E-ISSN : 2733-4538
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is recommended as the treatment of choice for social anxiety disorder (SAD). Despite the well-demonstrated efficacy of CBT, response rates to CBT for SAD are not high; non-response rates are as high as 25~64%. Therefore, finding indicators of treatment response and differences between responders and non-responders seems important for the development of more efficacious treatment. The purpose of this study was to examine indicators of treatment response and compare treatment responders and non-responders to cognitive behavioral group therapy (CBGT) for Koreans with SAD. Thirty-nine individuals who completed 12 sessions of CBGT for SAD were classified as either treatment responders or non-responders according to their post-treatment scores on the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) and to the median SPS and the SIAS change scores. Treatment responders were defined as those who showed over the median change scores and significant symptom reduction in social anxiety from clinical level to non-clinical level. According to the results, there were no significant differences in demographic and diagnostic characteristics between treatment responders and non-responders in the SPS and the SIAS. However, there were differences in the severity of social interaction anxiety at the beginning of treatment between SPS responders and SPS non-responders and somatic symptoms at the beginning of treatment between SIAS responders and SIAS non-responders. In addition, there were significant differences in the patterns of self-focused attention changes during treatment of SPS responders and SPS non-responders even when controlling for initial group differences. The SIAS responders showed a greater reduction in dysfunctional beliefs and probability judgment bias and the cost judgment bias.
The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the question of whether the efficacy of mindfulness-based exposure therapy (MBET) would be comparable to that of cognitive behavioral group therapy(CBGT). The secondary aim was to examine the role of baseline depressive symptom severity as a moderator in these treatment effects. Sixty participants(male=17) with high speech anxiety were randomly assigned to the MBET(n=20), CBGT(n=22), or wait-list control (WL; n=18) groups. For 3 weeks, participants in the MBET and CBGT groups completed 6 sessions twice a week. According to the results, the MBET group outperformed the WL group, with no significant difference between the MBET and CBGT groups. These effects were still maintained at one-month follow-up. At post-treatment, on the measures of discomfort of negative self-referential thoughts and believability of these thoughts, the MBET group outperformed the CBGT group among those with a high level of baseline depressive symptoms. In contrast, the CBGT group was superior to the MBET group among those with a low level of baseline depressive symptoms. However, this moderating effect was not observed at follow-up, and on the other outcome measures, it was not observed at post-treatment and follow-up. In conclusion, the findings suggest that mindfulness and acceptance-based treatment may be a viable alternative to the traditional CBGT for speech anxiety and that integration of exposure training into MBET for speech anxiety is particularly important. In addition, this is the first study to identify baseline depressive symptom severity as a moderator for the outcomes of CBGT versus MBET for speech anxiety.
The purpose of this study was to examine psychological health of smartphone addiction risk group of college students and effects of feedback intervention on risk of smartphone addiction. For this purpose, first, psychological health status was measured using various questionnaires and Delay Discounting Task and compared with normal user group. Second, after experiment group used a manual feedback program, application of a smartphone that shows smartphone usage time and frequencies when it is directly touched and implemented, the question of whether smartphone usage was decreased compared with the control group was examined. Third, the same experiment was performed using a smartphone application that shows smartphone usage time and frequencies by automatic pop-up messages. In the results, smartphone addiction risk group of college students showed negative results in all the areas of psychological health measured in the study. In addition, the manual feedback program has no effect on decreasing smartphone usage. The automatic feedback program is helpful in decreasing smartphone usage time for 2 weeks after using the program.
The current study was conducted to compare the level of cognitive functioning in patients with bipolar disorder by utilizing the brand-new version of the Wechsler intelligence scale, K-WAIS-Ⅳ, and to understand their cognitive characteristics by comparing the bipolar patients group and the normal control group(NC). In addition, the purpose of this study was to understand the relation between cognitive functioning and clinical variables including the age of onset, the length of disorder, the number of mood episodes, the number of previous hospitalizations, and the severity of mood symptoms. K-WAIS-Ⅳ was performed for 58 bipolar patients and 300 people from NC for comparison of their Full Scale IQ(FSIQ), 4 index scaled scores, and 10 scaled scores of subtests. Bipolar patients showed significantly lower performance on FSIQ, working memory index(WMI), and processing speed index(PSI) when compared to NC, and, in particular, they showed the lowest performances on PSI. The performances in digit span, arithmetic, symbol search, and coding, the subtests of WMI and PSI were also significantly poor. These results imply cognitive inefficiency in patients with bipolar disorder. However, no significant correlations were observed among the clinical variables and the FSIQ, four indices.
