• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.61-68
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• 2014

Objective: The aim of the present study is to assess the prevalence and related risk factors of suicide ideation among middle and high school students in an urban area. Methods: We surveyed 3,691 middle and high school students (2,159 male, 1,532 female, 11-19 years of age) using a self-report questionnaire that covered basic socio-demographic data, academic achievements, presence of physical or psychiatric illness, sleep duration on weekdays, time spent at private academies on weekdays and weekends, and subjective needs for counseling. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Reynolds' Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire (SIQ) were included in the survey. Results: The prevalence of students with high suicide ideation ($SIQ{\geq}62$) was 4.6%. In a logistic regression model, female sex (p = 0.002), younger age (p < 0.001), poor academic achievement (p = 0.043) and higher score of BDI (p < 0.001) were associated with a higher SIQ score. In addition, younger age (p = 0.045) and a higher BDI score (p < 0.001) were associated with a higher SIQ score adolescents having high suicide ideation ($SIQ{\geq}62$). Conclusion: Related risk factors of suicide ideation in adolescents were female sex, younger age, poor academic achievement, and a depressive mood. It would be especially helpful to pay more attention to younger adolescents and a depressive mood as a high-risk group. The understanding of these factors will be helpful for providing an effective suicide screening and prevention program for adolescents.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.338-344
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• 1993

The purpose of this study was to investigate the trait cortical arousal level, measured by extraversion-introversion, in schizophrenics. Subjects in this study were 231 (chronic schizophrenics=78, acute schizophrenics=62, and normal persons=91). All subjects were asked to respond to extraversion-introversion subtest scale in the korean EPQ(Korean Version Eysenck Personality Questionnaire). Collected data were analyzed by using the t-test and one-way analysis of variance. Results were as follows : 1) Trait cortical arousal level of chronic schizophrenics, which was measured by extraversion-introversion subtest scale in the Korean EPQ, was statistically higher than that of acute schizophrenics and normals. 2) Acute schizophrenics and normals were not significantly different in the trait cortical arousal level. However, the trait cortical arousal level of chronic schizophrenics was higher than that of acute schizophrenics. Therefore, it may state that the trait cortical arousal level of schizophrenics is getting higher when schizophrenic symptoms become more chronic.

• Sim-seong Yeon-gu
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.123-162
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• 2010

The author tried to analyse a Korean fairy tale "the traveller and the fox". The essence of the story is as follows; A traveller who was wandering in mountains found a house with a light. There was a beautiful woman who was very kind to give food and shelter. But she was a fox that tried to kill him with a knife. He asked her to bring a basket of water and he broke the wall with it to run away. The fox chased and he fell down a cliff to ride on the back of a tiger. The tiger ran into a cave and give him to her babies as a prey. He killed them by throwing stones and climbed a tree out of the cave. There came foxes and the tiger and they killed each other. He came back to the village with the fur of the foxes and the tiger. The author tried to understand the contents of the story symbolically and interpret them from the perspective of analytical psychology. On conclusion, the traveller was on the individuation process and experienced the negative anima (the fox) and the negative mother archetype (the tiger) and its negative subsidiaries (the tiger's babies). He tried to be consciously alert and paid continuous attention so that he could get out of the status and get new insight. During this process, it was meaningful that he could actively get an appropriate aid of positive mother archetype and Self symbolized by the water and the tree respectively.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.207-214
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• 1996

The study was designed to find out the effect of exam stress and vitamin B complex on hormones such as plasma ACTH, cortisol and prolactin. 21 medical students completed the whole period of the study. Global assessment of recent stress(GARS) scale and SCL-90-R were used to measure stress perception and psychopathology. Radioimmunoassay was used to assess plasma ACTH, cortisol and prolactin. Plasma ACTH level was significantly higher 2 weeks prior to examination and exam period, respectively, than 4 weeks prior to the exam. However, there were no significant differences in plasma cortisol and prolactin level among the three periods. No significant differences were also found in plasma ACTH, cortisol and prolactin level between vitamin and non-vitamin groups during each period. Scores of stress perception in economic area significantly had a positive correlation with plasma ACTH and prolactin level, respectively, 2 weeks prior to the exam. In psychopathology, scores of hostility subscale significantly had a Positive correlation with plasma ACTH level. There were no significant differences in change of each of the hormones over time as well as between vitamin and non-vitamin groups. In conclusion, it was found that ACTH was more sensitive to exam stress than cortisol or prolactin, and that vitamin B complex had no significant influence on ACTH, cortisol and prolactin level.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.59-68
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• 1994

