• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.143-154
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• 2020

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to examine cognitive and psychological characteristics of patients with military service suitability issues compared to the general psychiatric outpatients. Methods : 108 patients who visited psychiatric clinic center due to military service suitability issues and 80 general psychiatric patients were recruited from the Department of Psychiatry of university hospital. ANCOVA and chi-equare test were used to examine differences between two groups. Furthermore, we utilized paired t-test to compare the scrore within military group depending on when they performed the psychological assessment. Results : There were no significant differences between military group and general outpatient group in WAIS-IV scores. However, military group scored remarkably higher than control group on validity scales, F-r and Fp-r whereas they scored lower on validity scale, K-r. Furthermore, military group showed significantly higher on BDI and MMPI-2-RF, EID, RCd, RC2, RC3, COG, HLP, SFD, NFC, STW, SAVE, SHY, DSF, NEGE-r, INTR-r. As a result of comparison within the military group following the periods of assessment, military group did not show the significant differences on the overall scales of MMPI-2-RF. Conclusions : The present study showed that military group tends to report their psychological distress more exaggeratedly. In addition, they had significantly elevated not only emotional distress such as depression and anxiety but interpersonal problem. The implications and limitations were discussed along with some suggestions for the future studies.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.117-128
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• 2002

Objectives：For the purpose of obtaining the more vivid present status and prevention program of teenage pregnancy, this survey was done by Obstetricians, as study subject, who manage the pregnant teenager in real clinical situation. Methods：Structured survey form about teenage pregnancy was sent to 2,800 obstetricians. That form contained frequency, characteristics, decision making processes, and psychiatric aspects of the teenage pregnancy. 349 obstetricians replied that survey form and we analysed these datas. Results：(1) The trend of teenage pregnancy was mildly increased. (2) The most common cases were unwanted pregnancy by continuing sexual relationship with boyfriends rather than by forced, accidental sexual relationship with multiple partners. (3) The most common reason of labor was loss the time of artificial abotion. (4) Problems of pregnant girls' were conduct behaviors and poor informations about contraception rather than sexual abuse or mental retardation. (5) Most obstetricians percepted the necessity of psychiatric consultation, however psychiatric consultation was rare due to parents refusal and abscense of available psychiatric facility. (6) For the prevention of teenage pregnancy, the most important thing was practical education about contraception. Conclusions：Based on the result of this study, further study using structured interview schedule with pregnant girl is needed for the detecting risk factor of teenage pregnancy and effective systematic approach to pregnant girl.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2014

Objective : Despite the high prevalence and clinical importance of panic disorder, studies on the clinical characteristics and course of panic disorder are relatively rare. This study is a multi-center, and retrospective study to examine the clinical characteristics and course of Korean panic disorder patients who visit university hospital. Methods : The study subjects were panic disorder patients who had visited the psychiatric outpatient clinics of 8 university hospitals in South Korea from January to December in 2008. Finally, 238 panic patients were included in this study. Their medical charts were retrospectively reviewed and reassessed by experienced psychiatrists to examine their clinical characteristics, demographic data and clinical course in repose to pharmacotherapy. Results : Among the 238 patients (121 males vs. 117 females), the mean age of disease onset was $41.3{\pm}12.7$ years and female patients showed 5 years older age of disease onset, compared with male patients. The mean score of PSR scale was $4.5{\pm}1.0$ at the first visit, reflecting a 'marked' level of severity of illness and impairment in functioning. Only 110 patients (46.4%) completed the whole follow up visits, whereas 128 patients (53.6%) dropped out during the treatment. After $17.7{\pm}0.5$ months of mean follow up period, the mean score of PSR scale at the last visit was reduced into $2.1{\pm}0.9$, reflecting a 'residual' severity of illness and impairment in functioning. The cumulative recovery rate was 62.1% in the completer group, whereas that of the drop-out group was 47.7%. Conclusions : The mean age of disease onset in Korean panic disorder patients who had visited university hospital was about 10 years older than that of Western panic disorder patients in previous studies, and the Korean panic disorder patients who had visited university hospital showed a relatively higher cumulative recovery rate. These differences might result from an ethnic difference in clinical characteristics and course in response to pharmacotherapy of panic disorder.