The goal of this study was to examine the effect of malingering of adult ADHD on performance patterns in a continuous performance test(CPT). And we explored effective indices were examined for detection of ADHD malingerer. We measured general performance and post-error behaviors based on the response time and accuracy while accomplishing a CPT. The CPT examined undergraduates with ADHD tendency and control, and simulated malingering groups. Specifically, the malingering groups were divided according to a general malingering group and an educated malingering group based on whether they had received education regarding ADHD. The two malingering groups were asked to perform following a scenario. In addition, the educated malingering group was provided with audio-visual information about the disorder. The main results were as follows: first, in the analysis between the ADHD tendencies and the controls, ADHD tendencies showed more commission errors than the controls. The normal controls showed a slower response time as a correct trial after error than the ADHD tendencies, and a slower response time during the recovery. Interestingly, ADHD tendencies showed shorter recovery time than normal controls. Second, in the analysis between the ADHD tendencies and the malingering groups, the malingering groups made more errors and large deviations of response time, and large deviations of performance were also observed in the post error performance. Third, in the analysis between the general malingering group and educated malingering group, the educated malingering group showed more omission errors, large deviation of response time, and more re-error during the recovery than the general malingering group. as well as a reasonable difference in commission error. Finally, discriminant analysis showed the reasonable classification rate and discriminant loading for each comparison condition. Taken together, the results of the current study may be useful in understanding the characteristics of the post-error behavior pattern of the self-monitoring process in adults with ADHD tendency and malingering groups.
The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of intelligence and behavioral problems of ADHD Youth in Welfare Institutions and to determine the intellectual difference between Other Psychological Disorder (OPD) group and ADHD group by dividing the levels of intelligence as follows: above average and below average. The intelligence of 297 children and adolescents(boys:182. girls:115) was tested using K-WISC-III (Korean-Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition), and behavior problems were examined using K-CBCL 6-18 (Korea-Child Behavior Checklist 6-18). The sample was divided into the OPD group and the ADHD group using a T-score cut-off point of 70, the cut off score for examining ADHD using the DSM ADHD scale, and the characteristics of behavioral problems and intelligence of each group were compared. As a result, first, the institutionalized ADHD group scored significantly higher on the problem behavior scale of CBCL compared to the OPD group. Second, the samples were divided into two groups again based on intelligence level (one group with higher-than-average intelligence and one group with lower-than-average intelligence), and each group’s intelligence was compared. The results showed no significant difference between ADHD and OPD group among those with higher-than-average intelligence. However, regarding those with lower-than-average intelligence, the ADHD group scored significantly lower on Verbal Comprehension, Freedom from Distractibility Factor Index, Verbal IQ, and Comprehension and Similarities subtests compared to the OPD group. These results indicate that if the intelligence level is above average, ability of language is not affected regardless of the severity of ADHD symptoms, and that ADHD is not always accompanied by defectived language ability.
The aim of this study is to understand the psychological process of primary psychopath and secondary psychopath, which produce transgressions, on the basis of previous research suggesting that primary psychopath and secondary psychopath are different disorders. Regarding a hypothesized model, this research uses the path model, where moral emotions and moral disengagement work between primary and secondary psychopathic traits and unethical decision making. In addition, this research examines model fit of the hypothesized model and identifies direct and indirect effects between them. This research uses the Levenson’s Self-Report Psychopathy Scale, the Korean Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement Scale for Adults, moral emotions scenario scale, and unethical decision making scale for 647 students. In addition, mediating effects were examined through structural equation. The results were as follows. Regarding primary psychopathic traits, direct effects resulting in unethical decision making and indirect effects for moral emotions and moral disengagement were identified. Regarding secondary psychopathic traits, indirect effects fully meditated by moral disengagement were identified. Finally, the implications and limitations of the results of this study are discussed and directions for future research are suggested.
This study attempted to determine difference between primary psychopath and secondary psychopath in terms of their values. After organizing three different groups with the help of the LSRP(Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale): a primary psychopathic tendency group, a secondary psychopathic tendency group, and a normal control group, the authors compared and analyzed values of these three groups, which were measured using the PVQ-R(Portrait Values Questionnaire-Revised). Based on the results, the value priorities of the two psychopathic tendency groups were heavily inclined towards the values of personal focus. In particular, the two groups showed the tendency to highly value the higher order value of self-enhancement but less value the higher value of self-transcendence. In addition, self-enhancement and self-transcendence were the higher order values which clearly differentiated the primary psychopathic tendency group and secondary psychopathic tendency group. In particular, the values of achievement, power-dominance, power-resources, and universalism-concern most clearly differentiate the two groups from each other. In addition, among the higher values of openness to change and conservation, both primary and secondary psychopathic tendency groups surpassed the normal control group in terms of the values of hedonism and face. On the other hand, the normal control group surpassed the primary and secondary psychopathic tendency groups in terms of the values of humility and conformity-rules.