A comparison was made regarding the degree of alexithymia among patients with psychosomatic disorders, anxiety disorders and depressive disorders. The author examined the degree of alexithymia in three groups : 100 psychosomatic patients(including 47 patients with tension headache), 52 outpatients with anxiety disorden, and 50 outpatients with depressive disorders. Alexithymia was assessed by Alexithymia provoked Response Questionnaires(APRQ) developed as a semi-structured interview form. No significant difference was found in the degree of alexithymia among Patients with Psychosomatic disorders, anxiety disorders, and depressive disorders. On the other hand, patients with tension headache were significantly more alexithymic than patients with anxiety disorders and depressive disorders, respectively. However, there was no significant difference in degree of alexithymia between patients with anxiety disorders and those with depressive disorders. Multiple regression analysis revealed that demographic variables such as set age, education level, and marital status did not make a significant influence on alexithymia scores. These results suggest a greater degree of alexithymia in patients with a specific group of psychosomiatic disorders such as tension headache than in patients with emotional disorders, unlike the previous report that in general, psychosomatic patients are alexithymic. Thus, it is necessary to develop special forms of interview which can induce and encourage expression of emotion as a therapeutic strategy for patients with tension headache.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.34-43
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• 2017

Background: We sought to determine the association between chronic pain and participating in routine health screening in a low socioeconomic-status (SES) rental-flat community in Singapore. In Singapore, ${\geq}85%$ own homes; public rental flats are reserved for those with low-income. Methods: Chronic pain was defined as pain ${\geq}3$ months. From 2009-2014, residents aged 40-60 years in five public rental-flat enclaves were surveyed for chronic pain; participation in health screening was also measured. We compared them to residents staying in adjacent owner-occupied public housing. We also conducted a qualitative study to better understand the relationship between chronic pain and health screening participation amongst residents in these low-SES enclaves. Results: In the rental-flat population, chronic pain was associated with higher participation in screening for diabetes (aOR = 2.11, CI = 1.36-3.27, P < 0.001), dyslipidemia (aOR = 2.06, CI = 1.25-3.39, P = 0.005), colorectal cancer (aOR = 2.28, CI = 1.18-4.40, P = 0.014), cervical cancer (aOR = 2.65, CI = 1.34-5.23, P = 0.005) and breast cancer (aOR = 3.52, CI = 1.94-6.41, P < 0.001); this association was not present in the owner-occupied population. Three main themes emerged from our qualitative analysis of the link between chronic pain and screening participation: pain as an association of "major illness"; screening as a search for answers to pain; and labelling pain as an end in itself. Conclusions: Chronic pain was associated with higher cardiovascular and cancer screening participation in the low-SES population. In low-SES populations with limited access to pain management services, chronic pain issues may surface during routine health screening.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.166-173
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• 2020

The purpose of the present study was to validate the Need for Closure Scale-Short Form (NFCS-SF), which measures the need for cognitive closure. Participants completed questionnaires regarding need for cognitive closure, intolerance of uncertainty, depression, and anxiety. Of the 536 data collected between May and July 2017, data from a total of 495 participants were analyzed using SPSS 20.0 and M-Plus. The results of the study are as follows. First, a 15-item selection comprised three items from each facet scale via exploratory factor analysis. Second, the NFCS-SF demonstrated good internal consistency (Study 1, Cronbach's α=.85; Study 2, Cronbach's α=.84). Third, the results of the confirmatory factor analyses supported a 5-factor model (χ2(80)=178.34, p<.001; CFI=.87, TLI=.83, RMSEA=.07, SRMR=.08). Fourth, the NFCS-SF showed significant correlation with the measures of intolerance of uncertainty (r=.58, p<.01), depression (r=.16, p<.05), and anxiety (state anxiety, r=.31, p<.01; trait anxiety, r=.29, as well as the NFCS (r=.86, p<.01). Based on these findings, significance and limitations of the results as well as suggestions for further study are discussed.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.129-135
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• 2015

