E-ISSN : 2733-4538
This study investigated whether negative information-processing bias appears in perceptual processes and high order cognitive processes in individuals with social anxiety. To measure the size perceptual bias of individuals with social anxiety, a high-social anxiety (HSA; n=20) and low-social anxiety (LSA; n=22) group were presented happy, angry and neutral facial expressions and asked to choose a circle similar in size to the target face. The HSA group perceived the angry face as being significantly larger than the LSA group, while there were no significant differences in size perception between happy and neutral facial expressions. The results also revealed differences in size perception depending on the types of the facial expressions for each group. Specifically, the HSA group did not show differences in the patterns of size perception among facial expressions, while the LSA group smaller perceived significantly angry or neutral faces than happy faces. These findings indicate that size perception by the HSA group is affected by negative emotions and that this group perceives more negative faces as large. Because they allocate more attention and have difficulty of attentional control on negative faces. These factors results in HSA individuals experiencing problems during social interactions with others.
This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between subjective empathic ability based on self-reporting and objective empathic ability measured by an empathic accuracy experiment. To accomplish this, 311 students completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). Next, 36 depressive participants and 38 non-depressive participants who were selected based on BDI score participated in an empathic accuracy experiment. Participants were assigned to 4 groups by depressive state of the perceiver who was agent of empathy and the target who was the objective of empathy. After dyad's interaction, the empathic accuracy of participants for other's thoughts and feelings were measured. The depressed group showed better empathic ability than the non-depressed based on the IRI's fantasy and personal distress subscale. However, there was no difference between the depressed group and the non-depressed group in the empathic accuracy experiment. Moreover, there was no effect on the perceiver's and the target's main effects or interaction effect. Additionally, analysis in the neutral emotional valence context showed that the depressed group had lower empathic accuracy than the non-depressed group, especially for the depressed target.
Veterans who have experienced combat exposure can develop various physical and psychological symptoms in later life, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Even though approximately 320,000 South Korean army troops were deployed in the Vietnam War, there have been only a few studies of Korean Vietnam War veterans to date. Therefore, the present study was conducted to examine the prevalence of PTSD symptoms of Korean Vietnam War veterans and to investigate the predictors of PTSD symptoms among demographic data, prewar factors (traumatic events, childhood family environments), warzone factors (combat exposure, controllability, social support), and postwar factors (social support after homecoming, additional stressful life events). The prevalence of PTSD symptoms in Korean Vietnam War veterans was found to be 40.8%. Additionally, logistic regression revealed that the likelihood of developing PTSD symptoms in later life depended on current income and physical health, childhood family environments, combat exposure, and social support, as well as additional stressful life events after homecoming. Implications and limitations of this study were discussed along with suggestions for future studies.
The purpose of the current study was to provide construct and convergent validation for Korean UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale. The sample used in this study consisted of 615 undergraduate students. To examine the five factor construct of the original measure of UPPS-P, a confirmatory factor analysis(CFA) was utilized. CFA supported a hierachical model comprising 2 higher order factors of urgency(resulting from negative and positive urgency) and lack of conscientiousness(resulting from lack of premeditation and lack of perseverance) as well as separate factor of sensation seeking. The internal consistency coefficients for five factors within Korean UPPS-P were at reasonable level. Convergent validity was examined through investigating correlations between UPPS-P and other scales(Barratt impulsive scale, Arnett’s sensation seeking scale, Eysenck impulsive scale, SPSRQ scale). These results indicated that the Korean version of the UPPS-P presents good psychometric properties and may be considered a promising instrument for both research and clinical practice.
