• Journal of the Korean Society of Child Welfare
• /
• no.26
• /
• pp.7-30
• /
• 2008

The survival rate of children with cancer has increased significantly from less than 30% in 1960s to 75% during the recent years with the development of modern medical technologies. As a result, the cancer of children today is no longer classified as incurable diseases. Rather, it is recognized as a chronic illness. However, children with cancer are still suffering from physical and psychosocial ailments caused by long-term hospitalization. In particular, teenagers are more likely to be affected by these problems because of interests on one's appearance and peer relationships This study investigated the relationship of the level of body distortion and disease adjustment of children with cancer, and how demographic factors, disease factors, and the level of body distortion affect disease adjustment. Data were collected between October 22, 2007 and November 16, 2007 and the total respondents consisted of 82 children, ages 10 to 18. SPSS 12.0 with descriptive statistics, t-test, correlation and multiple regression were used for data analysis. The results showed that the factors which influence the disease adjustment of children with cancer were age, school enrollment, and the level of body distortion. The result of this study has major implications for the government to provide support for children with cancer to stay in school. Additionally, programs that assist children to build positive body images need to be developed in accordance with their ages and psychosocial characteristics.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
• /
• v.42 no.7
• /
• pp.19-32
• /
• 2004

This study examined how school-age children's peer acceptance and friendship experience were related to their psychosocial adjusment. Peer acceptance was examined in terms of sociometric status and social preference, and the friendship experience was examined in terms of the reciprocity of best friendship. The subjects were 275 children in the 4th or 5th grades. It was found that sociometric status and the reciprocity of best friendship were significant predictors of the level of loneliness that children experienced. Interaction between children's social preference score and the reciprocity of best friendship was also a significant predictor of the children's experience of loneliness. That is, the degree to which children are accepted by their peer group predicts the level of loneliness that children experience, but the strength of the prediction depends on whether the children have reciprocal best friends. Is for children's self-esteem in relation with sociometric status and the reciprocity of best friendship, only sociometric status was significant predictor of children's self-esteem. However, interaction between social preference and the reciprocity of best friendship was a significant predictor of children's self-esteem. This finding suggests that the degree to which children are accepted by their peer group predicts the level of children's self-esteem, and the strength of the prediction depends on whether the children have reciprocal best friends.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.3-10
• /
• 2000

Objectives : The author wanted to summarize the psychiatric and social aspects of the patients with hepatitis B virus infection. Methods : The author reviewed all pertinent citations in the Medline database from 1966 to 1999. Results : Psychiatric problems in this population include delirium, psychotic disorder due to general medical condition(especially mania), anxiety, depression, adjustment disorder, alcohol abuse/dependence, and drug abuse/dependence. Social aspects of the patients with hepatitis B viral infection relate to the stigma of being a carrier, guilty feeling about infection, guilty feeling about increased family burden, impacts of having hepatitis on interpersonal relations, sexual difficulties, and job loss with increased financial burden, and health care worker's refusal. Conclusions : Appropriate early educational counseling interventions regarding the expected course and psychosocial intervention should be tailored to the sociocultural needs of special populations. Those interventions will increase compliance of treatment and prevent progression to hepatocellalar carcinoma from hepatitis.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
• /
• v.37
• /
• pp.271-306
• /
• 1999

This study aimed to present a comprehensive case management model which might be helpful for social workers in community social welfare agencies who works with North Korean refugees for their psychosocial adjustment in South Korea. After being constructed, the model was put into practice upon North Korean refugees. This article described the whole process of model construction and its application. Detail steps taken in this research include: (a) The researcher had 20 unstructured individual interviews with 11 North Korean refugees in order to identify psychosocial problems that need social workers' intervention; (b) Based upon the problems identified through interviews and previous literature review, program components were identified and sorted out into two phases, one of which is therapeutic phase, the other is case management phase; (c) By interlocking the two phases, the researcher proposed a comprehensive case management model whereby North Korean refugees can get psychosocial services as well as linkage services in an interactive fashion; (d) The utility of the proposed model was examined by using a couple of North Korean refugees who initially showed complicated psycho-social-economic problems. The therapeutic phase employed a cognitive-behavioral approach. The case management phase consists of: assessment and diagnosis; service planning and resource identification; linking of clients to needed services; monitoring of service delivery; and evaluation. Although the program could not go through with because of the limited contacts with North Korean refugees for security reasons, the program was turned out to be very useful in helping North Korean refugees' settling-down in South Korea. Implications for the application of the proposed model was discussed along with limitations of this study.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.270-277
• /
• 2008

Purpose: This study was done to identify predictors of the fighting spirit or helplessness/hopelessness in the patients' mental adjustment to cancer. Cancer patients' characteristics like performance status, metastasis and duration of diagnosis with demographic factors, spiritual support and social support were used as predictors of a fighting spirit or helplessness/hopelessness. Methods: A total of 124 ambulatory cancer patients completed the Mental Adjustment to Cancer (MAC) scale and responded in a structured instrument about their characteristics, spiritual and social support. Results: The results of multiple regression analysis revealed that confidence in the supporter ($R^2=.114$, p=.000), duration of cancer diagnosis ($R^2=.041$, p=.000) and faith ($R^2=.030$, p=.000) were predictive of a fighting spirit ($R^2=.185$, p=.000); whereas, education ($R^2= .074$, p=.001), performance status ($R^2=.055$, p=.000), satisfaction with social support ($R^2=.046$, p=.000), and metastasis ($R^2=.037$, p=.000) were predictive of helplessness/hopelessness ($R^2=.202$, p=.000). Conclusion: Social support, spiritual support and disease related factors like metastasis, performance status, and duration of cancer diagnosis need to be considered in a psychosocial nursing intervention for a fighting spirit or helplessness/hopelessness.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.790-801
• /
• 1999

