• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.34-41
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• 2002

Background:Since serotonin neurotrasnmission plays an important role in the pathophysiology of depression, the drug that acts on serotonin transporter can be an effective antidepressant. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between serotonin transporter polymorphisms(5-HTTLPR) and the long-term effect of the antidepressant treatment. Method:The 175 depressive patients, who met DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder or dysthymic disorder were enrolled into three year study. The genotypes of the patients were investigated by polymerase chain reaction of genomic DNA with promoter regions of the serotonin transporter gene. The patients were assessed by the Clinical Global Impression Scale, at the 1st visit, 8th week, 16th week, 1st year, 2nd and 3rd year after the antidepressant treatment. Result:The genotypes of 138 patients were investigated and 128 of them finished this 1st year study and 107 remained in the study after 2-year treatment, and, 97 completed this 3-year study. The therapeutic response of each subset was not different at 8th, 16th week, but the subset with homozygote(l/l) of long variant showed a better antidepressant therapeutic response than heterozygote(l/s). The heterozygote(l/s) showed a better response than the subset with homozygote(s/s) of short variant at 1st, 2nd and 3rd year after the antidepressant treatment in CGI-global improvement score. Conclusion:This result shows that the serotonin transporter polymorphism may be related to the long-term effect of antidepressant treatment and there may be also ethnic difference.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.162-169
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• 2006

Objective : Since some studies have shown that the brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF) has an important role in the pathophysiology of depression, this study investigated the relationship between BDNF genetic polymorphism and the long-term outcome of the antidepressant treatment. Method : One hundred and eight patients with major depressive disorder were evaluated for the long-term outcome(up to 3 years) of antidepressant treatment. The severity and improvement of depression were assessed with the Clinical Global Impression(CGI) Scale. The genotypes of BDNF 196A/G polymorphism in the patients were determined using Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism(RFLP). Result : The genotypes of 128 patients were investigated and 95 patients of those have been evaluated for 3 years. No significant differences were noted comparing three-genotype groups for CGI scales at baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 1 year, 2 years and 3 years. Conclusion : This result shows that BDNF polymorphism investigated in this study was not associated with the long-term outcome of the antidepressant treatment. However, further studies with another BDNF polymorphism should be needed.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.70-76
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• 1995

A few researchers have reported that major depression may be associated with higher levels of positive acute phase proteins(APPs), such as haptoglobin(Hp), ${\alpha}1$-antitrypsin(${\alpha}1AT$), ceruloplasmin(Cp) and lower levels of negative APPs(visceral proteins), such as albumin(Alb) and transferrin(Tf). Elevated levels of positive APPs and a drop in negative APPs constitute important indicators of immune activation. This study was designed to investigate whether altered serum concentrations of positive APPs and of negative APPs reflect the state of depression. Twenty patients who fulfilled DSM-III-R criteria for major depressive disorder and for dysthymic disorder and twelve normal healthy controls were included. The authors measured positive APPs(Hp, ${\alpha}1AT$, Cp) and negative APPs(Alb, Tf) using rate nephelometry and bromcresol green method. 1) There were significant increases of ${\alpha}1AT$, Cp in major depressed patients as compared with normal controls. Trends towards higher Hp and lower Alb, Tf in major depressed patients were observed. 2) No significant difference of APPs concentrations between dysthymic patients and normal controls was found. 3) Severity of depression(HDRS, BDI score) was related to Hp, Cp, ${\alpha}1AT$ value positively. Our findings are partially compatible with the hypothesis that major depression may be accompanied by acute phase response with higher levels of positive APPs and lower levels of negative APPs.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.863-871
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• 2006

Purpose: A descriptive correlational study was designed to examine the relationship of trait anger and anger expression to blood pressure, cholesterol, and depression in middle-aged Korean men. In addition, this study investigated the mediating effect of social support in relation to anger and other variables. Methods: Two hundred and ninety nine men aged 40 to 64 years were recruited from a health center at K University Hospital located in Ansan City, Kyungki province, Korea. The instruments used were Spielberger's state trait anger expression inventory-the Korean version for trait anger and anger expression, Beck's depression inventory for depression, and a Personal resource questionnaire for perceived social support. Results: Men with high trait anger showed significantly higher systolic blood pressure(BP) and diastolic BP The level of cholesterol did not have a significant relationship with trait anger and anger expression. The severity of depression was significantly higher in men with high trait anger or more frequent uses of anger-in or anger-out. The perceived social support had a significant mediating effect in relation to trait anger and depression. Conclusions: Various nursing interventions for managing anger or improving social support need to be developed in a future study.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.405-418
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to inspect the use possibility of DAS as a depression assessment tool for middle school students by finding out their depression tendency and DAS characteristics. For this purpose, I have found out explored the differences between depression and aggression of in middle school students in accordance with sex and grade, and also found a relationship between DAS response characteristics, and the level of depression and aggression. The subjects of this study were 600 middle school students in Pusan and Kyungnam, and the tools used in this study were Silver's Draw-a-Story and Beck's depression scale and aggression scale. The results were analyzed two-way ANOVA analysis, Duncan test, correlation analysis and crosstab analysis. The results of this study are as follows. The depression level of the 9th grade students was higher than that of 7th grade students. And the aggression level of males was higher than in females, and higher in 8th graders than in 7th graders. The emotion content scores and the self-image scores were related to depression and aggression. So when the levels of depression and aggression were high, the emotional response of DAS and the self-image response were negative. Through this study, it is suggested that DAS has the power of discrimination as a tool measuring depression state and that DAS is meaningful because it showed it can be used as a tool for estimating the level of depression state of school students in schools.

