• Anxiety and mood
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.104-109
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• 2007

Objective : In the present study, we evaluated the differences between the skin electric conductance of patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and normal controls in order to determine the possibility of using skin electric conductance as a diagnostic measure. Method : The PTSD group included 14 subjects who were diagnosed with PTSD in St. Mary's Hospital after a motor vehicle accident, and the normal control group included 12 healthy subjects. The conductivity and capacitance of both groups were measured twice, and the data from each group was compared. Results : There was no significant difference in gender, but the patients in the PTSD group were significantly older than those in normal control group. The activity (conductivity) between the left head-left hand, right hand-right head, and right head-left head was significantly elevated in the PTSD group as compared with the normal control group. In addition, the reactivity (capacitance) between the right head-left head, left head-left hand, right hand-left hand, right hand-right foot, right foot-left foot, and left foot-left hand was significantly elevated in the PTSD group. Conclusion : In this study, the skin electric conductance of the patients with PTSD was significantly elevated in comparison with that of the healthy subjects. Although there were some limitations of this study, the results of this study suggested that skin electric conductance can be used to evaluate elevated psychophysiological responses in patients with PTSD. Future studies with more subjects and more structure are needed in order to confirm our results.

• Journal of The Korean Dental Society of Anesthesiology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2009

Posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD) is a psychiatric illness that results from exposure to serious threats of injury or death. In addition, dental phobia, which is suggested as a sub-threshold form of PTSD, may result from aversive or painful dental treatment. Patients with PTSD may present greater dental and behavioral challenges than other patients due to their mental illness, neglect of oral hygiene, and their medication. Dentists have to consider the challenges to provide these patients with proper dental treatment.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.15-29
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• 2009

Objectives : This study was investigated to find out psychological characteristics of headache patients after traffic accident(TA). also It was identified headache after TA as predictor of posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD). Methods : Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory(MMPI) was administered to 26 TA patients, We divided them into four groups according to headache and sex and headache duration. Results : 3-1 profile was found by total mean of T score of each MMPI scale in all patients. 3-4 profile was found in headache group, 1-3 profile was found in female Group, female to have headache group. 3-1 profile was found in headache to continue more than 7 days. Conclusions : Female group, female to have a headache group, headache to continue more 7 days group showed 1-3/3-1 profile. it was similar to PTSD profile. The results indicate that in the above three groups, headache was predictor of PTSD and they must be treated more carefully.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2006

Objectives : Since prostitution is multitraumatic phenomena, it is known that most women in prostitution have symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental illness. In Korea, new anti-prostitution law launched in the year of 2004 imposes protecting prostituted victims at government-supported shelter. The objective of this study was to compare the mental symptoms, especially PTSD features of women who escaped from prostitution with those of control subjects. Methods : We assessed 113 ex-prostituted women who live in shelter for 8 months on the average and 65 normal control subjects. Demographic data, questionnaire for sleep, physical illness, smoking, alcohol and drug use, Stress Response Inventory, Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS), Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) were used. Results : Ex-prostituted women had significantly higher scores of DTS, IES-R, stress related responses, sleep problems, smoking problems, and alcohol problems than control group. Age and duration of sex trade of the subjects were significantly correlated with the severity or frequency of PTSD symptoms. The degree of smoking, alcohol drinking and sleep problems were also significantly correlated with the PTSD symptoms. Conclusion : These results suggested mental symptoms did not disappear even after women escaped from prostitution.

• Journal of Korean Academic Society of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.5-13
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate for the presence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-related symptoms, anxiety, and depression after stroke. Eighty-four patients were enrolled between 2 and 12 months after their first ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. Methods: PTSD symptoms were evaluated using the Impact of Event Scale (IES). The IES is a 15-item scale measuring intrusion and avoidance symptoms. The authors assessed mood alterations using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD). The HAD is a brief, 14-item, self-reported questionnaire used to detect symptoms of anxiety (HADA) and depression (HADD). The survey data were analyzed using the SPSS 10.0 program. Frequency, mean, standard deviation, percentage t-test, and Pearson correlation coefficient were determined. Results: Twenty nine of the 84 (34.5%) patients scored higher than the cutoff for PTSD on the IES (IES>26). With use of the HAD scale, 44% of the patients reached the cutoff for anxiety ($HADA\;{\geq}8$). On the HSD scale, 44.1% of the patients reached the cutoff for depression ($HADD\;{\geq}8$). PTSD symptoms and anxiety were more frequent in women under age 39, without spouses, who had operations. Depression was more frequent in patients without spouses. There was a statistically significant correlation among posttraumatic stress symptoms, anxiety, and depression. Conclusion: There was statistically significant correlation among PTSD symptoms, anxiety, and depression in stroke patients. Therefore, it is necessary to develop nursing intervention for stroke patients with these clinical manifestations.