Objectives : In children and adolescents, the prevalence of overweight has increased in the last 20 years. little research is available on the prevalence of obesity in children with autism spectrum disorders(ASD). The purpose of our study was to determine the prevalence of overweight among a clinical population of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders(ASD). Methods : Retrospective chart review of children ages 3-18 years seen between 2012 and 2015 at a Konyang University hospital psychiatric clinic. Diagnostic, medical, and demographic information was extracted from the charts. Body mass index(BMI) was calculated from measures of height and weight recorded in the child's chart. The Center for Disease Control's BMI growth reference was used to determine an age and gender-specific BMI z-score for the children. Results : In our study, children with ASD compared to non ASD group had significantly higher BMI percentiles (p=0.032). The prevalence of overweight($BMI{\geq}85th$ to 95th percentiles) and obesity($BMI{\geq}95th$ percentiles) was 35% and 19% respectively in children with ASD and without ASD. Conclusions : Despite noted limitations, our data suggest that overweight and obesity in children with ASD are more prevalent than without ASD. Longitudinal and further study is needed to examine the factors associated with obesity in this population.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.3-11
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• 2017

Objectives : The aim of this study was to draw attention toward so called 'behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia(bvFTD) phenocopy syndrome', which is difficult to discriminate with the primary psychiatric disorders, showing poor response to conventional therapeutic drugs, leading to higher risk to misdiagnoses and legal problems. Furthermore, the author insisted that our interest and study on them must be continued. Methods : English articles published during 2000 thru 2016 had been searched by internet with the combination of words such as 'frontotemporal', 'phenocopy' and 'behavioral', and reviewed. Besides, two clinical vignettes were described. Results : Precise diagnosis is important because patients' behavioral symptoms can influence on their families and community. However, disease-modifying treatment for bvFTD are not developed until now, and recent therapeutic drugs are only good for specific symptoms, while deterioration progresses in spite of proper psychiatric management. The possible bvFTD patients are not progressed into probable bvFTD clinically, showing no decline of cogntive and social function, no decrease of activity function, longer survival time, and normal neuroimaging for several years. Conclusions : Rather than expected, there are much more patients having clinical symptoms, course and diagnostic findings including neuroimaging, which are atypical to classical frontotemporal dementia and primary psychiatric disorders. If our knowledge and discriminating ability is improved, discovery rate of that cases will be increased. However, the identity of these atypical features are not clarified until now, it must be further actively investigated.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.111-118
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• 2019

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics of antipsychotic medication prescription for the symptom control in patients with delirium. Methods : One hundred and eighty-five patients referred to consultation-liaison psychiatric services for delirium due to general medical condition were included in this study. All subjects were divided into two groups (antipsychotics users vs. antipsychotics nonusers), and comparison analyses on their clinical characteristics were performed. Results : One hundred and twenty nine patients (66.5%) used antipsychotics for their delirium, and 56 patients (30.3%) did not use antipsychotics. The history of psychotropic medication was more frequently observed in antipsychotic users (5.4% vs. 18.6%, χ²=5.498, p=0.022). Especially, the history of benzodiazepine use was significantly high in antipsychotics users. The total score and sub-items of delirium rating scale-severity items except for the psychomotor retardation item showed higher scores in antipsychotic users than in nonusers (all p<0.05). The total score of the delirium rating scale-diagnosis items was higher in antipsychotic users than in the nonusers (p=0.010). Conclusions : Delirium patients with more severe delirium symptoms and with more history of benzodiazepine use were treated with antipsychotics more frequently than those without. These findings imply that benzodiazepine may not only exacerbate delirium but be associated with aggression or psychomotor agitation that need immediate intervention. Clinicians may need to pay attention not only these external symptoms but also to hypoactive symptoms that may lead to misdiagnosis and undertreatment.