• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.63-72
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• 1997

For the purpose of examining the relationship between perceived stress, vulnerability variables, and somatization tendency, the self-report questionnaires of perceived stress, styles of stress coping(passive and active copings), self-perception, gender, and somatization tendency were administered to university entrants(n=2,024). The results were as follows: 1) Perceived stress, styles of stress coping(passive and active copings), self-perception, and gender accounted for 15.56% of the total variance in somatization tendency. As a result of comparing the relative contributions of all predictor variables to somatization tendency, the highest was perceived stress, and the next in order were passive coping style, self-perception, and gender, whereas direct effect of active coping style was not significant. 2) The two-way and three-way interaction effects of perceived stress X vulnerability variables were not significant. 3) The two-way and three-way interaction effects of gender X psychosocial variables were not significant. To conclude, perceived stress and vulnerability variables independently contribute to somatization tendency in university entrants, and furthermore it is suggested that vulnerability variables as well as perceived stress must be considered to account for somatization tendency.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.332-337
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• 1994

The author studied somatization using 7-symptoms screening test in 12 females, who lived in the Taegu and compared the results with those of 99 males who lived in the Taegu, during the period from the beginning of August 1993 to end of January 1994. The results were follows: The number of females screened for somatization disorder were ten (5.8%). Its rate was higher than males (3. 1%). Ten screened women most frequently complained of pain in extremities, painful menstruation, shortness of breath, and amnesia. There was a strong tendency toward higher levels of somatization in the females who were dissatified with their home atmosphere, present well being, and divorced or widowed, lower educated and those who had pessimistic views of self image in the past, present, or future.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.13-16
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• 2014

Background: This study assesses influences of baseline psychological risk factors on prevalence of low back pain (LBP) at baseline and follow-up among nurses. Methods: A prospective longitudinal study was performed at two phases, baseline and 1-year follow-up among 246 nurses of university hospitals in Shahroud, Iran. A standardized Cultural and Psychosocial Influences on Disability questionnaire was used for data collection. Logistic regression was performed for analysis. Results: At the baseline of the study, 58.9% of nurses reported back pain in the previous 12 months. Age (p = 0.001), belief that work causes pain (p = 0.022), and somatization tendency (p = 0.002) significantly increased risk of LBP. At 1-year follow-up, prevalence of LBP was 45.7% and expectation of back pain at baseline (p = 0.016) significantly increased risk of LBP in this phase (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Results indicate that risk factors for prevalence of back pain at baseline and 1-year follow-up are different. At baseline, the risk factors are age, belief that work causes pain, and somatization tendency, and at follow-up, expectation of pain is the major risk factor.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.23-42
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• 2011

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference of somatization psychological mechanism among Sasang constitution. Methods : Subjects were seventy four students of Won-Kwang university responded the questionnaire. We evaulated the subjects using Minnesota Questionnaire for the Sasang Constitution Classification II(QSCC II), Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2(MMPI-2), 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), Somato-Sensory Amplification Scale(SSAS), Symptom Interpretation Questionnaire(SIQ) and The Ways of Stress Coping Questionnaire(SCQ). Results : From the results of Clinical scale of MMPI-2, the scores of 2nd, 9th, 10th scales was significantly difference. In Lesser Yin group 10th score was the significantly highest of the others, 1st, 3rd, 6th, 7th, 8th score were the highest but not significant. and From the results of PSY-5 scale(The Personality Psychopathology Five scale) of MMPI-2, In Lesser Yin goup, INTR(Introversion/Low Positive Emotion) score was significantly highest, PSYC(psychoticism), NEGE (Negative Emotionality/Neuroticism) was higher than the others. In TAS-20K, SSAS, SIQ and SCQ Lesser Yin group was not significantly difference. but Lesser Yin group had the tendency of difficulty describing feelings and externally oriented thinking and higher score in physical and psychological interpretation. We observed generally lower levels of stress coping strategy scores than the others. Conclusions : These results showed that Lesser Yin group tend to somatization compared other constitution.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.92-100
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• 2002