• Korean Journal of Health Psychology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2011

Coercive treatment in mental health has undergone an immense period of philosophical and clinical debate and yet it remains as a highly important issue in which ideology and practice contradict each other. this study focused on the perceived coercion of the persons with mental disorder and analyzed how the characteristics of mental disorder(psychiatric symptoms, psycho-social functions, insight, and the degree of awareness on the need for treatment) and experiences in the process of hospitalization (legal status, coercive measures, and procedural justice) can predict perceived coercion. The participants of this study were 302 patients that has been hospitalized in the psychiatric ward within the period of 4 weeks. 195 participants(64.6%) were male and 106(35.1%) participants were female. MAES, BPRS, GAF, Insight, Legal Status, Coercive Measures, and Need for Treatment were measured. Regression analysis was used to analyze how much perceived coercion can be predicted by characteristics of mental disorder such as the patients' BPRS, GAF, insight, and need for treatment. As a result it showed that among the characteristics of mental disorder insight and awareness of the need for treatment were the main predictors and the characteristics of experiences during hospitalization such as procedural justice, coercive measures, and legal status all displayed significant predictability. As well as implications of results in a practical method of intervention to reduce perceived coercion, the paper discussed issues for limitations and future consideration.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.59-66
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• 2001

Objectives: This study examined the effect of mood and personality characteristics on psychophysiological responses measured by a biofeedback system in a normal population. Methods: Fifty healthy volunteers without any history of medical or psychiatric illnesses participated in this study. We measured the Spielberger trait anxiety inventory, Beck depression inventory, and Eysenck personality questionnaires in these subjects. Using the J & J biofeedback system, we also measured skin temperature, electrodermal response, forearm and frontal electromyography (EMG)s in 3 experimental conditions of baseline, stress, and recovery phases. Results: Trait anxiety did not show any significant correlation with psychophysiological responses except stress response in forearm EMG levels(r=0.282, p<0.05). Depressed mood was negatively correlated with forearm EMG levels in baseline (r=-0.299, p<0.05) and recovery phases(r=-0.314, p<0.05). Subjects with relatively high levels of depressed mood showed different stress and recovery responses in frontal EMG levels compared with those with relatively low levels of depressed mood (F=4.26, p<0.05). Extroverted subjects showed higher levels of forearm EMG than introverted ones in stress phase. Conclusion: Mood and personality characteristics in healthy subjects are closely related with psychophysiological responses measured by a biofeedback system. We suggest that mood and personality characteristics should be considered as important variables in analyzing abnormal psychophysiological responses in some psychiatric patients.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.59-66
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• 2022

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of adolescents hospitalized through the emergency room for intentional self-harm or suicide attempts. Methods: This retrospective study used data from the Korean National Hospital Discharge In-depth Injury Survey conducted between 2006 and 2018 for individuals aged 10-24 years. The clinical characteristics of the patients were analyzed and compared across sex and age groups using the Rao-Scott chi-square tests and multiple logistic regression analysis for complex survey data. Results: The most common psychiatric diagnosis was mood disorder (22.0%), and more female patients were diagnosed with it than male patients (p=0.010). The 19-24 years age group was diagnosed with mood disorder the most compared to other younger groups (p=0.012). Male patients used lethal methods more than female patients (p=0.008), and the 19-24 years age group used more drug poisoning and cutting or piercing (p<0.001) for intentional self-harm or suicide attempts than younger groups. Conclusion: Adolescents hospitalized for intentional self-harm or suicide attempts showed significant differences in clinical characteristics across sex and age groups. These findings suggest that measures for preventing self-harm or suicide attempts need to be differentiated according to the sex and age of adolescents.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.100-106
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• 2015

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to find out the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of elderly suicide attempters visiting emergency room, compared to non-elderly adult suicide attempters. Methods : We enrolled suicidal attempters who were treated in the emergency room of the Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital between June 2013 and July 2015. We conducted a retrospective chart review of 336 suicidal attempters, and compared sociodemographic and clinical characteristics between elderly and non-elderly adult suicide attempters. Results : During the study period, 336 patients visited the emergency room of the medical center after suicide attempts. Among these, there were 71 elderly(21.2%) and 265 non-elderly adult(79.8%) suicide attempters. The suicidal methods among elderly were poisoning(73.3%), hanging(19.7%), cutting(5.6%), and jumping(1.4%). Those in non-elderly were poisoning(73.2%), cutting(17.0%), hanging(6.8%), and jumping(3.0%). The elderly suicide attempters had the tendency to choose more dangerous methods and showed higher lethality compared to adult suicide attempters(20.6% vs. 1.9%, ${\chi}^2=34.565$, p<0.05). On the other hand, premorbid psychiatric disorders had been more commonly diagnosed in non-elderly adults than elderly suicide attempters(49.8% vs. 26.8%, ${\chi}^2=12.024$, p<0.05). Conclusions : The results provide evidence of different sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of elderly suicide attempters compared to non-elderly ones visiting the emergency room. Through this study, it can be seen that the suicide attempt in the elderly tends to be severer than in the non-elderly, but only a small portion of them seek for help from psychiatric intervention. Further study is required to provide effective suicide prevention programs for elderly population.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.65 no.2
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• pp.313-334
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• 2013

