• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.837-840
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• 2015

Background: The disclosure of a diagnosis of cancer is complex, particularly in older patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between age and not knowing the diagnosis, and its impact on mood. Materials and Methods: The study included 70 patients with various types of solid and hematologic cancer in early stages, which were followed up in an outpatient oncology/hematology clinic in Turkey between January, 2014 and June, 2014. Initially the caregivers of patients were asked whether the patients knew their diagnosis or not. A questionnaire for the Geriatric Depression Scale was then administered to the patients. Patient age, gender, marital status and education level were noted and analyzed with respect to knowing the diagnosis and depression. Results: Of the 70 patients, 40% of them were female. The mean age was $68.2{\pm}8.9$. The rate of the patients who does not know their diagnosis was 37.1% (n=26). The overall depression rate with GDS was found 37.1% (n=26) among the participants. There was no association with knowing the diagnosis (p=0.208) although the association between not knowing the diagnosis and age was significant (p=0.01). Conclusions: In this study we revealed no association between not knowing the diagnosis and depression in elderly patients. Contrary to what some has thought, the patient is not protected from psychological distress by not being informed about the diagnosis. We believe this study and similar ones will help to discuss and further explore patient autonomy, the principle of respect to self-determination and end of life issues in different cultures.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.91-105
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• 2015

Objectives : After disaster, some people develop posttraumatic stress sequelae such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depression, substance use disorders, and suicide. To date, numerous screening and assessment tools for behavioral health issues including mental health problems, psychosocial maladjustment and status of recovery after disaster have been developed. In this condition, one of important topics is to choose instruments that can quickly and accurately measure the issues. Methods : This article reviewed several self-reported scales in adults for disaster behavioral health, which were searched using academic search engines like PubMed, Scopus, KoreaMed and KISS from the earliest available date of indexing through January 31, 2015. Results : More than 40 eligible instruments evaluating the disaster behavioral health issues containing posttraumatic stress sequelae, psychological and social resources, non-disaster stress, and general functions were presented in terms of availability, effectiveness, and expeditiousness. Also, we introduced basic frame aiming on practical usage, which includes standard version and brief version of the instruments for disaster behavioral health. Conclusion : We suggest the accessibility and the applicability of assessment instruments for disaster behavioral health. The systemic review of this article will provide further directions for them.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.49-56
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• 2020

Objective : The present study aims to investigate differences in anger-related features in patients with somatic symptom disorder (SSD) compared to healthy controls, and to examine whether anger trait and anger regulation strategy are associated with clinical characteristics in patients with SSD. In addition, we examined the relationship between childhood adversity and SSD. Methods : 26 patients with SSD and 28 healthy controls were included. Anger-related features were assessed with State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI). Clinical somatic symptoms were assessed using the somatization subscale of the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised and the Somatosensory Amplification Scale. Childhood adversity was assessed by the Childhood Traumatic Events Scale. Multivariate analysis of covariance was performed. Results : Disease status of SSD had a significant overall effect on anger-related features (Wilks λ=0.725, F(5, 44)=3.332, p=0.012). Patients with SSD showed a significantly high Trait-Anger (p=0.017) and they had a high score in both Anger-Out (p=0.013) and Anger-In (p=0.001) of anger expression styles. In particular, a directed inward style of anger expression was significantly associated with somatization symptom severity (p=0.003). Regarding childhood adversity, more childhood extreme illness was experienced by the SSD group than the control group (p=0.012). Within the SSD group, childhood extreme illness was associated with higher Trait-Anger (p=0.027) and Anger-Out (p=0.001). Conclusion : The present findings suggest that trait anger, anger expression styles, and childhood adversity of extreme illness may be involved in SSD. Further studies are needed to explore the role of anger-related features and its relationship with childhood adversity in the pathophysiology of SSD.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.135-145
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• 2016