Objectives : As medical science develops, survival rate of cancer patients rises. Therefore, psychologic understanding and improving quality of life in cancer patients is getting greater significance. The Object of this study is to investigate sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, psychopathology, self esteem and quality of life in cancer patients and to provide useful information for therapeutic approach to cancer patients. Methods : The subjects were 41 patents who had been treated by radiotherapy and 20 normal people. Sociodemographic information and clinical characteristics of cancer patients were investigated, and SCL-90R for psychopathology, Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale for self esteem, WHOQOL-BREF for quality of life were administered to subjects. The results of both groups were compared and analysed, and correlation between variables were evaluated. Results : 1) The tendency of Somatization, obsession-compulsion, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobia, psychosis in cancer group were higher than normal group. Especially, somatization and anxiety in cancer group were significantly higher than normal group. 2) Self esteem and quality of life in cancer group were significantly lower than normal group. 3) No significance were found in comparison of psychopathology, self esteem and quality of life according to sociodemographic variables. Among clinical characteristics, higher somatization was shown in case of more weight loss, and higher somatization and lower quality of life was shown in the presence of pain. 4) Higher anxiety was significantly associated with lower self esteem, and Higher somatization and anxiety was significantly associated with lower quality of life. Conclusion : Cancer patients had various kinds of psychopathology, low self esteem and low quality of life. In particular, somatization and anxiety, self esteem and pain were found to be important factors to quality of life of cancer patients. Therefore, management of psychopathology, improving self esteem, pain control is necessary to improve quality of life in cancer patients.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.269-276
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• 1996

A theroretical study was made on the psychodynamism of somatoform disorder. Somatoform disorder is caused by a defense mechanism of somatization. Somatization is the tendency to react to stimuli(drives, defenses, and conflict between them) physically rather than psychically(Moore, 1990). Ford(1983) said it is a way of life, and Dunbar(1954) said it is the shift of psychic energy toward expression in somatic symptoms. As used by Max Shur(1955), somatization links symptom formation to the regression that may occur in response to acute and chronic conflict. In the neurotic individual psychic conflict often provokes regressive phenomena that may include somatic manifestations characteristic of an earlier developmental phase. Schur calls this resomatization. Pain is the most common example of a somatization reaction to conflict. The pain has an unconscious significance derived from childhood experiences. It is used to win love, to punish misdeeds, as well as a means to amend. Among all pains, chest pain has a special meaning. Generally speaking, 'I have pain in my chest' is about the same as 'I have pain in my mind'. The chest represent the mind, and the mind reminds us about the heart. So we have a high tendency to recognize mental pain as cardiac pain. Kellner(1990) said rage and hostility, especially repressed hostility, are important factors in somatization. In 'Psychoanalytic Observation on Cardiac Pain', psychoanalyst Bacon(1953) presented clinical cases of patients who complained of cardiac pain in a psychoanalytic session that spread from the left side of their chests down their left arms. The pain was from rage and fear which came after their desire to be loved was frustrated by the analyet. She said desires related to cardiac pain were dependency needs and aggressions. Empatic relationship and therapeutic alliances are indispensable to psychotherapy in somatoform disorder. The beginning of therapy is to discover a precipitating event from the time their symptoms have started and to help the patient understand a relation between the symptom and precipitating event. Its remedial process is to find and interpret a intrapsychic conflict shown through the symptoms of the patient. Three cases of somatoform disorder patients treated based on this therapeutic method were introduced. The firt patient, Mr. H, had been suffering from hysterical aphasia with repressed rage as ie psychodynamic cause. An interpretation related to the precipitating event was given by written communication, and he recovered from his aphasia after 3 days of the session. The second patient was a dentist in a cardiac neurosis with agitation and hypochondriasis, whose psychodynamism was caused by a fear that he might lose his father's love. His symptom was also interpreted in relation to the precipitating event. It showed the patient a child-within afraid of losing his father's love. His condition improved after getting a didactic interpretation which told him, to be master of himself, The third patient was a lady transferred from the deparment of internal medicine. She had a frequent and violent fit of chest pains, whose psychodynamic cause was separation anxiety and a rage due to the frustration of dependency needs. Her symptom vanished dramatically when she wore a holler EKG monitor and did not occur during monitoring. By this experience she found her symptom was a psychogenic one, and a therapeutic alliance was formed. later in reguar psychotherapy sessions, she was told the relaton between symptoms and precipitating events. Through this she understood that her separation anxiety was connected to the symptom and she became less terrifide when it occurred. Now she can travel abroad and take well part in social activities.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.271-279
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• 2004

