Psychiatry Investigation

OBJECTIVE: The Children in Disaster: Evaluation and Recovery (CIDER) program in Korea was developed to treat children and adolescents exposed to trauma. This study aimed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the CIDER through a comparison with controls. METHODS: A total of 85 participants consisted of the intervention group (n=41) and control group (n=44). We assessed the changes in trauma-related symptoms, depression, anxiety, and improvements in quality of life before and after the intervention...

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the association between white matter tract integrity and frontal executive function in adult non-geriatric patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and healthy controls (HCs) using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). METHODS: In total, 57 patients with MDD and 115 HCs participated in this study. We calculated the integrity of the white matter tracts using the Tracts Constrained by Underlying Anatomy tool (TRACULA) from FreeSurfer...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore whether psychological inflexibility in the elderly population is related to social-distancing phobia, and examine whether their viral anxiety, preoccupation with sleep, or intolerance of uncertainty may mediate the relationship. METHODS: Among the elderly population aged ≥65 in Korea, we conducted an anonymous online survey during January and February 2023. We collected the responses of 300 participants, collected demographic information, and symptoms using rating scales such as the Social-Distancing Phobia scale, Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-6 items (SAVE-6), Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-12 (IUS-12), Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II), and Glasgow Sleep Effort Scale (GSES)...

OBJECTIVE: Clozapine is considered the most reliable drug for treatment-resistant schizophrenia. In 2014, a generic formulation of clozapine (Clzapine) was introduced in Korea. This study was performed to provide clinical information regarding the use of clozapine and to compare efficacy and tolerability when converting from the brand-name formulation (Clozaril) to the generic formulation during longterm maintenance treatment among Korean patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: This mirror-image study retrospectively investigated the electronic medical records of patients who had switched from Clozaril to Clzapine with a ≥1-year duration for each formulation...

OBJECTIVE: This study identified latent subtypes of mental health literacy (MHL) for Internet gaming disorder (IGD) and explored their characteristics and differences in various factors in adolescents. METHODS: This study analyzed secondary data from the 2019 Youth Smart Digital Media Survey and included data from 1,936 middle and high school students (14-18 years old). Thirteen items of the MHL questionnaire were used for latent profile analysis. We compared the characteristics and predictors of the identified types using various statistical analyses, including one-way ANOVA, chi-square test, and multinomial logistic regression...

OBJECTIVE: To date, early detection of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has mainly depended on paper-based neuropsychological assessments. Recently, biomarkers for MCI detection have gained a lot of attention because of the low sensitivity of neuropsychological assessments. This study proposed the functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)-derived data with convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to identify MCI. METHODS: Eighty-two subjects with MCI and 148 healthy controls (HC) performed the 2-back task, and their oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO2) changes in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) were recorded during the task...

OBJECTIVE: The impact of the government-initiated senior employment program (GSEP) on geriatric depressive symptoms is underexplored. Unearthing this connection could facilitate the planning of future senior employment programs and geriatric depression interventions. In the present study, we aimed to elucidate the possible association between geriatric depressive symptoms and GSEP in older adults. METHODS: This study employed data from 9,287 participants aged 65 or older, obtained from the 2020 Living Profiles of Older People Survey...

OBJECTIVE: The Acceptance and Action Questionnaire for Obsessions and Compulsions (AAQ-OC) is a version of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ) that specifically measures unwanted intrusive thoughts and responses (e.g., experiential avoidance) to them. This study aimed to investigate the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the AAQ-OC in clinical and nonclinical Korean samples. METHODS: In this study, 561 university students and 121 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) completed the AAQ-OC and several other psychological scales...

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the Korean versions of the Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Self Report (OBS-SR) and the Social Anxiety Spectrum Self Report (SHY-SR) questionnaires, along with determining their optimal cut-off points in a Korean population. METHODS: The study included outpatients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (n=86), or social anxiety disorder (SAD) (n=52), those with major depressive disorder (MDD) (n=27), and 33 healthy controls...

OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this study was to examine the associations among emotion regulation strategies, interoceptive awareness, and psychological distress measures-namely, depression, anxiety, and somatization. Additionally, we aimed to explore the predictive power of various facets of interoceptive awareness in determining the severity of symptoms for each mental disorder. METHODS: A cohort of 130 outpatients diagnosed with depression/anxiety disorder were recruited, and 20 subjects exhibiting incomplete responses were excluded from the dataset, leading to a final sample size of 110 outpatients...

