E-ISSN : 2733-4538
Disaster mental health crisis assistance refers to a series of activities to promote psychosocial recovery of disaster survivors and the community affected by a disaster. Crisis assistance activities are performed at a team level, not at an individual level, and thus it is important to foster trained assistance teams in the community. Yet expert consensus regarding how to cultivate and provide such team training is lacking. The purpose of this study was to develop management guidelines for a Disaster Mental Health Crisis Assistance Team (DMH-CAT) using a Delphi process. In this study, an expert panel was conducted to develop initial items for management guidelines, subsequent to which two structured online surveys were administered to disaster mental health experts who had not participated in the initial item development. Through this process, 84 guidelines across 13 domains were derived. The subsections in the guideline included definition of terms, mission and goals, composition, roles of the team, team leader, and team members in preparation and acute disaster phases, respectively, assessment of team competency and operational systems, education and training, team care and prevention of burnout, and ethics. Overall the level of expert consensus for the final items was high, with a consensus mean of 8.20 on a scale of 1 to 9. The management guidelines of the DMH-CAT developed in this study are composed of items describing general principles that are applicable to various forms of the DMH-CAT.
The present study examined mechanisms by which trait and state guilt become associated with obsessive compulsive symptoms. Specifically, it was hypothesized that ‘Not Just Right Experiences (NJREs)’ would mediate the relationship between guilt and obsessive compulsive symptoms. Participants were 190 undergraduate students. Participants were randomly assigned to either the guilt induced condition or the neutral emotion induced condition. Trait guilt and state guilt were assessed using self-report questionnaires before and after the emotion induction procedure, respectively. Subsequently, participants engaged in a rearranging task designed to measure their state NJREs, and provided ratings of their state NJREs and obsessive compulsive symptoms questionnaires. Results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that trait guilt significantly predicted obsessive compulsive symptoms, and this association was mediated by state NJREs. Unexpectedly, emotion induction condition was not significantly related to levels of obsessive compulsive symptoms. However, when state guilt scores were included in the model, there was a significant indirect effect of state guilt on obsessive compulsive symptoms mediated by state NJREs. The implications and limitations of this study are discussed.
The current study aimed to investigate the dual mediating effects of perceived stress and coping strategy on the relationship between self-control and internet game addiction proneness in college students. A total of 189 college students participated and completed the Trait Self-Control Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, Coping Strategy Indicator, and Internet Game Addiction Diagnosis Scale. The data were analyzed using regression analysis and a bootstrap sampling method. The results showed that perceived stress and an avoidant coping strategy mediated the influence of self-control on internet game addiction proneness. More specifically, the first indirect effect of self-control on internet game addiction proneness through perceived stress was insignificant. However, the second indirect effect through perceived stress and an avoidant coping strategy in succession was significant. Lastly, the third indirect effect through an avoidant coping strategy was significant. In addition, the direct effect of self-control itself is significant. Based on the results, the significances and limitations of the current study were discussed along with therapeutic implications.
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between interactive SNS usage of smart devices and depression in the elderly; and to investigate the mediating effect of self-efficacy and social support on this relationship. A Smart Devices Usage Scale, Self-Efficacy Scale, Social Support Scale, Korean Form of Geriatric Depression Scale, and a Demographic Questionnaires surveys were conducted. A total of 254 cases were included in this study, with 133 cases being included in the final regression analysis. The results of the study are as follows: First, the smart devices using group experienced a lower level of depression, and a higher level of self-efficacy than the smart devices unused group. In addition, interactive SNS use of smart devices was shown to be related to increased self-efficacy and lower depression levels. Second, interactive SNS use of smart devices was found to have a statistically significant positive correlation with self-efficacy. Interactive SNS use of smart devices, self-efficacy, and perceived social support were found to have a statistically significant negative correlation with depression. Third, the mediating effect of self-efficacy on depression was statistically significant, but social support was not. The limitations of this study are discussed along with some suggestions for future research and strategies.
Childhood depression is a disorder with negative and long-lasting effects through to adulthood. At present, the Children’s Depression Inventory is the most globally used tool for evaluating depression in a pediatric group, and the Children’s Depression Inventory-2 (CDI-2) was developed considering a birth-cohort effect. The current study has two main objectives: (a) to investigate the psychometric properties of the self-rated version of the CDI-2 and (b) to investigate its factorial structure in Korean nonclinical children and adolescent populations. A convenient sample considering age, sex, and area was used. The total sample comprised 1,036 children and adolescents aged 7 to 17 years living in 3 different areas. The psychometric properties of the CDI-2, including internal consistency, interrater reliability, and concurrent validity, were evaluated. Exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) analysis was also conducted to determine the internal structure of the CDI-2 for Korean children and adolescents. The gender difference was is significant, and age also affected the total score. The interaction effect of age and sex in the total score is statistically significant. The Korean CDI-2 appeared to have good internal consistency. Correlations among the CDI-2 scores of self-report, parent-report, and teacher-report forms were statistically significant and moderate in size. ESEM analysis demonstrated that a two-factor structure could be a best-fit model for our sample. The sample of the study consisted entirely of non-clinical children and adolescents, and therefore more researches targeting the clinical population are necessary to generalize these results. Future studies could identify a cut-off score or predictive validity.
