• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.35-44
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• 1993

This study was aimed at investigating the relationship of stress perception and psychopathology with biological variables such as systolic and diastolic blood pressure. serum total cholesterol high density lipoprotein and triglyceride in 50 adult patients with essential hypertension and 50 normotensive individuals. Both of the groups were matched to each other regarding age, sex, the level of education and BMI(body mass index). Stress perception and psychopathology between the two groups were compared using GARS and SCL-90-R scales. Biological variables such as blood pressure(systolic. diastolic), serum total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein and triglyceride were measured in all the subjects. The results were as follows ; 1) Hypertensive patients scored significantly higher than normotensive individuals in stress perception related to unusual happenings, change or no change in routine and overall global area, respectively. 2) Regarding psychopathology, hypertensive patients scored significantly higher than normotensive individuals in depression. hostility and interpersonal sensitivity. respectively. 3) Systolic blood pressure had a significantly positive correlation with scores of stress perception related to sickness and injury, and change or no change in routine, respectively. Diastolic blood pressure had a significantly positive correlation with scores of stress perception related to change or no change in routine. 4) In hypertensive patients. the level of serum total cholesterol had a significantly positive correlation with scores of stress perception related to unusual happenings. However, the level of serum triglyceride had a significantly negative correlation with scores of stress perception related to changes in relationships, sickness or injury, and change or no chang in routine. 5) There were no significant correlations between scores of stress perception and biological factors in the normotensive group. 6) The level of serum triglyceride correlated negatively with phobic anxiety in hypertensive group. whereas it correlated positively with PSDI in normotensive group. In conclusion, these results suggest that hypertensive patients have higher level of stress perception and psychopathology than normal individuals. In hypertensive patients, their stress perception is suggested to be correlated with serum cholesterol.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.12-30
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• 1997

The psychiatric interview is not a random or arbitrary meeting between doctor and patient. It is a systematic attempt to understand the relationship of psychopathology to emotional conflicts in patient, and interviewing is an in rather than a science, a skill that can be acquired but probably not taught. The faculty of the Seoul National University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, have been providing 12 sessions of seminar on Psychiatric Interview and Psychopathology every year for the first year residents for the past 15 years. The authors presented three cases materials with their understandings of psychopathology and psychodynamics, each of which the authors had performed live interviews for 50 minutes in front of the residents. Those are a young male with conversion disorder whose chief complaints was motor aphasia, a young college girl with paranoid schizophrenia whose chief complaints were persecutory and erotic delusions with auditory hallucination, and a climacteric female in delusional disorder who had a delusion of infidelity. The most frequent questions the residents raised after the presentations were on the significances of the first interview, danger of making the diagnoses with short interviews, and methodology of questionings and not-questionings. In reply the authors discussed the importance of understandings of psychopathology and psychodynamics, the flexibility of the techniques of interviewing, and priority-related matters in which the understanding of psychodynamics proceed to the diagnoses.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.3-10
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• 1995

A comparison was made between the effect of subjective stress and that of objective stress on immune function in male medical college students. Interaction between perceived stress, psychopathology and natural killer-cell(NK) activity was assessed during an exam period, non-exam period, and vacation. No significant difference was found in NK activity among these three periods, but scores of perceived stress related to unusual happenings during an exam period and related to interpersonal relationship during vacation were found to have significantly positive correlation with NK activity, respectively. In psychopathology, only scores of anxiety during an exam period had significantly positive correlation with NK activity. These results suggest that immune function is more likely to be affected by subjective stress than objective stress and that subjective stress such as some perceived stress and subclinical level of anxiety may positively affect immune function.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.55-62
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• 2016

Background: This study aims to: (1) examine rates of obesity and physical health complaints among 911 telecommunicators; and (2) document the role of emotion dysregulation, psychological inflexibility, duty-related distress and dissociation, and psychopathology in predicting obesity and physical health complaints in this population. Methods: The sample consisted of 911 telecommunicators from across the country (N = 758). Participants completed an online survey assessing their mental and physical health functioning. Results: A total of 82.5% of the sample reported a body mass index that fell within the overweight or obese category and an average of 17 physical health complaints within the past month. Peritraumatic reactions (distress and dissociation), emotion dysregulation, and psychological inflexibility had effects on physical health largely through psychopathology (alcohol abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression). Conclusion: Development of adapted prevention and intervention efforts with this population is needed.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.203-212
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• 1999

