• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.114-121
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• 2018

Objective: Although suicide is a serious public health concern for adolescents, there is a lack of studies that explore its risk factors in the Republic of Korea. The present study aims to investigate risk factors associated with suicidal behaviors in Korean adolescents. Methods: Participants consisted of 2258 middle and high school students who completed a series of questionnaires regarding suicide ideation or attempts, non-suicidal self-injuries, depression, impulsivity, drinking behaviors, and negative life events, including peer bullying. Results: Among the participants, 8.3% of students reported suicide ideation, while 3.2% reported a history of a suicide attempt in the past 12 months. Depression, peer-victimization, internet-related delinquency, and positive attitudes toward suicide were associated with suicidal ideations and attempts. Adverse life events were also associated with suicide ideation, but not attempts, while not living with both parents and poor family relationships were associated with suicide attempts, but not ideations. Non-suicidal self-injuries were associated with both suicide ideations and attempts. Students with suicidal ideations and attempts can be differentiated depending on the presence of self-injury. Conclusion: In addition to depression or behavioral problems, non-suicidal self-injuries and lack of support from family may also play significant roles in suicide attempts in adolescents. To facilitate the prevention of suicide in adolescents, longitudinal studies should be followed to confirm the risk factors identified in this study.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.7-13
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• 2018

Objective : To determine the association between occupational stress and disordered eating problem in Korean female employees. Methods : We studied 1,452 female employees who attended mental health screenings. Using the Korean Occupational Stress Scale-Short Form (KOSS-SF) and 26-item Korean version of Eating Attitude Test, occupational stress and disordered eating problem were evaluated, respectively. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of those with disordered eating problem were examined. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to determine which subscale of KOSS-SF was associated with disordered eating problem. Results : Disordered eating problem was associated with interpersonal conflict [odds ratio (OR) 1.882, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.138-3.112] among various kinds of job stresses. Lack of reward (OR 7.164, 95% CI 1.139-45.043) and insufficient job control (OR 1.953, 95% CI 1.119-3.411) were associated with disordered eating problem in the underweight and normal weight group, respectively. Conclusion : There is an association between occupational stress and disordered eating problem among Korean female employees.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.155-166
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• 2024

This study utilized cohort data, student lifestyle surveys, and mental health examination results from a medical school to investigate the impact of factors such as hometown, alcohol use, smoking, university life adaptation, and aptitude on academic failure, with mental health serving as a mediator. We analyzed data from 409 of the 549 incoming students at Keimyung University School of Medicine, excluding 140 individuals with missing data, from the academic years 2015 to 2021. Significant differences were found according to hometown in feelings of depression, suicidal tendencies, and internet addiction. There were also significant differences based on university life adaptation in feelings of depression, suicidal tendencies, and internet addiction, as well as significant differences according to academic aptitude in feelings of depression and internet addiction. Academic failure showed significant differences based on hometown, university life adaptation, and academic aptitude. Furthermore, students' hometown had a complete mediating effect on academic failure together with feelings of depression, suicidal tendencies, and internet addiction. University life adaptation exhibited a complete mediating effect with suicidal tendencies and a partial mediating effect with feelings of depression and internet addiction. Academic aptitude demonstrated partial mediating effects on feelings of depression, suicidal tendencies, and internet addiction. Based on these results, we suggest establishing counseling programs tailored to the characteristics of medical students, and various programs for university life adaptation are necessary. There is also a need for diverse programs not only for clinical training, but also for different career paths.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.37-51
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• 2019

Purpose: This study aims to substantiate a correlation between the period of living alone in a shabby one-room and a depression experience. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study using data from the Korea Homeless Survey carried out by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs in 2016. In the study, the data included 485 survey participants who resided in a single room. The period of single-room occupancy being divided into three groups: less than 1 year, 1 to 4 years, and more than 5 years was considered a primary independent variable. The outcome variable which represented a depression experience was measured by CESD-11(The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale). We carried out a Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression to evaluate the association. Results: The rate of depression experienced in this population was 77.5%. Almost 83.9% of the participants were reported as being unable to receive the mental health counselling in the last 12 months. After controlling for covariates, subjects who were living in a single room occupancy for 1-5 years(OR=3.89; 95% CI=1.43-10.56) and more than 5 years(OR=2.71; 95% CI= 1.05-6.95) were found to be more likely to experience depression. Conclusions: The results showed that living alone in a shabby one-room had a high correlation with experiencing depression. We proposed that there is a need to develop a new strategy for mental health promotion program for the poor, vulnerable and deprived population.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2023