This research intended to investigate, from an ecological perspective, significant predictors affecting school life satisfaction. The subjects were 312 students(2nd grade) of commercial high school in Kyonggido. Data collected by questionnaire survey were analyzed by SPSS Win 22.0 and descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, hierarchical linear regression, and stepwise regression were conducted. There were 21 independent variables: 8 organism variables (self-competence, interpersonal skills, internal control, mood awareness, emotional expression, empathy, emotional regulation, emotional capability), 9 microsystem variables(school variables: the relationship with teachers, school learning, classroom climate, school welfare facilities, school environment/peer variables: peer relationship/family variables: family functioning, education level of fathers, economic status), 2 mesosystem variables(parent-teacher relationship, parent-children's peer relationship), 1 exosystem variables(satisfaction with Korean educational system), 1 macrosystem variables(Korean's primal belief in educational achievement). The results are as follows; the significant variables were the relationship with teachers, satisfaction with Korean educational system, peer relationship, emotional capability, parent-teacher relationship($R^2=45.3%$); and the effect of microsystem was the strongest($R^2=35.7%$). This research is meaningful of analyzing school life satisfaction of commercial high school in terms of ecological perspective.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.59-67
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• 2014

Objective : To obtain the incidence rate of anxiety disorders among the active duty Korean military personnel, who visited the military hospitals from 2011 to 2013, this descriptive epidemiological study was performed. Methods : After acquiring the data for the anxiety disorders from Defense Medical Statistics Information System, the annual incidence rates were analyzed by forces, position status, and specific disease entities. Results : One thousand, nine hundred and thirteen (1,913) active duty male military personnel were diagnosed with any kinds of anxiety disorders in their first visit to the psychiatric outpatient department (OPD). The total OPD visit counts were 7,870 during the same period. Anxiety disorder, NOS was the most frequent disorder, followed by panic disorder. While the incidence rate for anxiety disorder, NOS decreased, panic disorder displayed increasing tendency. Stress-related disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder were positioned third and fourth, respectively, for the number of first visit and they both showed decreasing tendency in annual incidence rates. Social anxiety disorder, specific phobias, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and mixed anxiety-depressive disorder followed next. The annual incidence rates for anxiety disorders showed decreasing tendency, particularly evident in army soldiers. However, naval officers showed higher anxiety disorder incidence rate compared to those of the army and the air forces. Conclusion : Comparing to general population, panic disorder was higher while specific phobias and GAD were lower in the Korean military. It is interesting to observe higher incidence rate for anxiety disorder in naval officers and warrants further evaluation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.594-602
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to investigate eating behaviors related to snack and self-purchasing snack (SPS) among elementary school children. Self-administered questionnairs were completed by 352, 5th and 6th grade elementary school students living in 3 different regions which included apartment region in Bundangn, Sungnam (apartment group, n=116), residences in Seodaemun-Gu and Mapo-Gu, Seoul (kang-buk group, n=103) and residence in industrial region in Sungnam (industry group, n=133). The results were as follows: A significantly higher proportion (64.7%) of the apartment group had breakfast every morning than those of kang-buk (48.6%) or industry (52.1%) group (p<0.01). As for the frequency rate of snack and self-purchasing snack (SPS), 53.9% of the subjects answered taking snack more than once per day, 22.8%, once for few days and 23.3%, almost not. However, 15.5% of the subject had SPS once or more per day, 30.7%, 1-2 times per week and 22.4%, almost not. Those of apartment group showed significantly lower SPS frequencies (p<0.01), since higher proportions answered having SPS 1-2times per week (40.9%) and almost not (31.3%) compared to other groups. The reasons for having SPS turned out to be 'hunger' 54.7%, 'being habitual', 15.9%, 'bing bored', 15.7% and 'with peers' 13.7%. When subjects selected SPS foods, they considered taste (31.5%), price (23.0%), mood at the time (14.1%), sanitorial aspect (10.2%) and quantity (10.1%) rather than nutritional aspect (7.2%). Subjects' pocket money was estimated as 3736 won per week and SPS expense per time as 706 won. But subjects who spent more than 2000 won for SPS expense were significantly higher (33.0%) in apartment group than those of other groups (p<0.01). The favorite snack items that subjects having at home were fruit, ice cream, milk and yoghurt, cookies, ramen and bread in order. And favorite SPS items turned out to be ice cream, cookies, duckbokki, frozen bars, gum, chocholate and candy in order. The frequency rate of SPS were evaluated to be significantly related by several variables: those living in apartment area (p<0.01), those taking breakfast regularly (p<0.01), those of normal weight status by Rohrer index (p<0.05) and those receiving less pocket money (p<0.01) showed lower SPS frequency rate.

