E-ISSN : 2733-4538
A wide range of addictions is conceptualized as a chronic failure of self-regulation. Accordingly, the present study aimed to confirm the relationships among goal-focused self-regulation, depressive symptoms, and alcohol use problem, which is a common addictive behavior. A total of 470 adults were recruited from metropolitan cities in South Korea. All participants completed a questionnaire that included the Korean Version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-K), Goal-Focused Self-Regulation Scale (GF-SRS), and Patient Health Qustionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). A correlation analysis revealed that goal-focused self-regulation was negatively correlated with both depressive symptoms and harmful alcohol use, while depressive symptoms were positively correlated with alcohol use problems. A structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that a full mediation model had a better fit than a partial mediation model did. Additionally, the indirect effect was significant. In sum, these results suggest that goal-focused self-regulation might decrease depressive symptoms, which in turn would decrease the severity of the alcohol use problem. In line with these results, clinical implications and limitations of this study were discussed.
This study explored whether there are moderating effects of caregiver's coping styles and irrational beliefs on the relationship between the cognitive or daily living functions of the elderly with dementia and their caregivers’ stress. Tests were administered to 204 elderly with dementia who were being treated at hospitals and sanatoriums in Daegu, Ulsan, or Gyeongbuk provinces in Korea, and their 204 caregivers. The Mini Mental State Examination-Korea (MMSE-K), Seoul-Activities of Daily Living (S-ADL), and Seoul-Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (S-IADL) were administered on the elderly with dementia, while the Stress Response Inventory (SRI), Stress Coping Checklist, and Thoughts Questionnaire (TQ) were administered on their family caregivers. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, partial correlation analysis, hierarchical multiple regression analysis and the t-test. The findings revealed that the cognitive function and daily living abilities of the elderly with dementia was significantly correlated with caregiver's stress. Among the caregivers’ coping styles, only problem-centered coping style functioned as a moderator. Further, irrational beliefs functioned as a moderating variable only with respect to basic daily living activities of the elderly with dementia. These findings revealed that some interventions need to be implemented to tackle the stress copings and irrational beliefs of caregivers of the elderly with dementia. However, these findings resulted from the relatively small samples in korea, it needs to be replicated with the more larger sample in the future.
This study investigated the differences in the interpersonal space between high social anxiety and low social anxiety groups, and explored how music affects the interpersonal space in individuals with social anxiety. Based on the scores of Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale and Social Interaction anxiety scale, high social anxiety (n=25) and low social anxiety (n=25) groups were selected. Interpersonal space was measured using a Comfortant Interpersonal Distance (CID) task, and interpersonal distance was measured in three conditions, i.e., music with positive emotional value, music with negative emotional value, and no music. Individuals with high social anxiety showed significantly farther interpersonal space than those with low anxiety did. In addition, music with negative emotional value made interpersonal distance broadened in both groups, whereas music with positive emotional value made the interpersonal distance narrowed only in the group with high anxiety. These results indicate that music can be used for the improvement of social anxiety and interpersonal relationships in college students with high social anxiety level.
The purpose of the present study was to examine whether intrusive rumination mediated the relationship between trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms and if negative prospective cognition moderated the mediating effect of intrusive rumination in the relationship between trauma and PTSD symptoms. In particular, we aimed to investigate whether there would be a gender difference in the aforementioned moderated mediation. A total of 440 Korean undergraduate students and graduate students were asked to complete the Life Event Checklist, Impact of the Event Scale-Revised, Event Related Rumination Inventory, and the Prospective Cognition Questionnaire for this research. The main findings were as follows: Firstly, intrusive rumination partially mediated the relationship between trauma and PTSD symptoms. Secondly, negative prospective cognition moderated the mediating effect of trauma on PTSD symptoms via intrusive rumination. Finally, there was a gender difference in the moderating effect, confirming a moderated moderated mediation. More specifically, the moderated mediating effect was observed in female students but not in male students. In conclusion, after trauma, female students who recognize the future negatively are more susceptible to PTSD symptoms through the intrusive rumination, while female students who recognize the future less negatively can be protected from PTSD symptoms under the same condition. Based on these results the implications and limitations of this study are discussed.
