PURPOSE: Many Koreans go abroad for work, study or permanent migration. As they adapt to their new environment, they can suffer from various health problems. This article aims to gain a greater understanding of the experiences of Korean immigrants in Canada. This study reports the findings of a grounded theory study. METHODS: In-depth unstructured interviews were conducted with 18 Korean immigrants in Vancouver. Data was audio-taped, transcribed verbatim and analyzed using constant comparative analysis. RESULTS: Six main categories emerged: motivation, confronting, suffering, efforts to adapt, assimilation, and conflict. A basic social process model of adaptation to life in Canada was developed reflecting the inter-relationships between these categories. Data extracts was presented to illustrate the grounding of the model in participants accounts. CONCLUSION: Immigrants need empathetic support and cultural understanding; this study increases the understanding of the Korean immigrant population, which should help in the design of effective coping strategies that consider the particular characteristics and problems of immigrants.
Acculturation ; Canada* ; Emigrants and Immigrants* ; Emigration and Immigration ; Humans ; Life Change Events ; Motivation ; Qualitative Research ; Quality of Life

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify perceived stress level, stress symptoms, and ways of coping and to examine the influences of perceived stress level and ways of coping on stress symptoms in Korean college students. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive survey study design was used. A sample of 1,056 male and female college students completed the Brief Encounter Psychosocial Instrument, Symptoms of Stress Inventory, and the Ways of Coping Checklist. Data was analyzed by t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis using SPSS/WIN 12.0. RESULTS: The perceived stress level, stress symptoms, and ways of coping were found to be significantly positively correlated with one another. The perceived stress level and stress symptoms had a greater positive correlation with emotion-focused coping than problem-focused coping. Perceived stress, emotion-relieving coping, perceived health status, and wishful thinking coping accounted for 37.7% of the variance in college students' stress symptoms. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that nurses, while developing and providing stress management programs, need to be aware of the perceived stress level, health perception, and the tendency to emotion-focused coping in Korean college students, as these factors all influence their total stress symptoms.
Adaptation, Psychological ; Checklist ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Stress, Psychological ; Thinking ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: This study was done to identify the degree of job stress for workers with mentally disabled and factors influencing their job stress. METHODS: The participants in this study were employees with mental disabilities employed in job programs sponsored by community mental health centers and social rehabilitation centers. For this study, researchers conducted a survey with structured questionnaires with 221 employees. Data were analyzed using t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients and multiple regression analysis with SPSS/WIN 14.0. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in job stress according to general characters. However, there were significant differences in job stress according to type of employment and monthly-income. Multi-regression analysis showed that type of employment and social support affected job stress. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study indicate that following should be emphasized: conditions of employment such as type of employment and social support should be improved to decrease job stress and help the employee to remain in the job.
Community Mental Health Centers ; Employment ; Humans ; Mentally Disabled Persons* ; Power (Psychology) ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Rehabilitation Centers

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between the parenting characteristics and problem behaviors of school-aged children living in poverty. METHODS: With a cross-sectional study design, the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was utilized to collect data from 190 primary caregivers of children in low income families in one middle-size city in South Korea. RESULTS: Among the children's characteristics, only school performance showed significant association with problem behaviors and children's age and gender were not associated with problem behaviors. Among the primary caregivers' parenting characteristics, discipline style, rearing confidence, and concerns for their children showed significant association with problem behaviors for girls, but not for boys. Parenting attitude was not related to problem behaviors with either girls or boys. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study indicate that the parenting characteristics of low income primary caregivers are important in children's problem behaviors, especially for girls and parent education programs for child rearing, including methods of discipline for both boys and girls, are effective nursing interventions.
Caregivers ; Checklist ; Child Behavior ; Child Rearing ; Child* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Education ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Nursing ; Parenting* ; Parents* ; Poverty*

