• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.34-42
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• 1995

Borderline personality disorder in adolescents present with suicide attempts or gestures, and they are characterized by the same patterns of splitting, devaluation, manipulation, need-gratifying object relations, impulsivity, and ego deficits that are finds in borderline adults, Symptomatolgy are depression, anxiety, identity crisis, and occasionally antisocial behavior in borderline personality disorder in adolescents. These findings should be differentiated to normal stormy adolescents. Theses borderline personality disorder in adolescents are known about the instability of object relations, labile affect, splitting, and psychotic episode in severe stress. According to thses finding, schizophrenia, mood disorder, schizoptypal personality disorder, paranoid personality disorder could be differentiated. Etiology is complex including psychodynamic, genetic, familial factor. Treatments are individual psychotherapy, group therapy, and pharmacotherapy. The continuity or discontinuity of borderline states from childhoon to adult life is controversy.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.115-121
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• 2002

Objectives: Although sleep paralysis (SP) has been known as one of the symptoms of narcolepsy, recently it has become recognized as occurring frequently in the general population. However, the prevalence of SP and its associated factors in patients with major psychiatric disorders remain unknown. This study investigated the prevalence of SP and a variety of associated experiences in those patients. Methods: The subjects were 160 psychiatric patients and 143 age- and sex-matched controls. The Korean version SP questionnaire as well as the Sleep-Wake Schedule, Epworth Sleepiness Scale and Insomnia Severity Index were administered to all the subjects. The patients were referred from Dong-A University Hospital and consisted of 74 diagnosed as schizophrenia (47.7%), 26 as bipolar disorder (16.8%) and 55 as major depression (35.5%). Results: Nearly 42% of the patient group and 39% of the control group had experienced at least one episode of SP in their lifetime, with no significant difference between the groups. However, the patient group had experienced SP more frequently than the control group. Among all subjects, no gender difference in SP incidence was found. The peak age of onset was in the range of 16-25 years for both groups. Over eight tenths of both groups reported hallucinations and over seven tenths of both groups experienced fear accompanying SP. Conclusion: This study shows that there is no difference in the lifetime prevalence of SP between psychiatric patients and the general population, whereas frequency of SP experience is higher in psychiatric patients. Terrifying hallucinations and fearful feelings frequently accompany SP in both groups.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.257-265
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• 1995

The object of this study is to apply a chaotic signal analysis method to the EEG research, especially in the aspect of neuropsychiatry, and to get some inspection of the chaotic phenomena according to the brain sites and subjects. We have acquired 21 channel EEG data and one EOG according to the international 10-20 system and calculated the correlation dimension. The subject groups are schizophrenics, bipolar disorder, major depression and normal control. They were all awoke and eye-closed. We have found no distinctive features from our experiments except temporal regions have slightly higher correlation dimension. There is also no specific distinctions between groups. We conjecture that these results are mainly because the subjects were not well controlled. EEG dimension may change in accordance with to the age, sex, medication and the time data were selected to calculate. We have also considered some conditions for a better and more objective research of chaotic analysis to EEG research. Better conditioning and standardizing the calculation of correlation dimension is necessary for the application of the chaotic analysis to neuropsychiatry.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.227-234
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• 1999

An association of low total cholesterol in blood with psychiatric diseases and suicidal behavior has been suggested. As part of an attempt to further explore this relationship, we examine first, whether serum cholesterol levels in psychiatric patients with suicidal attempt would be lower than in non-suicidal psychiatric inpatients or normal controls, second, whether such significant difference of cholesterol levels would be present when the diagnostic groups are analyzed separately, third, whether low cholesterol level would be associated with a history of serious suicidal attempts, and finally, whether low cholesterol level in suicide attempters is a state or a trait marker. We determined the serum cholesterol levels in 231 patients admitted to an emergency room following an suicidal attempt, in the same numbers of age-, sex- and diagnosis- matched non-suicidal psychiatric controls, and in the same numbers of age-, sex matched normal controls. The seriousness of an attempt was divided into 5 grades according to the degree of the resulting medical injury. Total cholesterol levels in suicide attempters were significantly lower compared with both psychiatric and normal controls, when sex, age, and nutritional status (i.e., body mass index) were controlled for. This significant relationship was observed in major depressive disorders and personality disorders, but not in schizophrenia and bipolar type I disorders. The severity of suicide by a lowering of blood cholesterol was related to the magnitude of the cholesterol reduction. After treatment of their psychiatric ailments, the cholesterol levels in suicide attempters were significantly increased. This result suggests that low cholesterol level in psychiatric patients might be a potential biological marker of suicide risk. It is hypothesized that low cholesterol levels is associated with the suicide by modifying the serotonin metabolism, the production of interleukin-2 and melatonin metabolism in psychiatric patients.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.435-454
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• 1999

