• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.84-93
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• 2020

Objectives The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between the chronotype and the burnout, so we investigated the mediating effects of the mediators such as perceived stress, stress response, and depression. Methods Employees working at Incheon Customs conducted a mental health self-examination through the internet. Among them, 174 people who agreed to the mental health survey participated in the study. Participants completed questionnaires including Composite Scale of Morningness (CSM), Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Stress Response Inventory (SRI), Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS). Results Our results showed a higher degree of CES-D, SRI, exhaustion, and cynicism in evening and intermediate type compared to morning type, and a higher degree of professional efficacy in morning type compared to intermediate type. CSM was shown to have a direct effect on exhaustion and indirect effect through CES-D and SRI. CSM also had a direct effect on professional efficacy and had an indirect effect through the CES-D. However, CSM was found to have only indirect effects through the SRI for Cynicism. Conclusions In this study, individuals with evening type tend to experience a high degree of burnout (exhaustion, cynicism and professional efficacy) through the mediation effect of depression and stress response. Further study is necessary to reveal the effect of management of the depression and stress response in the employee with evening type.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.49-58
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• 2021

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate the longitudinal trajectories of life satisfaction, loneliness, and depression and to identify the factors that influence these trajectories in North Korean Defectors (NKD). Methods : NKD (n=300) who registered in the multi-regional adaptation center (Hana Center), within three years of settling in South Korea, were recruited into this study. Life satisfaction, loneliness, and depression were assessed with self-report questionnaires over a period of 4 years (7 waves of data). Latent growth modeling was conducted to assess the changes in life satisfaction, loneliness, and depression. Results : Findings from both unconditional and conditional models (with gender, South Korea settlement age, household income, marital status, and PTSD at wave 1) indicated a linear increase in loneliness and depression, and a linear decrease in life satisfaction over the 4-year period. In the conditional model, gender predicted the intercept of life satisfaction and depression. In addition, PTSD predicted the intercept of life satisfaction, loneliness, and depression and slope of depression. Conclusion : Our finding suggests that the mental health of NKD tends to deteriorate over time after settling in South Korea. Therefore, continuous support is necessary for their successful adaptation to the South Korean Society.

• Mood & Emotion
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.158-162
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• 2018

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to examine psychosocial factors related to burnout of social welfare officers working in Jeonnam Province. Methods : A total of 395 social welfare officers (male 99, female 296) working in 22 areas of Jeollanam-do province, were subjects of this study. We examined socio-demographic factors, using a self-reporting questionnaire. Subjects were asked to complete the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS), Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (GSS), to assess psychosocial factors affecting to burnout of social welfare officers. Results : Among 395 subjects, 221 (55.9%) reported recent experiences of burnout. There was no significant difference in age between two groups, divided by burnout. Sex (p<0.001), rank (p=0.003), working period (p=0.034), depression (p<0.001) revealed differences between the burnout group and control group. Scores of PSS (p<0.001) were higher, while the scores of GSS (p<0.001) were lower in the burnout group, than control group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that female (OR 2.840, 95%CI 1.466-5.504, p=0.002), depressive high-risk group (OR 6.824, 95%CI 2.893-16.096, p<0.001) PSS (OR 1.247, 95%CI 1.153-1.349, p<0.001) and GSS (OR 0.950, 95%CI 0.930-0.971, p<0.001), were significantly associated with burnout. Conclusion : We found that some factors, were associated with experienced burnout in social welfare officers. Depressive symptoms were the strongest associative factor, for burnout in public servants in charge of social welfare. Sex, stress and self-efficacy also correlated with burnout, and especially self-efficacy was a protecting factor.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.101-108
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• 2019

