• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.40-53
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• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop and compare the prediction model for suicide attempts by Korean adolescents using logistic regression and decision tree analysis. Methods: This study utilized secondary data drawn from the 2019 Youth Health Risk Behavior web-based survey. A total of 20 items were selected as the explanatory variables (5 of sociodemographic characteristics, 10 of health-related behaviors, and 5 of psychosocial characteristics). For data analysis, descriptive statistics and logistic regression with complex samples and decision tree analysis were performed using IBM SPSS ver. 25.0 and Stata ver. 16.0. Results: A total of 1,731 participants (3.0%) out of 57,303 responded that they had attempted suicide. The most significant predictors of suicide attempts as determined using the logistic regression model were experience of sadness and hopelessness, substance abuse, and violent victimization. Girls who have experience of sadness and hopelessness, and experience of substance abuse have been identified as the most vulnerable group in suicide attempts in the decision tree model. Conclusion: Experiences of sadness and hopelessness, experiences of substance abuse, and experiences of violent victimization are the common major predictors of suicide attempts in both logistic regression and decision tree models, and the predict rates of both models were similar. We suggest to provide programs considering combination of high-risk predictors for adolescents to prevent suicide attempt.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.37-50
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• 2024

Korea has the highest suicide rate among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, with increasing rates observed among children and adolescents with low levels of life satisfaction. Patients in these age groups exhibit particularly turbulent and impulsive behaviors, which make suicide highly contagious and fatal. The loss of meaningful work or activities increases the risk of suicide, especially in young people. Following revisions to the Mental Health Welfare Act (2016), which has included occupational therapists among mental health professionals, a multidisciplinary approach including occupational therapy has been emphasized upon in mental health services. Screening tools for preventing suicide in children and adolescents include the Suicidal Ideation Scale, Beck's Suicidal Ideation Scale, Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale, Reasons for Living Scale for Adolescents, and the Student Emotional and Behavioral Characteristics Test. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, which is an occupational therapy evaluation tool, is also used. Various suicide prevention programs have been proposed across academic disciplines; however, due to the urgent nature of high-risk groups, there is a need for timely services. Currently, most existing programs focus primarily on the cognitive-behavioral aspects. In this study, we aimed to introduce diverse suicide prevention programs for mental health professionals working with high-risk children and adolescents in order to equip them with the relevant information and help apply their learnings effectively in different situations.

• The Critical Review of Religion and Culture
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• no.31
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• pp.255-287
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• 2017

This paper analyzes the religious circuit of suicidal concept based on verbal expression and ritual acts, which are found in the suicide discourse of Korean Catholic Church and Protestant Church. In the relationship of suicide and religion, it is easily overlooked the religious circuit and its construction that forms the concept of suicide among the religious laymen. It is assumed that the belief system of traditional religions prohibits suicide and the laymen accordingly construct a perception or concept of suicide along with this belief system. Various studies on this subject have proved it. However, in order to understand the religious way of constructing the concept of suicide on a personal level, it is necessary to pay attention to the religious environment in which the concepts and emotions of suicide circulate. The laymen do not passively and perfectly accept the finely established suicide concept provided by the doctrine or the theology. Rather, the laymen tend to collect the pieces of concept over the suicide that are drifting in the religious environment of his/her daily routine life and to make an concept of suicide in an incomplete form. We can find the unstable and imperfect traits of such a suicide concept through the experience of suicide survivors who have a religious background. For the suicide survivors with religious beliefs, they resist the formal doctrinal and theological provisions to suicide, or try to understand the notion of suicide in their own contexts. In terms of linguistic expressions and ritual acts relating to suicide, the attentions are differently directed in the public and the private domain among the religious groups. Considering on the high rates of suicide in Korean society, the Korean Catholic Churches are increasingly tolerant over the suicide and accept it in the public sphere. It is unlikely when comparing to the negative attitudes of the suicide in the past. However, such tolerance does not go beyond the doctrinal and ethical judgment that defines suicide as a serious sin. The once-committed lay believer's speech and gestures usually contain the various emotions, such as sadness, grief, anxiety, regretfulness, eagerness, and pain in the private spheres. The language and gestures with these emotions have been activated in the religious circuits of suicide, being extended to the religious apparatus for the person who died of suicide. In case of Protestantism, the institutional organizations, such as the particular denominations and the individual-churchism of the Korean Protestant Churches, and their own interpretations of the Bible have in the private sphere strongly effected on the linguistic expressions and the rituals related to the suicide. The religious-ethical judgment of the suicide is varied how the suicide is interpreted by the theologians and the pastors. And the ritual acts for healing the complex feelings and the psychological wounds of the suicide survivors are not actively explored and adopted yet. It makes harder to approach and heal the protestant followers since they emphasize the innermost belief and the salvation assurance faith.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.173-180
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• 2016

