• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.4157-4164
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• 2014

Aim: This study examined the correlation study of spiritual well-being, self-control, organizational commitment for the prevention of suicidal attempts by Korean soldiers. Methods: This study was non-experimental survey research design through a questionnaire containing 3 categories, spiritual well-being, self-control, organizational commitment with 599 subjects in the military in Korea. The data collected from the 1st to 28th of December, 2013, analyzed t-test, ANOVA and Pearson's correlation coefficient using the SPSS 18.0 program. Results: Spiritual well-being and self-control have a positive correlation with organizational commitment on object. Conclusion: To increase the organizational commitment of soldiers in the military, the importance of the spiritual well-being should be recognized as a health problem. In addition, it is also important to develop an educational program for achieving spiritual well-being, self-control on soldiers. This should make a healthier life for soldiers and contribute to society.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.221-232
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to identify factors that influence school adjustment in male high school students. The participants were 569 male high school students (1th and 2nd grade) in A city. We analyzed quality of life, family strength, self-resilience, and school adjustment of subjects. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple regression with the SAS program. The result of this study was that school adjustment was significantly different by school achievement, financial abilities, job of father, scholarship of mother, smoking and drinking alcohol, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. The school achievement, suicidal ideation, and other quality of life, family strength, self-residence explained 61.4% of school adjustment. Based on the results, if we develop the program which focusing on quality of life, family strength, self-resilience, we could make a meaningful improvement of school adjustment of high school student.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.28-35
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• 2013

Objectives : The aim of this study was to examine attitudes of middle-school students toward happiness, suicide, and factors associated with suicide. Methods : A self-administered questionnaire was used in a cluster sample of 1,319 middle-school students (male 793, female 526). Data were obtained on a wide range of constructs regarding their attitude towards happiness, suicidal ideation and attempts, and factors associated with suicide. Results : Middle-school students choose 'love within family' as most important factor for their happiness. Subjective mental health status was mostly associated with happiness. Subjects in lower socioeconomic status tended to respond their mental health status was not good and have more suicidal idea. 48.7% of subjects had permissive attitudes toward suicide, especially, girls. However, 65.0% responded that suicide was preventable problem. Compared to older people, middle-school students perceived that environmental factors were more important than innate and personal factors for suicide. Conclusion : Results of the study indicate that middle-school students have permissive attitudes toward suicide, but positive attitudes for the prevention of suicide. This suggest that education in these age group could be effective for the prevention of suicide. Also, approaches to suicide prevention programs should be developed based on the family intervention. Especially, we should care about girls and adolescents in lower socioeconomic status.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.250-255
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• 2020

Background Rosenthal et al. classified female, habitual, non-suicidal wrist cutters as a group and introduced the concept of wrist-cutting syndrome. We investigated the characteristics of wrist-cutting patients at our institution in comparison with results reported previously. Methods We conducted a retrospective study involving 115 patients who had cut their wrists and been examined at the emergency department of a single hospital in Seoul, Korea, between March 2014 and August 2018. Results There were more women (73 patients; 63.5%) than men (42 patients; 36.5%), and the women (mean age, 34.42 years) were significantly younger than the men (mean age, 50.07 years). The patients who had cut their wrists repeatedly were mainly women (22 of 26 patients; 84.6%); however, men caused more severe damage than women. Substance use before a suicide attempt did not significantly increase the severity of wrist cutting. Our institution planned and implemented a suicide prevention intervention program to improve the continuity of outpatient care. The number of patients who continued psychiatric treatment increased significantly after program completion. Conclusions We confirmed that most patients were young women who were not suicidal in the true sense because their wounds were not severe. Our study showed a protective role of the barrier tendons (flexor carpi radialis, palmaris longus, flexor carpi ulnaris), and we suggest careful repair of the barrier tendons to protect neurovascular structures against subsequent cutting events. We found that it was possible to improve the continuity of patient counseling by managing patients through a psychiatric treatment program.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.41-49
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• 2012

