• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.105-115
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the mental health factors related to health risk behaviors between multicultural and monocultural adolescents. Methods: The study subjects were selected from the 2018 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey Dataset. A total of 60,040 multicultural and monocultural adolescents were included in the analysis. A $x^2$ test and logistic regression were conducted, using SPSS 18.0, to compare the general characteristics, mental health, and health risk behaviors of the multicultural and monocultural adolescents. This process involved a complex sample design. Results: There was a significant difference in the rates of suicidal behaviors. Multicultural adolescents showed a significantly higher rate of suicidal ideation (8.6% vs. 8.5%, p=.004), suicidal plan (3.2% vs. 2.4%, p=.004), and suicidal attempt (5.0% vs 3.1%, p=.04) than monocultural adolescents. Perceived stress had a significant impact only on monocultural adolescents. Monocultural adolescents with high levels of perceived stress were at a greater risk of drinking (high stress=reference; low stress OR=0.91, p=.025) and smoking (high stress=reference; low stress OR=0.90, p=.029) than those with low stress. Multicultural adolescents who had made suicide attempts were at a higher risk of drinking (multicultural OR=7.879, p<.001; monocultural OR=2.481, p<.001) and smoking (multicultural OR=4.011, p=.015; monocultural OR=2.800, p<.001) than monocultural adolescents. Conclusion: To implement an effective smoking and drinking prevention program, it is necessary to consider how we can reduce the risk factors. Stress management is important for monocultural adolescents and a proactive suicide-screening program and a suicide prevention program should be included in the program for both multicultural and monocultural adolescents.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.115-124
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the health risk behaviors, mental health and subjective health status of adolescents in multicultural families and monocultural (Korean) families. This study was conducted to prepare basic data for education and policy proposals related to health promotion of adolescents in multicultural families. Methods: The study was a secondary analysis using the raw data of the 15th Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (2019). A complex sample multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to understand the influence of growing up in a multicultural family on health risk behaviors, mental health and subjective health status by comparing the variables to those of monocultural adolescents. Results: Adolescents from multicultural families had a 3.3 times higher rate of drug use experience, 1.89 times higher rate of sexual experience, and 1.24 times higher rate of not wearing seat belts. In addition, the rate of not washing hands and the rate of suicide attempts were 1.34-1.50 times and 1.62 times higher, respectively, compared to adolescents from monocultural families. Conclusion: This study showed that it is necessary to develop appropriate health promotion programs to solve the problems of drug use, sexual intercourse, not wearing seat belts, not washing hands, and attempting suicides, which are more prevalent among adolescents from multicultural families than from monocultural families. It will serve a basic policy for the long-term development and growth of Korea at this critical time when multicultural adolescents are increasing.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.279-287
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• 2015

Objectives : With the observation of factors influencing depression, self-reported happiness, self-reported stress and suicidal attempt, this study compared and evaluated the mental health of adolescents from multicultural families and monocultural families in Korea. Methods : This study compared the characteristics of adolescents from multicultural and monocultural families based on the analysis of data of The Tenth Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey and analyzed the factors influencing adolescent depression, self-reported happiness, self-reported stress and suicidal attempt. Results : There was no significant difference in the levels of depression, self-reported happiness, and self-reported stress between adolescents from multicultural and monocultural families. However, suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt were significantly higher in adolescents from multicultural families. Conclusion : There was no significant difference between the mental health of adolescents from multicultural and monocultural families. Because depression is the greatest factor for suicidal attempt, and violence has stronger relationship with depression of adolescents from multicultural families, further study is needed to prevent this trend.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.306-312
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• 2016

Objectives: We aimed to compare the smoking behaviors in adolescents from monocultural and multicultural families and to evaluate the associations between their smoking behavior and number of suicide attempts. Methods: The data used in this study was collected from The Tenth Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey. The differences in the sociodemographic characteristics between the adolescents in the multicultural and monocultural families were analyzed through the ${\chi}^2$-test, and a logistic regression was conducted to evaluate the relationships between the smoking behavior and number of suicide attempts of the adolescents in multicultural families. The process involved an analysis using a complex sample design. Results: There was significant difference in the weighted rates of the current smoking behavior (13.3% vs. 8.4%, p<0.001), experience of violence (6.8% vs. 2.3%, p<0.001), and number of suicide attempts (5.4% vs. 2.7%, p<0.001) between the adolescents from the multicultural and monocultural families. In both groups, the current smoking behavior was associated with the number of suicide attempts (multicultural families OR=6.5, p=0.005; monocultural families OR=1.5, p<0.001). Conclusion: Our results showed that the percentage of current smokers in the adolescents from multicultural families was higher than that in the monocultural families and that current smoking behavior is related to the number of suicide attempts in both groups, after adjustment for age, sex, socioeconomic status, academic achievement, current smoking behavior, depressive mood and experience of violence.