• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.23-35
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• 2017

Purpose - This paper aims to obtain a theoretical understanding for the relationship among the elderly's leisure activity, social support, life satisfaction and mental loneliness in their life. This paper has the purpose to draw policy implications by the course of research and study as well as to find alternatives in enhancing the elderly's psychological well-being in a practical dimension. Research design, data, and methodology - Data has been collected from 380 elderly persons participating in leisure activities in 10 senior welfare service centers located in the Seoul area. A structured questionnaire sheet was used, and as the main analysis method for hypothesis verification, the hierarchical regression method was used. Results - Social support is moderating factor for the relationships among the productive leisure activity, life satisfaction and mental loneliness, but does not play the moderating role in the relationships such as consumptive leisure activity, life satisfaction and mental loneliness. Conclusions - It is necessary to make efforts to provide policies for promoting and expanding the elderly's participation especially in productive leisure activity. And also, an institutional support should be provided for maintaining and expanding a stable social relationship network for the elderly's participation.

• Industry Promotion Research
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.201-207
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• 2023

This study presents literature research on solitude and mental health in psychology as one of the problems in modern society. Solitude has been understood as a psychologically diverse concept. In psychology, solitude has been understood in a variety of ways: as a pathological phenomenon, a source of conflict in childhood, an expression of maladjustment, and a factor influencing current experiences. Solitude is an objective state of being alone without social interaction, while loneliness and privacy are subjective concepts, with loneliness indicating a need for the presence of others. On the contrary, the religious solitary is a solitary being before God. Isolation and sensory restriction, which humans voluntarily choose, is a cure for loneliness. Also, solitude is associated with positive well-being and healthy adaptability. Humans need to have inner freedom by turning loneliness into solitude. This suggests that loneliness can be overcome through solitude, and that positive thinking can overcome negativity, loneliness, and depression.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.31-60
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• 2023

Purpose: This study explored the influencing factors on suicide-related behaviors (ideation, plans, and attempts) focusing on mental health problems (anxiety, depression, and loneliness) among Korean adolescents. Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted with data from the 16th Korean Youth Health Behavior Survey collected from in 2020 by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: After the adjustment of demographic characteristics and health risk behaviors, the influences of mental health problems on suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts showed the anxiety odds ratio (OR) for severe anxiety vs. minimal (OR 4.65, 4.67, and 3.75), depression (OR 4.27, 3.69, and 4.49), loneliness (OR 2.18, 1.96, and 1.96). Health risk behaviors (violence experience, drug use, stress, smoking, and drinking alcohol) and demographic variables (gender, school record, and socioeconomic status) were also significantly associated with suicide-related behaviors. Conclusion: Anxiety, depression, and loneliness were strong predictors of suicide-related behaviors. Early detection of suicide risks through screening for comprehensive mental health problems was recommended. Suicide prevention that considers the risk factors, including mental health problems and other risk factors, needs to be developed and implemented to reduce suicide risks among adolescents.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Health Science
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.1097-1105
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• 2018

Purpose: Loneliness is an extremely subjective experience that is influenced by life experiences and circumstances. This study attempted to provide basic data for the development of nursing intervention strategies to understand the concept of loneliness and to reduce loneliness on various topics. Methods: The research analysis method is based on the framework of concept analysis proposed by Walker and Avant (1988). Results: The results of this study are as follows: 1) Self-alienation 2) Isolation of human beings 3) Psychological damage reaction 4) Pain 5) Loneliness is the loss of a comfortable "frame". The prerequisites can be divided into personal characteristics and situational characteristics. Empirical criteria include intimate others, lack of social relationships or problems, family and friendship, belonging, recognition or expression of loneliness, emotional state changes and changes in health behavior, and physical symptoms. Conclusions: Loneliness is an important indicator of well-being and a cause of physical and mental illnesses, so nurses facing various subjects should be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of loneliness. By promoting and sustaining their interest, they should be able to enjoy lonely people.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.15 no.9
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• pp.335-343
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• 2017

Several studies have suggested that lonely adolescents showed higher increases in stress and they easily addicted smartphone utilization for comforting loneliness and stress. Studies, moreover, have claimed that smartphone addiction has negative effects on mental health of adolescents. To contribute to knowledge on these topics, this study is to investigate to the relationship among adolescents' loneliness, stress, and smartphone addiction. To identify test subjects, the study conducted a survey that collected data from Korean adolescents, and the survey of this study was completed between April 1, 2017 and April 15, 2017. A total of 356 adolescents completed the survey, and the final data of empirical test of the study was 327. The empirical results demonstrate that the relationship between loneliness and stress of adolescents is mediated by four sub-factors of smartphone addiction such as difficulty of daily life, directivity of virtual life, withdrawal symptom, and tolerance. The results indicated that a smartphone addiction risk of adolescents was negatively related to their mental health, especially loneliness and stress.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.71-77
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• 2022