Objectives : "Alexithymia" mean literally "no word for mood(or emotion)". It is not only a marked constriction in emotional functioning but a deficit in their cognitive processing. We designed this study to investigate the level of alexithymia, psychopathology and personality factors of patients with somatoform disorder and with diabetes mellitus. Methods : The subjects were consisted of patients with somatoform disorder(N=20), patients with diabetes mellitus(N=20), and normal control(N=20). The level of alexithymia, psychopathology and personality factors were assessed by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale(TAS), the Symptom Checklist 90-Revision(SCL 90-R), and the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire(16-PF). And we compared demographic characteristics, psychopathology and personality factors among three groups, and assessed the relationship between alexithymia and psychopathology, and between alexithymia and personality factors. Results : The results were as follows. 1) Patients with somatoform disorder showed significantly higher TAS scores compared to patients with diabetes mellitus and the normal control group. 2) Patients With somatoform disorder showed significantly higher scores of somatization, anxiety scales than patients with diabetes mellitus and the normal control group, and showed significantly higher scores of obsessive-compulsive, depression, phobic anxiety, psychoticism scales than the normal control group by the SCL-90-R. 3) The normal control group showed high intelligence scores only as compared to patients with somatoform disorder by the 16-PF. 4) A significant relationship was found between TAS scores and psychopathology in patients with somatoform disorder. 5) All three groups did not shown any correlation between TAS and 16-PF. Conclusion : Patients with somatoform disorder showed higher TAS scores and more multiple psychopathology than patients with diabetes mellitus and the normal controls. A significant relationship was found between TAS scores and psychopathology in patients with somatoform disorder. We suggest that the therapeutic approach to patients with somatoform disorder to express emotions and manage psychopathology, and that the treatment methods of patients with diabetes mellitus aims to improve firstly physical conditions are more helpful.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.262-268
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• 1996

It has been known that clozapine is more selective mesolimbic dopamin $D_2$ receptor antagonist and related to 5-HT receptor. In this study, we wxamined the plasma homovanillic acid(HVA), serotonin(5-HT), and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid(5-HIM) levels in refractory schizophrenics during clozapine treatment. And we assessed the effects of clozapine on these plasma monoamine metabolites and their association with psychopathology and treatment response. Eight refractory schizophrenic patients(DSM-IV) have entered the study for 3 months during clozapine treatment. Patients were admitted to the inpatient sevice and withdrawn from all neuroleptics for 7-14 days but exceptionally occasional doses of lorazepam was given if needed for behavioral control. The dose of clozapine was titrated as tolerated to 800mg/day. The plasma HVA. 5-HIM and 5-HT levels were measured before treatment and following 2nd week, 4th week, 8th week, and 12th during treatment. Psychopathology was assessed with Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and Positive and Negative Synrome Scale(PANSS) before and during clozapine treatment. During clozapine treatment, no statistically significant changes were found in plasma HVA, 5-HIM, 5-HT levels, and HVA/5-HIM ratio between baseline and following 2nd week, 4th week, 8th week, 12th week. However, the change in plasma 5-HIAA/5-HT ratio from baseline to 4th week was statistically significant. Generally, changes of plasma HVA, 5-HIAA, 5-HT levels and HVA/5-HIAA ratio were not associated with psychopathology but 5-HIAA was associated with in positive symptoms and general psychopathology of PANSS. These results suggest that clozapine has been found to have relatively weak dopaminergic blokade and stronger serotonergic antagonism.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.163-172
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• 2015

