• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.13-24
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• 2019

Objectives : The goals of the study are how to establish the cohort systems for the children and adolescents victims with sexual abuse in Korea and to identify the risk and protective factors that influence mental health in child sexual abuse (CSA). This is initial assessment data based on the analysis of cohort variables for baseline evaluation of subjects. Methods : We constructed the cohort systems for CSA victims recruited by Seoul Sunflower Children Center, CSA victims protection center. The initial assessment data which consisted of demographic and psychological inventories of CSA victims and their parents/families, psychiatric diagnoses were the results of statistical analysis of 65 subjects under 19 years old for 3 years 7 months. Results : The initial data were followings : female participants, N=56; mean age, 11.6 (SD=4.5); the most sexual assault, molestation 71.8%; victims, family and acquaintance 87.1%; 61.5% of the subjects diagnosed with psychiatric disorder; 29.2% diagnosed with PTSD and 23.1% diagnosed with depression. Mean duration for abuse to report is 1.5 years. Mean score of IES-R-K, TSCYC-avoidant and CBCL-problematic behavior were increased above clinical cut-off. Conclusions : CSA victims tend to have high risks in mental health problem. The cohort study could provide the risk and protective factors of CSA in mental health, and construct the predictive model for mental illness in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.67-75
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• 2002

Objectives：This study was conducted to investigate the degree of psychopathologies of the family members of children with chronic convulsive disorder and evaluate the structures and dynamics of those families. Methods：The participant patients and family members were recruited from the population attending the outpatient clinic of department of pediatric neurology in Seoul National University Hospital in Korea. All the patients had idiopathic chronic convulsive disorder. Any patient with mental retardation, pervasive developmental disorder and gross brain pathology was excluded. As controls, normal students were chosen and their sex, age, achievement, socioeconomic status were matched to patients. The author interviewed the children and their family members twice and obtained informations about patient-parent relationship, patient-sibling relationship and others. For in-depth evaluation, we used family environment scales(FES), symptom Checklist-90-revised(SCL-90-R), self administered dependency questionnaire for mother(SADQ). Results：After interviewing with the parents of epileptic children, overprotection of parents, hostile feeling of siblings toward index children were higher than controls. The parental conflict was also more expressed than control families. According to results from FES, the scores of the subscales of expression, achievement-orientation, intelligence-orientation and active recreation were significantly lower than control group. The epileptic children showed higher dependency to parents especially in affection, communication and traveling areas of SADQ than control group. Maternal psychopathologies evaluated by SCL-90-R were much higher than the mothers of controls. According to T scores of SCL-90-R, about 40% of mothers with epileptic children had the risk of clinically significant depressive or anxiety disorders. Conclusion：These results suggested that the family members of epileptic children had more relationship problems and psychopathologies than control group and some mothers might have clinically significant depressive or anxiety disorders. so, effective psychiatric family interventions are needed for resolution of conflict and psychopathologies of family members.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.153-165
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• 2017

Objectives : Recent neuroimaging studies focus on dysfunctions in connectivity between cognitive circuits and emotional circuits: anterior cingulate cortex that connects dorsolateral orbitofrontal cortex and prefrontal cortex to limbic system. Previous studies on pediatric depression using DTI have reported decreased neural connectivity in several brain regions, including the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, superior longitudinal fasciculus. We compared the neural connectivity of psychotropic drug naïve adolescent patients with a first onset of major depressive episode with healthy controls using DTI. Methods : Adolescent psychotropic drug naïve patients(n=26, 10 men, 16 women; age range, 13-18 years) who visited the Korea University Guro Hospital and were diagnosed with first onset major depressive disorder were registered. Healthy controls(n=27, 5 males, 22 females; age range, 12-17 years) were recruited. Psychiatric interviews, complete psychometrics including IQ and HAM-D, MRI including diffusion weighted image acquisition were conducted prior to antidepressant administration to the patients. Fractional anisotropy(FA), radial, mean, and axial diffusivity were estimated using DTI. FMRIB Software Library-Tract Based Spatial Statistics was used for statistical analysis. Results : We did not observe any significant difference in whole brain analysis. However, ROI analysis on right superior longitudinal fasciculus resulted in 3 clusters with significant decrease of FA in patients group. Conclusions : The patients with adolescent major depressive disorder showed statistically significant FA decrease in the DTI-based structure compared with healthy control. Therefore we suppose DTI can be used as a bio-marker in psychotropic drug-naïve adolescent patients with first onset major depressive disorder.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.99-107
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• 2020

Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterized by the core symptom of chronic widespread pain, along with fatigue, sleep disturbances, mood changes, and cognitive difficulties. The etiology of fibromyalgia involves a combination of biological factors, such as genetic vulnerability, alterations in pain processing and stress response system ; psychological factors, such as anxiety, depression, anger, and perceived stress ; environmental factors, such as infections, febrile diseases, and trauma. Central sensitization, which is amplified in the process of sensory stimulation, has been emphasized as a key etiological factor, as supported by enhanced wind-up, delayed aftersensation, decreased nociceptive flexion reflex threshold and functional imaging studies. Several guidelines recommend that a multimodal approach be used to treat fibromyalgia, including both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments, tailored to each individual, and that clinicians should provide an intellectual framework through sufficient education and emphasis on the importance of self-management. The prevalence of mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and other psychiatric problems is 7-9 times higher in patients with fibromyalgia than in the general population ; moreover, the association between fibromyalgia and certain psychopathologies or sleep problems has also been suggested. Since psychiatric problems, with shared vulnerabilities and risk factors, interact with fibromyalgia bidirectionally and also affect the disease course, an integrated management approach is needed to determine the risk of comorbidities.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.174-182
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• 2003

Objective：Present study compared the Rorschach responses characteristics between ADHD without depression and ADHD with depression. Method：60 children diagnosed ADHD(30 ADHD without depression and 30 ADHD with depression) were assessed with The Rorschach. Responses characteristics between two groups were compared by t test and ${\chi}^2$ test. Results：ADHD without depression had more Rorschach response ration and frequency, with statical significance, in m, M-, DV, (3r+(2)/R>.44 and Fr+rF=0, OR(3r+(2)/R>.33)=YES, pure H<2=YES, H+(H)+Hd+(Hd), FQ none, Sc than ADHD with depression. ADHD with depression had more Rorschach response ration and frequency, with statical significance, in p, H+(H)+Hd+(Hd), (Hd), M than ADHD without depression. Conclusion：This results suggest that we had better consider the impulsivity of idation and cognition for ADHD without depression, preferred introversive coping style for ADHD with depression in diagnosing and intervening.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.262-270
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• 2011

Objectives : The definition of a hidden youth is a young person who has completely withdrawn from society and shut himself or herself away for more than 3 months. Those pathologically-withdrawn youths have become a burden not only to society but also to the family. However, screening of these hidden youths cannot be done easily. This study focused on developing a primary effective screening tool for these hidden youths. Methods : The 42 participants of this study were parents of hidden youths that are between 8 to 25 years old. They were selected from from mental health centers and psychiatric clinics around Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. We also recruited 239 parents of middle and high school students in the Seoul metropolitan area for a control group. In order to decide the concurrent validity of this questionnaire, we used the Symptom Checklist-90-Revision, Children's Depression Inventory, Beck Depression Inven-tory, Social Anxiety Scale for Children-Revised, Social Anxiety and Distress Scale, Avoidant Personality Disorder Scale, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children. SPSS version 12.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results : Cronbach's alpha values, the reliability coefficient to represent internal consistency, were between 0.396 and 0.935, which showed relatively high internal consistency for this questionnaire. The test-retest coefficient was between 0.68 and 0.78, which was a statistically significant result. In a factor analysis, 4 factors such as avoidance, withdrawal, isolation, and apathy were extracted. In a concurrent validity test with SCL-90-R, the isolation factor showed a statistically-significant relationship with a phobic-anxiety sub-scale, and avoidance and withdrawal sub-scales were remarkably correlated with the interpersonal sensitivity sub-scale. Conclusion : Since the questionnaire for socially withdrawn youths has achieved statistically-satisfactory reliability and validity, it will be a useful method to screen for hidden youths in educational, community, and clinical settings.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.153-162
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• 2002