A study aims to assess Korean mental health literacy and analyze the characteristics of vulnerable population. This study presented typical vignettes of schizophrenia, depression and alcoholism to 1,197 adults randomly. All respondents were asked for recognition of mental illness, beliefs about causes, professional help and self-help, stigma for receiving psychiatric treatment for the person described. The results showed that the recognition of mental health problem in a vignette was very poor and that personal causes were seen by public as more important than environmental and bio-genetic causes. When the public were asked about various professional therapies and self-help activities, psychotherapy was favored while other professional help were considered to be less helpful than self-help activities. Among professionals, psychiatrist were viewed as most helpful. We used cluster analysis to compare high mental health literacy group with low mental health literacy group(vulnerable population). Vulnerable population were found to be more aged and to live in county area. We proposed government initiated program for enhancing public mental health literacy.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.183-195
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• 2018

Objectives: To investigate validity and effectiveness of Saam five element acupuncture treatment in psychological problems. Methods: We selected a Korean medicine doctor known to apply Saam five element acupuncture treatment to the psychiatry field. An investigator visited the doctor's clinic to observe the cases and interview patients. Duration of each interview was 30 minutes to one hour. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for in-depth interviews. All interviews were recorded and converted into texts. Converted texts were then summarized and analyzed qualitatively. Results and Discussion: Treatment process of Saam five element acupuncture designed for psychiatric use is divided into four stages: qi transformation (氣化), acupuncture treatment, deep breathing, and acupressure. In the first stage, patients are asked to express their feelings and emotions in a physical sense; to imagine their feelings have colors, weight, and physical form, and to describe those characteristics. Next, the doctor evaluates each patient's qi according to the six qi (六氣), and then determines protocol of Saam five element acupuncture treatment. This treatment is focused on suffering of the patient and specific symptoms or emotions. The treatment duration is brief and changes in symptoms are frequently checked during treatment sessions. Without discussing details of stressful events, the doctor enables patients to express physical aspects of their feelings. He also provides them with psychoeducational resources. As a result, patients experienced immediate changes in body sensation, emotions and thinking, decreased response to triggers, and increased self-control after treatment. Conclusions: The Saam five element acupuncture treatment has the potential to be used as a treatment for psychiatric disorders. Treatment can be effective in managing psychiatric disorders when applied by primary Korean medicine clinics.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.41-49
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• 2012

Purpose: To report clinical appearances and the outcomes of patients treated for wrist laceration with suicidal intent. Materials and Methods: Between March 2005 and February 2008, patients with wrist laceration were treated at our center. Among them, 14 patients with suicidal intent were reviewed retrospectively. They were 8 females and 6 males with a mean age of 33 years at the time of treatment. The side of injured wrist, injured structures, suicidal instrument, the time of injury, a suicidal motive, drug or alcohol abuse or not, indication of combined psychiatric disease, the duration of postoperative treatment, and the results of treatment were analyzed. Results: The injured wrist was the left one in 13 cases (93%), and knife wounds in 11 cases (79%) was the most frequent mechanism of injury. An average of 4.6 structures were injured including 3.5 tendons, 0.57 nerves and 0.5 arteries. The most frequently injured structures were the palmaris longus (71%), FCU (50%), FCR (43%), FDS 3 (36%), FDS 2, median nerve, and ulnar artery (each 29%). Simultaneous injury of both median and ulnar nerves occurred in 3 cases (21%), and simultaneous injury of both radial and ulnar artery occurred in 1 case (7%). The injury time was the night in 12 cases (86%), and the most frequent suicidal motive was human relations such as lover or spouse in 12 cases (86%). In 9 cases (64%), the injured were in a drunken state, 3 cases (21%) had been treated for a psychiatric disease at the time of the injury. The durations of postoperative treatment were an average of 5 days of admission and 1 day follow up. Only 1 case results could be evaluated. Conclusions: Patient's poor compliance in wrist laceration with suicidal intent should be expected and these characteristics may affect the management plan.