• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.94-105
• /
• 2021

Background: Many patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) have been known to be at risk of suicide, due to severe pain and its comorbid conditions. The risk of suicide may be associated with affective instability, which is an indicator of emotional dysregulation. Particularly, unstable shifts in negative emotions are difficult to cope with, which may result in individuals feeling uncontrollable, hopeless, and entrapped. This study aimed to examine the role of affective instability in the relationship between pain intensity and suicide risk (suicidal ideation and impulsivity) in patients with CRPS, by employing a daily diary. Methods: Twenty-three patients registered at the CRPS Association in Korea were asked to complete a day-to-day routine for 15 days, followed by a diary composed of pain intensity, suicidal ideation, impulsivity, and positive and negative affects. Results: Results showed that the interactions between negative affective instability and daily pain intensity were statistically significant on daily suicidal ideation (coefficient = 0.41, t (21) = 2.56, P < 0.050) and daily impulsiveness (coefficient = 1.20, t (19) = 3.35, P < 0.010). However, those between positive affective instability and daily pain intensity were not. Conclusions: This study is the first attempt to investigate the role of affective instability on the relationship between daily pain intensity and daily suicide risk in patients with CRPS. Our findings suggest that health professionals pay considerable attention to the instability of negative affects when assessing and managing patients with CRPS at risk of suicide.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.116-129
• /
• 2013

Objectives: This study was performed to identify the associations of social capital with suicidal thoughts and attempts in Korean communities with poor health. Methods: We used the data from community health interviews conducted at 40 administrative sections (dong, eup, or myeon) with high mortality from August to October in 2010, 2011, and 2012 as part of the Health Plus Happiness Plus Projects in Gyeongsangnam-do Province. The 8,800 study subjects composed of 220 adults systematically sampled from each administrative section were asked if they had thought about suicide or had attempted suicide within 1 year. The social participation was measured with 'participation in formal and/or informal group' and trust using responses to three questions about trust of others. Results: The prevalence of suicidal ideation and attempt within 1 year were 10.4% and 0.8%, respectively. The logistic regression analysis revealed that those who participated in only informal groups, or had highest trust level reported less suicidal ideation, or attempt after adjusting for socio-demographic factors (sex, age, marital status, occupation, and food affordability), self-rated health, and health behaviors (smoking, alcohol drinking, and exercise). Conclusions: This study suggested social capital such as social participation and trust was associated with less suicide ideation and attempt. More studies are warranted for the association of social capital with suicidal behavior.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.1-23
• /
• 2023

The purpose of this study was to validate the Suicidal Ideation Attributes Scale(SIDAS) which can measure the severity of suicidal ideation in a sample of 399 Korean adults. For this purpose, an online survey was conducted for two weeks from July 2020 to August 2020. First, there were differences in SIDAS scores among groups divided by gender, residence status, depression and anxiety symptoms, suicidal ideation, suicidal plan, suicidal preparation, and suicidal attempt. Second, correlations between SIDAS, C-SSRS suicidal ideation intensity question(3 items), and the Rosenberg Self-efficacy (RSE) were examined to confirm the validity of SIDAS. As a result, correlations between the SIDAS and suicidal ideation intesity items of C-SSRS were significant in all items, while correlations between the SIDAS and RSE items were negative or insignificant. Third, as a result of the confirmatory factor analysis of SIDAS on all respondents and respondents with suicidal ideation, a single factor structure was appropriate for both groups. Internal consistency of SIDAS was also good. Lastly, as a result of identifying the variables affecting the suicidal plan over the past year, controllability and age were identified as significant predictive variables. SIDAS which was designed to be administered through web, can be appropriately used in Korea. It was confirmed that SIDAS is a reliable and valid suicidal ideation scale which is applicable to adults in Korea.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.112-119
• /
• 2020