Introduction : Suicide in Korea has increased to 31.2 persons per 100,000 population, the world's highest level. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the world, but in Korea, it is 4th leading cause of death. Therefore suicide is a serious problem in Korea. Many suicide prevention strategies have been proposed. Despite efforts to prevent suicides in Korea, a steady increases in the number of suicides has been brought into question the effectiveness of suicide prevention activities in Korea. Methods : Strategy of restricting suicide methods in many countries was reviewed. Systematic approach to restrict suicidal methods in Korea is proposed. Results : Restricting suicide methods is one of the effective suicide prevention strategies employed in the UK and other countries. Since many suicides occur impulsively, suicide attempt lethality is an important factor in determining the rate of deaths in suicidal attempts. Physical restriction of suicide methods is important in preventing suicide, but restriction of cognitive access to information about suicide and suicide method is more important in preventing suicide. In particular hanging is one of the most common methods of suicides in Korea, it is crucial to develop strategies to prevent suicide by hanging cognitively. Also information about suicide should be properly controlled. To do this, suicide news reporting guidelines should be observed, and website makers whose websites provoke thoughts about suicide should be more strictly sanctioned. Conclusion : Restricting suicide methods along with other suicide prevention plans may be the most effective way to prevent suicide in Korea.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.94-101
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• 2019

Purpose: This study examined the clinical characteristics of severe elderly poisoning patients to determine the factors that can prevent them. Methods: Data were collected from patients over 65 years of age presenting to the emergency center with poisoning from 2013 to 2018. Their medical records were analyzed retrospectively, and patients with a poisoning severity score of three or more were defined as the severe poisoning group. The risk factors were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analysis. Results: This study analyzed 292 patients, of whom 37 (12.7%) belonged to the severe poisoning group. The severe poisoning group showed a significantly higher association with pesticide poisoning and intentional suicide attempts. Loneliness and somatization were the cause of the suicidal ideas. No significant differences in age, sex, drinking, ingestion time, poisonous materials other than pesticides, and neuropsychological consultation were observed between the two groups. Conclusion: The severe elderly poisoning patients were the result of intentional poisoning for suicide. Loneliness and somatization were the most influential causes of suicidal poisoning. Therefore, psychiatric screening and frequent medical treatment for elderly people are required to prevent severe poisoning in elderly patients.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.475-481
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• 2020

This study investigated the mental health factors of juveniles according to socio-demographic characteristics and mental health related characteristics using the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey 2019 Data. The study subjects were total 57,303 students (middle school: 29,384, high school: 27,919). The data was analyzed with descriptive statistics, frequency analysis, χ²-tests and regression analysis using SPSS ver. 18.0. The findings revealed that socio-demographic characteristics (gender, residential area, residential type, economic status, school achievement) and mental health related characteristics (subjective assessment, stress cognition, overcoming fatigue through sleeping, experiencing sadness and despair, suicidal ideation, suicidal planning, suicidal attempts, experience of hospital care for violence, experience of smoking, drinking, sexual relations and/or habitual drug use, internet use except for study) were factors that influenced factors related to the mental health of juveniles (p<0.05). The mental health of juveniles was closely related with health behaviors. This study could be used as a tool for the development and establishment of juveniles' health promotion and prevention strategies in the future.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.37-46
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• 2016

