• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.169-176
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• 2020

Exploring the risk factors of adolescent suicide is important for effective suicide prevention. This study explored the clustering of adolescent suicides based on six risk factors: mental disorder, broken family, depression, anxiety, previous suicide attempts, and deviant behaviors. Using 173 student suicide reports obtained from the Ministry of Education, we evaluated the associations between suicide and variables related to mental disorders; dysfunctional family life; depression and anxiety; previous suicide attempts; deviant behaviors such as drinking and smoking; and school life characteristics, including attendance and discipline, problems within the past year, and incidents prior to suicide. In addition, reports of warning signs just before suicide were included in the analysis. The two-stage cluster analysis classified the students into three clusters: the silent type (cluster 1; 48.55%), in which no risk factors were observed; environmental-risk type (cluster 2: 24.28%), which featured a high frequency of broken households, deviant behaviors such as smoking/drinking and running away from home; and depressive type (cluster 3: 27.17%), which featured a high frequency of mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and suicide attempts. Identifying the sub-types of adolescent suicide may help to inform tailored suicide prevention and intervention strategies in school.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.67-74
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• 2010

Objectives: This study aims to identify the effect between high school students' recognition of mental health on sleep quality to present basic data for better health. Methods: The study used data obtained through the 2007 online research on adolescents' health behaviors, targeting a total of 35,228 high school students (18,628 of male students and 16,600 of female students). Results: Seventy six point ninety six percent of the male respondents and 79.67% of female respondents answered their sleep quality was not satisfactory. The subjects who had stress showed significantly lower quality of sleep than those who answered they had no stress. For female students, those who answered they had intention to suicide had significantly lower quality of sleep than those who answered they did not have, but for male students, there was no significant relations between them. There were no significant relations between sense of dispair and sleep quality both for male and female subjects. Conclusion: Factors of mental health related with sleep quality were stress and intention of suicide. The more they had stress and intention of suicide, the significantly lower sleep quality was. Therefore, in order to improve sleep quality of high school students, it is suggested that management programs based on education and counselling with experts should be provided and further studies on other mental health factors and sleep quality should be conducted.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.1-14
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• 2021

Objectives: The study aimed to analyze the effects of household financial difficulties caused by COVID-19 (2019 coronavirus disease) on suicidal tendencies of adolescents. Methods: We selected 54,948 middle and high school students who were surveyed based on the Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey 2020. To analyze the data, we used the STATA 16.0 program to conduct propensity score matching (PSM). Results: After controlling for selection effects by using PSM, the household financial difficulties caused by COVID-19 maintained a significant predictive effect on increasing suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and decreasing tendency in hospital-treated after suicide attempts. However, depressive symptoms and suicide plan did not show a significant correlation with household financial difficulties associated with COVID-19. Conclusions: It was found that the rate of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among adolescents who experienced a household financial difficulties due to COVID-19. Therefore, It can provide empirical evidence for estimating the impact of COVID-19 on adolescent suicide rates.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.13-22
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• 2023

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to provide baseline data for management policies by exploring the association between alcohol and mental health in menopause and andropause middle-aged Methods: This study used the data from from the 8th National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2019-2021). Adults between the ages of 40 and 64 were considered menopause and andropause middle-aged and 7,704 of the total number of 8,549 subjects were selected as the final study subjects without missing data. Mental health was defined as depression diagnosis and suicidal thoughts, and drinking was defined as current drinking and high-risk drinking. SAS 9.4 was used for all statistical analyses. Results: There were significant differences between menopause middle-aged men and women in current drinking (83.4% for men and 66.6% for women) and in high-risk drinking (24.2% for men and 4.9% for women). The significant factors affecting the depression diagnosis were identified as economic activity, income level, and subjective health status for men and economic activity, income level, subjective health status, and smoking for women (p < .05). The significant factors affecting suicidal ideation included economic activity, income level, and subjective health status for men and economic activity, high-risk drinking, current smoking, and subjective health status for women (p < .05). Conclusion: As a result of analyzing the association between alcohol and mental health in menopause and andropause middle-aged adults, Drinking alcohol and high-risk drinking in women were associated with mental health, but insignificantly in men. Based on this study, it is necessary to program development and health education for the physical and mental health of menopausal middle-aged women exposed to alcohol, and to develop menopausal mental health management policies that take into account the gender differences.

• Journal of Korean Library and Information Science Society
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.277-298
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• 2007

Adolescence is a critical period of mental disorder. A teacher, as a significant other, is an important social supporter for adolescents. The purpose of this study is to develop bibliotherapy programs for teachers as a school-based prevention program which helps improve the mental health of adolescents. Two programs are designed for teachers. One is for a teacher as an ordinary person in his/her daily life and the other is for a teacher as a significant other of adolescents.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.108-114
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• 2017

Objective : A pilot project entitled '50s mental health screening project' was conducted in Seoul. As a part of this project, we conducted surveys to obtain the opinions of psychiatrists regarding mental health screenings. Methods : A questionnaire was mailed to members registered with the Korean Neuropsychiatric Association, which enquired about the '50s mental health screening project'. Results: A majority (90.9%) of the subjects agreed on the purpose and implementation of the project. However, there were fewer individuals that actually showed the intent to participate (65.8%). The mean age of the group with the intention to participate was higher compared to the group with no intention to participate. The factors that negatively affected the intent to participate included prejudice and discrimination against psychiatry (3.795), low health insurance reimbursement (3.784), and inconvenience of reporting to public health centers (3.664). The most appropriate method that scored the highest for screening mental health was face-to-face consultation with a psychiatrist (3.889). Most of the participants agreed on the method of a self-reported survey along with an interview of psychiatrist (84.9%). Conclusion : Subjects were concerned about prejudice and discrimination against psychiatry, low health insurance reimbursement, and inconvenience of reporting to public health centers. These problems need to be supplemented. Face-to-face consultation with a psychiatrist may be considered an appropriate method for future mental health screening.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.269-281
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• 2024