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of high school students' mental health on their academic achievement and school dropout rate by using longitudinal data. Methods: For this study, 153 high schools were randomly sampled on a nationwide scale. The descriptive data was collected from a school information internet site which is organized by the Korean Ministry of Education. We used the schools' mean scores on the Adolescent Mental Health Problem-Behavior Questionnaire-II (AMPQ-II) scale which was used for estimating students' mental health in the 2013 school-based mental health screening test. The data analysis was conducted by using hierarchical regression analysis. Results: The results of this study showed that the AMPQ-II scale's mean scores have significant effects on the following year's academic achievement and annual dropout rates. Especially, the AMPQ-II scale's mean scores tend to increase the school dropout rate in vocational schools. Conclusion: The finding of this study is that Korean high school students' mental health states significantly influence their academic achievement and school dropout rate.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.64 no.4
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• pp.5-29
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• 2012

This study aimed to express the experiences of the parents who lost their children by suicides in their own words from their own perspectives by van Manen(2000)'s hermeneutic phenomenological approach. The analysis of the words expressed by the research participants led to the following five fundamental themes. These are 'broken heart, sinner's grief, land of exile and time stood still, pains to be comforted, and days ahead with half-stitched wounds'. Several distinctions are found due to cultural differences from Korean parents. First, whereas the Western parents see the cause of their child's suicide as his/her independent issue, the Korean parents blame themselves entirely. This may have stemmed from the overly inter-dependency between the parents and the child. Second, whereas the Western perspective views the suicide as a type of illness from the individual's depression. The Korean perspective views the suicide as a shame that disgraces the parents or the family. This negative social perspective intensifies the self-blame and social isolation. Third, the Westerners recognize the prevention and responsibility of suicide resting with the society and government, but the Korean society recognize suicide as personal or family matter. Based on the finding above, I proposed a number of practical measures to aid the surviving parents who belong to a group with extremely high suicidal rates.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.31-54
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• 2011

The main purposes of this study are to describe regional differentials of the rate and to explore factors impacting on the regional differentials among the elderly's suicide rate in the Republic of Korea. Suicide data among 16 provinces from 2000 to 2008 were used for the statistical analyses. Six independent variables, such as crude divorce rate, GRDP per capita, welfare budget proportion, number of leisure facilities, number of medical and housing welfare facilities, and number of sports facilities are introduced for the multiple regression analyses. Elderly suicide rate, female elderly's suicide rate, and male elderly's suicide rate are used for the dependent variables. The findings of this study are as follows: Elderly's suicide rate has been increased constantly since 2000 and regional differentials of the elderly's suicide have been existed over time. According to the multiple regressions analyses, number of sports facilities(${\beta}$=-521), welfare budget proportion, and number of leisure facilities(${\beta}$=-219) have shown statistically significant negative relationships with the elderly's suicide rate. On the other hand, number of medical facilities(${\beta}$=0.550), crude divorce rate(${\beta}$=0336) have shown statistically significant positive relationships with the elderly's suicide rate in the Republic of Korea. Finally, some policy implications for alleviating the elderly's suicide rate are introduced and discussed.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.117-125
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• 2022

