Dental anxiety is referred to as expected anxiety or fear when one receives dental treatments or is exposed to dental treatment-related stimuli. Previous studies have proven that a high rate of people have been experiencing dental anxiety in the community, and dental anxiety plays an crucial role in people’s hesitation to seek adequate treatment, leading to people’s oral health and life satisfaction to worsen as time passes. Dental anxiety has multi-causality and is shown to very heterogeneous to people. Also, dental anxiety has been proven to be related to individuals’ physical, cognitive, and personality traits. However, dental anxiety cannot be diagnosed precisely with the current diagnostic system, and attracts less attention from psychologists. Thus, this paper reviews previous studies to understand the related variables, models, assessments, and interventions of dental anxiety. Additionally, it is expected that all related researchers such as dental experts and psychologists collaborate on various and useful studies, and that patients with dental anxiety seek practical assistance via appropriate psychological services.
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the well-being cognition technique using mobile app on pathological worry, subjective well-being, and trait anxiety among female university students. The participants in this study scoring higher than 56 on the Korean version of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (n=29) or a wait-control group (n=29). The experimental group was directed to use the well-being cognition technique mobile app at least once daily for four weeks. Measurements in this study included the Korean version of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (K-PSWQ), the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale, the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), the Life Satisfaction Expectancy Scale (LSES), and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait (STAI-T). To verify the interactions between the group and the time, the Repeated Measures ANOVA was conducted for pre-post values of the two groups. The results of study are as follow. The scores of pathological worry and trait anxiety in the experimental group significantly decreased compared to the wait-control group. In subjective well-being, the scores of positive affect, satisfaction with life, and life satisfaction expectancy in the experimental group significantly increased compared to the wait-control group. Also, the scores of negative affect in the experimental group significantly decreased compared to the wait-control group. Finally, implications of this study and suggestions for future research are discussed.
The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the “Internet Game Speculative Experience Scale”, used to determine if people who experience increasing curiosity or receptive attitudes toward gambling through the Internet game. For this purpose, the established operational definition and the constructive concept of the speculative trigger factor was used by examining previous studies, and interviews with 20 adults who regularly use Internet games to derive 10 criteria for experience in 10 ‘Internet game speculative experience’ were conducted. To select the final item, the questionnaire was conducted with 326 adolescents and adults who had loot box experience while using the game regularly. The group was classified by gender and age from the collected data, and the data were analyzed to determine if individual items developed in each sample had a significant relationship with variables related to gambling problems. The completed scale was analyzed by exploratory factor analysis, item analysis, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity analysis. According to the results, the developed scale showed single factor structure, and the reliability was a stable. In addition, there was a significant positive correlation with gambling attitude, gambling ambiguity, online gambling behavior frequency, and gambling problems (PGSI). These results suggest that speculative experience during Internet games may affect online gambling behavior and gambling problems. Finally, the significance, limitations, and suggestions for follow-up studies of the scale developed in this study are discussed.
The purpose of this study was to develop a basic paradigm model by deeply understanding the weight control process through improving the eating habits of middle-age females and the psychological and social factors involved in the process, and eventually by manipulating key phenomena and presenting a theoretical diagram. First, 10 middle-age females who have lost more than 10% of their existing weight through improved eating habits and have been on a diet for more than six months were selected as subjects for in-depth interviews on the improvement process and maintenance strategies. Data were analyzed based on the grounded theory. A total of 65 concepts were derived from the analyses of the data and were eventually classified into 15 sub-categories, further classified into six main categories: ‘desperation for new necessity of change’, ‘recovery for lost self’, ‘risk and hurt to overcome obstacles’, ‘internal resource and external support’, ‘key strategies for maintaining change’, and ‘change through success and butterfly effect’. Weight control through improved eating habits, which began with a health threat, self-satisfaction, and dissatisfaction with others’ views or evaluations has become feasible to change and maintain while overcoming individual internal characteristics, external environmental difficulties, and obstacles. By experiencing extended changes throughout life through body changes, it was shown that experiences of habit change were moving toward growth and change for a better life. Finally, the implications and limitations of this study are described.