Recently, psychopathology studies have focused on the high level of comorbidity between anxiety and depression and have begun searching for shared psychological mechanisms that exist between the diagnoses. In this study, we investigated the effects of maladaptive self-focused attention and rumination on social anxiety and depression as common factors. To test this, we examined maladaptive self-focused attention, rumination, social anxiety, and depression among 531 undergraduate students and analyzed these data through structural equation modeling. Major findings of the study were twofold. First, maladaptive self-focused attention and rumination showed a significant positive correlation with social anxiety and depression. Second, maladaptive self-focused attention affected social anxiety and depression directly but it also affected social anxiety and depression via rumination. The results of this study indicated that maladaptive self-focused attention and rumination are common risk factors for social anxiety and depression. Several implications of these results and limitations of the study are discussed.
According to the "hyper-arousal" model of primary insomnia (PI), insomnia patients experience heightened physiological and cognitive arousal compared to normal people during both sleep and wakefulness. Previous studies have reported that insomnia patients show more high frequency electroencephalogram (EEG) signals than normal people. This suggests that hyper- arousal in insomnia, reflected in the high frequency EEG pattern, results in non-restorative sleep. Specifically, hyperarousal in PI results in increased beta activity that is associated with cortical arousal, resulting in non-restorative sleep. This study aimed to verify the efficacy of a beta-decrease neurofeedback (NF) protocol for insomnia. Participants were randomly assigned to an NF treatment or a wait-list control group. The NF treatment group received 10 sessions of NF (n=5), and the wait-list control group (n=9) group received no treatment. We compared the following parameters pre-and post-treatment, as well as 2-weeks following the final treatment: resting state EEG (eye-open, EO; eye-closed, EC), heart rate variability (HRV), sleep scales, sleep diaries, and Smart Wearable Device data. Results showed significantly decreased beta power, HRV, SL (sleep latency), sleep scale scores, increased alpha power, TST (total sleep time), SE (sleep effectiveness), and sleep satisfaction in the wait-list control group compared with the NF group. This study is the first neurofeedback protocol using “Beta power” as a marker of neurophysiological arousal in insomnia. Our findings provide new evidence for the efficacy of Beta in decreasing insomnia symptoms and add to the range of non-pharmacological insomnia intervention choices for pregnant, psychopharmacotherapy-resistant, and older people. Neurofeedback not only provides control of insomnia symptoms but also results in a decreased risk of psychological comorbidities. This study found improved insomnia symptoms after only 10 sessions of NF. Fast remission of insomnia symptoms may reinforce patients’ motivations for treatment, is more cost-effective, and can result in reduced treatment times.
The purpose of this study was to develop the Korean Beck Hopelessness Scale-Sign Language version (K-BHS-SL), and to examine the reliability and validity of this scale. The researchers reviewed and revised the original items to create the text version of the K-BHS-SL to reflect the Deaf-culture and expression of Korean Sign Language (KSL). Next we translated the revised items into KSL and created the video version of the scale. Data were collected from deaf persons (n=240) and bilinguals in Korean and KSL (n=54). The K-BHS-SL exhibited adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Additionally, the correlations between the K-BHS-SL and sign language versions of other inventories were significant. The agreement between the K-BHS-SL and K-BHS, which was examined by bilingual examiners, was significant. These findings suggest that the K-BHS-SL is a reliable and valid scale for evaluating hopelessness and predicting suicidal ideation in deaf persons.
The purpose of this study was to introduce 4 short forms for K-WISC-IV and to test the validity of each short form(SF). Both SF A and B were developed based on confirmatory factor analysis and multiple regression analysis on data collected from 998 normal children. The formula for SF A was (2.308×VC)+(1.805×SI)+58.688, and that for SF B was (2.211×VC)+(1.569×L N)+(1.337×MR)+(1.360×SS)+35.118. The formula for SF C, developed by Sattler(2001), was ((VC+BD+SI+CD+ LN)×1.4)+30. Lastly, the formula for SF D, developed by Crawford et al(2010) was, 15/Sold×(VC+SI+BD+MR+DS+CD +SS-70)+100. For 998 normal children, the 4 SFs showed no significant differences between actual and estimated IQ. The SF B, C, and D proved to be valid, showing more than 70% concordance rate with Wechsler's intelligence descriptive classification. For 66 children with mild intellectual disability, only SF B showed the best results, showing no significant difference between actual and estimated IQ and 83.3% concordance rate. Therefore, SF B may be the most useful version to identify approximate IQ in a short time. However, it should be always used with cautions because of information loss of detailed cognitive functions and limitations of descriptive classification.