The purpose of this study was to identify factors affecting the mental health of female middle school students living in rural areas. The study period was from March 14 to 25, 2022, and was conducted with 239 female middle school students attending three middle schools located in G district. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, Pearson's correlation, and multiple regression. As a result of the study, significant influencing factors on the subject's mental health were living with both parents (β=.12, t=2.50, p =.013), past subjective mental health status (β=.15, t=2.83, p=.005), subjective physical health status (β=-.21, t=-3.94, p<.001), loneliness (β=.22, t=4.23, p<.001), and severity of insomnia (β=.36, t=6.55, p<.001), and these variables showed 46% explanatory power for mental health. Through this study, further research is needed to specify the causal relationship between living with both parents, past mental health status, physical health status, loneliness, and severity of insomnia and intervention strategies for the mental health of female middle school students considering these variables.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.49-58
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• 2021

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate the longitudinal trajectories of life satisfaction, loneliness, and depression and to identify the factors that influence these trajectories in North Korean Defectors (NKD). Methods : NKD (n=300) who registered in the multi-regional adaptation center (Hana Center), within three years of settling in South Korea, were recruited into this study. Life satisfaction, loneliness, and depression were assessed with self-report questionnaires over a period of 4 years (7 waves of data). Latent growth modeling was conducted to assess the changes in life satisfaction, loneliness, and depression. Results : Findings from both unconditional and conditional models (with gender, South Korea settlement age, household income, marital status, and PTSD at wave 1) indicated a linear increase in loneliness and depression, and a linear decrease in life satisfaction over the 4-year period. In the conditional model, gender predicted the intercept of life satisfaction and depression. In addition, PTSD predicted the intercept of life satisfaction, loneliness, and depression and slope of depression. Conclusion : Our finding suggests that the mental health of NKD tends to deteriorate over time after settling in South Korea. Therefore, continuous support is necessary for their successful adaptation to the South Korean Society.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.87-96
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• 2024

Purpose: The rising prevalence of smartphone overdependence among adolescents and its detrimental impact on mental health have become a growing concern. This study aimed to investigate the association between smartphone overdependence and the mental health of Korean adolescents. Methods: Participants were drawn from the 16th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey conducted in 2020. The dependent variable as smartphone overdependence, while the main exposure of interest was mental health, encompassing generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), perceived stress, sources of perceived stress, perceived loneliness, and perceived depressive symptoms. The study employed the Rao-Scott chi-square test and multiple logistic regression using IBM SPSS version 26.0. Results: The participants comprised 54,948 adolescents aged 13 to 18 years. Among them, 25.1% (n=13,775) were categorized as smartphone overdependence group. Specifically, 20.3% of adolescents who reported GAD ≥10 and 22.5% of those who reported experiencing high levels of perceived loneliness were identified as smartphone overdependent. The GAD increased a risk of smartphone overdependence by 2.61 times (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 2.46-2.77). Perceived loneliness was associated with 1.98-fold (95% CI: 1.87-2.09) increased risk of smartphone overdependence. Additionally, conflict with peers was found to increase the risk of smartphone overdependence by 4.63-fold (95% CI: 3.89-5.52), followed by conflict with parents (odds ratio [OR]: 4.52, 95% CI: 3.84-5.31), and family environment (OR: 4.52, 95% CI: 3.75-5.46). Conclusion: The findings underscore a significant association between smartphone overdependence and mental health in Korean adolescents. Healthcare services to improve their emotional coping and interpersonal skills are necessary.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.168-176
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• 2020

Objectives : Loneliness and poor sleep quality are common phenomena in old age and are associated with negative physical and mental health. However, little is known regarding the relation between loneliness and sleep quality. The aim of this study was to examine the association of loneliness and sleep quality among the elderly living alone. Methods : This is a cross-sectional study that enrolled 1,090 subjects who are the community-residing elderly living alone. Sociodemographic status, medical condition, cognition, mood disorder, sleep quality and levels of loneliness were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and a specific semi-structured interview conducted by trained nurses. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data regarding sociodemographic variable and loneliness. Univariate and Multivariate regression analyses were applied to examine the association between loneliness and sleep quality after adjustment for multiple confounding variables. Results : The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) mean score of "lonely group" (9.2±4.2) was significantly higher than that of "not lonely group" (7.3±3.7) (student-t test, p<0.001). Loneliness was significantly associated with PSQI (standardized β=0.065, p=0.025), sleep disturbance (standardized β=0.086, p=0.005), use of sleep medication (standardized β=0.065, p=0.034) after adjustment for possible confounding variables including sex and mood disorder. Conclusions : Loneliness was associated with sleep disturbance and this finding implied negative impact of loneliness on sleep quality of older adults. Public health promotion efforts to reduce loneliness may improve sleep quality and mental health in the elderly living alone.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Rural Health Nursing
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.12-24
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• 2024

Purpose: This study examines the levels of adherence to quarantine guidelines, mental health, and instrumental activities of daily living among elderly individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to identify correlations among these variables. Methods: A survey was conducted from February 28, 2023, to May 19, 2023, among 210 elderly individuals aged 65 and above residing in rural areas. The relationships among adherence to quarantine guidelines, mental health, and instrumental activities of daily living were tested using Pearson's correlation coefficients. Results: Loneliness was positively correlated with subdomains, including familial loneliness, social loneliness, and a sense of belonging, whereas depression was significantly negatively correlated with adherence to quarantine guidelines(cough etiquette, ventilation, mask wearing, and environmental disinfection) and rules of social distancing. Conclusion: Analyzing the various factors influencing adherence to quarantine guidelines among the elderly and developing and implementing intervention programs are essential for future research.