Abstract: “Purpose: This study attempts to examine the effects of life stress and maladjustment among North Korean refugee women in South Korea, and to verify the moderating effects of social support to prevent maladjustment among these population. Methods: The researchers examined 301 cases of North Korean Refugee in age between 19 and 64, from the results of “2010 National Survey on Family Violence.” The result demonstrated that North Korean defectors’ Date were analyzed by frequency analysis and descriptive statistics, regression model analysis with SPSS 21.0. Results: Life stress has influence on their social maladjustment in South Korea, as the higher the life stress, the higher the social maladjustment. Moderating effect of social support is discovered. That is, dynamic social interaction can enhance social adjustment thou there is high level of life stress. Conclusion: Thus, the study suggests for developing appropriate social network programs in order to integrate them into Korean society”

Keywords: North Korean Refugee, Life Stress, Social Maladjustment, Social Support.