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to compare dietary habits and mental health among middle school students in urban and rural areas based on bedtime, and to provide evidence supporting appropriate bedtime for Korean middle school students in relation to their healthy dietary habits and mental well-being. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The study population consisted of 25,681 second-year middle school students who participated in the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey in 2020-2022. Participants were asked about their bedtime and wake-up time during the past 7 days and were classified into five categories. The study compared the general characteristics, academic factors, dietary habits, and mental health of urban and rural students based on their bedtime. RESULTS: Bedtime was found to be later in the following order: urban female students, rural female students, urban male students, and rural male students. As bedtime got later, the rates of smoking and alcohol consumption increased. Students who went to bed before 11 p.m. had lower academic performance, while rural male students who went to bed after 2 a.m. had lower academic performance. Later bedtime was associated with increased smartphone usage, skipping breakfast, consuming fast food, and drinking carbonated beverages. Later bedtime was also associated with higher perceived stress levels, particularly among students who went to bed after 2 a.m., higher rates of suicidal ideation, experiencing sadness and despair, as well as the prevalence of clinically significant anxiety disorders. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that middle school students who go to bed too late have higher rates of smoking and alcohol drinking, as well as unhealthy eating habits, stress, suicidal ideation, sadness, and anxiety. Therefore, it is necessary to provide educational and social institutional support to promote adequate sleep for the health of adolescents.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.23-35
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• 2023

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to examine the marital status, drinking behavior, and mental health characteristics of alcohol consumers, and to explore the relationship between marital status and mental health among alcohol consumers. Methods: The research data utilized raw data from the 8th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2020), Second Round. A total of 3,713 participants were included in the final analysis. Data analysis was performed using the statistical software SPSS version 26.0. Results: The relationship between the study participants and mental health revealed that compared to those with a spouse, individuals who were divorced or separated had an odds ratio (OR) of 2.598 for 'depression' and an OR of 2.142 for 'suicidal thoughts'. In the case of 'stress perception', individuals who were divorced or separated had an OR of 3.434. In terms of gender, females had an OR of 4.867 for 'depression', an OR of 2.510 for 'suicidal thoughts', and an OR of 1.847 for 'stress perception', compared to males. Regarding age, the odds of 'depression' were 1.801 times higher in the 60 to 79 age group compared to the 18 to 39 age group. For smoking status, smokers had an OR of 2.812 for 'depression' compared to non-smokers. The OR for 'suicidal thoughts' was 3.047, and the OR for 'stress perception' was 1.463. However, the relationship between mental health and binge drinking frequency and quantity of alcohol consumed in a single session was not significant. Conclusion: The divorced, separated, or bereaved groups may be vulnerable to 'depression,' 'suicidal ideation,' and 'stress.' Therefore, there is an expectation to explore strategies for the development and enhancement of community-based mental counseling and health education support programs, aiming to improve the mental well-being and quality of life of individuals and the local community.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.211-223
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to clarify the social stigma phenomenon in teachers' perceptions and attitudes toward students who are classified as mental health support needs students in middle and high schools. Methods: Qualitative research was conducted through in-depth interviews and observations of 17 teachers and 2 consultants from 2 middle and high schools in Green City, which were evaluated as successful among the six pilot project schools designated by the Ministry of Education in 2013. The study's analysis is based on Hatch's hermeneutical method. Common categories were developed from the interviews and observations. Then, inferences were made per category and given importance to draw conclusions and lessons. Results: Teachers had a strong stigma in their perceptions of and attitudes to special needs students. Their perception was that those students are bound to go wrong due to family problems, even some having difficulty breathing, and that it's beyond their limit to help them. In addition, their attitudes included stereotypes, favoritism, punishment, and referral to experts. As a result, teachers did not expect those students would be cured or change and showed passive attitudes while shifting the responsibility to families and experts. Conclusion: This study is meaningful in that it showed the limitations of the role of teachers regarding mental health support needs students from the perspective of the teachers themselves. Today, when students' mental health problems are emerging as a serious issue, it is necessary to provide support to improve teacher's awareness and capabilities regarding adolescent mental health problems. In addition, we suggest the current selective policy that sorts out special needs students and provides care for them to evolve into a universal policy that improves public awareness and focus on prevention.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.144-153
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• 2021

Objectives: Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric disorders in adolescents and seem to occur the earliest among all forms of psychopathology. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of anxiety severity with health risk behaviors and mental health in adolescents. Methods: Data from the 2020 Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey were analyzed. A total of 54948 adolescents responded to the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) for the assessment of their anxiety severity as well as to the mental health and health risk behavior survey. Logistic regression analysis, t tests, and variance analysis of a complex sample general linear model were used to examine the association of anxiety severity with health behaviors and mental health. Results: After statistical adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics, the subjects in the severe anxiety group were significantly more likely to be current smokers (odds ratio [OR]: 2.08, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.72-2.50), current drinkers (OR: 1.91, 95% CI: 1.67-2.19), experience habitual substance use (OR: 10.89, 95% CI: 8.22-14.42), have sexual intercourse (OR: 2.10, 95% CI: 1.76-2.51), and have unprotected intercourse (OR: 2.21, 95% CI: 1.67-2.92) than those in the normal group. Anxiety severity negatively correlated with sleep satisfaction and happiness, but positively correlated with stress perception, loneliness, depressive symptoms, and suicidality. Conclusion: Adolescent anxiety is associated with health risk behaviors and poor mental health. Thus, early screening and intervention for anxiety in adolescents could contribute to the management and coping of youth health risk behaviors in the community.