Backgrounds: As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the university students population is one of the high risk and vulnerable groups. This study analyzed the status of student's mental health, including anxiety and depression caused by COVID-19, and its related factors among a university students in Korea. Methods : Our study subjects included university students in Korea. The survey items included general characteristics, teaching methods, physical activity, eating habits (SDBQ-L), weight-related questions, general anxiety disorder-7(GAD-7), and depression symptoms checklist. Frequency analysis, chi-square test, and logistic regression analysis were performed and data was analyzed using R version 4.1.2 program. Results : The prevalence of anxiety complaints was 5.5%, while the prevalence of depression complaints was 30.8%. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis of factors influencing anxiety, anxiety occurred 19.081 times (95% confidence interval (CI): 2.352-154.807) in the group with unhealthy diet (p<0.01). While in the multivariable analysis to identify factors affecting depression, women were 2.607 times significantly higher (95% CI: 1.255-5.415) than men, 0.407 times (95% CI:0.197-0.840) for residents of the metropolitan area, 3.418 times higher (95% CI:1.633-7.198) for unhealthy dietary people, and 2.225 times higher (95% CI: 1.080-4.582) for weight gainers (p<0.05). The type of class had no effect. Conclusions: COVID-19 and its associated interventions had negative effects on the mental health status including anxiety and depression in university students in Korea. Based on our results we recommend developing mental health interventions and prevention strategies for students in all universities in Korea.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.108 no.4
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• pp.655-662
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• 2019

The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of school forests on the cognition and mental health of elementary school students. Data were obtained through the surveys of sixth graders in an elementary school in Seoul that took part in the School Forest Project run by Korea Post, the Korea Forest Welfare Institute, and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. Students were surveyed before and after the creation of green spaces in their schools, and changes in their environmental sensitivity, attitude toward forests, depression, anxiety, and aggression were analyzed. The findings indicated that the creation of green spaces showed significant effects on the students in terms of encouraging them to strengthen their environmental sensitivity, helping them develop more positive attitudes toward forests, and reducing anxiety and physical aggression, which are the subfactors of aggressive behavior. In other words, creating school forests had positive effects on cognition and mental health, reduced bad behavior, and improved attitudes toward nature in children. The findings of this study are significant in that they reinforce the requirement of school forests by indicating the positive effects of school forests on children's cognition and mental health.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.15 no.5 s.58
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• pp.175-182
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• 2006

School's preservation of health aims at the promotion of efficiency for school education as it promotes students and all teaching staffs' health. In this study, 26 elementary schools in seoul were selected and analyzed, in order to make a basic plan of efficient public health room where students and all teaching staffs can be actively treated their physical and mental problems. The basic direction of school health was referred to promote school's preservation of health. A public health room should have each necessary field to do their own parts. Besides, its space plan has to be designed in detail so that the room can be convenient and comfortable. Unlike until now, we need to change our mind into planing a public health room apart from a school plan.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.1-13
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• 2019

This study examined the effect of digital technologies on adolescent mental health; attention deficit, aggression, depression. Furthermore, we investigated the role of parenting style and peer attachment as they might have effects on digital technologies. Using two-wave longitudinal data, we conducted longitudinal analysis from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey done in 2015 and 2016. Results showed that computer and internet usage for learning purpose has a positive effect on mental health, while computer games and social media have negative effects. Also, the positive effects of learning on depression indicated stronger in adolescents who felt less affection from their parents. On the other hand, the negative effects of computer games and social media could be moderated by both parenting style and peer attachment. Implications of these results and directions for future research are discussed.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.209-220
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of depression, self-efficacy and social support on suicidal ideation in people with mental disorder. The participants for this study were 165 patients from psychiatric hospital, day hospital, community mental health center and nursing home, located in Busan. A self-report survey was used for data collection, which was carried out from May 1 to 30, 2011. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS21.0 program. According to results, Suicidal ideation was influenced by age, number of admission, psychiatric diagnosis and history of suicidal attempts. This study showed that suicide ideation had positive correlation with depression, negative with social support. History of suicidal attempt, depression, self-esteem and social support accounted for 52.8% regarding suicidal ideation. Based on the outcomes of this study, it is necessary to design an intervention program that emphasizes decreasing depression and suicidal attempt and increasing the self-esteem and social support in order to decrease suicidal ideation.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 2014

Background: In Japan, more than 60% of employees are reported to suffer from anxiety and stress. Consequently, Japanese society has begun to address such important issues as psychogenic disability and job-related suicide. Furthermore, given the aging of society and the surge in the number of elderly people requiring care, it is necessary to adequately and proactively support employees who care for their elderly relatives. The purpose of the present study was to investigate caregiver burden in caring for elderly relatives and work-related stress factors associated with mental health among employees. Methods: We studied 722 men and women aged 18-83 years in a cross-sectional study. The K10 questionnaire was used to examine mental health status. Results: The proportion of participants with a high K10 score was 15% (n = 106). Having little conversation with their supervisor and/or coworkers significantly increased the risk of depression [odds ratio (OR) 1.8], as did high job overload (OR 2.7) and job dissatisfaction (OR 3.8), compared with employees who frequently conversed with their supervisor and/or coworkers. Caring for elderly relatives as a prominent characteristic of an employee was a significant risk factor for depression (OR 2.1). Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that employees who were caring for elderly relatives were significantly associated with an increased risk of depression. To prevent depressive disorders, it may be important to focus on reducing the work-caregiving role conflict, as well as enhancing employees' job control and better rewarding their efforts in the workplace.