• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.116-125
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• 2018

Purpose: To identify factors affecting parenting stress of unmarried mothers. Methods: The subjects were 108 unmarried women who were parenting their children under the age of six. The data was collected from December 15, 2016 to March 5, 2017. The instruments consisted of self-reported questionnaires that included93 items: 21 on depression, 16 on social support, 20 on health perception, and 36 on parenting stress. The collected data were analyzed by t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlations, and hierarchical multiple regression. Results: The factors influencing parenting stress were health perception (${\beta}=-.55$, p<.001), evaluative support (${\beta}=-.42$, p=.005), informative support (${\beta}=-.35$, p=.040), emotional support (${\beta}=-.24$, p=.045), partner support (${\beta}=-.20$, p=.048), and depression (${\beta}=.14$, p=.033), and the explanatory power was 57%. Conclusion: In order to alleviate the parenting stress of unmarried mothers, it is necessary to develop programs considering the physical, psychological, and social factors of unmarried mothers. Their subjective assessment of their health can increase or decrease their parenting stress, so it is necessary to develop parenting-stress intervention focusing on health perception.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.685-696
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• 2008

Purpose: This study was performed to examine the frequency of irritable bowel syndrome(IBS), perceived stress, and mental health among community-dwelling women. Methods: This study conducted a survey to collect data on 869 women in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do. The measurements included the Rome III criteria(to diagnose IBS), the Global Assessment Recent Stress(GARS scale to evaluate perceived stress), and symptom check list 90R(SCL-90R to evaluate psychological distress). Data were analyzed using SPSS 15.0 program by frequency, $x^2$-tests, t-test, and analysis of variance(ANOVA). Results: The frequency of IBS in women was 15.1%. Eighty-six women(65.6%) had mixed constipation and diarrhea subtype of IBS. Compared to the women without IBS, those with IBS reported significantly higher scores on GARS, all subscales of GARS, SCL-90R, all subscales of SCL-90R, and the global severity index(GSI). No significant differences were observed among stress, mental health, and the IBS subtypes. Conclusion: Nursing interventions targeting women with IBS should be developed in order to reduce the associated stress and psychological distress.

• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Planning & Design
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.41-48
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to investigate the environmental factors relating to children's outdoor play and to assess how the residential neighborhood is suitable for play in the perception of parents. Based on a citywide survey of 500 parents of elementary school students in grades 1-4 in Seoul, this empirical study shows that children's outdoor play environments in residential neighborhoods of Seoul have been observed to be overall unsuitable for play activity. Three physical environmental factors (spatial availability, neighborhood attractiveness, and street difficulties) and three social environmental factors (fear of crime, social interactions, and psychological comfort) are related to children's play activity. Five factors, with the exception of the psychological comfort factor, impact the suitability of children's outdoor play environment. Specifically, it is the physical environment, rather than the social environment, that was deemed unsuitable in spite of its impacts. These findings help us understand the current conditions of neighborhood play environments associated with children's play activity. It is necessary to improve parents' perceptions of the play environment and children's play activities by improving the physical environment.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.201-210
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of flower decorations on job stress and stress copying style of police officers. Flower decorations were done in the form of "one-table one-flower", in which flowers were placed on each desk in the office space. By analyzing color psychology, we first identified the symbolism of color, and selected the cut flowers in the same color. We selected six types of flowers in six colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Each Monday morning, the flower decorations were delivered to the police station. We selected 50 subjects who wanted to keep flowers on their desks every week as the experimental group and 44 subjects who only wanted to participated in the assessment as the control group. Before and after the program, we examined the mean difference between the control group and experimental group. After six sessions of the program, there was a significant difference in job stress (p < .001) and stress copying style (p = .049) of the experimental group compared to the control group. Therefore, this study proved that having flower decorations in an office space is effective for the psychological stability of police officers that are highly stressed, due to sensory stimulations from the colors and scents of flowers as well as mutual interaction as they take care of the flowers.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.67-76
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• 2019

For hospice palliative care that provides comprehensive and general care, it is necessary to use assessment tools to objectively list issues and detail care plans. The initial assessment is a process of establishing an overall direction of care by identifying the patient's symptoms, social and spiritual issues and palliative care needs on the admission day or within one day of admission. This process is also used to identify the patients' and families' awareness of the illness, prognosis, treatment options and if the Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) has been drafted. Consisting of 13 simple questions regarding the physical, mental, social, and spiritual domains, the Needs at the End-of-Life Screening Tool (NEST) is recommended as an initial assessment tool. Using specific assessment tools, a care plan is established for the issues identified in the initial assessment within three days of admission. A multidisciplinary assessment tool can be helpful in the physical domain. The psychosocial domain evaluates psychological distress, anxiety and depression. The social domain examines an ability to make decisions, understanding of the socioeconomic circumstance, family relationship, and death preparedness. A spiritual evaluation is also important, for which the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual WellBeing Scale (FACIT-Sp) or the Spiritual Health Inventory (SHI) can be used. The use of an assessment tool could not only contribute to pain mitigation a better quality of life for patients, but also provide systematic training for a multidisciplinary team; And the process itself could be a stepping stone for the better care provision.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.143-163
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• 2017

