• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.183-189
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• 2009

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to evaluate community mental health professionals and hospital workers attitude and awareness towards suicide. Methods : This study investigated 264 community mental health professionals and 228 hospital workers. SOQs (Suicidal Opinion Questionnaires) were used from July 2007 to September 2007. After a factor analysis for the attitude towards suicide, the items on ethics, mental illness, religion, risk, and motivation were included in the subsequent analysis. Results : There were significant differences in the attitude towards suicide according to religion, age, educational background, the marriage status, the economic position, and different professional licenses. Hospital workers' view was different from the community workers'. The hospital workers judged that suicide was due to mental illness, and suicide was high for the people in a special environment and who lacked motivation, which caused them to fall in a dangerous situation. For the lower educational group, they thought that suicide was attributable to mental illness. The awareness for suicide was significantly higher in the group with a postgraduate education, unmarried people, mental health professionals and the persons who had concern and experience with suicide. The factors that had an influence on the awareness of suicide were the items of mental illness, religion, risk and motivational factors. Conclusions : This study suggested that the factors to increase the awareness and attitude for suicide were the experience of increased education and case management of suicide. Therefore, education dealing with suicide and reinforcement of crisis management programs should be developed.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.8-19
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• 2020

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to examine whether the MMPI-2-RF serves as a useful tool to differentiate between the subtypes of high risk of suicide among psychiatric outpatients. Methods : Patients were recruited from the department of psychiatry of university hospital. Participants were diagnosed using DSM-5 criteria by board certified psychiatrists. Their medical records were reviewed retrospectively. And participants were put into 4 groups (Suicide ideation, Suicide attempt, Non-suicidal self-injury, and general psychiatric diagnosis as a control group). For statistical comparison, the MANCOVA with gender as a covariate was used. Results : The results indicated that as previous research with non-clinical sample suggested, psychiatric outpatients with high suicide risk also have significantly higher Emotional/Internalizing Dysfunction, Helplessness/Hopelessness, Suicidal/Death Ideation, Demoralization, Cognitive complaints, Cynicism, Dysfunctional negative thoughts than general psychiatric patients group. But group differences within the high suicide risk patients have not been observed. However, suicide attempt group and NSSI group has higher Behavioral/Externalizing Dysfunction, RC4, AGG than general psychiatric patients group. But there was no difference between suicidal idea group and general psychiatric patients group. Conclusions : There was no group difference observed between all three subtypes, which mean the MMPI2-RF may not be the useful diagnostic tool to navigate high suicide risk subtypes. Even though there was no difference observed in the suicide ideation group, suicide attempt group and NSSI group have higher aggression and externalization. So those indexes could serve as a useful marker to investigate riskiness of suicide related symptoms.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.74-85
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• 2017

Objective : A variety of approaches are needed to solve high suicide rates in Korean society. Although suicide prevention education has been provided for the public and suicide risk groups in Korea, a systematic discussion of simple, effective suicide prevention guidelines for the general public has yet to be made. Self-help guidelines for suicide prevention, which can help prevent suicide in at risk individuals, will be developed through expert questionnaires. Methods : In order to develop the draft guidelines, suicide prevention self-help phrases were gathered and compiled from homepages and publicity materials of domestic and international suicide prevention and related organizations. A panel of 16 suicide prevention experts conducted primary and secondary surveys using the Delphi method, which derives results from consensus among expert groups. The validity and appropriateness of the guidelines was analyzed using content validity ratios (CVR). Results : Of 33 candidate phrases selected for the suicide prevention guidelines, 9 showed high CVR after the secondary Delphi round. The highest level of support with total agreement was given to 'Do not be alone, stay with someone'. However, more than half of the panelists evaluated 14/27 of the primary Delphi round and 12/26 of the secondary Delphi round phrases as invalid. The researchers completed 10 self-help guidelines for suicide prevention, after eliminating 1 redundant phrase and including 2 additional phrases that showed relatively high CVR. Conclusion : We have developed 10 self-help guidelines for suicide prevention through the consensus of experts. Further studies on the effects of the guidleines relative to suicide rates are needed after widespread dissemination.