Suicide has been a long-standing problem for global public health, along with almost 800,000 deaths from suicide worldwide in 2016, accounting for 1.4% of all deaths. South Korea was ranked first in suicide mortality in 2018 among countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. This study aimed to suggest up-to-date information about suicide-related indicators such as the rate of suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and suicide death, and its trends by applying sampling weight to make it nationally representative. In this study, we used the data sources: Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination (KNHANES, '07-13, '15-18), Korean Community Health Survey (KCHS, '08-09, '13, '17), Korean Wealth Panel Study (KOWEPS, '12-18), Korea Health Panel Survey (KHP, '10-13), and Statistics Korea (1983-2017). The rate of suicidal ideation as recent year was 4.73% (KNHANES, '17), 6.96% (KCHS, '17), 2.29% (KOWEPS, '18), and 5.39% (KHP, '13). That of suicide attempt as recent year was 0.51% (KNHANES, '18), 0.32% (KCHS, '17), and 0.15% (KOWEPS, '18). Annual percentage change (APC) of suicidal ideation was -15.4% (KNHANES, '07-13, '15, '17), -2.5% (KCHS, '08-09, '13, '17), -10.8% (KOWEPS, '12-18), and -10.9% (KHP, '10-13). APC of suicide attempt was -4.4% (KNHANES, '07-13, '15-18), -4.4% (KCHS, '08-09, '13, '17), and -13.6% (KOWEPS, '12-18). APC of death by intentional self-harm was -1.25% (Statistics Korea, '07-18). All suicide-related indicators were found to be decreasing in the overall from 2009. Individuals with lower income level were more likely to experience suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Even though suicide rate had been continuously decreasing from its highest point in 2011 (suicide rate: 31.7 per 100,000 population) to 2017 (suicide rate: 24.3 per 100,000 population), it increased again in 2018 (suicide rate: 26.6 per 100,000 population). This information would be grounded on policy implementation for suicide prevention, thus continuous data observation is necessary.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.185-192
• /
• 2020

Objectives: Our study aimed to analyze the demographic and clinical characteristics of children and adolescents during their first visit to psychiatric outpatient departments for the management of suicidal ideation and behavior, and to compare the changes before and in 2012 or later. Methods: This multicenter study was conducted at five university hospitals in a metropolitan area in South Korea. Medical records of patients aged 6-18 years were retrospectively reviewed from January 2009 to December 2016. Patients were analyzed by classifying them into suicidal and non-suicidal groups based on their visit to the hospital for management of suicidal ideation or suicide attempt and other mental problems, respectively. Results: There were differences in the year of visit, diagnosis, education level, and referral sources between patients in the suicidal and non-suicidal groups. Multiple regression analysis was conducted based on the sex, education level, referral by school, and diagnosis of depression in patients in the suicidal group, which revealed significant association. Conclusion: Suicide-related problems were significantly associated with the sex, education level, referral by school, and a diagnosis of depression in the patients. A well-connected referral system would be necessary for professional mental health management of high-risk children and adolescents.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.14 no.11
• /
• pp.308-317
• /
• 2014

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors affecting suicidal ideation in psychiatric inpatients. A total of 186 psychiatric inpatients participated in the study. Data were analyzed by frequencies, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient, and hierarchical multiple regression with SPSS WIN 18.0. Suicidal ideation showed significant differences according to marital status, diagnosis, and previous suicide attempt history. There were significant correlations among depression, self-esteem, spirituality and suicidal ideation. Depression and spirituality were identified as predictors affecting suicidal ideation. The regression model explained 52.4% of suicidal ideation. As a result, intervention program for decreasing depression and improving spirituality is essential to decrease suicidal ideation in psychiatric inpatients.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
• /
• v.31 no.5
• /
• pp.147-158
• /
• 2014

Objectives: This study aims to examine the association of depression, suicidal behaviors with smartphone use behaviors among Korean adolescents. Methods: We analyzed data from 'Youth Health and Life Skills Survey' in 2013. The survey was based on self-reported questionnaires distributed to 915 grade 7th and 8th students at four middle schools in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, Korea in 2013 to evaluate the effects of 'Youth Health and Life Skills' program. Depression and suicidal behaviors were measured in terms of the experience rate, and smartphone use behaviors were measured with average hours of smartphone use a day and overindulged behaviors in smartphone use by using 5-point Likert scales. We examined the association of depression and suicidal behaviors with smartphone use behaviors by using t-test and regression analyses. Results: 21.5% of respondents have ever felt depressed or hopeless to lose interest in school life almost everyday for 2 weeks or longer in the past year. The experience rate of suicidal ideation, suicide plan, and suicidal attempt were 21.1%, 6.1%, and 5.7%, respectively. The mean of average hours of smartphone use a day was 3.9 hours, and the mean score of overindulged behaviors in smartphone use was 2.99. The students who have experienced depression and suicidal behaviors were more likely to have more smartphone using time and higher scores of overindulged behaviors in smartphne use than those who have not. Conclusion: We concluded that for preventing addictive or problematic smartphone use behaviors among adolescents we should consider and develop more positive strategies for the moderate use of smartphone than regulatory measures, which include the implementation of skill-based health education program including life skills at schools and the development of smartphone applications useful for resolving mental stress and promoting mental health.