This study was conducted to investigate the strengths of introversion and the role of its self-acceptance. In study 1, the strengths of introversion in a sample of 281 undergraduates and 50 friends of introvert participants were investigated through comparison of a self-report and third-party report on the interpersonal strengths of introvert subjects. The results showed that the levels of all the strengths except for CN(connect) were higher in the third-party report than in introverts' self-report. In study 2, the effects of self-acceptance of introversion on interpersonal strengths and psychological health were investigated. The levels of interpersonal strengths, self-esteem and satisfaction with life were significantly higher, whereas those of depression and social anxiety were significantly lower in introverts with a higher degree of self-acceptance than in those with a lower degree of self-acceptance. The results of the present study demonstrated that introverts have interpersonal strengths at least in close relationships. The results also showed the positive effects of self-acceptance of introversion on the interpersonal relationships and psychological health of introverts. Finally, the implications and limitations of this study, and the suggestions for the future study were discussed.
This study was conducted to investigate the factor structure of the K-WISC-Ⅳ subtests. The current sample consisted of 200 children aged 6 to 16 who visited a child and adolescent psychology center. Factor analysis was conducted using the 10 core K-WISC-Ⅳ subtests and Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using maximum likelihood estimation in Amos 21. The chi-squared difference tests and global fit indices indicated that the four factor model provided a better fit to data than single or five factor models. These findings suggest that factor structures of the K-WISC-Ⅳ subtests consisted of four factors supporting the for four-factor structure described in the K-WISC-Ⅳ technical manual. Additionally, the results provided herein indicate that the four-factor structure of the K-WISC-Ⅳ, as described in the K-WISC-Ⅳ technical manual, can be replicated in children who visit child and adolescent psychology centers.
This study was conducted to identify neurocognitive characteristics of mild cognitive impairment with depressed mood(MCI-D), mild cognitive impairment without depressed mood(MCI-ND) and depression(DEP) in the elderly patients using neuropsychological assessment. Multivariate Analysis of Covariance(MANCOVA) revealed that the DEP group had significantly lower visual memory and executive function than the MCI-ND group. However, the MCI-D exhibited impaired naming ability and executive function relative to the MCI-ND. Conversely, the MCI-D and DEP groups did not differ in any cognitive measures. This study can be considered a meaningful attempt to compare mild cognitive impairment with depressed mood(MCI-D), mild cognitive impairment without depressed mood(MCI-ND) and depression(DEP) in elderly patients. There is a close correlation between depression in the elderly and cognitive dysfunction. Moreover, cognitive dysfunction in the elderly can be used to predict dementia. Thus, cognitive dysfunction needs to be treated independently, not as a secondary symptom of depression.
This study was conducted to develop and verify the validity of the executive function questionnaire as a screening tool. The 68 items by Song(2010) were used to develop the questionnaire. The subjects were 529 high school students(freshman, sophomores, juniors)(male 274, female 251), 216 elementary school students(fifth and sixth grade) (male 112, female 104) to extract the items and the structure. An additional 44 elementary school students(fifth grade) 44 people(male 24, female 20) and 46 high school freshman(male 27, female 19) were used to verify the validity. Principle axial factoring was conducted for exploratory factor analysis and a confirmatory factor analysis using Structural Equation Model was conducted. In the result, overall 40 questions were extracted and divided into four factors, planning-organizing difficulties, behavior control difficulty, emotional control difficulty, and attention-concentration difficulty. Each of the four factors and the total four-factor model fit indices were calculated. Using CFI, TLI and RMSEA which showed that some TLI were less than 0.9, but all models had acceptable fit. Every Cronbach a coefficient was over 0.8, confirming strong internal consistency. Moreover, the concurrent validity was confirmed by presence of a significant correlation between each factor and executive function neuro-psychological testing results. Among high school students, behavior control difficulty was correlated with full IQ(r = - .378, p <.05) and verbal comprehension factors(r = - .347, p <.05), while attention-concentration difficulty was correlated with perceptual reasoning factors(r = - .393, p <.01), and Stroop inference time(r = .360, p <.05). Elementary school students showed a significant correlation between behavior control difficulty and Stroop 45 seconds response time(r = .333, p <.05) and between attention-concentration difficulties and Stroop interference time(r = .370, p <.05). In conclusion, the 40 items executive function difficulty questionnaire developed by this study as a tool for screening was verified to be reliable and valid.
