• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.42
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• pp.199-224
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• 2000

Homelessness became a major social problem in Korea. And the homeless presents many kinds of problems in social functioning. In studies on the homeless, Physical and mental health, alcohol and subtance abuse, the vulnerability of the social support have been frequently described as major characteristics of the homeless. Of the homeless' psychosocial characteristics, this article focused on the lack of the social support, which plays a important role on the exit from homelessness. The lack of social support has been mentioned as cause for homelessness. But a few researchers stressed the perspective that the homelessness causes the lack of social support. This article analyzed empirically the lack of social support among the homeless in terms of "social disaffiliation". This article hypothesized: (a) as longer homeless duration, the extent of the perceived social support would be decreased, (b) as longer homeless duration, the magnitude of the social network would be decreased, (c) as longer homeless duration, the ratio of the homeless in social network would be increased. Survey data collected from 355 homeless persons (sheltered homeless) at 82 shelters in Seoul. The result of analysis supports 'social disaffiliation hypotheses'. The result of this study suggests that the social work intervention to strengthen social support and social network be critically important in homeless shelter.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.22-28
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• 2007

The pregnancy and postpartum period appear to be a time of heightened vulnerability for the development of major depression in some women. Postpartum depression affects 10% of women within a few weeks immediately postpartum. Postpartum depression is associated with disturbances in the mother-infant relationship, which in turn have an adverse impact on the course of child cognitive and emotional development. Depression during pregnancy is also common, although it has been relatively neglected. Psychopathological symptoms during pregnancy have physiological consequences for the fetus. Understanding the aetiology of perinatal depression requires integrating of multiple psychosocial and biological risk factors. The treatment of depressed pregnant women requires skilled decision making by psychiatrists. Risk-benefit analysis is appropriate method for intervention fur depression in pregnancy. Effective treatments for depression in pregnancy include psychotherapy, antidepressant medication and electroconvulsive therapy. In treatment of postpartum depression, the biological, psychological, and social interventions are included. Prescribing antidepressants(such as fluoxetine), estrogen in severe and chronic cases, and counselling can be effective for improving maternal mood and aspects of infant outcome. Ongoing research is directed to further elucidating neurohormonal and psychosocial contributions to depression during pregnancy or postpartum. Screening for risk factors and symptoms for depression need to be incorporated into antenatal and pediatric clinics.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.475-503
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to clarify the constructs of emotion suppression and help understanding on the multidimensional nature of emotion suppression by classifying constructs for suppression according to the KMW model. Also, this study examined the gender differences of emotion suppression. For this purpose, 657 adult male and female subjects were evaluated for attitude toward emotions, and difficulty in emotional regulation, as well as depression, state anger and daily stress scale. As a result of the exploratory factor analysis on the scales related to the emotion suppression factors, the emotion suppression factors corresponding to each stage of the KMW model were found to be 'distraction against emotional information, 'difficulty in understanding and interpretation of emotions', 'emotion control beliefs', 'vulnerability on emotional expression beliefs'. Next, the study participants were classified by performing a cluster analysis based on each emotion suppression factor. As a result, four clusters were extracted and named 'emotional control belief cluster', 'emotional expression cluster', 'emotional attention failure cluster', and 'general emotional suppression cluster'. As a result of examining the average difference of male depression, depression, state anger, and daily stress for each group, significant differences were found in all dependent variables. As a result of examining whether there is a difference in the frequency of emotional suppression clusters according to gender, the frequency of emotional suppression clusters was high in men, and the ratio of emotional expression clusters was high in women. Finally, it was analyzed whether there was a gender difference in the effect of the emotional suppression cluster on psychosocial adaptation, and the implications were discussed based on the results of this study.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.3-9
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• 1994

The psychobiological model of cancer has a long history, with Galen's view on melancholic woman being often quoted. From a historical perspective, the 1950s witnessed a surge of interest in psychosomatic medicine and in researches linking psychological, social, and environmental factors to disease onset and progression. The 1960s witnessed the growth of animal experiements, in the hope of better understanding the effects of psychological and behavioral factors on carcinogenesis while controlling confounding variables. The 1970s saw rapid advances in immunology and neurochemistry. Further researches in the 1980s in psychoneuroimmunology explored relationships between immunological responses and psychosocial variables, and their implications for cancer vulnerability and progression. In this review, the interacting aspects of oncology and psychiatry are presented with selected major findings in the fold of psychooncology researches.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2024

Frailty is a clinical syndrome as an increased vulnerability to stressors, leading to a decrease in physiologic reserves and a decline in the ability to maintain a good homeostasis. This condition leads to an increased risk of hospitalization, disability and mortality. Frailty occurs due to various causes and requires a multidimensional approach. It is also important to detect and manage it early. Frailty is also deeply related to neuropsychiatric problems such as pain and depression. In evaluating frailty, it is desirable to comprehensively consider not only physical areas such as disease, nutrition, movement, and sensory functions, but also psychosocial areas, and representative scales include Fried's physical frailty phenotype and Rockwood's frailty index. Physical activity and appropriate protein intake are important for frailty management, and inappropriate drug use should be reduced and oral care, cognitive function, and falls should also be noted. Frailty and pain can affect each other, and pain can promote frailty. Evidence has been published that hormone and protein abnormalities, immune system activity and inflammatory response, and epigenetic mechanisms work in common in the field of frailty and pain. More extensive and high-quality research should be conducted in the future, and the quality of life will be improved if the results are applied to the suppression and treatment of old age and pain.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.472-483
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• 2024

This study evaluated the attitudes of the Korean population towards sunscreen use through the Health Belief Model (HBM) construct and investigated the psychological factors that influence sunscreen use. For this purpose, an online survey was conducted from 1 November 2023 to 1 January 2024, and a total of 303 participants were collected. The collected data were analysed using SPSS v. 25.0 programme using Cronbach's 𝛼, frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, independent samples t-test, one way ANOVA, Scheffe's test, and multiple regression analysis. The results of the study showed that the mean score of sunscreen use was 3.26±1.384 out of 5, and there was a significant correlation between the variables of the health belief model and sunscreen use (p<.01). Gender, age, and skin colour were also associated with each variable, with women, the elderly, and those with lighter skin tending to be more proactive in sun protection. Multiple regression analyses revealed that self-efficacy (𝛽=.629, p<.001) and perceived vulnerability (𝛽=.139, p<.001), sub-factors of the Health Belief Model, had a statistically significant positive effect on sunscreen use, while perceived barriers (𝛽=-.261, p<.001) had a statistically significant negative effect on sunscreen use. These results may have important theoretical implications for the development and implementation of educational programmes to promote sunscreen use by providing insight into the psychosocial factors that influence sun protection.