The purpose of this study was to generate a grounded theory of how families with kidney donor or recipient coped with kidney transplantations. Interview data from twelve families involved in kidney transplants was analyzed using the grounded theory method. Data analysis revealed that “protecting the family” was the main theme that represented family member experiences. In order to maintain family function and to protect the family from breaking up, family members had to adjust the family structure from the traditional style of a husband-centered family, to one that was patient health -centered. The process of this adjustment was a very long and difficult one, taking several years from the recognition of the kidney disease to the kidney transplants. Family members, especially spouses, employed nine different strategies to deal with various problems and conflicts which occurred during the process : 1) paying attention to the patient's illness and complications ; 2) accepting the patient's illness as the family's illness as well ; 3) managing the patient's illness and complications that occured ; 4) being thrifty ; 5)supporting the kidney donor ; 6) accepting and replacing the lost roles of the patient ; 7) keeping composure and encouraging the patient ; 8) sustaining the patient's independence ; 9) self-restraining sexual desires. These findings suggest that there is a developmental process where family members adjust to a kidney transplant over time. There is also a need for increased social and psychological health services for all family members over the course of kidney transplants.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
• /
• v.52
• /
• pp.143-170
• /
• 2003

This study investigated the effectiveness of the assessment of psychosocial treatment outcome in symptomatology and social functioning as rated by the depressed client's significant other in explaining the client's symptomatology and social adjustment at 6 and 12 month follow-up period after the 16-week psychosocial treatment was terminated. The data were drawn from the National Institute of Mental Health Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program of the U.S. Significant others of depressed clients have rarely participated in the assessment of treatment outcome, although they are major participants of the clients' daily life and have meaningful opportunities to observe the clients' functioning in different social situations. Thus, this study aimed to examine the explanatory power of the significant others' outcome assessment in depressive symptomatology and social functioning for the long-term outcome in symptomatology and social adjustment. The outcome measures used by the significant others were actual performance, expected performance, gap between actual and expected performance, and symptomatology drawn from the Katz Adjustment Scale-Relatives Form. Three major findings were: (1) in general, the posttreatment assessment by the significant other demonstrated stronger explanatory power of the follow-up status than the assessment rated at pretreatment in all of the four outcome domains; (2) the significant other's assessment of actual and expected performance at both pre- and posttreatment demonstrated significant explanatory power of the follow-up status in symptomatology and social/leisure and work adjustment; and (3) the significant other's assessment of social functioning at pretreatment improved the explanatory power over and above the explanation by symptomatology in the follow-up status of social/leisure and work adjustment; however, at posttreatment, symptomatology improved the explanation over and above social functioning more frequently in predicting both symptomatology and social/leisure and work adjustment. These findings suggest the effectiveness of the measures of symptomatology and actual and expected performance as assessed by significant others. The results imply that mental health professionals and researchers need to involve the depressed client's significant other in the treatment and make good use of their contribution in treatment planning and further intervention in the follow-up period to prevent relapse.

• Child Health Nursing Research
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.19-28
• /
• 2012

Purpose: The study aimed to identity specific needs for services and programs to help childhood cancer survivors adjust and adapt to life after treatment. Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with 31 childhood cancer survivors, diagnosed with cancer before the age of 18 and currently between 15 and 39 years of age. Each survivor had completed his/her cancer treatment. Results: The participating cancer survivors reported needs for services related to psychological counseling, schooling and learning, social skills, mentorship, integrated health management, self support activities, families of survivors, and public recognition and awareness. Conclusion: The results of the study indicate a need to better understand childhood cancer survivors, provides a basis for developing various services and programs to improve the quality of life among childhood cancer patients, survivors, and their families, and supports the importance of psychosocial adjustment.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.515-527
• /
• 2015

Purpose: This study was to the experiences hospital school programs health impaired children as perceived by mothers. Methods: The participants were 9 mothers of children with health impairment who had in hospital school program. ata were collected through in-depth interview using semi-structured questionnaire. The interviews were analyzed by content analysis. Results: domains and 13 categories were extracted from the analysis. The 5 domains related to the experience hospital school program were emotion, therapeutic course, interpersonal relationship, school reentry, and needs for hospital school management. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that participation hospital school programs not only educational support but it is also helpful for physical, psychosocial adjustment of health impaired children and could be used develop effective hospital school programs to improve the adaption of children with health impairment.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.203-212
• /
• 1996

In this thesis, we investigate the psychosocial variables within the family environments of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder with (ADHD+CD/ODD) or without (ADHD) externalizing symptoms. The subjects in this research were 86 boys and girls(aged range 6 to 14 years) consisted of 20 ADHD, 22 comorbid ADHD(ADHD+CD/ODD) and 44 normal control group(NC). We have collected data on children and their mothers. The psychosocial variables included in the analysis are socioeconomic status, parent's educational level, life stress event, and the rate of psychiatric disorders in relatives. The self-reported questionnaires marital discord(MAS), parenting stress(PSI), and parenting attitute(MBRI) completed by mothers. The results indicated that ADHD+CD/ODD is supposed to have higher level of family adversity suggested by the lower SES, lower parental educational level, higher life stress events, and more psychic disorders in relatives compared with ADHD or normal control group. In MAS, ADHD+CD/ODD group has significantly the lowest scores on each factor of the measure of marital adjustment. Parents of ADHD+CD/ODD are much more likely to have positive parenting stress when compared with the parents of ADHD. Especially, mothers of ADHD+CD/ODD have the lowest tendency in the mean score on affective, accepted attitudd. In an inapropriate parenting attitude perceived by children, father of ADHD+CD/ODD have the most negative, contradictory attitude and mothers of ADHD+CD/ODD have the most restrictive, negative and contradictory attitude.