This study was conducted to investigate the diagnostic validity and clinical utility of rapid auditory processing and verify whether it can validly distinguish between Specific Language Impairment (SLI) group and control group in clinical settings. To accomplish this, a total of 50 children (25 children with SLI matched in age with 25 preschool-aged children with normal language development) were given a rapid auditory processing task (Auditory Temporal Order Judgment task 155ms, 75ms, Auditory Frequency Modulation-detection test 2hz). A language assessment (Preschool Receptive-Expressive Language Scale) and nonverbal intelligence assessment (Korean-Coloured Progressive Matrices) were also conducted. To observe the clinical utility of rapid auditory processing, Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analyses were conducted using variables that predict language development. The ROC results indicated significant diagnostic validity that can distinguish between normal development and SLI children. The ROC results also confirmed that the clinical utility of rapid auditory processing was in the accurate range. These results suggest that rapid auditory processing is an important assessment tool that can capture developmental language disorders in clinical settings. Limitations and implications for future research were also discussed.
Previous studies of drinking problems have shown that they are affected by drinking restraint and impulsiveness factors; however few studies regarding the effects of interactions between these factors have been conducted. Although it is also known that negative emotions predict drinking behavior, but few empirical investigations have been performed to reveal the effects of emotion regulation strategies. Therefore, the present study was performed to investigate how drinking restraint, impulsiveness, and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies influence on drinking problems and alcohol consumption to reveal major impact factors and their interaction effects. The present survey of university students (n=293) showed a three way interaction effect among negative emotion regulation strategies, drinking restraint, and impulsiveness that was statistically significant. Specifically, drinking problems and alcohol consumption were affected by maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and drinking restraint either individually or in combination, while impulsiveness aggravated drinking problems only when maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and drinking restraint were both high, or low. Finally, the meaning and limitations of the present research and implications for the future research were discussed.
This study investigated the relationship between reduced Autobiographical Memory Specificity (AMS) and depression, as well as the mediating role of rumination, in older adults. All participants (n=58) were administered a demographic questionnaire and completed the Korean Mini Mental State Examination (K-MMSE), Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), and Ruminative Response Scale (RRS). The results revealed that specific memory scores were negatively correlated with depression and rumination, with those of brooding (which is a type of rumination) and specific memory being particularly strongly correlated. Moreover, reduced AMS in response to positive cue words predicted depression in order adults and rumination partially mediated the relationship between reduced AMS and depression. Overall, this study showed that reduced AMS had a direct effects on the depression, there are also indirect effects that are mediated by rumination. These results are expected to be facilitate future prevention and treatment of geriatric depression intervention.
This study was conducted to investigate factors influencing worry. To establish the role of negative life stress, affect intensity, and cognitive avoidance in worry, two studies were carried out. Study 1 explored the relationships among negative life stress, affect intensity, cognitive avoidance, and worry. To accomplish this, 330 undergraduate students were asked to complete Life Stress Scale-Revised(LSS-R), Affect Intensity Measure (AIM), Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire (CAQ), Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Worry was significantly correlated with life stress, affect intensity, and cognitive avoidance. Affect intensity distinguished high-worriers from depressive people. Furthermore, life stress, affect intensity, and cognitive avoidance significantly predicted worry. Affect intensity had a moderating effect on the relationship between life stress and worry, while cognitive avoidance had a mediating effect on the relationship between affect intensity and worry, especially in the low life stress group. Study 2 was designed to test the hypothesis that worry and anxiety could be reduced by manipulating cognitive avoidance, as well as to investigate whether a specific reduction in the level of worry and anxiety could distinguish a high affect intensity group from a low affect intensity group. Specifically, a high affect intensity group (N=30) and low affect intensity group (N=30) were selected based on the AIM score. Respondents were then were randomly assigned to either an acceptance condition or avoidance condition experiment group and asked to answer the pre- and post-experiment questionnaire. Acceptance significantly reduced worry and anxiety, with a greater reduction occurring in the high affect intensity group than in low affect intensity group. Overall, cognitive avoidance, especially affect intensity, is significantly related to worry and acceptance of aversive inner experience may be an effective clinical intervention in worry.