Summary：This study was designed to examine the effect of mother's depressive mood and parenting related attitude on parenting behavior, focusing on the cases having an ADHD child. Method：A total of 82 parents, 31 parents having children with ADHD and 51 normal, were involved in this study. The children of ADHD and normal group were 6-11 years old. ADHD group were diagnosed as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder by psychiatric doctor and psychological evaluations using DSMIV criteria and the normal group were excluded by using Diagnostic Rating Scale-Parent, Teacher Form. The mothers of both group completed a series of questionnaire about mother's depressive mood and parenting-related attitude. To investigate the relationships between each variables, Student's t-test, correlation, stepwise regression, and hierarchical regression analysis were performed. Result：In correlation analysis, Mothers with an ADHD child were likely to report more coercive parenting behavior, more negative parenting-related attitudes, and depressive mood than normal group. In regression analysis, mother's parenting stress, dysfunctional thoughts, parenting competence, and depressive mood predicted coercive parenting behavior significantly, total explaining 50% of its variance, and especially depressive mood explained 29% of their coercive parenting behavior. These Results indicated that mother's depressive mood accounted for a substantial portion of coercive parenting behavior. Conclusion：These findings suggested that it is significantly important to reduce Mother's depressive mood through dealing with parenting sense of competence and dysfunctional thoughts, so, both parent education program and cognitive-behavioral therapeutic approach are needed to change parent's coercive parenting behavior. Finally, limitation of the present study and suggestions were discussed for further studies.

• 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.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.34-46
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• 1998

This study was designed to develop the scale of paternal parenting attitudes which has become an area of interest in child fostering study recently. Considering various factors extracted from previous Korean and foreign studies, the authors constructed a questionnaire composed of total 57 questions. It was applied to 126 mothers from families with no psychiatric patient in Seoul and Pusan who had at least onechild older than age 12 by random sampling. Then the authors extracted the factors which were able to compose the scale and evaluated the concurrent reliability. Also the authors selected mothers of 47 schizophrenic patients and 29 bipolar I patients diagnosed with the criteria of DSM-IV who have treated in Seoul National Mental Hospital and 46 controls which consisted of randomly selected mothers from normal families for the discriminative validity test. The results were as follows. The authors extracted 5 subscales of active participation, democratic guidance, warmth, hostility, devotion for education and Cronbach’s ${\alpha}$ value of each subscale which shows its internal consistency was .82, .78, .65, .78, .61 respectively. In the discriminative validity test, all subscales except ‘devotion for education’ subscale significantly discriminated between fathers of schizophrenics and control group. Furthermore ‘active participation’ subscale and ‘warmth’ subscale showed significant difference between fathers of control group and resting both father group of schizophrenics and biopolar I patients.

• Mood & Emotion
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.13-21
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• 2012

Suicide is a complex behavior associated with various neurobiological and psychosocial factors. It is considered that genetic polymorphism combined with environmental stress such as child-adolescent trauma make differences in neurobiological systems, which cause psychiatric disorders or pessimistic personality, impulse-aggressive behaviors, lack of judgment, and finally result in suicidal behavior. Much progress in the neurobiology of suicide has been made over the several decades. There seems to be a hereditary disposition to suicide independent of psychiatric disorder. The changes in neurotransmitters, neurohormones, neurotrophic factors, cytokines, lipid metabolisms related with their genetic polymorphism can contribute to disturbance of signal transductions and neuronal circuits vulnerable to suicide. It is likely that the main factors are dysfunctions of serotonin (5-HT) and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Our understanding about the neurobiology of suicide is still limited. However, clinical practice could be assisted by neurobiological findings capable of making the detection of risk populations with higher sensitivity and the development of new treatment interventions. The settlement of biological markers in suicidal behaviors and their relationships is required.