Purpose: This study was a systematic review and meta-analysis designed to investigate effects of psychoeducational intervention for cancer survivors. Methods: Ten databases were searched. Two reviewers independently performed the selection of the studies, data extraction and assessment. The risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane Collaboration's tool. To estimate the effect size, meta-analysis of the studies was performed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis and RevMan programs. Results: Of 18,781 publications identified, 35 met inclusion criteria, and 25 studies were used to estimate effect size of psychoeducational intervention. Effect sizes (standardized mean difference [SMD]) were heterogeneous and random effects models were used in the analyses. Psychoeducational intervention was effective for quality of life (n=2,410, ES=0.23; 95% CI: 0.09~0.37), coping and self-efficacy (n=179, ES=0.68; 95% CI: 0.26~1.11), anxiety (n=1,786, ES=-0.26; 95% CI: -0.37~-0.15), depression (n=1,910, ES=-0.28; 95% CI: -0.37~-0.18), and psychological distress (n=2,242, ES=-0.31; 95% CI: -0.46~-0.17). Subgroup analysis showed that counseling was the most effective intervention for quality of life, and behavioral therapy was an effective intervention for all positive and negative outcomes. Publication bias was not detected except for psychological distress. Conclusion: Psychoeducational intervention appears to be effective in improving quality of life and coping and self-efficacy, and it is effective in reducing psychological symptoms in cancer survivors. Behavioral therapy, especially, is commonly effective in improving psychosocial outcomes. However, low-quality evidence, variability in the designs of existing studies, and publication bias suggest that additional high-quality trials should be conducted in the future.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.531-544
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• 2016

Victim Impact Statement, adopted as a crime victims' right, has been implemented in Korean criminal justice system since 2007, and known that the statement enlarges victims' right in courts and alleviates their suffering resulted from the crime. The statement, however, has raised concerns of infringing on a defendant's procedural rights. Scholars and practitioners had focused more on the legal issue, overlooking psychological effect of the statement to decision-makers in courts. This research reviews fallacy of impact assessment and therapeutic effect from psychological perspective, and also suggests alternatives to assuage the concerns by admission of the statement.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.20-31
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• 1995

The need to assess preoperative psychological characteristics of orthognathic surgery patients has recently been recognized. Fifty six patients were involved in this study, they were investigated in the preoperative psychosocial aspects. Korean Version Eysenk Personality Questionaire and Korean Version Tennessee Self-Concept Scale were used for psychological test. The results were as follows : 1. There was no significant difference of sex and age in the personality dimension, the selfconcept scale, and the preoperative tests(P>0.05). 2. 37% of subjects showed phonetic problem, 60% masticatory problem and 56% social problem for facial deformity. The first choice was the face in the order of correction for mastication, phonation and face. And 83% of the subjects forecasted the change in their face after surgical correction, The answer was generally vague. 64% of the subjects expected their personality to become more lively as a result of their operation. 3. Total positive self score and personal self score were less improved in the groups with high scores of toughmindness and neuroticism(P<0.05), degree of suffering was increased in the group with high scores of neuroticism(P<0.05). 4. Degree of subjective deformity, self-consciousness, and degree of dissimilarity were more improved in the group of intraversion, there was a significant correlation with degree of dissimilarity in the group with high score of toughmindness(r=-.64, P<0.05). 5. There was a significant correlation with the forecast of change in the groups with high score in extraversion(r=.59, P<0.01) and with low score in neuroticism(r=-.39, P<0.05).

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.106-112
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• 2013

Objective : Several reports have found abnormal levels of androgen in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients. This abnormality in androgen is hypothesized to due to chronic psychological stress effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) system. The present study was conducted to estimate serum testosterone levels in PTSD patients in comparison with normal subjects. Methods : Seventy-five male Korean veterans of the Vietnam War volunteered for the study, of which eleven were excluded because of incomplete psychological assessment. To measure basal serum testosterone, blood samples were collected between 8.00 and 9.30 a.m. The clinician administered PTSD scale (CAPS), the structured clinical interview for DSM-IV (SCID), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D), Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview Plus (Korean version of MINI-Plus), CES-K (Korean version of combat exposure scale). Results : The serum testosterone level of PTSD patients ($5.4{\pm}2.5ng/mL$) was higher than that of a control group ($3.1{\pm}1.7ng/mL$, p<0.001). Testosterone levels were significantly correlated with CAPS (r=.38, p<.01), HAM-A (r=.35, p<.01) and HAM-D (r=.28, p<.01) in all subjects. Conclusion : The results of the present study suggest that chronic psychological stress affects the HPG system.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.171-176
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• 2016

Background: Much has been done to examine the psychological impact of cancer treatment, but it remains unclear to what extent anxiety and depression is related to symptom prevalence. The present study concerned the characteristics and frequency of distress as related to symptom prevalence in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in Malaysia. Materials and Methods: Participants were 303 consecutive adult cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in an academic medical center. The short form Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS-SF), which covers three domains of symptoms (global distress, physical- and psychological symptoms) was used to cross-sectionally measure symptom frequency and associated distress via self-reporting. One-way ANOVA and t-tests were used to test mean differences among MSAS-SF subscale scores. Results: Complete data were available for 303 patients. The mean number of symptoms was 14.5. The five most prevalent were fatigue, dry mouth, hair loss, drowsiness and lack of appetite. Overall, symptom burden and frequency were higher than in other published MSAS-SF studies. Higher symptom frequency was also found to be significantly related to greater distress in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Conclusions: Patients undergoing chemotherapy suffer from multiple physical and psychological symptoms. Better symptom control or palliative care is needed. Greater frequency of reported symptoms may also indicate a subconscious bid by patients for care and reassurance - thus tailored intervention to manage distress should be offered.