The purpose of this study was to examine the variables that predict the suicide of a material addict. Specifically, we wanted to assess if aggression, stress, support, and refusal to treat the PAI’s therapeutic agent significantly account for a drug addict’s suicide. To this end, records were collected of 235 patients who entered the Drug Addiction Rehabilitation Center at A Hospital, including the PAI Depression (DEP), the Suicide Consciousness (SUI), the Aggression (AGG), the Stress (STR), the Non-support (NON), the Treatment Rejection (RXR) and the Socio-Demographic Variations, and suicide attempts. The effects of the treatment-related spokespersons on suicide were verified after controlling the suicide-related demographic variables, experience in suicide attempts, and depression using the hierarchical multiple regression. The analysis showed that aggression had a significant impact on suicide, and the effects of non-support and denial of treatment were also suggested. To prevent the suicide of a material addict, the therapist discussed the need to address aggression, non-support, and denial of treatment, the method of therapeutic interventions, the limitations and significance of research, and the suggestions for further research.
Cognitive models of eating disorders posit that local processing, which describes cognitive biases in body perception and judgment, plays a major role in the development and maintenance of eating symptoms. This study investigated the presence of cognitive biases in perceiving subtle differences in facial, body, and object(house) stimuli from the inversion effect standpoint. Using Navon's experimental task, a basic information processing skill related to eating symptoms was also examined. Ninety six female college students reported their eating and body dysmorphic symptoms using self-report scales. In a visual discrimination experiment, identical or different pairs of facial, body, and object(house) stimuli were presented in an inverted direction. The participants were then asked to indicate whether they perceived the stimuli to be identical. In a Navon's task, the participants were asked to view and react to small letters that compromise large letters; these letters were presented within a short duration. Results revealed that the levels of eating symptoms were positively correlated with the individual accuracy of facial stimuli discrimination. The body dissatisfaction, the lower factor of eating symptoms, was positively correlated with the accuracy of facial stimuli. This result was statistically significant after controlling for the body dysmorphic level of the participants. This suggests that individuals with high eating symptoms, especially high body dissatisfaction are likely to use local processing on symptom-related stimuli. Based on the results, the clinical implications, limitations of this study and the direction of follow-up studies were discussed.
The purpose of this study was to test the effect of socially-prescribed perfectionism and intolerance of uncertainty to depression on depression mediated by experiential avoidance, so that university students can accept their experiences and adopt a positive perspective on their future. For this purpose, 238 university students participated in this survey. To measure, the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (HMPS), the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS), the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D), and the Acceptance-Action Questionnaire-Ⅱ (AAQ-Ⅱ) were used. The descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation were conducted to analyze the data, and structural equation modeling was conducted to test the research model. The results of this study are as follow. First, depression had a positive correlation with socially-prescribed perfectionism, intolerance of uncertainty, and experiential avoidance. Second, socially-prescribed perfectionism and intolerance of uncertainty had a positive correlation, and it was also found in the structural equation modeling. Third, socially prescribed perfectionism and intolerance of uncertainty had significant correlation and experiential avoidance had a mediation effect between them. It implies that treatment of depression is easier and more effective if the intervention targets experiential avoidance rather than directly addressing personality traits such as socially-prescribed perfectionism and intolerance of uncertainty. Finally, we discuss more implications, limitations, and suggestions for further research based on the above results.
The purpose of this study was to verify the mediating effect of the acquired capability for suicide (AC) in the relationship between non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal behavior among young adults. For this study, the Functional Assessment of Self-Mutilation (FASM), the Acquired Capability for Suicide Scale (ACSS) and the Suicidal Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R) were used as measurements. Among the total number of 572 samples collected, the data of 322 individuals with NSSI were analyzed. Two characteristics of NSSI (frequency and number of methods) were measured for the analysis. The results of the study are as follow: First, the NSSI frequency, number of methods, and the AC were significantly associated with suicidal behavior. Second, the AC partially mediated the relationship between the NSSI frequency and suicidal behavior. Third, the AC partially mediated the relationship between the number of methods used in NSSI and suicidal behavior. Based on these results, study limitations and implications are discussed.
The purpose of this study was to seek the factors of the positive effects on the maintaining recovered condition and the factors of promoting relapse in terms of the biological, psychological, social-cultural perspective by classifying the natural recovery maintenance group maintaining the recovered condition and the relapse group which deepened the level of the gambling problem again after six months for the recovered group that had reduced levels of gambling problems without receiving treatment and counseling services within six months. The participants in the study engaged in the online survey for three times at six-month intervals and, finally, the data of 224 adult online panels (the recovery maintenance group: 154 persons, the relapse group: 70 persons) was analyzed. The chi-squared test of the gender and the groups was conducted to search for the biological factor, and the mixed anova was conducted to determine if the recovered condition continued is for variable between the groups, time is for variable in the groups, and psychological and social-cultural factors are for the dependent variable to search psychological and social-cultural factors. The result of the analysis showed that females are more likely benefit from to recovery maintenance while males are more likely to relapse. Additionally, it was found that irrational gambling beliefs significantly decreased and the attitude toward gambling changed negatively in the recovery maintenance group in comparison with the relapse group. And, it was confirmed that the recovery maintenance group had low economic power, time, and opportunity to use gambling, and that the receptive attitude of acquaintances regarding gambling was low in comparison with the relapse group. Finally, in this study, it suggested how the recovery maintenance factors and the relapse factors could be applied to the prevention and treatment of gambling addiction problems from a biological, psychological, and social-cultural perspective.
