• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.195-213
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• 2005

Objectives: This study aims to determine fostering stress and mental health state that mothers of handicapped children perceive as primary care givers and to analyze their demand for information assistance in order to release their stress so that it can provide materials that contribute to establishment of assistance system for families with handicapped children. Methods: The research subjects were 340 mothers whose children went to a nursery for special children, 3 general nurseries and 6 special schools in Daegu, and the data were collected using structures questionnaires. The survey analyzed mothers' fostering stress, their demand for fostering information assistance, children's daily activity abilities. Component concepts of each scale was validated by adopting confirmatory factor analysis, and factors affecting demand for fostering information assistance were analyzed by adopting covariance structural analysis. Results: Younger mothers tend to have higher demand for information, and mothers with younger children or children with double handicaps also have higher demand. Mothers under 30 have the lowest demand for public health and medical care assistance and for home and community life assistance, while mothers with children with physical handicaps have the highest. The validity of component concepts was verified by categorizing as cognitive structure models fostering stress, information demand, children's daily activity abilities, and their appropriateness was evaluated through confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation modelling. And then, GFI (more than 0.9), CFI (more than 0.9), TLI (more than 0.9) and RMSAE (less than 0.08) were used to evaluate the appropriateness. It was found that all the component concepts are valid, as every item is within appropriate range. The result of analyzing information demand demonstrated that children's handicap levels significantly affect their mothers' mental health, while fostering stress significantly affect mothers' metal health, information demand. As well, it was confirmed that mothers' mental health has a significant effect on information demand. Conclusions: Therefore, to reduce special children's mothers' uncertainty, helplessness and fostering burden, it is necessary to provide them with information on children's challenges, development and fostering and to offer them quality public health, medical care and welfare assistance along with family and local community life assistance.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.59 no.2
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• pp.89-114
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• 2007

The purposes of this study were : (1) to find out subjective well-being structural model of people with disabilities, (2) to compare the female's subjective well-being structural model with male's. Based on previous researches related to subjective well-being of non-disabled, I applied a integrative model of bottom-up and top-down theories to subjective well-being of people with disabilities. Data were gathered from 497 persons with disabilities(253 males and 244 females) in Korea. This research shows that the female's level of life satisfaction is not different to male's. In female group, the objective life conditions(the level of education, family income, and to have jobs or not) and self esteems are important variables in subjective well-being structural equation model. In male group, on the other side, recognition about social support level is important variable. Various theoretical and practical implications for social work practice were discussed.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.22 no.1 s.25
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• pp.125-135
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• 1989

This paper was carried out to study on correlation between mentally retardation and lead and zinc. The subjects were 297 mentally retarded children: 132 of Bomyung special school and Sunmyung, which were located in Taegu city of Korea. The former had their parents but the latter had not. The control group 63 children were randomly seleted from the Dong-in primary school near to Medical School of Kyungpook National University. Atomic absorption spectrophotometer, model IL-551 connected with CTF atomizer(IL. 655) was used for the analysis of lead and zinc. The mean value of lead in hair of mentally retarded children was $14.97{\pm}3.71ppm$ which is significantly higher than that of control group, $11.36{\pm}2.83ppm$. But the content of zinc was not significant in both groups. In the lead there was no significant correlation to age but significant negative correlation to IQ. Zinc showed significant correlation to age but not to IQ. Among the handicapped children, no signigicant correlation between orphan group and non orphan group. Handicaps of mentally-retarded children were speech impairment, emotional disturbance, double and triple handicaps, sensory impairment and abnormal dietary patterns. There were significantly higher contents of lead compared with normal group, except the latter two groups. The disease conditions of mentally retarded children were mongolism, autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and microcephaly. In comparing with mongolism, significant difference were existent only on the cerebral palsy and group of unknown etiology. We attempted to divide their past history into external etiology and internal etiology, but could not find significant difference. In view of the whole results, the relationship between mentally-retarded children and lead was presumed to be the early time exposure rather than long interval exposure during growth and the contact opportunity was considered important subject in maternal and child health care.