It is very important to evaluate mentalization in the adolescents who have various vulnerabilities. This study validated Hausberg et al.’s Mentalization Questionnaire (2012) in Korean adolescents. A total of 312 high school students were randomly assigned to one of two groups for the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The first group (N=162) was used for the EFA and the second group (N=150) was used for the CFA and validation procedures. Four factors were extracted through the EFA, and the 4-factors model showed acceptable model fit indexes. The final 4 factor model was partially different from the original model. Internal consistency coefficients of the 4 subfactors showed better or similar levels as compared to those reported by Hausberg et al. (2012). The criterion validities were verified using the Empathy Questionnaire, Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET), and Executive Function Questionnaire. Emotional control difficulty was significantly related with all mentalization factors, while empathy and RMET did not show any significant relationships with mentalization factors. In conclusion, the difference between this study model and the original model might be partially attributed to the conceptual vagueness of mentalization and the cultural differences in emotional processing. The limitations of the present study included the lack of a representative sample and insufficiency of variables in the criterion validation. Therefore, these results should be verified through further research. However, this study has value in that it is the first validation study on mentalization in the Korean population. It acts as a starting point in the assessment of Korean adolescents and the design of appropriate psychological interventions.
This study examined the factor structure of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II) using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Additionally, it evaluated the adequacy of its items and the number of response categories using item response theory (IRT). Participants consisted of 2,034 old adults dwelling in a community. A one-factor structure with covaried error terms was supported for six AAQ-II items. In contrast, the one-factor models in the 10-, 8-, and 7-item AAQ, as well as a correlated two-factor model, provided poor or inadequate fits, even after model modification. The four items of the AAQ-II excluded on the basis of the factor analyses also provided poor item fit based on the IRT. In addition, it was recommended to reduce the number of ratings for all items, instead of utilizing the 7-point rating used in the original AAQ-II scale. In conclusion, the six-item AAQ-II appears to be a unidimensional scale to measure experiential avoidance, and it is recommended to assess the applicability of a 5-point rating scale of AAQ-II items in future.
This study was carried out to find consensus on the future education and training model of Korean clinical psychology which had not been discussed in the past. Three phases of a Delphi survey targeted 42 professors of departments of psychology nationwide, and 17 of them finally responded. In the first phase of the Delphi survey, the participants were instructed to present their opinions on potential changes to the education and training model. In the second phase, drawn up based on the first phase, the participants were instructed to estimate their levels of hope and possibility through 34 questions. In the third phase, the participants were instructed to re-estimate their responses to the 34 questions by referring to the opinions of a panel of other Profesor, and an answer section through which subjective opinions could be presented was offered. Throughout the three phases of the Delphi survey, Kendall's W test was conducted to find the concordance rate with the specialist panel. The results showed that the scale of hope rose from .379 to .466, and the scale of possibility increased from .201 to .312. According to the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test, significant differences were found between the scales of hope and possibility. An outline of the Korean clinical psychology field could be drawn through this study, and future directions could be sought through the education and training model. In addition, obstacles in the clinical psychology field could be identified through the difference between hope and possibility. This study is meaningful in that future directions for education and training in clinical psychology has been presented through an empirical study for the first time.
Randomized controlled trial (RCT) is one of the gold standards of evidence for efficacy of psychotherapy that allows causal interpretations between a specific psychotherapeutic approach and outcomes. Thus, results from the RCTs are considered a basis for determining which psychotherapeutic approaches should be delivered to the public. In the current study, we aimed to systematically review psychotherapy RCTs conducted in South Korea and to analyze them according to the journals published in and their publication periods (i.e., 1983-2003, 2004-2006, 2007-2011, and 2012-2015). In addition, we have evaluated the quality of RCTs by employing the Randomized Controlled Trial of Psychotherapy Quality Rating Scale (RCT-PQRS). A total of 91 RCTs were finally selected for the current analysis. Four journals (i.e., Korean Journal of Counseling and Psychotherapy, Korean Journal of Clinical Psychology, Korean Journal of Health Psychology, and Korean Journal of East West Mind Science) were included in the analysis since they published at least five RCTs. The results showed that there were no differences in study characteristics (e.g., sample characteristics, types of psychotherapy) between the research periods whereas RCT quality scores have increased over time. Overall, RCTs published in Korean Psychological Association (KPA) Journals had greater RCT quality scores than those published in non-KPA Journals. In terms of the analysis of published journals, there were significant differences in study characteristics (e.g., sample characteristics, types of control groups, types of psychotherapy) between journals. Several issues and implications are discussed for researchers and policy makers in order to enhance quality of RCTs and to disseminate evidence-based information about efficient psychotherapeutic approaches to the public.