In this study, the purpose was to determine if gratitude tendency of middle-age females significantly affects happiness and to assess if the meaning of life serves as a medium between gratitude tendency and happiness. For this, a survey was conducted with 368 middle-aged females in Chungbuk and Gyeongnam using the Korean version of the gratitude tendency criterion, the meaning of life criterion, and the happiness criterion. The hypothesis that gratitude tendency would affect happiness by the meaning of life as a medium was established. The analysis showed that the gratitude tendency and the meaning of life have a significant effect on happiness respectively. And gratitude tendency has an impact on sense of happiness through the meaning of life as a medium. This suggests that in the case of middle-aged females, the higher gratitude tendency and the meaning of life, the higher the sense of happiness, and that the meaning of life functions as a mediator variable in the relationship between gratitude tendency and happiness. This study identified the specific pathway in which gratitude tendency and the meaning of life affect the happiness of middle-age females, while suggesting the need for personal counseling and collective counseling education focused on these spiritual factors. Finally, the discussion on the study result and direction of further research are presented.
This study was conducted to identify whether quit-smoking empowerment, nicotine dependency, optimistic bias, and weight control behavior could influence adult women’s attempt and maintenance of smoking cessation. Participants were 263 smoking women or women who have smoking experience and who smoked, all of them were over 20 years old, and their responses to the online self-reported survey were analyzed and reviewed. The collected data were verified using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, product-moment correlation analysis of Pearson, and logistic regression analysis with SPSS 21.0. The major findings were as follows. When the participant smoking period was identified as less than 10 years, the smoking rate was higher than that of those who stated that their smoking period was more than 10 years, and the longer the smoking period, characteristically the higher the nicotine dependence was exhibited in those individuals. The use of quit-smoking empowerment had an influence that was positively correlated with weight control behavior and current smoking cessation, and it had a negatively correlated effect with nicotine dependence and optimism bias. Optimistic bias was shown to have been positively correlated with weight control behavior and attempts to quit smoking, and Weight-control behavior had a positively correlated influence on whether or not the participant was able to quit smoking. The meaning, its sub-factors of quit-smoking empowerment and optimistic biases were shown as significant predictors of smoking cessation, quit-smoking empowerment, nicotine dependence, optimistic bias and weight control activities to influence on the current status of non-smoking. Based on the results of this study, relationships between quit-smoking empowerment, nicotine dependency, optimistic bias and weight control behavior which are factors that can affect on adult smoking women's attempts to quit smoking, were discussed and the methods to help attempt or maintenance of smoking cessation and the correlating reasons for the ultimate retention of adult smoking women were also discussed and suggested as applicable.
The purpose of this study was to validate the Korean Version of the Adolescent Positive Health Scale. The confirmatory factor analysis was conducted with 1,668 adolescents (960 middle school students and 708 high school students) who completed the Korean Version of the Adolescent Positive Health Scale. Convergent and discriminant validity were investigated using an independent sample of 189 adolescents (99 middle school students and 90 high school students) who responded to the following questionnaires: the Korean Version of the Adolescent Positive Health Scale, the School Adjustment Scale, the Ego Strength Scale, and the Social Support Appraisal Scale. The results showed that reliability coefficients (Cronbach’s α) of the Korean Version of the Adolescent Positive Health Scale were .92 for the mental well-being factor and .82 for the psychological maladjustment factor. According to the confirmatory factor analysis, a model with the correlation between the mental well-being and psychological maladjustment factor evidenced a better fit than a model without correlation between the two factors. The Mental Well-being Scale positively correlated with the School Adjustment Scale, the Ego Strength Scale, and the Social Support Appraisal Scale while the Psychological Maladjustment Scale negatively correlated with those scales. Based on these findings, it was discussed that a longitudinal study would be necessary to investigate the effects of positive mental health type on the prevention of mental disorders and process of recovery.