• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.255-280
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• 2016

This study examined sexual violence characteristics among the individuals who utilized victim support services provided by National Rape Crisis Intervention Centers in Korea. The study is the part of a Korean longitudinal study on sexual assault characteristics and its implications for post-abuse adjustments, which is supported by Korean Mental Health Technology R&D Project. Eleven national rape crisis centers nationwide and 29 NGO's participated in the study. The participating centers provided the data on sexual abuse characteristics from their standardized case management system. The cases were randomly selected from the system. Total of 1077 cases were gleaned from the system and utilized for this analysis. Results indicated that the abuse characteristics differed by victims' age (children, adolescent vs. adults) as well as relationship with perpetrator. We could identify six different profile groups based on the detailed violence characteristics. The results assured us of the importance to understand the detailed characteristics of sexual violence and the old notion that 'one size may not fit all'. The results from the profile analyses may have important implication for developing victim support programs and appropriately allocating agency resources according to the different profiles of the service users.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.50-55
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• 2006

Objectives : In the psychiatry, structured interview is very important tool to be used in epidemiological or psychopharmacological studies. However, investigators often find that the administration of comprehensive diagnostic interviews is time-consuming and expensive to be used in clinical or research settings. Considering these points, Sheehan and his colleagues developed MINI (Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview) to meet the need for a brief, reliable, and valid structured diagnostic interview for psychiatric disorders. The MINI has been translated into many languages and used in many countries. Therefore, we translated the MINI into Korean and determined its validity in this study. Methods : Twohundred seventy patients and normal subjects participated in the validation of the MINI versus an expert's professional opinion. Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, mood disorders including major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders including panic and other phobic disorders, and alcohol dependence were included in this study. The validity was obtained by examination whether MINI based diagnoses were compatible with diagnoses by expert psychiatrists. Results : The range of Kappa values was 0.22 (somatoform disorder) to 0.93 (bipolar disorder - past). Overall agreement between MINI and expert's diagnoses were good. The Kappa values for anxiety disorders seemed to be higher than those for other disorders. Conclusion : The MINI Korean version has the good validity. It also has potential applications as a diagnostic tool for psychiatric disorders.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.99-107
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• 2020

Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterized by the core symptom of chronic widespread pain, along with fatigue, sleep disturbances, mood changes, and cognitive difficulties. The etiology of fibromyalgia involves a combination of biological factors, such as genetic vulnerability, alterations in pain processing and stress response system ; psychological factors, such as anxiety, depression, anger, and perceived stress ; environmental factors, such as infections, febrile diseases, and trauma. Central sensitization, which is amplified in the process of sensory stimulation, has been emphasized as a key etiological factor, as supported by enhanced wind-up, delayed aftersensation, decreased nociceptive flexion reflex threshold and functional imaging studies. Several guidelines recommend that a multimodal approach be used to treat fibromyalgia, including both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments, tailored to each individual, and that clinicians should provide an intellectual framework through sufficient education and emphasis on the importance of self-management. The prevalence of mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and other psychiatric problems is 7-9 times higher in patients with fibromyalgia than in the general population ; moreover, the association between fibromyalgia and certain psychopathologies or sleep problems has also been suggested. Since psychiatric problems, with shared vulnerabilities and risk factors, interact with fibromyalgia bidirectionally and also affect the disease course, an integrated management approach is needed to determine the risk of comorbidities.