OBJECTIVES: Individuals differ in their biological rhythms. This study investigated the association between the morningness-eveningness and sleep patterns, daytime sleepiness and fatigue in Korean male adolescents. METHODS: Participants were 501 eleventh grade male students (16.9+/-0.2 years of age) in one male high school in Seoul. Each student completed the Korean translation of composite scale (KtCS), Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS), Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) and a questionnaire about their sleep schedule. RESULTS: The evening group had shorter weekday sleep time than the intermediate (p<0.001) or morning group (p=0.029). The evening group had more daytime napping (16.8%, p<0.001), high rate of caffeine use (58.8%, p<0.001) and snoring (18.5%, p=0.037). The evening group showed more daytime sleepiness (8.7, SD=3.2, p<0.001) and severe fatigue (4.4, SD=1.2, p<0.001) than the intermediate or morning group. CONCLUSION: Adolescents with eveningness have higher problems in weekday sleep, daytime sleepiness and fatigue. An intervention program for sleep problem in these adolescents should be considered.
Adolescent ; Caffeine ; Fatigue ; Humans ; Male ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Snoring

OBJECTIVES: Individuals differ in their biological rhythms. This study investigated the association between the morningness-eveningness and sleep patterns, daytime sleepiness and fatigue in Korean male adolescents. METHODS: Participants were 501 eleventh grade male students (16.9+/-0.2 years of age) in one male high school in Seoul. Each student completed the Korean translation of composite scale (KtCS), Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS), Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) and a questionnaire about their sleep schedule. RESULTS: The evening group had shorter weekday sleep time than the intermediate (p<0.001) or morning group (p=0.029). The evening group had more daytime napping (16.8%, p<0.001), high rate of caffeine use (58.8%, p<0.001) and snoring (18.5%, p=0.037). The evening group showed more daytime sleepiness (8.7, SD=3.2, p<0.001) and severe fatigue (4.4, SD=1.2, p<0.001) than the intermediate or morning group. CONCLUSION: Adolescents with eveningness have higher problems in weekday sleep, daytime sleepiness and fatigue. An intervention program for sleep problem in these adolescents should be considered.
Adolescent ; Caffeine ; Fatigue ; Humans ; Male ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Snoring

OBJECTIVES: I reviewed the fundamental knowledge about normal development and common psychiatric illnesses in adolescence to provide with a lecture note for resident training seminar. METHODS: Three textbooks were reviewed and summarized. RESULTS: Adolescence is a bridge period between childhood and adulthood. Through adolescence, the development and achievement of interpersonal relationship, character pattern, learning and occupational capabilities occur. In adolescence, lots of both physical and psychological changes are observed. Also the requirement of social role and duty increased. Because of them, many psychiatric illnesses and adaptive problems are developed and exert negative influences on the quality of life of adolescents and their family. CONCLUSION: Adolescence is important period in human development and many psychiatric disabilities are developed and aggravated in this period.
Achievement ; Adolescent ; Human Development ; Humans ; Learning ; Quality of Life

OBJECTIVES: Executive dysfunctions including working memory deficit have been suggested to be one of the major neuropsychological etiologies of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The purpose of this study was to investigate the augmentative effects of working memory training on the behavioral problems, quality of life, and parental stress of medicated children with ADHD. METHODS: Twenty-five children with ADHD, aged 9 to 19 years, who were being treated with ADHD medication, were included. The participants were trained with a commercially available and computerized working memory program (Cogmed®) for 5 weeks without any alteration of their medication. The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), KIDSCREEN-52 quality of life measure, and Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF) were administered before training, and 4 weeks and 7 months after training, respectively. RESULTS: After completing the training, the anxiety/depression, social problems, thought problems, attention problems, aggressive behavior, and externalizing problems scores in the CBCL were significantly reduced. The score on the Parent-child dysfunctional interaction in the PSI-SF was also decreased. However, the scores related to the quality of life were not changed. These changes were still observed 7 months after the training. CONCLUSION: Cogmed working memory training can be a promising training option for the additional improvement of behavioral problems and parental stress in medicated children with ADHD.
Adolescent* ; Checklist ; Child Behavior ; Child* ; Humans ; Memory, Short-Term* ; Parenting ; Parents* ; Problem Behavior* ; Quality of Life ; Social Problems

