• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.3-14
• /
• 2003

In this review article, the meanings of the somatization phenomena were reviewed and discussed in terms of cultural psychiatric view point. The somatization is an universal psychopathology. But frequency, pattern of symptoms and it's cultural factors in the conversion of emotional distress to the somatization are much different from culture to culture. Conventional impression and monotonous interpretation that somatization is prevalent in the non-Western or traditional society and it is due to poor differentiation of the psyche is seriously criticized. Cultural metaphors of expressing emotional pain, traditional disease concepts, conventional way of adopting a given culture and society, and medical delivery system and milieu could be regarded as important cultural factors of the somatization. Cultural meanings of somatization in Korea were summarized and discussed. Finally, clinical guide line for transcultural practice were summarized.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.50 no.2
• /
• pp.114-118
• /
• 2011

Objective : The purpose of this study is to confirm whether brain disease or brain trauma actually affect psychopathology in young male group in Korea. Methods : The authors manually reviewed the result of Korean military multiphasic personal inventory (KMPI) in the examination of conscription in Korea from January 2008 to May 2010. There were total 237 young males in this review. Normal volunteers group (n=150) was composed of those who do not have history of brain disease or brain trauma. Brain disease group (n=33) was consisted of those with history of brain disease. Brain trauma group (n=54) was consisted of those with history of brain trauma. The results of KMPI in each group were compared. Results : Abnormal results of KMPI were found in both brain disease and trauma groups. In the brain disease group, higher tendencies of faking bad response, anxiety, depression, somatization, personality disorder, schizophrenic and paranoid psychopathy was observed and compared to the normal volunteers group. In the brain trauma group, higher tendencies of faking-good, depression, somatization and personality disorder was observed and compared to the normal volunteers group. Conclusion : Young male with history of brain disease or brain trauma may have higher tendencies to have abnormal results of multiphasic personal inventory test compared to young male without history of brain disease or brain trauma, suggesting that damaged brain may cause psychopathology in young male group in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.28-35
• /
• 2014

Objectives This study aimed to identify the relationship between quality of life (QoL) and psychosocial factors of schizophrenia patients registered in a community mental health center. Methods The ninety patients with schizophrenia, diagnosed by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition-Text Revision, registered in a community mental health center were studied cross-sectionally. Four trained personnels interviewed each subject individually for the assessment of QoL, psychopathology, severity of depressed mood, insight of illness, attitude toward drugs, social function, degree of social supports and conflicts. Results QoL was significantly related to the psychopathology, depressed mood, social conflict, social support; and other aspects of QoL were slightly differently related to depressed mood, social conflict, social support and attitude toward drug by scales. In multiple regression analysis, depressed mood (20.0%) and social conflict (10.3%) were contributed to QoL assessed by Korean version of 4th revision of Schizophrenia Quality of Life. Social support (21.4%), social conflict (20.9%) and depressed mood (3.1%) were contributed to QoL assessed by Korean modification of the Scale to measure Subjective Well-being under Neuroleptic treatment. Conclusions These findings demonstrated that QoL of schizophrenia patients in a community is affected by depressed mood, social support and conflict rather than psychotic symptoms, insight and attitude toward drugs. And this result suggests the necessity of approaching not only to the psychotic symptoms but also to the psychosocial characteristics in caring schizophrenia patients in the community.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.149-164
• /
• 2000

Somatization is regarded as a process rather than a diagnostic entity. It should be emphasized to identify psychopathology rather than to make a choice regarding diagnosis in assessing somatizing patients. Psychiatrists should be aware of the psychosocial cues underlying the patients' physical symptoms. Special skills and strategies are required by nonpsychiatric physicians to facilitate the patients' acceptance of psychiatric treatment. The goal of treatment for somatization is management but not cure. The approach should be flexible, depending on the patients' responses and need. The difficulty in diagnosing and treating somatization is likely to be related to abnormal illness behavior such as the patients' denial of their psychosocial problems and resistance to psychiatric approach. In conclusion, biopsychosocial approach is needed to treat these patients effectively. Psychiatrists should also teach other physicians the interview skill that they could identify these patients as early as possible and facilitate their acceptance of psychiatric treatment.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.95-100
• /
• 2017

Objectives : This study was designed for the purpose of the relationship between psychopathology and suicide in North Korean Refugee Adolescents. Methods : The subjects were 104 North Korean Refugee Adolescents. We investigated the The Korean version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies for Depression, Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. We also investigated the suicide ideation, planning and attempt. The self-report was taken to the North Korean Refugee Adolescents. Results : The Center for Epidemiologic Studies for Depression Score(Z=-4.050, p<0.001), Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Score(t=-2.757, p<0.01), Rosenberg Self-Seteem Score(Z=-2.328, p<0.05) were significantly associated with the suicide ideation in North Korean Refugee Adolescents. In logistic regression analysis, only The Center for Epidemiologic Studies for Depression Score(p<0.005) expected the suicidal ideation. Conclusions : The management of depression would be helpful to reduce the suicide in North Korean Refugee Adolescents.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.127-133
• /
• 2012

Objectives : The aims of this study were to examine agreement between parent and teacher ratings of the Korean version Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-Kr) for the children's psychopathology and to determine whether it is effective in diagnostics as the Korean version of Childhood Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL). Methods : SDQ-Kr and K-CBCL were completed by parents and teachers of 165 children aged 6-12 years. The clinical diagnosis was made by a child and adolescent psychiatrist who did not have knowledge of the outcome. Spearman's correlations were computed for associations between parents' and teachers' ratings on a subscale level. The Mann-Whitney U test was performed for the influence of child's age and sex on the results. Finally, AUC values were calculated for the diagnostic capacity and the difference between informants was tested using the z test. Results : High correlations were observed between parents' and teachers' SDQ-Kr on every scale. Parents were more sensitive to emotional symptoms of girls, while teachers appeared to be more responsive to externalized symptoms of boys, inattention-hyperactivity of young children, and emotional symptoms of seniors. Parents' SDQ-Kr demonstrated the highest prediction of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Conclusion : Teachers' SDQ-Kr can be used in identification of child psychopathology when parents are absent or when their reliability is considered low.

