• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.595-606
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of other-awareness in multicultural adolescents upon psychosocial adjustment and to figure out the mediating effects of self-regulatory ability in this relationship. To achieve this research objective, a questionnaire survey was conducted targeting 127 middle-school adolescents from multicultural families in Busan city. As a result, the other-awareness in multicultural teenagers had a negative(-) influence upon the self-regulation and the psychosocial adjustment. The self-regulatory ability appeared to have a positive(+) impact on psychosocial adjustment. Also, in consequence of verifying the mediating effects of self-regulation in the relationship between other-awareness and psychosocial adjustment in multicultural adolescents, the self-regulatory ability was shown to have a partial mediating effect. In light of this outcome, diverse programs for self-regulation need to be developed in order to enhance psychosocial adjustment in multicultural adolescents. An institutional support from school and community must be made for raising the positive awareness on multicultural families.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.247-278
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• 2010

There are three main purposes of this study: (a) to investigate the developmental trajectories of psychological resilience, social resilience, and school resilience of adolescents in poverty, (b) to identify the longitudinal relationship of three resiliences and (c) to examine the protective factors that help adolescents to develop successfully in the face of poverty. Data were drawn from Korea Youth Panel Survey(KYPS), a longitudinal panel study on Middle school students in the second grade. Sample consists of 648 adolescents in poverty who particiipated in the KYPS. Latent Growth Curve Model(LGM) was used to analyze intraindividual changes in resiliences and interindividual differences in these changes. And AMOS 7.0 and SPSS 15.0 were used. In this study, it is concluded that the resilience of adolescents in poverty is the construct that has uni-dimensionality and multi-dimensionality at the same time. Therefore, in order to improve resilience of adolescents in poverty, protective factors associated with each resilience have to be increased. Those findings have provided various theoretical and practical implications for social workers and professionals helping adolescents in poverty.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.539-552
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to examine the abuse experience of adolescents in out-of-home care on their psychosocial adjustment and the mediating effects of self-regulation skills. A survey was conducted on the adolescents who resided in the city of Busan and received out-of-home care service. The findings of the study were as follows: First, abuse experience was found to have exerted a negative influence on self-regulation skills. Second, abuse experience was found to have exerted a negative influence on psychosocial adjustment. Third, self-regulation skills were found to have exercised a positive influence on psychosocial adjustment. Fourth, self-regulation skills were found to have had a mediating effect on the relationship between abuse experience and psychosocial adjustment. The findings of this study were of significance in that neglect and emotional abuse should be prevented to promote the psychosocial adjustment of teenagers with abuse experience who are in out-of-home care, and in that the importance of the intervention of counseling programs which could foster the self-regulation skills of adolescents was urged.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Child Welfare
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• no.40
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• pp.139-166
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of poverty on the psychosocial adjustment of adolescents. Particularly, this study seeks to examine the mediating effects of neighborhood environments and parental depression. The 2008 'the Korean Youth General Survey' data were utilized. We analyzed data from 2,218 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 and their parents. We defined poverty as the income-to-needs ratio, and measured neighborhood environment using the degrees of neighborhoods' disorder, attachment, cohesion, and informal social control. Adolescents' externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors were used as indicators of adolescents' psycho-social adjustment. Structural equation modeling was utilized as the major analytic method. This study found that adolescents in low income families were more likely to reside in disadvantaged and dangerous neighborhoods. More importantly, the results revealed that psychosocial adjustment of the adolescents was indirectly influenced by poverty through the mediators, neighborhood environment and parental depression. Based on the results, we discussed policy and practice implications, including various interventions that may improve parental mental health and neighborhood environment of low income communities.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.549-562
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of social stigma on psychosocial adjustment in out-of-school youth and the moderating effects of self-concept clarity on the relationship between social stigma and psychosocial adjustment. The subjects in this study were out-of-school youth who resided in the city of Busan, on whom a survey was conducted. The findings of the study were as follows: First, social stigma was found to have exercised a negative influence on self-concept clarity. Second, social stigma was found to have exercised a negative influence on psychosocial adjustment. Third, self-concept clarity was found to have exercised a negative influence on psychosocial adjustment. Fourth, self-concept clarity was found to have had moderating effects on the relationship between social stigma and psychosocial adjustment. This study is of significance in that it attempted to seek ways of improving the psychosocial adjustment of out-of-school youth and urged offering counseling intervention geared toward boosting self-concept clarity by analyzing the moderating effects of self-concept clarity on the relationship between social stigma and psychosocial adjustment.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.87-111
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• 2012