Objective : This study aimed to investigate the associations of anxiety symptoms with behavior and attention in elementary school children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods : A total of 195 elementary school children with ADHD participated in the study. The Korean Version of ADHD Rating Scale (K-ARS) and Behavior Assessment System for Children(BASC-2) were used to measure the children's behavior. Anxiety and attention was assessed with State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) and ADHD Diagnostic System (ADS), respectively. Children with ADHD were categorized to two groups of ADHD with low anxiety (ADHD-LA) and ADHD with high anxiety (ADHD-HA) according to the total STAIC scores. Scores on K-ARS, BASC-2 and ADS were compared between two groups of ADHD-LA and ADHD-HA. Results : The Scores on K-ARS total and both subscales in ADHD-HA group were significantly higher than ADHD-LA group. Scores on the BASC-2 subscales including hyperactivity, aggression, conduct problem, anxiety, depression, somatization, withdrawal, attention problems were also significantly higher in ADHD-HA group compared to ADHD-LA group. In contrary, scores on ADS subscales were not significantly different between the both groups. Conclusion : Our study identified that the anxiety accompanied with ADHD was associated with the negative behavioral aspect in children with ADHD. However, the performances on attention task were not affected by the anxiety comorbid with ADHD. Future studies to reveal underlying mechanism are needed for further understanding the association with anxiety and ADHD.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.70-77
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• 2021

Objectives Our study aimed to present the distinctive correlates of formal thought disorder in patients with schizophrenia, using the Clinical Language Disorder Rating Scale (CLANG). Methods We compared clinical characteristics between schizophrenia patients with (n = 84) and without (n = 82) formal thought disorder. Psychometric scales including the CLANG, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), the Calgery Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS) and the Word Fluency Test (WFT) were used. Results After adjusting the effects of age, sex and total scores on the BPRS, YMRS and WFT, the subjects with disorganized speech presented significantly higher score on the abnormal syntax (p = 0.009), lack of semantic association (p = 0.005), discourse failure (p < 0.0001), pragmatics disorder (p = 0.001), dysarthria (p < 0.0001), and paraphasic error (p = 0.005) items than those without formal thought disorder. With defining the mentioned item scores as covariates, binary logistic regression model predicted that discourse failure (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 5.88, p < 0.0001) and pragmatics disorder (aOR = 2.17, p = 0.04) were distinctive correlates of formal thought disorder in patients with schizophrenia. Conclusions This study conducted Clinician Rated Dimensions of Psychosis Symptom Severity (CRDPSS) and CLANG scales on 166 hospitalized schizophrenia patients to explore the sub-items of the CLANG scale independently related to formal thought disorders in schizophrenia patients. Discourse failure and pragmatics disorder might be used as the distinctive indexes for formal thought disorder in patients with schizophrenia.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.100-107
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• 2023

Objectives : This study aimed to examine the mediating effect of sleep quality and interpretation bias for ambiguity in the relationship between hopelessness and suicidal ideation in psychiatric patients. Methods : A total of 231 psychiatric outpatients and inpatients completed the Beck Hopelessness Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Ambiguous/Unambiguous Situations Diary-Extended Version, and Ultra-Short Suicidal Ideation Scale. Data analysis was conducted using regression analyses and bootstrap sampling. Results : The results of this study showed that hopelessness had a direct effect on suicidal ideation, and that sleep quality and interpretation bias for ambiguity mediated the association between hopelessness and suicidal ideation. Moreover, there was a significant double mediating effect of sleep quality and interpretation bias for ambiguity on the relationship between hopelessness and suicidal ideation. Conclusions : These results suggest that it is important to consider both sleep quality and interpretation bias for ambiguity to prevent hopelessness from leading to suicidal idea. These results suggest that considering both sleep quality and interpretation bias for ambiguity may be important in preventing hopelessness from leading to suicidal ideation.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.164-171
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• 2018

Objectives : Depression is a common mental illness and a major cause of suicide. Although serum lipids have been associated with depression and suicide, there has been much debate. In this study, we investigated the relationship between depression, suicide, and serum lipids in patients admitted with depressed mood. Methods : A total of 134 subjects were divided into 86 non-suicide patients and 48 suicide attempters. The serum lipid levels and sub-scores of the Korean Symptom Checklist-95 (KSCL95) were compared. We also investigated the relationship between serum lipids and sub-scores of KSCL95 and investigated whether serum lipids were risk factors for suicide attempts. Results : There was no difference in serum lipids between the two groups. Among the sub-items of KSCL95, obsession was higher in non-suicide group. Triglyceride showed positive correlations with anxiety, phobic anxiety, agoraphobia, schizophrenia, and self-regulation problem. High triglyceride was a risk factor for suicide attempts. Conclusions : Triglyceride is associated with depression, anxiety, and self - regulation, and high serum triglyceride levels may be a risk factor for suicide attempts.