This research was conducted on 128 high-risk male sex offenders who participated in the psychotherapy program of a Korean prison. We compared differences in MMPI-2 responses by separating them into serial sex offenders (n= 63) and nonserial sex offenders (n= 65). We used discriminant function analysis to identify the MMPI-2 scales that distinguished the two groups. We reviewed all MMPI-2 scales and subscales and found that the RC scales, PSY-5 scales, clinical subscales, and content component scales constituted a significant discriminant function model. Classification accuracy was 67.9%, 64.8%, 78.1%, and 78.9%, respectively. The significant subscales that distinguished the two groups were low positive emotions (RC2), demoralization (RCd), ideas of persecution (RC6), psychoticism (PSYC), introversion/low positive emotionality (INTR), mental dullness (D4), brooding (D5), self-doubt (LSE1), low motivation (TRT1), lack of drive (DEP1), and suicidal ideation (DEP4) scales. The mean score of serial sex offenders was higher than that of non-serial sex offenders. In conclusion, serial sex offenders tend to be more negative thinking and depressed than non-serial sex offenders. Finally, the implications and limitations of this research are discussed.
The purpose of the present study is to identify latent profiles among psychiatric outpatients based on psychological evaluations using K-WAIS-IV and MMPI-2. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine whether subtests of K-WAISIV what significantly affected classified profiles. Latent profile analyses indicated that best fitting model is classified into three classes: high average level of intelligence and significant psychological problems associated with D, Pt and Si scales (C1); average level of intelligence and low psychological problems (C2); and low average level of intelligence and significantly high psychological problems associated with Pt, Sc and D scales (C3). Compared to C2, C1 is more likely to obtain low scores on the Arithmetic subtest. C3 members are more likely to obtain high scores on the Picture Completion subtest. Features identified by the MMPI-2 scales affected the performance of patients in certain K-WAIS-IV subtests. This finding provides an overview of psychiatric outpatients psychological evaluation profiles in terms of cognitive features and emotional states for evidencebased evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment.
Whether to perceive depression as a unit of symptom severity or as a subgroup with multiple heterogeneous attributes has long been a topic of debate among experts in the field. Among these, the concepts of reactive depression and endogenous depression, which have been distinguished by the clarity of external cause, have long been regarded by clinicians as important in the diagnosis and treatment decisions for patients. However, this pluralistic understanding has been threatened by a recent diagnostic approach represented by the DSM-5, which have adopted a phenomenological understanding rather than an etiological perspective. This study aimed to review the controversy over the monism and pluralism of depression. We discussed which perspective could be beneficial for psychologists whose role is to evaluate and treat depression and whether we could generate more comprehensive view on the issue.
The purpose of the present study was to validate the Gambling Follow up Scale-Korean version (GFS-K), which was based on the Gambling Follow-up Scale, a 5-item scale designed to assess gambling frequency/time, work status, family relationship, leisure, and enrolment in Gambling Anonymous in individuals diagnosed with gambling disorder according to the DSM-5 criteria. Two thousand four hundred seventy eight individuals with gambling disorder (97.1% male) seeking treatment completed the GFS-K. A total of 608 clients who completed the treatment were reassessed. The GFS-K showed moderate internal consistency. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed that the one factor solution (except item 5) fitted the data most effectively. There was a moderate convergence between the GFS-K and reference scales. The GFS-K scores showed excellent sensitivity to change, and good ability to distinguish recovered from unrecovered patients after treatment. A cutoff score of 17 was found to have 77% sensitivity and 75% specificity for recovery from gambling. The GFS-K is suited to providing a reliable follow-up of gamblers under treatment and assessing the efficacy of their treatment.
The purpose of this study is to validate the Korean version of the Vaillant Defense Mechanism Rating Scale (K-VDMRS). For this purpose, 90 college students (39 men and 51 women) were interviewed for the K-VDMRS. In order to determine criterion-related validity, we administered seven self-report measures: the Korea-Defense Style Questionnaire, the Ewha Defense Mechanisms Test, the Ways of Coping Questionnaire, the Positive Mental Health Scale, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (TMAS), and physical health questionnaires. In addition to these self-report measures, close acquaintances recommended by the participants rated the subjects’ psychological maturity. The results of this study are as follows. First, when we divided the positive mental health types into flourishing, languishing, struggling, and maladaptation groups, there were group differences only at the level of immature defenses. The languishing group used more immature defenses than the other groups. Second, those with high level of depression used more immature defenses than those with low level of depression. Third, according to the correlation analysis results of K-VDMRS and acquaintance rating, the more mature the defenses used by the participants, the more mature they were rated in the acquaintance evaluation. Finally, the defense maturity rated by the K-VDMRS showed higher criterion-related validity and discriminant validity for mental health variables, physical health, and acquaintance evaluation than the self-report measures of defense mechanisms and coping style. Based on these findings, we discussed the implications and limitations of this study.
Recent mental health policies emphasize both primary and secondary prevention of mental illness. In this regard, a screening assessment tool with easy accessibility, high reliability, and validity is crucial for identifying individuals at risk or in need of optimal treatment in various health care settings or national research projects. Even though there are several screening assessment tools available for depressive disorders in Korea, few have been reported to have proper diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for Korean people. None are available for both online and offline assessment, scoring, and interpretation without the payment of an international loyalty fee. The current study aimed to report on our Phase II (second year) validation study of Korean Screening Assessment for Depressive Disorders (K-DEP) including the scale development process, validity evidence, and reliability indices. The K-DEP, a brief screening assessment tool for depressive disorders, is designed to cover major components of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), diagnostic criteria, the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC), and other screening tools for depressive disorders that can be easily used in community mental health settings, psychiatric hospitals and clinics, or various research projects. The results support the construct validity of the K-DEP with optimal evidence based on its contents, internal structure, relation with other variables, response process, and consequences. We also reported Cronbach’s α, sensitivity, specificity and standard error of measurement using Item Response Theory for the reliability index. The implications of the current study and the research project of the third year are also discussed.