This study designed a mediating pathways models to examine the theory, 'the influence of attachment relationship between adolescents and their parents affects on adolescents' psycho-social adjustment through the mediating variable of optimism'. Authors tried to examine if this theory is applied to group-home adolescents who live with surrogate care-givers instead of their parents. For this study, two models, 'Psychological Adjustment Model' and 'Social Adjustment Model' were constructed. Each model has path, 'Attachment with Care-givers → Psychological Adjustment' and ''Attachment with Care-givers → Social Adjustment' respectively. 'Optimism' is mediating variable in between these two variables. The results were very clear. In two models, no direct effects from 'Attachment' to 'Psychological Adjustment' and from 'Attachment' to 'Social Adjustment' were found. However, indirect effects from 'Attachment' to 'Psychological Adjustment' and from 'Attachment' to 'Social Adjustment' were statistically significant through the mediating variable of 'Optimism'. This study suggests that more research on 'Optimism' which has not been focused among social welfare researchers needs to be followed.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.11-22
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• 1999

This study focused on the relationship of social skills and social support from family and friends to adjustment between children and adolescents. Subjects were enrolled in the fifth, sixth, 1st, & 2nd grades of elementary and junior high schools. The instruments were Teenage Inventory of Social Skills, Perceived Social Support from Family & Friends, Child Depression Inventory, and Antisocial Behavior Scale. Results indicated that there were positive relations between social skills and social support from family and friends. The more social support from family children and adolescents had, the less depression and antisocial behavior they reported. For depression, children and adolescents showed a significant sex difference. In the case of antisocial behavior, only adolescents revealed a significant sex difference. Depression was explained by social support from family most for both children and adolescents. Antisocial behavior was explained by social skills most especially for children. The results discussed in the context of the effects of social skills and social support on emotional and behavioral adjustments.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.189-224
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• 2010

Nowadays Korean society has a fast growing population of North Korean immigrant youth. Especially, North Korean immigrant youth, who are discontinuing formal education, experience difficulties in social exclusion and adaptation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of adaptation and social support of North Korean immigrant youth discontinuing formal education, and to seek affirmative supporting plans and solutions for their adaptation. The methodology utilized for this study was a case study research. On the basis of the results and categorization, 'a network between overall categories and of early adaptation' was derived. The major findings of this study are summarized as follows. First, the participants of this study experienced major difficulties during 'economical adaptation', and their economical adaptation was strongly interrelated with their 'educational adaptation'. The discontinuing of their education resulting from their fleeing period caused 'academic differential and age disparity.' Thus they could not enroll in the formal education system, and their insufficient educational background resulted in low wages and overwork due to manual labor jobs. Second, participants recognized 'interpersonal relations' as the most essential factor in adaptation, and 'social support' from the interpersonal relations played an important role in adaptation to and comfort in Korean society. 'Interactions with South Koreans' was recognized as a significant resource for gaining informational and appraisal support, but was not activated satisfactorily. On the other hand, interaction with North Korean immigrants was avoided by the reason that 'there's nothing to learn', however emotional support from North Korean immigrants of close relationship played an important role in participants' adaptation, especially in all aspects of psychological adaptation. Third, participants experienced a lot of difficulties and stresses in their 'physical health and psychological adaptation'. Their chronic diseases worsened by remaining untreated, and female perceived symptoms were observed more often than in male. Meanwhile, excessive 'stresses' from the unfamiliar environment of South Korea negatively affected their psychological adaptation. However, they were satisfied with sense of liberty and security from living in a democratic society.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.62 no.1
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• pp.343-365
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• 2010

It is a follow-up study on acculturation types and adaptation level to South Korea among North Korean defecting adolescents who participated in the study with the same purpose five years ago(2003). The study of 2003(1st year study) was done with 90 adolescents, out of whom 46 participated in this study(2nd year study). The data from 46 subjects who participated in both 1st and 2nd studies were analyzed. The results on individual acculturation type showed that 40% of the respondents who belonged to 'marginal' or 'separated' types in the 1st study were changed to 'assimilated' or 'integrated' types in the 2nd. Twenty percent changed from 'assimilated' or 'integrated' types in the 1st study to 'marginal' or 'separated' in the 2nd. Furthermore, the higher is the acceptance level of South Korean culture, the lower are their psycho-social problems and the higher is the satisfaction level of daily lives in South Korea. While the higher is the preservation level of North Korean culture, the higher is aggression. Based on the results, the study developed discussion on diverse alternative plans for helping North Korean defecting adolescents in successfully adjusting to the South Korean society.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.119-125
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• 2015

This study aims to verify the mechanism of mediated effects for protective factor among the relations of risk factor, protective factor and psychology adaptation under risky situation as functionally deficient family, and to identify the protective factors that protects adolescents with high psychology adaptation level. To achieve these goals, descriptive statistic analysis, regression analysis and logistic-regression analysis were conducted using the 5th year data of the Korea Youth Panel Study (Junior high panel) surveyed in 2008 by National Youth Policy Institute. The study results first shows that the psychology adaptation level of adolescents who experienced functionally deficient family varies depending their self-esteem and attachment to school friends. Second, it was found that there are mediated effects in the impacts of functionally deficient family on psychology adaptation. Therefore, in social work field, it is advisable to focus on the process to mitigate the risk factors or to strengthen protective factors rather than focus on the risk factors of adolescents. With this method, the negative perception of adolescents exposed to risk factors can be changed as well as the way of intervention for supporting them.