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop and validate a comprehensive self-report questionnaire to assess emotional and behavioral problems and psychological trauma in maltreated children. METHODS: The Mental Health Scale for Maltreated Children (MHS-MC) was constructed to encompass five major symptoms (depression, anxiety, inattention/hyperactivity/impulsivity, aggression/defiance, and psychological trauma) prevalent in maltreated children. Critical items and ego-resilience subscale were also devised to increase clinical utility...

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the clinical effectiveness of Minds.NAVI, a depression screening kit combining psychometric measures and stress hormone biomarkers, in a prospective clinical trial. The objective was to assess its potential as a depression screening tool and investigate the associations between psychological assessments, salivary hormone staging, and depression severity. METHODS: Thirty-five participants with major depressive disorder and 12 healthy controls (HCs) were included...

OBJECTIVE: We used polysomnography (PSG) monitoring and neuropsychological scales to explore the characteristics of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Wuhan, two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A total of 42 patients in the Sleep Medicine Center were diagnosed with insomnia between December 2021 and May 2022; they were divided into the PTSD group (patients with PTSD diagnosed with insomnia after COVID-19 infection) and the non-PTSD group (patients with insomnia without PTSD)...

OBJECTIVE: Impulsivity is a multifaceted construct that plays an important role in various problem behaviors in children and adolescents. The purpose of this study was to validate a Korean version of the short UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale for Children. METHODS: Participants were 330 children (166 female) from 2 elementary schools in Korea and 94 attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) children (23 female) from two major hospitals. The Korean short UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale for Children (UPPS-P-C) (20 items), Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6-18 (CBCL 6-18), and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11) were administered...

OBJECTIVE: Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the preferred treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, compliance with CPAP therapy varies among studies, and studies on its predictors are insufficient in Korea. This study aimed to identify factors that predict compliance with CPAP therapy in patients with OSA. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed medical records, polysomnography (PSG) records, and self-report questionnaires of patients w ith OSA...

OBJECTIVE: Research on the association between posttraumatic embitterment disorder (PTED) and other psychopathologies in veterans and adults aged ≥65 years is lacking. This study aimed to assess embitterment among elderly war veterans and its association with major psychopathological factors. METHODS: Participants included Vietnam War veterans who visited a psychiatric clinic. Based on the Posttraumatic Embitterment Disorder Self-Rating Scale (PTEDS) score, the participants were divided into the embitterment (PTED(+), mean score of PTEDS items [mPTEDS] ≥1...

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the association between gaming time and problematic game use (PGU) within a large sample of Korean male gamers and to examine the potential moderating effects of loneliness, living alone, and household size. METHODS: This study employed data from 743 male gamers from the National Mental Health Survey 2021, a nationally representative survey of mental illness conducted in South Korea. Self-reported data on the average gaming time per day, severity of PGU, loneliness, living alone, and household size were used...

OBJECTIVE: This study explored whether temperament profiles are associated with psychological functioning and whether character maturity affects this association in patients with panic disorders (PD). METHODS: A total of 270 patients with PD were enrolled in this study. Measurements included the Temperament and Character Inventory-revised-short (TCI-RS), a self-report version of the Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS-SR), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)...

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop and validate the Korean version of the Somatic Symptom Disorder-B Criteria Scale (SSD-12) in outpatients at a psychiatric clinic and assess its diagnostic accuracy. METHODS: A total of 207 patients completed SSD-12. For the diagnostic accuracy of SSD-12, the somatic symptom disorder (SSD) section of the structured clinical interview for DSM-5 disorders-research version (SCID-5-RV) was used. The SSD-12 construct and concurrent validity were assessed by examining the correlations with Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), PHQ-15, 5-level EQ-5D version (EQ-5D-5L), and World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF)...

OBJECTIVE: The Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS) is a five-item, single-dimension questionnaire that is used to measure a patient's alcohol craving. We sought to develop the Chinese version of the PACS (PACS-C) and assess its reliability and validity. METHODS: A total of 160 Taiwanese patients with alcohol use disorder were enrolled in this study. The internal consistency and concurrent validity of the PASC-C with the visual analogue scale (VAS) for craving, the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale for heavy drinking (YBOCS-hd), and the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ) were assessed...