The caregiving experiences of 100 family menbers of outpatients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders were investigated for the presence of positive(positive family-patient relationship. patient' contribution to the family) and negative caregiving experience(objective and subjective burden) and their predictors. This study attempts to make the analysis of caregiving experience more useful by expanding the focus to incoporate these positive aspects of the experience of family caregiver. Objective burden consists of two elements: 'disruption of family life', 'care'(amount of caregiving related to activity of daily living). Subjective burden is defined as emotional reactions to the care giving and it comprised of 6 emotional subdimensions such as 'stigma', 'grief'. 'worry', 'pity', 'fear', 'despair'. Also we investigate the severity of patients' disturbing behaviors into two categories, positive and negative disturbing behaviors and patient' contribution to the family as a predictors of positive and negative caregiving experiences. This study use Pearson's correlation coefficient, Hierardhical regressions in the SAS Program. The results are as follows: 1. Respondents reported moderate level of objective burden 'disruption of family life' (mean = 2.48, range = 1-4), and 'care' (mean=2.54, range = 1-4), and slightly high level of total subjective burden(mean = 2.19, range = 1-4). Mean scores for the measure of the severity of behavioral disturbance indicated that the caregiver experienced negative disturbing behaviors around almost 'somtimes'(mean=2.28, range = 1-4), and positive disturbing behaviors 'almost not frequent'(mean=2.78. range=1-4). So they reported that they perceived patient's negative disturbing behaviors more than positive disturbing behaviors. Mean scores for the measure of the patient' contributions (mean = 1.99. range = 1-4) indicated that caregivers experienced these contributions a little. It means that there should be a positive aspect of possibilities of patient' family roles that can be developed in the daily life. Mean scores for the measure of the positive family-patient relationship indicated that caregivers experienced moderate level of positive family-patient relationship(mean=2.52, range = 1-4). 2. Hierardhical regression analysis 1) Hierardhical regression of 'disruption of family life' showed that the interaction between positive disturbing behaviors and patient' contributions (B = .20. p = .022) and caregiver's educational level(B=.06. p=.000) were 'significant and Hierardhical regression of 'care' showed that 'negative disturbing behaviors'(B= .35. p= .007). 'patient' contributions'(B= .28, p= .019). 'family income'(B=-.l1. p=.096) were significant. 2) Hierardhical regression of 'total subjective burden', 'stigma', 'grief', 'worry', 'pity'. 'fear', 'dispair' showed that 'positive disturbing behaviors'(B=.51. p=.000). 'negative disturbing behaviors' (B = .17, p = .026), 'caregiver's educational level'(B = .03. p=.036), 'family income'(B=.08. p=.041) were significant predictors of 'total subjective burden': 'positive disturbing behaviors'(B=.32. p=.066). 'negative disturbing behaviors'(B=.24, p=.096) 'durations of illness'(B= .03. p= .079) were significant predictors of 'stigma' 'negative disturbing behaviors'(B=.28. p=.005). 'patient sex'(B=-.32. p=.022). 'positive disturbing behaviors'(B=.28. p=.020), 'patient age'(B=.02. p=.010), 'caregiver age'(B=-01, p= .002) were significant predictors of 'grief' 'negative disturbing behaviors'(B= .28, p= .005). 'patient sex'(B= -.32. p=.039), 'caregiver age'(B=-.02, p= .023). 'caregiver's educational level'(B= .04, p = .044) were significant predictors of 'worry' 'patient sex'(B=-.46. p=.005). 'negative disturbing behaviors'(B= .28. p=.018), 'caregiver age'(B=-.01, p=.037) were significant predictors of 'pity' 'positive disturbing behaviors'(B=.83. p=.000). 'patient' contributions' (B = .22, p =.017). 'family income'(B=.09. p=.65) were significant predictors of 'fear' 'positive disturbing behaviors'(B=.49, p=.001). 'negative disturbing behaviors'(B= .24. p=.057) 'patient sex'(B=-.4l, p=.017), 'family income'(B=.14, p=.047) were significant predictors of 'dispair'. 3) Hierardhical regression of 'positive relationship' showed that 'patient contributions'(B=.32, p=.000). 'negative disturbing behaviors'(B= .24, p= .005), 'patient sex'(B=-.23, p=.036).

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.54-66
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• 1998

Objectives：This study was to investigate the impact of parental psychiatric disorder on offspring's depression, anxiety, self concept, perception of familial relationship compared with offspring of normal control. In offsprings of parents with psychiatric disorder, this study explored whether their psychopathology, self concept, and perception of familial relationship were influenced by parent’s sex, onset time of parent’s psychiatric disorder and parent’s psychiatric diagnosis. Methods：52 offsprings aged 10-18 years of 39 psychiatric outpatient were surveyed from June, 1997 to April, 1998 and completed several questionnaaire, including Korean from of the Family Environment Scale, Korean form of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, Korean form of Kovac’s Children’s Depression Inventory, and Korean form of Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale. Their score was compared with offsprings’ of normals. In offsprings of parents with psychiatric disorder, they were compared according to parent’s sex, onset time of parent's psychiatric disorder and parent’s psychiatric diagnosis. Results：The results were as follows：1) Offsprings of parents with psychiatric disorder reported higher level of state anxiety and lower level of the FES expressive subscale than offsprings of normals(p<0.05). But they reported higher level of PHCSCS intellectual & school status subscale and popularity subscale than normals(p<0.05). 2) There were no differences in anxiety, depression, self concept, and perception of familial relationship between patient’s sex. 3) Offsprings less than 3 years old when parent’s psychiatric disorder had developed showed higher level of trait anxiety and lower level of FES control subscale than offsprings more than 3 years old (p<0.05). 4) There were no diferences in anxiety, depression, self concept, and perception of familial relationship between patient’ diagnostic groups(schizophrenia spectrum disorder-mood disoderneurosis). Conclusion：The finding indicated that self reported scale of anxiety and depression showed no significant difference between offsprings of psychiatric patients and offsprings of normals. In offsprings of parents with psychiatric disorder, parent’s sex and psychiatiric diagnosis had no influence on offspring’s psychopathology. But the offspring’s age(before 3 years old) when the parent’s psychiatriric disorder developed had influence on higher level of offspring’s trait anxiety. For further high risk group study, direct interview and evaluation of parent-child agreement or teacher-child agreement will be needed in longitudinal study.