Purpose: This study was designed to determine the factors hindering psychiatric intervention for suicide attempters in the emergency room (ER). Methods: Participants were 299 patients aged 18 years or older admitted to the ER for suicidal drug overdose between July 2012 and June 2014. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether they had received psychiatric treatment in the ER. Medical histories and follow-up treatments were determined by examining patients' medical records and through phone surveys, and were then compared using ${\chi}^2$-test and Fisher's exact test. In addition, the rate of satisfaction of the treatment group and the reasons for their dissatisfaction were also determined. Results: The treatment and non-treatment groups comprised 135 (45%) and 164 patients (55%), respectively. Factors influencing participation in psychiatric intervention were previous history of suicide attempts (p=0.004), history of psychiatric disorder (p<0.001), time of day (p=0.039), and day of the week (p=0.040) of arrival in the ER. Whether or not the patient received follow-up psychiatric treatment was not significantly relevant (p=0.300). Of the 82 patients who participated in the treatment satisfaction survey, 50.2% reported being unsatisfied, mainly because of unfriendly medical personnel (36.6%), discomfort regarding other people's perceptions (24.4%), and cursory care (14.6%). Conclusion: To raise the participation rate of psychiatric consult, cooperation with psychiatry at night and on weekends is required, and incorporation of patients without previous history of suicidal attempt or other psychiatric disorder is important. Resolution of complaints toward psychiatric consult in suicide attempt survivors is also required.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.100-106
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• 2015

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to find out the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of elderly suicide attempters visiting emergency room, compared to non-elderly adult suicide attempters. Methods : We enrolled suicidal attempters who were treated in the emergency room of the Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital between June 2013 and July 2015. We conducted a retrospective chart review of 336 suicidal attempters, and compared sociodemographic and clinical characteristics between elderly and non-elderly adult suicide attempters. Results : During the study period, 336 patients visited the emergency room of the medical center after suicide attempts. Among these, there were 71 elderly(21.2%) and 265 non-elderly adult(79.8%) suicide attempters. The suicidal methods among elderly were poisoning(73.3%), hanging(19.7%), cutting(5.6%), and jumping(1.4%). Those in non-elderly were poisoning(73.2%), cutting(17.0%), hanging(6.8%), and jumping(3.0%). The elderly suicide attempters had the tendency to choose more dangerous methods and showed higher lethality compared to adult suicide attempters(20.6% vs. 1.9%, ${\chi}^2=34.565$, p<0.05). On the other hand, premorbid psychiatric disorders had been more commonly diagnosed in non-elderly adults than elderly suicide attempters(49.8% vs. 26.8%, ${\chi}^2=12.024$, p<0.05). Conclusions : The results provide evidence of different sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of elderly suicide attempters compared to non-elderly ones visiting the emergency room. Through this study, it can be seen that the suicide attempt in the elderly tends to be severer than in the non-elderly, but only a small portion of them seek for help from psychiatric intervention. Further study is required to provide effective suicide prevention programs for elderly population.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.69-80
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• 2023

Purpose: Suicide ranks among the top causes of death among youth in South Korea. This study aimed to identify the characteristics of suicidal individuals treated at emergency departments between 2011 and 2020. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted using data from January 2011 to December 2020 in the Injury Surveillance Cohort, a prospective registry. Patients' sex, age, mortality, methods of self-harm, and previous suicide attempts were analyzed. The methods of self-harm were categorized into falls, asphyxiation, blunt injuries, penetrating injuries, poisoning, and others. Sub-groups with and without poisoning were compared. Results: The proportion of self-harm/suicide attempts increased from 2.3% (2011) to 5.0% (2020). The mortality rate decreased from 10.8% (2011) to 6.3% (2020). Poisoning was the most common method (61.7%). Mortality rates ranged from 42.0% for asphyxiation to 0.2% for blunt injuries. Individuals in their 20s showed a marked increase in suicide/self-harm attempts, especially in the last three years. A large proportion of decedents in their 70s or older (52.6%) used poisoning as a method of suicide. The percentage of individuals with two or more previous attempts rose from 7.1% (2011) to 19.7% (2020). The death rates by poisoning decreased from 7.7% (2011) to 2.5% (2020). Conclusion: Our findings underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions and suicide prevention policies. Managing and reducing suicide and self-harm in emergency settings will require a focus on poisoning, the 10-29 age group, and the elderly. This paper will be valuable for future policies aiming to reduce the societal burden of suicide and self-harm.