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The purpose of this study was to test the reliability and validity of the Social Behavior Sequencing Task-Revised (SBST-R) measuring social-cognitive ability of schizophrenia. The outdated items were deleted and replaced and the scoring system was changed to improve the discrimination power of SBST. Response time was counted and the Signed Residual Time (SRT) scoring rule was implemented to increase the assessment function of SBST. SBST-R was administered to 30 schizophrenics attending the community rehabilitation centers and 34 normal adults. The results showed that the Cronbach alpha coefficient was .95 indicating high reliability. The result of the correlational analyses showed significant correlation of SBST-R with the score of the picture arrangement subset of KEDI-WISC, r=.57, p < .01, and social skill test, r=-.50, p < .01. In addition, a significant difference in the mean of SBST-R was observed between the schizophrenia group and the normal group, t(64)=-6.68, p < .001. Implications and limitations were discussed.
The current study examined the reliability and validity of the Korean Defeat Scale(K-DS) developed by Gilbert and Allan(1998), and examined defeat and entrapment may be best conceptualized as a single factor or not. University students who agreed to take part in this study completed the defeat/entrapment scale along with other psychometric measures. In study 1, result of exploratory factor analysis showed that single factor structure accounted for 57.89% of the variance on the K-DS including 12 items. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated a satisfactory construct validity by showing good factor loadings and fit indices also showed the goodness-of-fit for a single factor model. The internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent validity and incremental validity were also acceptable. In study 2, based on the result of parallel analysis, defeat and entrapment may be best conceptualized as multi factors. Limitations and implications of the current study were discussed.
This study investigated the effect of executive rehabilitation on improvement of cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia. Thirty schizophrenia patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups, rehabilitation and control groups. Comprehensive neuropsychological tests including Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Stroop test, Trail Making Test, Digit Span, Rey-Osterreith Complex Figure Test and Korea-California Verbal Learning Test were administered before and after rehabilitation for the two groups. In addition, schizophrenia symptoms and quality of life were measured using PANSS and SQLS, respectively. Participants in the rehabilitation group received executive rehabilitation three times a week for 6 weeks individually, whereas the control group did not receive rehabilitation. The two groups did not differ on the performances of any of the neuropsychological tests, PANSS and SQLS scores administered prior to rehabilitation training. The rehabilitation group showed significantly improved performances on the WCST (reduced total numbers of error and perseverative error) and Digit Span administered after the training. However, the control group did not show these improvements. These findings suggest that executive rehabilitation is effective for improvement of executive function and working memory in patients with schizophrenia.
The purpose of this study was to examine relations among cumulative childhood trauma, emotion regulation, and posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD) symptoms, using structural equation modeling(SEM). Based on previous studies and literatures, the completed mediation model was proposed, in which emotion regulation fully mediates the relationship between cumulative childhood trauma and PTSD symptoms. Data were collected on 171 children (ages 6-13 years) referred to a public counseling center for sexual abuse. Cumulative childhood trauma was defined on the basis of number of traumas(physical abuse, witnessing domestic violence, neglect, traumatic separation from parent, and sexual abuse by a perpetrator different from the one involved in the current allegation of sexual abuse), severity and duration of traumas. Emotion regulation and PTSD symptoms were evaluated by their parents using Emotion Regulation Checklist(ERC) and Traumatic Symptom Checklist for Young Children(TSCYC). SEM analyses confirmed the complete mediation model. These findings indicate the important role of emotion regulation as a risk or a protective mechanism in the link between cumulative childhood trauma and PTSD symptoms in sexually abused children. Implications and limitations of this study were discussed along with future research.
This report describes the psychometric properties of the primary scales of the Inventory of Personality Organization(IPO; Kernberg & Clarkin, 1995; Clarkin, Foelsch, & Kernberg, 2001), which assess Primitive Defenses, Identity Diffusion, and Impairment of Reality Testing in a nonclinical sample. Participants (N=477) completed the IPO and measures of theoretically related concepts. The results were as follows. First, the three IPO scales displayed adequate internal consistency and good test-retest reliability. Second, confirmatory factor analysis supported a three-factor structure of the IPO (i.e., Primitive Defense, Identity Diffusion, and Impairment of Reality Testing). Third, each of the three IPO scales was associated with an immature defense mechanism, lack of self-concept clarity, and schizotypy. as well as a negative affect, aggression, anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation, and insecure attachment. Finally, differences in psychological and emotional features were observed between a neurotic personality organization group, a borderline personality organization group, and a psychotic personality organization group. Taken together, these results demonstrate that the IPO possesses an appreciable reliability and validity.
In the current investigation, we examined the diagnostic utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form(MMPI-2-RF) in a bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and schizophrenia sample. All participants were diagnosed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorder(SCID-I). The data set used in this study was composed of 143 patients(44 with bipolar disorder, 48 with major depressive disorder, and 51 with schizophrenia). Multivariate analyses showed a pattern of T-score differences among patient groups which nearly corresponded with the prominent features of each diagnostic group. The higher-order scales(H-O) including the Emotional/Internalizing Dysfunction(EID), Thought Dysfunction(THD), and Behavioral/Externalizing Dysfunction(BXD) scales were most useful in differentiating between groups. In addition, we identified several useful scales for differential diagnosis and discussed whether these results are relevant to clinical features of each diagnostic group.