• Journal of East-West Nursing Research
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.14-21
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aims to examine the levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and social stigma among nurses caring for Corona Virus Disease-19 (COVID-19) patients. Methods: 169 nurses caring for COVID-19 patients participated in this study. Data collection was conducted at university hospitals from March 1 to August 31, 2020. Data analysis was performed for descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficients using SPSS/WIN 24.0 program. Results: The mean scores of PTSD, depression and social stigma were 25.16±16.80, 17.26±8.63 and 5.83±2.84, respectively. The PTSD scores were significantly different between the department (F=2.89, p=.037). Depressive scores were significantly different between the marital status (t=2.27, p=.024) and the department (F=4.91, p=.003). Social stigma scores were significantly different between age (F=6.49, p=.002), marital status (t=-3.30, p=.008), having or not having children (t=3.82, p=.001), department (F=5.82, p=.001) and clinical experience (F=7.43, p=.001). Positive correlations were found between PTSD and depression (r=.70, p<.001) and social stigma (r=.22, p<.004). Conclusion: Integrated assessment and management are required to address the psychological and emotional problems faced by nurses caring for COVID-19 patients, and active follow-up measures should be considered.

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.167-207
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• 2015

This study focused on the awareness and coping methods of psychological trauma and human suffering in the contemporary era after the development of posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD) including the situations in the Korean society, and proposed principles for an alternative paradigm of trauma recovery. Trauma is defined as an 'external' stress causing chronic suffering mediated by memory, and the American Psychiatric Association approved PTSD in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1980. The development of PTSD empowered moral legitimacy to the victims, opened a successful way to treatment, and accomplished explosive amount of research in the area of neurobiology and cognitive neuroscience. However, this also narrowed the understanding of human suffering, and the importance of an alternative coping method which overcomes the limitations of technical intervention became overlooked. Moreover, the Korean society has an underlying mechanism of replacing the matter of trauma to a problem of an individual. This is shown among the historical context of splitting and denial, and among medicalized bureaucracy. Trauma should be acknowledged as a social suffering, and searching for an alternative paradigm is in need. This study suggested the following principles; seeking for truth and justice, survivor as the agent of recovery emphasizing the responsibility of the community, ecological adaptations of recent bio-psychological achievements, and finally putting emphasis on continuous discussions about the definition of recovery.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.28-33
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• 2016

Objective : One of the aims of this study was to confirm the relationship in firefighters who have a high risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder. We also explored the mediation effects of resilience and posttraumatic growth (PTG) on the association between traumatic experiences and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Methods : A total of 677 firefighters were assessed in terms of the intensity of job-related traumatic experiences using the Visual Analogue Scale. They completed the Korean version of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), the Korean version of the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and the Korean version of the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10). Results : The intensity of traumatic experiences was significantly negatively related to the CD-RISC-10 score, but it was positively related to the PTGI and the IES-R scores. The CD-RISC-10 score had a significantly positive correlation with the PTGI score, but it was negatively correlated to the IES-R score. Path analyses revealed that resilience and PTG independently mediated the association between traumatic experiences and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Conclusion : These results suggest that traumatic experiences contribute to posttraumatic stress symptoms and that these impacts may be mediated through resilience and PTG.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.83-91
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• 2011

Objectives: Posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD) has devastating effects on multiple aspects of the quality of life(QoL). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to compare the QoL between PTSD group and non-PTSD group, and identify the variables affecting the QoL of the Vietnam War veterans. Methods: We recruited 39 veterans with PTSD and 43 veterans without PTSD, all of whom had deployed to the Vietnam War. We used the Korean version of Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview-Plus, the Korean version of Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale, Combat Exposure Scale and the Korean version of World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment Instrument abbreviated version. We used independent samples t-test to identify the differences between PTSD and non-PTSD group in each domains of the quality of life. We also used stepwise multiple linear regression analysis to figure out the variables affecting the QoL of the Vietnam War veterans. Results: In the PTSD group, all domains of the QoL and the QoL total score(p<0.01) were significantly lower than those in the non-PTSD group. In the Vietnam War veterans, PTSD, major depressive disorder and education levels were the variables affecting the QoL. Among these, PTSD uniquely explained the QoL of the overall and general health(${\beta}$=-1.411, $R^2$=0.180), the physical health domain(${\beta}$=-2.806, $R^2$=0.089) and the total score (${\beta}$=-11.479, $R^2$=0.104). Conclusions: These results suggest that among the Vietnam War veterans, the QoL of the PTSD group is significantly lower than that of the non-PTSD group. Among the combat exposed veterans, PTSD may be one of the main reasons that affect the multiple domains of the QoL.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.47-52
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• 2014

Background: This case study is to describe the manual therapy for the patient with posttraumatic stress (PTSD), sleep disturbance, and pain such as chronic low back pain (CLBP). Methods: The patient who participated in this study was a 60 year-old male PTSD patient with CLBP. His CLBP is not from any genetic or family history but a sequelae of torture that he had gone through about 30 years ago. Prior to the intervention, it was assessed that the PDS-K score was 16, PQSI-K was 12, SLR-90-R was low, VAS score was 10, and KODI socre was 25. The intervention was conducted through manual therapy (myofascial release, muscle energy technique, lumbar stabilization) twice a week for eight weeks in total. Results: After eight week-intervention, the PDS-K, SLR-90-R, VAS, and KODI score were improved whereas PQSI-K was not sufficiently fast improved. Conclusions: The manual therapy is substantially effective in dealing with PTSD and CLBP.