• Mood & Emotion
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.152-157
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• 2018

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to examine psychosocial factors influencing suicidal ideation of community dwelling elderly, using the senior community center in Jeonnam Province. Methods : A total of 2,202 subjects (369 males, 1,833 females) were recruited. We evaluated sociodemographic factors, using a self-reporting questionnaire. Subjects completed the Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form Korean Version (SGDS), Multi-dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), Korean version of the General Health Questionale-12 (GHQ-12) and Satisfaction with Life scale (SWLS), to assess psychosocial factors affecting suicidal ideation. Results : Among 2,202 subjects, 179 (8.1%) reported recent suicidal ideation. Self-perceptive health status (p<0.001) and physical disease (p=0.002) revealed differences between two groups. The scores of four scales in the suicidal group were significantly different from the control group: SGDS (p<0.001) and GHQ-12 (p<0.001) were higher, while MSPSS (p<0.001) and SWLS (p<0.001) were lower, in the suicidal ideation group than the control group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that physical disease (OR 2.575, 95%CI 1.022-6.492), SGDS (OR 1.181, 95%CI 1.120-1.246) and GHQ-12 (OR 1.192, 95%CI 1.108-1.283), were significantly associated with suicidal ideation. Conclusion : Findings support that physical disease, depression, and general mental health may correlate to suicidal ideation in the elderly.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.64-73
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• 2020

Suicidality is the most serious complication of mood disorders and psychosis; effective treatment should reduce suicide rates. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development age-standardized suicide rate in Korea was 22.6 in 2018, much higher compared to other countries worldwide. As mental and psychiatric problems are the main reasons for suicide attempts, accounting for 31.6% in 2018, targeting such problems should be the focus of efforts to reduce suicide rates. However, the ability of current pharmacotherapeutic and psychotherapeutic interventions to reduce suicide rates is limited due to their delayed effects. Therefore, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been proposed as an alternative treatment. This approach is effective for treating most mental disorders associated with high suicide rates, including severe depression, bipolar disorder, and intractable psychotic disorders; ECT is also effective for Parkinson's disease, which has the highest suicide rate among all disorders in Korea. The acute, long-term, and prophylactic effects of ECT on suicidality have been reported in the literature, and treatment guidelines outside of Korea recommend that ECT be used at an early stage for rapid reduction of suicide rates, as opposed to being applied as a treatment of last resort. However, only ~0.092 of every 10000 members of the Korean general population received ECT in 2018; this is much lower than the average rate worldwide, of 2.2 per 10000. Elimination of obstacles to the use of ECT, early crisis intervention involving administration of ECT for rapid stabilization, and maintenance ECT to prevent recurrence should reduce suicide rates.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.84-91
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• 2021

Objective : Mismatch negativity (MMN) is known to reflect several abnormalities of cognitive functioning. This study is aimed to investigate the differences in MMN among major depressive disorder (MDD) patients with or without suicidal ideation. Methods : Sixty-seven patients with MDD were recruited into this study. MMN was measured by a 64-channel electroencephalography (EEG) using oddball paradigm over the front-central area. Clinical characteristics were assessed using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and the Beck Scale for Suicide ideation (SSI-BECK). Patients were divided into two groups, no suicidal ideation (N=12) and suicidal ideation (N=55), depending on the presence of suicide ideation in SSI-BECK questionnaires. Results : The MMN latencies were significantly longer in the MDD patients with suicidal ideation than in the MDD patents without suicidal ideation (p<0.05). The MMN amplitudes were not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusion : Suicidal ideation may be associated with longer MMN latencies, and it suggests that MMN may play a potential role in assessing the suicidal risk among MDD patients.