The aim of the current study was to investigate whether and how memory functions of Koreans are related to their age, education, and gender. To this end, we tested a large number of healthy Korean participants (N=736) aged 16-69 years using two memory scales. One was a verbal memory scale called Auditory Verbal Learning Test and the other was a visuospatial memory scale called Complex Figure Test. The obtained data were subject to multiple analyses of covariance and multiple paired-scores analyses. The results indicated three main findings. First, age accounted for the largest variance in memory scores. The effects of age on verbal memory scores were greater in the condition associated with longer delay and the condition associated with strategic retrieval. Second, education accounted for the second largest variance. The effects of education were greater in visuospatial than verbal memory domain and, within visuospatial domain, greater in the condition associated with strategic retrieval. Third, the effects of gender were restricted to verbal memory scores and indicated superiority of females over males. This gender effect was greater in the condition associated with strategic retrieval. In conclusion, memory functions of Koreans are related to their age, education and gender and these relationships differ, in part, as a function of which memory domain or process is measured. A main value of the current study lies in use of a large Korean sample that includes adolescents, adults, and older adults. Another main value lies in the construction of several paired scores and their systematic analyses.
In the current study, a measurement that assesses academic initiation-procrastination(AIP) and completion- procrastination(ACP) was developed and the relationships among the two types of procrastination, impulsiveness, and perfectionism were explored. In study 1, a preliminary version of Academic Initiation- Completion Procrastination Scale(AICPS) was constructed. Data were collected from 151 undergraduate students, and exploratory factor analysis was performed. The result showed that, the scale was composed of two factors, and 18 items were selected for the final version of AICPS. In study 2, data collected from 296 undergraduate students were used for analysis of reliability and validity of AICPS. AICPS demonstrated an adequate level of internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Two-factor structure was confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis and convergent validity was verified through correlation tests among AICPS, Aitken's Procrastination Scale (API), Korean version of CES-D, and Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (RSES). In study 3, the effects of impulsiveness and perfectionism on academic procrastination were investigated. As a result of regression analysis, impulsiveness explained AIP whereas perfectionism did not. On the other hand, the influence of perfectionism on ACP was greater than that of impulsiveness. The implication, limitation, and suggestions for future study are discussed.
The present study, using university students as participants, investigated how traumatic life events affect self-harm by going through the steps of negative cognitive emotion regulation, depression, anxiety, and anger. The study further examined how adaptive cognitive emotion regulation’s interactions with depression, anxiety, and anger, respectively, influence self-harm. Based on previous studies, we hypothesized that traumatic life events would affect self-harm through a dual mediation of negative cognitive emotion regulation and depression, anxiety, and anger. We also hypothesized that cognitive emotional regulation will moderate the effects of depression, anxiety, and anger on self-harm. This study additionally examined gender differences in the hypothetical path model using Multi-Group analysis. A total of 415 university students who signed consent form participated and completed the Life Event Checklist, the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, the Hospitalized Anxiety and Depression Scale, the State-Trait Anger Expression Scale, and the Self-Harm Inventory. The proposed research model showed a very good fit for the data. The paths of how traumatic life events lead to self-harm by dual mediating effects of negative cognitive emotional regulation and depression, anxiety, and anger were significant. In addition, adaptive cognitive emotional regulation was found to affect self-harm by interacting with depression, anxiety, and anger. In other words, when the levels of depression, anxiety, and anger were over average, adaptive cognitive emotional regulation lowered the severity of self-harm. Finally, the hypothetical model presented by the current study showed variation in different gender groups. We further discussed the significance and the limitations of the present study, based on the findings.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of the Clock Drawing Test(CDT) in schizophrenia by comparing CDT performance between positive schizophrenics and negative schizophrenics. Each group included 20 subjects evaluated using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Some demographic and clinical variables including age, education, duration of illness, and medication state were controlled. Three types of CDT_(‘free-drawn’, ‘pre-drawn’ and ‘examiner’ conditions) were administered to all participants. The main result was that the difference of CDT scores between positive schizophrenics and negative schizophrenics was significant. Negative schizophrenics had significantly lower scores on the three CDT conditions than- positive schizophrenics. In the error type analysis of CDT, negative schizophrenics showed higher frequency in graphic difficulties, stimulus-bound response, conceptual deficit, and spatial and planning error than positive schizophrenics. Qualitative analysis of performance in negative schizophrenics showed specific errors relating to frontal processes: difficulty in placing numbers in the correct position, failure to indicate the minute targets, displacement of the minute hand from the minute number, and failure to draw a longer minute. The fact that the CDT is sensitive enough to detect the cognitive impairment of schizophrenia makes this test useful in assessing cognitive state in schizophrenia.