• Anxiety and mood
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.120-128
• /
• 2015

Objectives : The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is a commonly used psychological test measuring personality and psychopathology in both clinical and non-clinical population. This study was to evaluate characteristic MMPI-2 profile associated with the risk of suicide among college students. Methods : We analyzed the survey response of 2,964 college students who participated in a health survey from a school health center at a national university in 2011. Those who endorsed any of six items on the suicidaity module of MINI were classified as a suicide risk group and remaining students who did not as a control group. Then we compared the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) score, the MMPI-2 Clinical scales and Restructured Clinical (RC) scales. To evaluate the correlation RC scales with suicidality score, Pearson correlation analysis was performed. Results : The suicide risk group was 464 students, and the control group was 2,500. The classification result of suicidality, 255 (8.6%) students were low-risk group, 149 (4.8%) students were moderate-risk group and 60 (2.0%) students were high-risk group. In the suicide risk group, VRIN, F scale, Clinical scale and RC scales were significantly higher. In the control group L, K and S scales were significantly higher. Suicidality score has significant correlation with all RC scales. Conclusion : In the suicide risk group, overall psychopathology was higher than the control group. Taken together, features of depressive symptom, antisocial behavior, aggressiveness, introversion may indicate the risk of suicide in college students. These results display both clinical and public health implications for clinicians and school health professionals.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.275-281
• /
• 2001

This study examined the relationship between psychopathology(depression, anxiety, aggression), maladaptive cognitions(negative cognitive errors, attributional biases), and age of children with ADHD. 40 ADHD children and their mother completed questionnaires assessing depression, anxiety, aggression level and maladaptive cognitions of children. The results showed that maladaptive cognitions of children with ADHD was not significantly associated with their depression, anxiety, aggression level. Age was negatively related to internal stable attributions for negative events that was characteristic in depression, and had significantly effect on internal stable attributions for negative events. As age of ADHD children increased, their internal attribution for negative events reduced. It seems that their depression and anxiety level is associated with current stress event rather than maladaptive cognitions. Suggestions and limitations of this study, and the directions for future study were discussed.

• Anxiety and mood
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.122-127
• /
• 2006

Objective : We examined the putative association between the psychological symptoms and hypoxemia in hospitalized pneumoconiosis patients. Methods : One hundred and nine hospitalized pneumoconiosis patients were divided into two groups according to their level of hypoxemia (PaO2); hypoxemic group consisted of 47 patients with PaO2 lower than 80 mmHg, and comparative group consisted of 62 patients with higher than 80 mmHg. All of them were interviewed with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), and completed the Symptom Checklist-90items-Revised (SCL-90-R) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The medical data (PaO2, PaCO2, Hb, and Hct), number of hospital days and socio-demographic data as well as scores of the three psychological measurements were compared between the two groups. Results : Hypoxemic patients with lower PaO2 showed higher scores in the HAM-D (p=0.01) and stateanxiety subscale of the STAI (p<0.05). Values of hemoglobin and hematocrit were negatively correlated with levels of trait-anxiety (p<0.05). Thirty patients (27.5%) of total subjects suffered from depression (higher than 18 in the HAM-D), and 46.8% of hypoxemic patients were depressed, whereas 12.9% of comparative group patients were depressed (p=0.01). Conclusion : These results suggest that depression and anxiety might be associated with the hypoxemic mechanism in pneumoconiosis patients.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.54 no.5
• /
• pp.390-398
• /
• 2013

Objective : We determined whether the relationship between the neuropsychological performance of patients with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and their psychopathological characteristics measured by disability evaluation are interrelated. In addition, we assessed which psychopathological variable was most influential on neuropsychological performance via statistical clustering of the same characteristics of mild TBI. Methods : A total of 219 disability evaluation participants with mild brain injury were selected. All participants were classified into three groups, based on their psychopathological characteristics, via a two-step cluster analysis using validity and clinical scales from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and Symptom Checklist-90-revised (SCL-90-R). The Korean Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (K-WAIS), Korean Memory Assessment Scale (K-MAS) and the Korean Boston Naming Test (K-BNT) were used to evaluate the neurocognitive functions of mild TBI patients. Results : Over a quarter (26.9%) experienced severe psychopathological symptoms and 43.4% experienced mild or moderate psychopathological symptoms, and all of the mild TBI patients showed a significant relationship between neurocognitive functions and subjective and/or objective psychopathic symptoms, but the degree of this relationship was moderate. Variances of neurocognitive function were explained by neurotic and psychotic symptoms, but the role of these factors were different to each other and participants did not show intelligence and other cognitive domain decrement except for global memory abilities compared to the non-psychopathology group. Conclusion : Certain patients with mild TBI showed psychopathological symptoms, but these were not directly related to cognitive decrement. Psychopathology and cognitive decrement are discrete aspects in patients with mild TBI. Furthermore, the neurotic symptoms of mild TBI patients made positive complements to decrements or impairments of neurocognitive functions, but the psychotic symptoms had a negative effect on neurocognitive functions.