• The Korean Journal of Elementary Counseling
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.351-369
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to examine the psychometric properties of the Korean Children's Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (K-CRSQ). In order to investigate the reliability and validity of the K-CRSQ, the data were collected from 286 elementary students. The results are as follow : Internal consistency and test -retest reliability of the K-CRSQ were .83~.89, .72~.79, respectively. To test the convergent and discriminant validity, participants were separated into two samples and administered the K-CRSQ and ten validity indices. The correlation of K-CRSQ and validity indices scores suggested that the convergent and discriminant validity are high. High rejection sensitivity group revealed high score on intentional attribution, depression, anxiety, and aggression. In contrast, low rejection sensitivity group revealed high score on self-esteem, perceived competence, and social support. The results were compared with previous studies and the implication and limitation were discussed.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.303-309
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• 2008

Objectives : Some reports have suggested that 5-HT5A polymorphism allelic association was associated with depression, however, there has been no report about relationship between the 5-HT5A gene and antidepressant response. We conducted the association study of the 5-HT5A receptor gene polymorphisms (-19G/C,12A/T) and response to citalopram in Korean patients with major depressive disorder(MDD). Methods : A total of 106 patients with major depressive disorder were included in this study. The patient's symptoms were measured by 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale(HAMD) at baseline, week 1, week 2, week 4 and week 8 during citalopram treatment. A Responder to citalopram was defined by 50% reduction of total HAMD scores. To analyze genetic polymorphisms, a polymerase chain reaction based method was used. Results : At week 8, responders were 62, non-responders were 44. No significant differences of genotypes or allelic association in 19G/C and 12A/T polymorphisms were observed between responsive and non-responsive patients. Conclusion : These results do not support the hypothesis that this polymorphism of the HT5A receptor gene is involved in the therapeutic response to citalopram.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.32-40
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• 2020

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate the cognitive performance of major depressive disorder (MDD) in military service/conscription personnel who visited the psychiatric clinic for a medical certificate to consider the situation from the perspective of Korea's unique compulsory military system. We used the Korean Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV (K-WAIS-IV) as the test for verifying the suitable level of cognitive functioning for military service and as the embedded measure with reflecting suboptimal effort. Methods : The study was conducted on 56 (28 males, age 19-34) in/out-patients admitted to the psychiatry department and diagnosed with MDD (DSM-IV). All participants completed a structured clinical interview (MINI-Plus), as well as self-report questionnaires related to demographics and severity of clinical symptoms. K-WAIS-IV was administered to each subject to assess cognitive characteristics. Results : Military group showed significantly lower processing speed index (PSI) score including subtests of symbol search (SS) and coding (CD) score, compared to the control group. There was no other significant differences in the Full Scale IQ (FSIQ), Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI), Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI), Working Memory Index (WMI) scores including sub-tests comprised of the above indices, and Reliable Digit Span (RDS), Enhanced-RDS-Revised (E-RDS-R) between the study and control groups. Conclusion : This study was the first effort to verify the characteristics of Korea's military group with MDD and suggest the applicability of PSI and processing speed of K-WAIS-IV as an embedded performance index to test sub-optimal effort or low motivation beyond the purpose of testing cognitive deficits.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2016

Objective : This study was performed to confirm the hypothesis that the more one applies positive thinking, the less severe the symptoms of stress and the better the therapeutic responsein panic disorder and major depressive disorders. Methods : The study included 50 subjects with confirmed diagnoses of panic disorder or major depressive disorders. Positive thinking was assessed using Positive thinking scale. Beck Depression Inventory was used as a subjective measure for depression, and to ensure an objective measure for depression and anxiety, the Hamilton Depression and Hamilton Anxiety rating scales were implemented. Results : The positive thinking scale measured at the initial visit had shown a strong negative correlation with objective depression. Although patients with a high level of positive thinking had shown a tendency to respond better to the treatment, as compared with those with a lower level, the differences were not statistically significant. Conclusion : Positive thinking is likely to ameliorate major depressive disorder, panic disorder-induced depression, and anxiety. Nevertheless, it was not possible to confirm the effects of positive thinking on the patients' treatment responses.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.12-29
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to develop the scenario for implementation of the rule-based counseling chatbot and to verify its usefulness. For this purpose, counseling scenario for exploring problems triggering depression and establishing early counseling relationships was built and user evaluations for the rule-base counseling chatbot were conducted on 10 counseling psychologists. As a result, clear counseling structuring, appropriate use of selective and narrative responses, and active listening were identified as important components of counseling chatbot. To the next step, the usefulness of counseling chatbot developed in the previous step was examined with 78 college students. As a result, active listening was found to be an important factor in improving user satisfaction and positive mood change. In addition, through qualitative analysis of user evaluation, the unique advantages of counseling chatbot were identified and the limitations of counseling chatbot that should be overcome were identified. Based on the results of the study, the implications of the study and suggestions for future research were discussed.