PURPOSE: This study was designed to identify whether alcohol use predicts marital stability and to investigate the mediating effects of marital communication and social support in international married Korean men who lived in a rural area. METHODS: The participants were 200 of the international married men. The data were collected during June, 2010. The instruments were Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), Marital Instability (MI), Marital Communication (MC), Social Support (SS). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression. RESULTS: The mean score for AUDIT was 9.6, and alcohol use was negatively correlated with marital stability, marital communication and social support. We also found that marital communication fully mediated the association between alcohol use and marital stability, while social support did not mediate this association. CONCLUSION: The outcomes of this study indicates a need to develop intervention strategies and education programs that include emphasis on moderate drinking and communication skills for couples in international marriages.
Drinking ; Education ; Family Characteristics ; Humans ; Male ; Marriage ; Negotiating*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of self-esteem improvement program on self-esteem, depression, and interpersonal relationship in chronic schizophrenia patients living in the community. METHODS: The research design was a non-equivalent pre and post control group design. One of two community mental health centers was randomly assigned to receive the intervention and the other served as a control. Eight patients in the intervention group and ten in the control group participated. For the intervention group, the self-esteem improvement program was provided in 60-minute session once a week for 12-weeks. Measurements were Korean version of self-esteem scale (SES-K), Korean version of beck depression inventory (BDI-K), and Korean version of interpersonal relationships (IR-K). RESULTS: The only statistically significant difference between the experimental and control group was for interpersonal relationships. For the experimental group, there were statistically significant differences in self-esteem and interpersonal relationships. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that this type of program has a positive effect on self-esteem and interpersonal relationships and can be a feasible type of intervention program for community dwelling patients with chronic schizophrenia.
Community Mental Health Centers ; Depression* ; Humans ; Research Design ; Schizophrenia*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the core competency support program in parenting role on sense of competence in parenting, parent-child communication, and parental role satisfaction in parents of adolescents. METHODS: The study was a quasi-experimental design. Participants for the study were parents of adolescents, 12 in the experimental group and 12 in the control group. Data were analyzed using Fisher's exact test and Mann-Whitney U test with the SPSS/WIN 14.0 program. RESULTS: Scores for sense of competence in parenting of participants in the core competency support program in parenting role were not significantly different from those in the control group. Participants in the core competency support program in parenting role had higher parent-child communication, which were significantly different from those in the control group. Participants in the core competency support program in parenting role had higher parental role satisfaction, which were significantly different from those in the control group. CONCLUSION: The core competency support program in parenting role was effective in increasing parent-child communication and parental role satisfaction for parents of adolescents. Therefore, this approach is recommended as a strategy for parents of adolescents.
Adolescent* ; Humans ; Mental Competency* ; Parenting* ; Parents* ; Personal Satisfaction

PURPOSE: This study was done to examine the effects of a resilience enhancement program for middle school students. METHODS: The research design was a quasi-experimental pre-and-post-test control and experimental group methodological comparison study. The participants for the study were 124 (experimental=60, control=64) middle school students in G city. The experimental group received the program for eight sessions. The control group did not receive any treatment. From April to June 2009 data were collected using self-report structured questionnaires, and were analyzed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, chi2-test, Fisher's exact test, and t-test with SPSS/WIN 15.0 program. RESULTS: After the treatment, significant differences were found between the experimental and control groups in terms of problem solving ability (t=2.52 p=.007) and school adjustment (t=1.66, p=.004), but not in level of self-efficacy (t=0.80, p=.212). CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that this program can be used in school based practice as an effective nursing intervention for adolescents.
Adolescent ; Humans ; Nursing ; Problem Solving* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Research Design

PURPOSE: This study was done to identify the risk factors influencing suicidal ideation in Korean elders. METHODS: Data from the Korean national health & nutrition examination survey 2007 collected by the Korean Center for Disease Control were analyzed using chi2 test and t-test. RESULTS: Differences in suicidal ideation according to individual factors were as follows: gender, education status, recognition of stress, experience of depression, and smoking. Differences in suicidal ideation according to health related factors were as follows: subjective health status, EQ-5D (EuroQoL-5 Dimensions), and restriction of activity. Differences in suicidal ideation according to family related factors were as follows: spouse, and status of dietary life. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that board intervention programs should be provided to prevent problems of suicidal ideation. It is also recommended that programs be developed that can help control the variables identified in this study along with follow up study to verify the model.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Depression ; Education ; Humans ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Spouses ; Suicidal Ideation ; Suicide ; Thinking

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify effects of 'mental illness education using movies' on the perceptions and attitudes toward mental illness held by middle and high school teachers. METHODS: The participants were 66 middle and high school teachers, 33 in the experimental group and 33 in the control group. The 'mental illness education using movies' was given to the experimental group twice a week for two weeks. The perceptions and attitudes toward mental illness were measured using the Knowledge and Attitude toward Mental Illness Questionnaire developed by Park, Paik, and Kwack (1995). RESULTS: After the mental illness education, there was a significant difference between the experiment and control group for psychological and environmental concepts toward mental illness (t=7.10, p<.001). CONCLUSION: 'Mental illness education using movies' has limited effects on the perceptions and attitudes of middle and high school teachers toward mental illness. The results of this study indicate that further research is needed with a revised contents of 'the mental illness education using movies' if perceptions and attitudes are to be changed.
Education* ; Humans ; Mental Health ; Surveys and Questionnaires