• Anxiety and mood
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.76-82
• /
• 2020

Objective : Previous studies have shown that depression, anxiety and embitterment are highly related to suicide. This study aims to investigate the mediating effect of embitterment between depression, anxiety and suicide. Methods : A total of 174 participants with depressive and anxiety disorders were evaluated with STAI-S, STAI-T, PHQ-9, PTED scale, SSI and suicide attempt history. A mediation analysis using bootstrapping was utilized in order to estimate the indirect effects of depression and anxiety on suicide through embitterment. Results : Embitterment significantly mediated the relationship between depression and suicidal ideation [b=0.291, 95% CI(0.18, 0.40)], and also it mediated the relationship between depression and suicide attempt [b=0.066, 95% CI(0.02, 0.16)]. Although a direct effect of anxiety on suicide attempt was not significant, but embitterment significantly mediated the relationship between anxiety and suicide attempt Conclusion : This suggests that embitterment may be a significant important factor to consider in the relationship between depression, anxiety and suicide. Understanding the mediating role of embitterment on suicide may helpful to prevent suicide.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.65-69
• /
• 2010

Gene-environment interactions are important in pathogenesis of suicide or suicidal behavior. Twin and adoption studies and family studies show that genetic factors play a critical role in suicide or suicidal behavior. Given the strong association between serotonergic neurotransmission and suicide, recent molecular genetic studies have focused on polymorphisms of serotonin genes, especially on serotonin transporter and tryptophan hydroxylase genes. Some studies have revealed a significant interaction between s allele of the serotonin transporter gene and the risk of suicide attempt associated with childhood trauma. In addition, the polymorphism of brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene also may influence the effect of childhood trauma in relation to the risk of attempting suicide. Future studies should explore genetic and environmental factors in suicide or suicidal behavior and examine for gene and environment interaction.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.11-22
• /
• 1975

Suicides have been considered to be one of the grave problems of modern societies. According to recent police statistics of Republic of Korea, 28.6 suicides in every 100, 000 were reported. Psychiatric Patients are believed to be predisposed to suicidal tendencies. This study was performed to investigate the characteristics of suicidal attempts and to analyse the environmental factors involved in the suicidal accidents of patients admitted to psychiatric hospitals. Records of 66 suicidal accidents from three psychiatric hospitals during the period of January 1971 through June 1971 were sampled. Data were analysed by percentile score. Results are as follows; 1. The age group of 21~30yrs. was revealed to be the highest in frequency of suicidal attempts (50.0%) Among the unsuccessful suicides; the age group of 31~40yrs. in men and the age group of 21~30 yrs. in women revealed to be the highest in frequency-Among the unsuccessful suicides; the age group of 21-30 yrs. in both sex revealed to be the highest in frequency. 2. Suicidal accidents occurred more frequently to the unmarried(63.6%)- Among the successful suicides; higher frequency was shown to unmarried in men and the frequency is contrasted in women. Among the unsuccessful; the unmarried in both sex were revealed to be highest in frequency. 3. Schizophrenia was revealed the highest of suicidal attempts in frequency (81.8%). 4, Suicides were most frequently attempted in the spring(46, 9%). Among the successful suicides; highest frequencies were shown in men in tile winter and in women in the summer season. Among the unsuccessful suicides :highest frequencies were shown in men in the winter and in women in the spring. 5. Suicidal attempts were most frequently occurred in hospital wards (40.9%), In women, unsuccessful attempts were found to be the highest on authorized leave at their homes. 6. The hanging was revealed to be the most frequently adopted methods for suicidal attempts (31.8%). Among the successful suicides; hanging was the most frequent method adopted in men white in women the drug over-dose, Among the unsuccessful suicides ; stabbing by sharp devices while in women drug-overdosage was adopted as well 7. The most frequently adopted instrument of different suicidal attempts were: house-hold wrapper (26.3%) in cases of hanging, knives (31.8%) in cases of stabbing, and drugs. 8. The suicidal attempts have occurred most frequently at dawn through early morning (2-6A. M.) (34.8%). Among the successful suicides i most frequent time of occurrence on week-days were revealed to be dawn, while on holidays the occurrence were in the evening as well Among the unsuccessful; the most frequent time of occurrence was the day hours while on holidays at dawn. 9. Suicidal attempts within the hospital ward were first noticed by nurses most frequently (42.2%). 10. Manifestations such as restlessness, depression, self-depreciation were revealed to be the most frequent pre-suicidal attempt behavior characteristics. 11. Among the successful suicides ; manifestations of physical damage were found on the neck while among unsuccessful attempts, the damages were found on exterminates.