Purpose: The object of this study Is to investigate sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, psychology, self-esteem and quality of life in cancer patients on radiation therapy and to provide useful information for therapeutic approach to cancer patients on radiation therapy. Materials and Methods: The subjects were 36 patents who had been treated with radiation therapy and 20 normal people. Sociodemographic information and clinical characteristics of cancer patients on radiation therapy were investigated, and symptom checklist-90-revised, Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale for self esteem, World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment Instrument for quality of life were administered to subjects. And Spearman's correlation analysis was used among these. Result : The tendency of somatization, depression, anxiety and hostility in cancer group were significantly higher than normal group. Self esteem and quality of life in cancer group were significantly lower than normal group. No significant difference was found in comparison of psychology, self esteem and qualify on life according to sociodemographic variables. Among clinical characteristics, in the presence of metastasis in cancer patients, the scores of anxiety, phobia and paranoid ideation were higher In patients with pain, the score of somatization was higher And in case of weight loss, the score of somatization was higher. The higher score of depression, anxiety and hostility were significantly associated with lower self-esteem. And higher score of somatization, depression, anxiety and hostility were significantly associated with lower quality of life. Conclusion: Understanding and management of psychological symptoms, such as somatization, depression, anxiety, and hostility, and pain control are necessary to improve quality of life in cancer patients on radiation therapy.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.124-143
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• 2000

Objectives：The primary purpose of this study is to understand the psychopathology of the victims of school violence in terms of early psychosis. By doing this, the early detection of psychosis among the victims is possible, and early detection may lead to early intervention. Methods：Two-thousand and nine-hundred seventy two students from 16 middle schools in Seoul were asked to fill out questionnaire comprised of popularity and intellectual and school status of Piers-Harris Children's Self Concept Inventory, Symptom Check List-90-Revised, and Ostracism Scale. The subjects whose scores upon Ostracism Scale were higher than average by two standard deviation were labeled as ‘Repelled and Isolated group', and subjects whose scores on popularity were significantly lower than average and whose scores on psychoticism of SCL-90-R were higher than average were defined as 'tentative early psychosis group'. Odds ratios were calculated from the numbers of subjects with and without high psychoticism scores and high ostracism scores. On the subjects of 'tentative early psychotic group', we examined every clinical characteristic and conducted correlation analysis and regression analysis in order to find out the risk factors and to construct theoretical model that explains the psychoticism scores. Results：The results were as follows：1) Total 157(5.3%) subjects were rated significantly higher on ostracism scale, and among them, 47 subjects(29.9%) were rated significantly higher than average on psychoticism scale, while only 50 subjects among 2,135 students who were rated within normal range showed significantly higher score on psychoticism scale. Odds ratio for psychotic group of isolated group were 17.82 and it was statistically significant. 2) Forty-seven subjects(31 boys, 16 girls) who were rated as they were unpopular and rejected from peers had significantly higher psychoticism scores. They were not significantly different from simply high psychoticism subjects in anxiety, social anhedonia scale, magical thinking, obsessivecompulsive symptoms, phobic anxiety, psychoticism, somatization, but showed higher ostracism scores and paranoid tendencies. Among school violence victims, who rated themselves unpopular and showed higher psychoticism scores, the psychoticism scores were mainly explained by anxiety, depression, hostility, interpersonal sensitivity, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, paranoid tendency, somatization scales($r^2=0.93$). Conclusion：Thus, it can be concluded that the subjects with higher ostracism score have the substantially high risk for psychosis development. By these results, we propose that school violence victims with anxiety, depression, hostility, interpersonal sensitivity, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, paranoid tendency, somatization should be tested individually considering school adjustment, attentional deficit, concept formation problems.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.196-202
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• 2022

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to quantitatively assess the degree of Graves' Disease affecting mental health through the results of multiphasic military personality inventory (MPI) in 19-year-old men. Methods : We collected and analyzed the results of the MPI for 592 healthy subjects and 148 Graves' disease patients among the 19-year-old men who visited the Military Manpower Administration from February 2008 to January 2010. Results : Among demographic characteristics, both Graves' disease and control group are 19-year-old men. Educational level, socioeconomic status, parental relationship, and BMI were not statistically different between the two groups (χ²=0.089, p=0.766; χ²=5.090, p=0.278; χ²=5.988, p=0.112 ; t=-0.635, p=0.526). In the MPI, among validity scales, the score of the faking-good subscale was significantly lower in the Graves' group (t=3.507, p<0.001), but in the faking-bad and infrequency subscales scores were not significantly different between two groups (t=-1.700, p=0.090; t=-0.519, p=0.604). Among the neurosis scale, anxiety, depression, somatization, and personality disorder subscale scores were all significantly higher in Graves' disease group (t=-3.323, p<0.001; t=-4.210, p<0.001; t=-6.202, p<0.001; t=-2.872, p<0.01). Among the psychopath scale, each score of schizophrenia and paranoia subscales were not statistically different between the two groups (t=-0.158, p=0.874; t=-0.846, p=0.398). Conclusions : According to MPI result, we can confirm that Graves' disease patients in 19-year-old-men may appear features such as anxiety, depression, somatization and personality tendency (introversion or impulsivity) than the control group.