Background: External-cause mortality is an important public health issue worldwide. Considering its significance to workers' health and inequalities across industries, we aimed to describe the state of external-cause mortality and investigate its difference by industry in Republic of Korea based on data for 2018. Methods: Data obtained from the Statistics Korea and Korean Employment Information System were used. External causes of death were divided into three categories (suicide, transport accident, and others), and death occurred during employment period or within 90 days after unemployment was regarded as workers' death. We calculated age- and sex-standardized mortalities per 100,000, standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) compared to the general population and total workers, and mortality rate ratios (RRs) across industries using information and communication as a reference. Correlation analyses between income, education, and mortality were conducted. Results: Age- and sex-standardized external-cause mortality per 100,000 in all workers was 29.4 (suicide: 16.2, transport accident: 6.6, others: 6.6). Compared to the general population, all external-cause and suicide SMRs were significantly lower; however, there was no significant difference in transport accidents. When compared to total workers, wholesale, transportation, and business facilities management showed higher SMR for suicide, and agriculture, forestry, and fishing, mining and quarrying, construction, transportation and storage, and public administration and defense showed higher SMR for transport accidents. A moderate to strong negative correlation was observed between education level and mortality (both age- and sex-standardized mortality rates and SMR compared to the general population). Conclusion: Inequalities in external-cause mortalities from suicide, transport accidents, and other causes were found. For reducing the differences, improved policies are needed for industries with higher mortalities.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.591-598
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• 2019

The statistics of committing suicide in S. Korea is ranked in top with serious attempts of falling among OECD countries since 2003. The rates is slightly dropped by 5 percent point, nevertheless the falling is still high for the age of over 10 years old and this matter must be solved. Most of the case of suicides are the falling based on a trend view of falling which is serious matter and cannot be solved easily for both domestic and foreign countries. For example, the steel net of falling prevent was installed in the Golden Gate Bridge costed by 200 million-dollar. In New Zealand, the steel net of falling prevention had been removed and re-installed beccause of the high suicide rates. Canada and Australia also surrounded the bridge with steel fences to prevent suicide without consideration of the beauty of bridge. Therefore, this paper suggested a comparison study on both falling prevention systems in all countries and patent technologies. Also, it covers the blocking skills of approach in both security and limited area. This paper suggested the technical Rollinder system equipped with the mechanical apprentice to prevent effectively the falling sucides and wall passing. Before the installation of Rollinder System by 2016, there were 33 person who tried to fall in the river in Machang Bridge. However, the number of the committing suicides were dramatically reduced to zero after the installation of the system.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.167-187
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• 2000

The rates and numbers of elderly suicide in Korea have been increased during 1985-1998. This indicates the seriousness of the problems which the elderly are faced with. So many late-life problems may push older people across the edges. Those in unbearable situations may call out fur helps, they may try to cope with various ways, or they may commit suicides. Because it is widely believed that suicide among the elderly can be understood as a personal solution or alternative to late-life problems in old age, the elderly\`s suicides seem to be an appropriate indicator in estimating seriousness of late-life problems. A comparison of the history of suicide research with other populations shows that the several late-life problems have been found with placing an individual elder at risks for increasing suicidal behaviors Research has identified such problems as financial insecurity, retirement, loss of social roles, physical illness, lack of social supports, and loneliness as the problems that increase the incidence of suicidal behavior. Though it is difficult far us to explain and understand the phenomenon of the elderly\`s suicide because of its complexity, we need to ascertain problems and social conditions behind suicides and also to prepare for some appropriate policy-tasks in light of social welfare for the aged, through examining the phenomenon. For explaining the elderly\`s suicide, the theoretical orientations are based on sociological perspectives in the paper. From the standpoints of social integration theory and exchange theory, this study is to examine the relationship between late-life problems and suicide. These two may have been fruitfully employed in conjunction with each other. Finally, this study would identify urgent late-life problems related with the elderly\`s suicide and suggest the relevant policies for Korean elders. Sometime in the near future, the government should be required to provide social welfare programs for the elderly, particularly for those at risk for increasing suicidal behaviors.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.2636-2643
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• 2011

The aims of this study is to look for lifetime prevalence of suicide and to identify and compare their risk factors of suicidal ideation group and suicidal planning group. For six monthes from September 2008 to March 2009, researchers of Chungnam province studied 1,400 adults living in 7 cities and counties who are more than nineteen years old. Of those surveyed, suicide ideation, suicide plan and suicide attempt rates were 15.9%, 4.3% and 1.8% each. In conclusion, to prevent and manage suicide behavior effectively, we propose that people with more stress, greater depression, old age, lower quality of life and unemployment should be managed primarily.