• 한국노년학
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.1107-1125
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to present the empirical data for the prevention of suicide by analyzing the group differences according to the types of risk factors and protective factors of family members living with dementia patients and the effects of each type on suicidal ideation. This study investigated the characteristics of suicidal ideation among family members of people living with dementia by using a community health survey. It then investigated the effect of each latent group on the suicidal ideation of family members of people living with dementia. Twenty-four risk and protective factors on suicide ideation were analyzed by using Mplus. The four latent classes were high risk - low protective, high risk - high protective, low risk - high protective and low risk - low protective. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the high risk-low protective factor group had the highest suicidal ideation. Based on these results, practical implications and challenges were presented.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.61-68
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• 2014

Objective: The aim of the present study is to assess the prevalence and related risk factors of suicide ideation among middle and high school students in an urban area. Methods: We surveyed 3,691 middle and high school students (2,159 male, 1,532 female, 11-19 years of age) using a self-report questionnaire that covered basic socio-demographic data, academic achievements, presence of physical or psychiatric illness, sleep duration on weekdays, time spent at private academies on weekdays and weekends, and subjective needs for counseling. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Reynolds' Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire (SIQ) were included in the survey. Results: The prevalence of students with high suicide ideation ($SIQ{\geq}62$) was 4.6%. In a logistic regression model, female sex (p = 0.002), younger age (p < 0.001), poor academic achievement (p = 0.043) and higher score of BDI (p < 0.001) were associated with a higher SIQ score. In addition, younger age (p = 0.045) and a higher BDI score (p < 0.001) were associated with a higher SIQ score adolescents having high suicide ideation ($SIQ{\geq}62$). Conclusion: Related risk factors of suicide ideation in adolescents were female sex, younger age, poor academic achievement, and a depressive mood. It would be especially helpful to pay more attention to younger adolescents and a depressive mood as a high-risk group. The understanding of these factors will be helpful for providing an effective suicide screening and prevention program for adolescents.

• Korean Journal of Schizophrenia Research
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.55-60
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• 2017

Objectives : Severe mental illness is a major risk factor for suicide. This study aimed to identify characteristics of patients who died by suicide among subjects who had been received service from a community mental health center. Methods : We searched individuals who had committed suicide in Gwangju Bukgu Community Mental Health Center since 2006. Sociodemographic and clinical data were gathered from medical records and their case managers and they were compared with those of general members in the center. Characteristics of schizophrenia patients who died by suicide were particularly summarized. Results : Twelve person committed suicide between 2006 and 2016. The characteristics of those who died by suicide were male (67%), diagnosis of schizophrenia (75%), aged below 50 (83%), unemployed (92%), past history of psychiatric hospitalization (100%), recent admission within 3 months (67%), past history of suicidal attempt (78%), family history of schizophrenia (58%), poor adherence to medication (58%), and use of daily rehabilitation program (42%). Ten out of twelve (83%) showed warning sign for suicide. All identified method of suicide in patients with schizophrenia was jumping from high building. Many patients with schizophrenia, who committed suicide, suffered from comorbid depressive symptoms (67%) and auditory hallucination (78%). Conclusion : Case managers should pay attention to and carefully manage individuals who showed suicidal warning, particularly with risk factors for suicide, such as unemployment, admission state or recent discharge from psychiatric hospital, poor adherence to medication, family history of schizophrenia, and a history of suicidal attempt.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.40-53
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• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop and compare the prediction model for suicide attempts by Korean adolescents using logistic regression and decision tree analysis. Methods: This study utilized secondary data drawn from the 2019 Youth Health Risk Behavior web-based survey. A total of 20 items were selected as the explanatory variables (5 of sociodemographic characteristics, 10 of health-related behaviors, and 5 of psychosocial characteristics). For data analysis, descriptive statistics and logistic regression with complex samples and decision tree analysis were performed using IBM SPSS ver. 25.0 and Stata ver. 16.0. Results: A total of 1,731 participants (3.0%) out of 57,303 responded that they had attempted suicide. The most significant predictors of suicide attempts as determined using the logistic regression model were experience of sadness and hopelessness, substance abuse, and violent victimization. Girls who have experience of sadness and hopelessness, and experience of substance abuse have been identified as the most vulnerable group in suicide attempts in the decision tree model. Conclusion: Experiences of sadness and hopelessness, experiences of substance abuse, and experiences of violent victimization are the common major predictors of suicide attempts in both logistic regression and decision tree models, and the predict rates of both models were similar. We suggest to provide programs considering combination of high-risk predictors for adolescents to prevent suicide attempt.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.161-169
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• 2021