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between self-reported distress tolerance and behavioral distress tolerance in addition to the relationship between behavioral distress tolerance and depression or anxiety. For this, two studies were completed. In the first study, 88 university students completed Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS), Center for Epidemiologic Scale-Depression (CES-D), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Distress Tolerance Test (DTT). There was no significant relationship between self-reported distress tolerance and DTT task persistence. In addition, there was no significant difference in DTT task persistence between high depression group and low depression group. Mild anxiety group persisted in DTT longer than normal group when controlling for negative affect. These results suggest that persistence in DTT does not reflect behavioral distress tolerance and the contextual variable such as personal importance of DTT can affect the persistence in the test. Therefore, DTT was modified to include the personal value of the test. In the second study, 102 university students completed DTS, CES-D, BAI and modified DTT. There was a tendency for self-reported distress tolerance to show correlation with behavioral distress tolerance when controlling for negative affect and value. And, low depression group persisted in DTT longer than high depression group. There was no significant difference in DTT persistence between high anxiety group and low anxiety group. Based on the overall findings, the meaning and clinical implications of the current study were discussed. Finally, the limitations of this study were discussed along with suggestions for further research.
The purpose of this study was to examine stress response of people who have experienced a disaster and to determine stress coping methods for victims in order to minimize suffering from stress resulting from the Hebei Spirit oil spill accident, which occurred in the Taean coastal area on December 7th, 2007. A total of 186 residents of Taean aged older than 20s were chosen for this study. The subjects were interviewed by telephone three times; first in Feb 2008, second in Sep 2008, and third in Sep 2009. First, a path model was built up using older data collected, and was analyzed. Next, hierarchical regression was used to examine whether self-disclosure intervenes in the process in which suicide ideation after traumatic events lowers subjective well-being. It was found that the worse damage suffered by Taean residents, the more depression, anxiety, and hostility for the first test. It was also reported that the worse damage they suffered, the higher the score for suicide ideation for the second test. In addition the first time-point depression score decreased the second suicide ideation and the third subjective well-being. Likewise suicide ideation on the second test decreased the third subjective well-being. The level of damage had an effect on suicide ideation by depression as a mediator, and the level of damage also influenceds the subjective well-being by depression and suicide ideation as mediators. Next, three factors interaction effect of level of damage, suicide ideation, and self-disclosure were statistically significant. In the discussion, other limitations and suggestions for future study were presented.
Norms of not normally distributed psychological tests could be better estimated by quantiles instead of means and standard deviations. Psychological test norms can also be estimated using statistical models when the measured attribute has a functional relation with related covariates. The current study introduced a normative-quantile-estimation procedure using the quantile regression model when a test score is not expected to have normal distribution but assumed to have a functional relation with related covariates. The idea of the quantile regression model was briefly explained and its application to estimation of a test norm was illustrated. The 5th, 10th, and 25th percentiles of the calculation ability test scores with range of 0-12 were regressed on age and education by the quantile regression model using a normative sample of 1060 normal elderly. The estimated quantiles provided a norm that supports a theoretical model of the relations between calculation ability and the covariates of age and education.
Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire(INQ) was developed for evaluating suicidal risk in the perspective derived from Interpersonal Theory of suicide. The Aims of this study were to translate the INQ in korean, to examine psychometric properties of the korean version of INQ (K-INQ), and to investigate clinical efficacy of the K-INQ using older adults samples of psychiatric patients (n=25) and healthy controls from senior welfare center (n=130). Results of an exploratory factor analysis of the healthy older adults showed a two-factor structure: perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness. The total scores of the K-INQ indicated a positive correlation with suicidal idea as well as with other risk factors of suicide including depression, hopelessness, low self-esteem, loneliness, and low social support. No differences were found between the psychiatric sample and the healthy sample in the total scores of the K-INQ and the sub-scale scores of perceived burdensomness. However, significant differences of those scores were indicated between the group with and without suicidal idea. ROC analysis was also performed to examine clinical efficacy. Implication and limitations are further discussed.
The purpose of this study was to understand how self-efficacy in internet-game and reality and use motivation affect internet-game use. In addition, we examined to self-regulation meditate in flow experience and pathological use of internet-game. To achieve this goal, we collected internet-game use questionnaires from 184 adults internet-game users. The results were as follows. First, pathological internet-game use and flow experience showed negative correlation with self-efficacy in reality, self-regulation, but showed positive correlation with internet-game use motivation and self-efficacy in internet-game. And pathological internet-game showed positive correlation with flow experience of internet-game. Second, multiple regression analysis showed that use motivation, average use time and self-efficacy in internet-game and reality are able to screen flow experience of internet-game. In pathological internet-game use, use motivation, average use time, self-efficacy in internet-game and reality and self-regulation were extracted. Finally, path analysis indicated relationship among self-efficacy in internet-game and reality, use motivation, self-regulation, flow experience and pathological use of internet-game. Therefore, pathological internet-game use would partly mediate by self-regulation. Implication and limitations of this study and suggestions for future studies were discussed.
