving needs during resettlement. Longitudinal and multi-informant research is needed to establish the robustness of these associations and clarify their relevance for developmental child welfare practice.