Objectives: Adolescent suicide is a serious social problem. Adolescent alcohol use is one of the most important risk factors for adolescent suicide. This study aimed to identify the relationship between drinking habits and suicide among Korean adolescents. Methods: Data from the 14th and 15th Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey, conducted in 2018 and 2019, were used for analysis. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify the relationship between drinking habits-including the age of drinking initiation, frequency of drinking, average drinking amount, frequency of drunkenness-and suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts. Results: Even after adjusting for age, sex, school grade, academic achievement, socioeconomic status, depression, stress, and drinking habits, the frequencies of drinking and drunkenness increased the risk of suicide attempts. Suicide attempts were associated with the frequency of drinking in girls and middle school students, and with the frequency of drunkenness in boys and high school students. Conclusion: This study identified associations between drinking habits (the age of drinking initiation, frequency of drinking, average amount of drinking, frequency of drunkenness) and suicidal behavior in adolescents. Our findings suggest that to prevent adolescent suicide, it might be necessary to investigate drinking habits, including the frequencies of drinking and drunkenness. Moreover, considering the differences in sex and school grade, it is important to include the individual group characteristics when evaluating drinking habits.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.164-171
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• 2018

Objectives : Depression is a common mental illness and a major cause of suicide. Although serum lipids have been associated with depression and suicide, there has been much debate. In this study, we investigated the relationship between depression, suicide, and serum lipids in patients admitted with depressed mood. Methods : A total of 134 subjects were divided into 86 non-suicide patients and 48 suicide attempters. The serum lipid levels and sub-scores of the Korean Symptom Checklist-95 (KSCL95) were compared. We also investigated the relationship between serum lipids and sub-scores of KSCL95 and investigated whether serum lipids were risk factors for suicide attempts. Results : There was no difference in serum lipids between the two groups. Among the sub-items of KSCL95, obsession was higher in non-suicide group. Triglyceride showed positive correlations with anxiety, phobic anxiety, agoraphobia, schizophrenia, and self-regulation problem. High triglyceride was a risk factor for suicide attempts. Conclusions : Triglyceride is associated with depression, anxiety, and self - regulation, and high serum triglyceride levels may be a risk factor for suicide attempts.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.250-257
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• 2023

Objectives: Adolescents are at risk of suicide. As suicide is a multifactorial process, risk and protective factors are relevant constructs for suicide prediction. This study explored the effects of risk and protective factors on suicidal ideation in adolescents on the island of São Miguel (Azores). Methods: A sample of 750 adolescents (male: n=358; 47.7%; mean age=14.67 years; standard deviation=1.85 years) from the island of São Miguel (Azores) completed several measures related to suicidal ideation and associated factors. Using a cross-sectional design, this study conducted descriptive, correlational, predictive, mediation, and moderation analyses. Results: Adolescents generally displayed high levels of risk and protective factors; an indicative proportion exhibited significant suicidal ideation with females presenting the greatest vulnerability. Furthermore, the results highlight that depression is the best predictor of suicidal ideation, however, the association between these variables is mediated. Conclusion: The data corroborate that the suicidal reality of adolescents in the Autonomous Region of the Azores is worrisome. Having substantiated the complexity of the suicidal context in young people in the present research, the need to continue studying risk/protective factors in this area is supported.