The aim of the current study was to examine the effects of personality and parenting factors on the developmental trajectories of children's internalizing problems using the short-term longitudinal design. A total of 585 parents in two elementary schools in Gyunggi Province participated in the study: children’s internalizing problems were measured three times with five month intervals and children’s personality and parenting behaviors were measured once, only at the first time-point. Cohort sequential design and latent growth curve model was used for analyses according to the sex of children. The results were as follows. First, internalizing problems showed stability in both female and male children groups. Second, regarding the predictors of the identified pattern subgroups, harm avoidance was a strong predictor of children’s internalizing problems across subject groups and persistence and self-directedness played an important role in female group. Third, parental control predicted the developmental trajectories in girls while no parenting effects were reported in boys. Suggestions for future research were discussed, along with the appropriate intervention for those with internalizing problems and the limitation of the current study.
The Korean version of the Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale (K-BDEFS) was developed for assessment of daily executive functioning in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The original BDEFS has demonstrated good psychometric properties. The purpose of the current study is to examine the psychometric properties of K-BDEFS in Korean samples. The study sample consisted of 1,016 community-dwelling general adults from 4 regional areas (i.e., Seoul, Gyeonggi, Cheongju, and Jinju) across South Korea. We examined the factor structure, internal consistency, and convergent validity, and divergent validity of the K-BDEFS in the sample and construct validity of the K-BDEFS was examined by the confirmatory factor analysis. The Cronbach’s alpha value for K-BDEFS was 0.98 and all subscales and indices demonstrated good internal consistency, and K-BDEFS demonstrated good test-retest reliability. The convergent and divergent validity of the K-BDFES were confirmed. A confirmatory factor analysis supported the five factor model of the K-BDEFS as presented in the original version of the BDEFS. K-BDEFS demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity. Its utility in clinical and research settings appeared to be feasible in Korea. Further studies are required to examine the psychometric properties among clinical populations and the ecological validity of this scale.
The purpose of the current study was to develop the Korean-Multifaceted Empathy Test (K-MET) for multidimensional measurement of empathy, and to examine its reliability and validity. The MET consists of 23 sets of photographs, and assesses both cognitive and emotional empathy by gauging the mental states of the individuals shown in the photographs and rating emotional reactions in response to the pictures. In the K-MET, photographs and questions were added requiring participants to figure out the situations in the photographs. The final 26 items of cognitive empathy and 20 items of emotional empathy (implicit and explicit way of questions each) were selected based on the results of the preliminary study. To establish the reliability and validity, the K-MET was administered to 33 undergraduates and graduate students. Internal consistency of the K-MET’s scales ranged from .72 to .89. In the results of the correlational analyses, the Cognitive Empathy showed significant correlation with the Faux pas task. The Emotional Empathy Implicit was significantly correlated with the Personal distress subscale of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), and the Questionnaire measure of emotional empathy. The Emotional Empathy Explicit showed significant correlation with both the Empathic concern and the Personal distress subscales of the IRI. Results demonstrated good to high reliability of the three subscales. Convergent and divergent validity were also satisfactory. Implications of the current study were discussed.
Severe deficit of joint attention is a main characteristic of autism spectrum disorder, which is a pivotal skill for social interaction. In this review, 27 studies which directly intervened in joint attention behavior of children with autism spectrum disorder were analyzed. The current review attempted to 1) determine whether teaching strategies for behavior intervention were effective for improving joint attention ability, and 2) to separate domains of joint attention ability as responding to joint attention and initiating joint attention and to determine an effective teaching strategy for each domain. The result of the current literature review showed that utilizing teaching strategies specifically targeting autism spectrum disorder is effective for enhancing joint attention ability. For responding to joint attention, 94% of articles included in the review reported that behavioral intervention was effective, and in particular, it was effective regardless of utilizing an autism spectrum disorder specific teaching strategy. However, in the case of initiating joint attention, only 68% of articles reported that intervention was effective, and the result suggested that improvement of initiating joint attention is more difficult than improvement responding to joint attention. The analysis showed that Joint Attention and Symbolic Play/Engagement and Regulation (Kasari, Freeman, & Paparella, 2006) was the most effective strategy for initiating joint attention. These results suggested that for initiating joint attention ability, intervention should be more systematic and intensive, and it would be more effective when intervention is targeted to a specific domain of joint attention ability.