• 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.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.44-52
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• 2018

Objective : The present study had examined the psychiatric symptoms and physical health consequences for the bereaved parents of the high school students who died in the 2014 Sewol ferry accident. Methods : Forty bereaved parents participated in the study. The authors administered self-report questionnaires about the parents' health behaviors and psychiatric symptoms. The authors also conducted laboratory tests to assess the parents' physical health at 18 and 30 months after the accident. Univariate descriptive statistics were performed to report the prevalence and severity of psychiatric symptoms and health-related behaviors. Paired t-test and Mcnemar test were performed to compare the 18-and 30-month findings. Correlation analysis between psychiatric symptoms and laboratory findings were performed to find a relationship between the two variables. Results : At 30 months after the accident, most of the bereaved parents still appeared to suffer from complicated grief (97.5%), post traumatic stress disorder (80%), insomnia (77.5%) and severe depression (62.5%) based on the scores on the Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG), the PTSD Check List-5 (PCL-5), the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). One quarter of the bereaved parents reported high-risk drinking, and 47.5% reported increased drinking amount and frequency after the accident. In objective laboratory results, 55% of the bereaved parents were obese as defined by body mass index ${\geq}25$. The parents' mean low-density lipoprotein shows a significant increase over time (118.5 mg/dL at 18 months. vs. 132.5 mg/dL at 30 months. paired t-test t=-4.061, $$p{\leq_-}0.001$$). Total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein at 30 months after the accident were in clinically borderline high range. In correlation analysis, triglyceride was positively correlated with ISI. Conclusion : The loss of children in the Sewol ferry accident, a disaster caused by human error, continued to have considerable impact on the victims' parents' mental and physical health 18 and 30 months after the accident. A longitudinal study following the parents' physical health would be necessary to investigate the long-term effects of this traumatic experience on physical health.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.45-54
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• 2010

Objective : This study aimed to investigate and compare the prevalence of depression and suicidality among the elderly in a rural city according to their residence type. Methods : Participants were 311 elderly people (109 male and 202 female) in Icheon City, whom trained researchers interviewed and examined Geriatric Depression Scale, Social Support Scale, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, Activities of Daily Living, Quality of Life Scale, and Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), module C. Using these data, we analyzed participants' risk factors associated with depression and suicidality. Results : The prevalence of depression was 28.0%. The prevalence in the elderly living alone and those admitted to residential facilities was significantly higher than that among the elderly living with family. Suicidality frequency was 19.6%. The suicidality frequency among the elderly living alone and those admitted to facilities was significantly higher than that among the elderly living with family. The risk factors for depression were age, admission to a facility, and low economic status. The suicidality risk factors were living alone, admission to a facility, poor social support, and a history of headache. Conclusion : These results showed the prevalence of depression and frequency of suicidality among the elderly in such a city was quite high. The results of this study remind psychiatrists of the importance of early detection and therapeutic intervention for the elderly with a high risk of depression and suicidality.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.22-28
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• 2011

Objective : Social anxiety disorder (SAD) has been characterized by a marked sense of anxiety provoked by exposure to one or more social situations. It has been well-known that the cultural characteristics of a society strongly affect the expression of SAD symptoms. The current study attempted to explore clinical and cultural characteristics of social anxiety symptoms in the Korean nonclinical population. Methods : 801 volunteers who participated in the national social anxiety screening day, which was held by Korean academy of anxiety disorders, were invited to complete the self-report version of Liebowitz social anxiety scale (LSAS-SR). A total of 691 participants completed the LSAS-SR and other information related to this study. Results : Social anxiety symptoms were reported by a great percentage of subjects, as displayed by the relatively high mean LSAS scores (44.58 ; SD=25.60). There were no significant differences in total LSAS score according to sex, education, or marital status. The three most fearful or avoided situations for participants, as measured by the percentage of subjects who had a score of more than 3 on each LSAS item were as follows: item 6 (acting, performing, or giving a talk in front of an audience ; 29.67% for fear and 22.72% for avoidance), item 16 (speaking up in a meeting ; 25.62% for fear and 21.56% for avoidance), and item 15 (being the center of attention; 13.89% for fear and 9.70% for avoidance). Conclusion : The Korean participants in this study demonstrated a high level of SAD symptoms. Our subjects reported that they were more likely to be fearful or avoid passive situations such as being the center of attention as compared with results from a study of western society which indicated that western people were more likely to be fearful or avoid active situations. These findings emphasize the importance of considering a patient's cultural background when evaluating SAD symptoms.