Although the scientific evidence is not entirely supportive, atypical antipsychotics have been used widely for the treatment of children and adolescents with mental illnesses as alternatives to typical antipsychotics which have more serious unwanted adverse effects than atypical neuroleptics. On the basis of clinical experiences and research data, atypical antipsychotics have been prescribed for adolescents with schizophrenia, manic or mixed episodes of bipolar disorders, tic disorders, aberrant behaviors in pervasive developmental disorders, and impulsive or violent behaviors in disruptive behavior disorders. Due to their efficacy and relatively more tolerable side effects, the use of atypical antipsychotics has become increasingly popular in child and adolescent psychiatry. However, we should pay attention to the limitations associated with short-term clinical experiences and the lack of well-designed controlled studies, especially in terms of adverse effects including those involving metabolic processes.
Adolescent ; Adolescent Psychiatry ; Antipsychotic Agents ; Bipolar Disorder ; Child ; Humans ; Mental Disorders ; Schizophrenia ; Tic Disorders

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the trajectory of change of diverse attention and working memory in Koreans from 4 to 40 years of age. METHODS: The data of 912 subjects from 4 to 15 years of age obtained from a previous standardization study of the computerized comprehensive attention test were merged with the newly obtained data of 150 subjects aged 16 to 40 years from this study. We evaluated the various kinds of attention, in which each subtest had five indicators. Working memory, with parameters such as number of correct responses and span, was also measured. RESULTS: Our findings indicated that attention developed as age increased, and it decreased or was maintained after a certain age. Selective and sustained attention developed rapidly in children and adolescents, until mid-teens or 20 s when it ceased development. Divided attention, however, developed up to approximately age 20. In addition, working memory developed until mid-teens or 20 s. CONCLUSION: We presented the standardized data on diverse kinds of attention and working memory in children, adolescents, and adults in Korea. We could recognize any patterns of change in attention and working memory with increasing age.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Humans ; Korea ; Memory, Short-Term ; Neuropsychological Tests

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to develop the attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-After School Checklist (ASK) to evaluate the severity of ADHD symptoms and self-management ability in children and adolescents in South Korea. Additionally, we evaluated the reliability and validity of the scale. METHODS: We developed the ASK to evaluate the effect of ADHD psychopathologies on self-management and interpersonal impulsivity. We investigated the reliability and validity of the scale with 1349 parents (male 56.9%; 1202 parents of non-ADHD children, 147 parents of children with ADHD) in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, Korea. RESULTS: According to the construct validity test using principal constant analysis with the varimax rotation method, two factors explained 60.7% of the cumulative variance in ASK scores. Cronbach's alpha for the whole scale was 0.71. There was no statistical difference between mean ASK scores at test and retest. Mean total ASK scores of the ADHD group were significantly higher than those of the non-ADHD group (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The ASK can be used as a reliable and valid tool to evaluate not only self-management capability of children and adolescents with ADHD in their academic and everyday life, but also their impulsiveness in interpersonal relationships.
Adolescent ; Checklist* ; Child ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Impulsive Behavior ; Korea ; Mass Screening ; Methods ; Parents ; Reproducibility of Results ; Self Care ; Seoul

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of Metadate CD (MCD) when given to Korean children and adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We also explored the effects of the drug on diverse neurocognitive functions. METHODS: Ninety-one subjects with ADHD (mean age 8.6+/-2.2 years) were recruited at 6 outpatient clinics in Seoul, Korea. We used the ADHD Rating Scale (ARS), Clinical Global Impression (CGI), and comprehensive attention test (CAT) to measure the drug's effects. RESULTS: After 0.92+/-0.32mg/kg/day of MCD were administered for 57.4+/-7.6 days, there was a 48.5% reduction in the mean total ARS scores (p<.001). Fifty-seven subjects (64.8%) showed either much improved or very much improved outcomes on the CGI-Improvement scale. The CGI-Severity scale also decreased from an average of 4.7 to an average of 2.9 (p<.001). Errors and response time standard deviations of the CAT, sustained attention test-to-response tasks, the flanker test, and divided attention test scores decreased after treatment (p<.05). The forward memory span of the spatial working memory test scores increased (p<.05). Thirty-five patients (39.8%) experienced side effects, of which the most common were headache (14.8%), nausea (12.5%), and anorexia (9.1%). CONCLUSION: This open-label study suggests that MCD is effective and safe in improving the symptoms and neurocognitive functions of Korean children and adolescents with ADHD.
Adolescent ; Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Animals ; Anorexia ; Cats ; Child ; Corneal Dystrophies, Hereditary ; Headache ; Humans ; Korea ; Memory ; Memory, Short-Term ; Methylphenidate ; Nausea ; Reaction Time