Objectives This study was aimed to examine the multidimensional relationship between auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) factors of psychopathology in the patients with schizophrenia. And we explored the differences between assessments to hallucination by the clinicians and patients. Methods 82 patients with schizophrenia who were assessed by the Hamilton Program for Schizophrenia Voices Questionnaire (HPSVQ), Psychotic Symptom Rating Scale-Auditory Hallucination (PSYRATS-AHS), and the PANSS were recruited. Hwang's five-factor model of PANSS, items and total scores of hallucination scales, Kim's and Haddock's factor models of hallucination were applied to examine the correlations between psychopathology and AVHs. AVH-positive patients was 50 in PANSS-HPSVQ group and 24 in PANSS-PSYRATS-AHS. These two groups were separately analyzed. Results Among the five factors of the PANSS, negative and depression/anxiety factors were correlated with the total scores of HPSVQ and PSYRATS-AHS, and positive and autistic preoccupation factors were correlated only with the total score of PSYRATS-AHS. The activation factor was correlated with none of the total scores of HPSVQ/PSYRATS-AHS. These correlation patterns of a total score of HPSVQ/PSYRATS-AHS were same in the emotional factor of HPSVQ and physical factor of PSYRATS-AHS respectively. In the items which showed significant correlations, correlation coefficients of PANSS-PSYRATS-AHS group ranged between 0.406-0.755 and those of PANSS-HPSVQ ranged between 0.283-0.420. Conclusions This study suggested that the psychopathological domains of schizophrenia were differentially correlated with AVHs and the assessment of AVHs by clinicians and patients showed substantial differences which should be integrated into the therapeutic interventions.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.21-34
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• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to understand the theories about the psychophysiology and psychopathology of Korean Medicine. Methods: The concepts and functions of spirit (神), soul (魂魄), five spirits (五神), and seven emotions (七情) occurring in the Huangdineijing have been interpreted, and the correlation between thought and emotion considered. Results and Conclusions: (1) Spirit (神) refers to the source and discipline of vital activity and mental activity. (2) With soul (魂魄), ethereal soul (魂) manifests itself as the mental process, and corporeal soul (魄) as the physical sensory interaction, such as the nervous system. (3) In the five spirits, ethereal soul (魂) is the recognition process of drawing out memories. Spirit (神) is the process of creative thought. Cognition (意) is the ability to recognize and integrate information. Corporeal soul (魄) is the process of selecting what is important and choosing it. Will (志) is the process of storing memories. Ethereal soul (魂) and corporeal soul (魄) of the five spirits (五神) and soul (魂魄) use the same characters, but the meaning differs. Also, spirit (神) and the spirit (神) in five spirits (五神) are the same character, but, because the meaning is different, they need to be interpreted according to the context. (4) Heart (心), Cognition (意), Will (志), Thought (思), Consideration (慮), and Wisdom(智) are all cognitive processes, like perception, recognition, and thinking. (5) Psychopathology is when excessive emotion affects the five viscera, harming the Energy (氣) and Blood (血) and eventually affecting the five spirits, which causes problems in thinking. Therefore, for healthy mental functioning, not only must the emotions be regulated so that they do not become excessive, but the five viscera also need to be kept healthy.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.217-223
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• 2014

Objectives : This study was conducted in order to investigate the influence of sexual trauma on the psychopathology and quality of life of children and adolescents in Korea. Methods : Twenty-seven children and adolescents and their caretakers who visited the Kangwon Sunflower Center participated in a cross-sectional study. Participants completed the Korean version of Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Present and Lifetime Version, Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and Child Health Questionnaire-Parent Form-50 (CHQ-PF-50). Their scores were compared with those of a age and sex-matched control group of 27 healthy children and adolescents. Results : Victims of sexual violence showed higher t score in Withdrawn, Social problems, Delinquent behavior, Externalizing problems, and Total problems in CBCL, compared with control group. In CHQ-PF-50, there were lower scores on Bodily pain/discomfort, Behavior, Mental health, Time impact in parents, and Family activities subscales in victims of sexual violence. While Behavior and Family activities subscale showed negative correlations with Delinquent behavior, Externalizing problems, and Total problems in CBCL. Mental health subscale showed negative correlations with Social problems, Delinquent behavior, Externalizing problems, and Total problems. In addition, Time impact on parent subscale showed a negative association with Delinquent behavior in CBCL. Conclusion : The current study provided evidence suggesting that victims of sexual violence had a higher level of psychopathology and lower level of quality of life.

• Korean Journal of Schizophrenia Research
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.8-14
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• 2020

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate suicidal behaviors and the related psychopathology across the different stages of schizophrenia. Methods: We recruited 131 patients with schizophrenia and categorized them into two groups, according to the duration of illness (DI) as follows: ≤10 years (n=39) and >10 years (n=92). Psychopathology and suicidality were assessed using the 18-item Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS-18) and the suicidality module from the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview, respectively. Results: One-quarter of the patients with a DI ≤10 years and nearly one-sixth of the patients with a DI >10 years experienced suicidal behaviors in the previous month. Suicidality scores were significantly associated with the "affect" factor scores of the BPRS-18 in patients with a DI ≤10 years (β=0.55, p=0.003) and with the "resistance" factor scores in patients with a DI of >10 years (β=0.29, p=0.006). Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that psychopathological factors were differentially associated with suicidality in patients with schizophrenia according to the illness stage. Our findings suggest that for effective suicide prevention, different approaches are required for the management of each stage of schizophrenia.