OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between internet addiction, smartphone addiction, and psychosocial factors. This study was designed to examine the vulnerability factors for internet and smartphone addiction. METHODS: The participants were 1041 children and adolescents in a small and medium-sized cities. All of the participants were evaluated in terms of their demographic characteristics and present use of the internet and smartphone, as well as using internet and smartphone addiction and other psychological scales. Statistical analyses were performed to compare the psychosocial factors between the high risk, potential risk, and general user groups of internet and smartphone addiction. RESULTS: The participants were classified into three groups, the high risk (N=33), potential risk (N=203), and general user (N=805) groups with regard to their internet and smartphone addiction level. There were statistical significantly differences between the groups in terms of the economic status of the family, academic performance, parents, use of internet and smartphone, loneliness, family cohesion, family adaptability, perceived social support, and peer relationship. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the internet and smartphone addiction of children and adolescents is related to various psychosocial vulnerability factors.
Adolescent* ; Child* ; Humans ; Internet* ; Loneliness ; Parents ; Psychology ; Smartphone* ; Weights and Measures

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the relationship between depression, attachment and addiction problems in runaway youths. METHODS: We sent a questionnaire package to 187 runaway youths in 18 adolescent shelters. The questionnaire package collected their sociodemographic data and included the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Inventory of Parent Attachment (IPA), Korean Internet Addiction Self-Scale (K-Scale), Korean version of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, and Korean version of the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence. RESULTS: The percentage of youth with depression was 28.8% (N=54). In the depression group, there were significantly more problematic alcohol users (53.06%, p=.0199) and significantly lower IPA scores (p=.0064). There was a significant negative correlation between depression and a IPA, and significant positive correlation between depression and the K-Scale. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that runaway youths with depression have more problematic alcohol drinking and attachment problems.
Adolescent* ; Alcohol Drinking ; Child ; Depression* ; Homeless Youth* ; Humans ; Internet ; Parents ; Tobacco Use Disorder

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of high school students' mental health on their academic achievement and school dropout rate by using longitudinal data. METHODS: For this study, 153 high schools were randomly sampled on a nationwide scale. The descriptive data was collected from a school information internet site which is organized by the Korean Ministry of Education. We used the schools' mean scores on the Adolescent Mental Health Problem-Behavior Questionnaire-II (AMPQ-II) scale which was used for estimating students' mental health in the 2013 school-based mental health screening test. The data analysis was conducted by using hierarchical regression analysis. RESULTS: The results of this study showed that the AMPQ-II scale's mean scores have significant effects on the following year's academic achievement and annual dropout rates. Especially, the AMPQ-II scale's mean scores tend to increase the school dropout rate in vocational schools. CONCLUSION: The finding of this study is that Korean high school students' mental health states significantly influence their academic achievement and school dropout rate.
Adolescent ; Education ; Humans ; Internet ; Mass Screening ; Mental Health* ; Statistics as Topic ; Student Dropouts*

OBJECTIVES: This study attempted to evaluate the usefulness and direction of development of post-traumatic assessment and interventions based on the opinions of psychiatrics and disaster and trauma-related experts using the Delphi survey technique. METHODS: In-depth individual interviews served as the pre-survey and were followed by Delphi primary and secondary surveys. Specialists in child and adolescent mental health, psychological support professionals specialized in disasters and related practitioners with experience of disasters in Korea completed a set of questionnaires and participated in focus group interviews and in-depth individual interviews on post-traumatic assessment and intervention. RESULTS: We found that the following issues have a significant impact on the interventions after disasters: the proper time of the initial interview in the event of a disaster, assessment notices, aged assessment services, mandatory enforcement measures, scale screening and treatment intervention elements, symptoms degree classification, intervention standardization, the use of a levelled program, care unit environment, and operation plan. CONCLUSION: This study proposed effective mental health intervention measures and has implications for the development of evaluation treatment protocols after disasters.
Adolescent* ; Child* ; Classification ; Clinical Protocols ; Disasters* ; Focus Groups ; Humans ; Korea ; Mass Screening ; Mental Health ; Specialization

No abstract available.

OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to identify the characteristics of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that was not diagnosed in childhood or adolescence, but only in adulthood. METHODS: The characteristics of patients diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood were compared with those of patients diagnosed in childhood were assessed via a retrospective review of the medical records at one university hospital from 2005 to 2013. If the age at which they were confirmed as having ADHD was less than 19 years old, they were grouped as childhood-diagnosed group (CD); if they were 19 years old or more, they were grouped as adulthood-diagnosed group (AD). RESULTS: The CD and AD included 50 (46.3%) and 58 (53.7%) patients, respectively. Inattention was the most common symptom in both groups. Behavioral and emotional problems were the second most frequent symptoms in the CD and AD, respectively. The intelligent quotient was significantly higher in the AD than in the CD. The most common comorbidity was depression in the CD and personality disorder in the AD. The most common reason for visiting the hospital was referral by acquaintances in the CD and media coverage in the AD. CONCLUSION: Clinicians should put ADHD on the index of suspicion when they examine adults with various psychiatric symptoms, because the diagnosis of ADHD might have been missed in childhood and the symptoms of ADHD might have changed as they grew up.
Adolescent ; Adult* ; Comorbidity ; Depression ; Diagnosis ; Friends ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Personality Disorders ; Referral and Consultation ; Retrospective Studies*

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted in order to develop a computerized test to measure the level of mathematic achievement and related cognitive functions in children and adolescents in South Korea. METHODS: The computerized Comprehensive Learning Test-Mathematic (CLT-M) consists of the whole number computation test, enumeration of dot group test, number line estimation test, numeral comparing test (magnitude/distance), rapid automatized naming test, digit span test, and working memory test. To obtain the necessary data and to investigate the reliability and validity of this test, 399 children and adolescents from kindergarten to middle school were recruited. RESULTS: The internal consistency reliability of the CLT-M was high (Cronbach's alpha=0.76). Four factors explained 66.4% of the cumulative variances. In addition, the data for all of the CLT-M subtests were obtained. CONCLUSION: The computerized CLT-M can be used as a reliable and valid tool to evaluate the level of mathematical achievement and associated cognitive functions in Korean children and adolescents. This test can also be helpful to detect mathematical learning disabilities, including specific learning disorder with impairment in mathematics, in Korea.
Adolescent* ; Child* ; Cognition ; Dyscalculia ; Humans ; Korea ; Learning ; Learning Disorders ; Mathematics* ; Memory, Short-Term ; Reproducibility of Results ; Specific Learning Disorder

OBJECTIVES: Adolescent depression is a complex disorder influenced by a variety of personal and familial factors. In this study, we compared the familial, cognitive, and behavioral characteristics of adolescents with and without diagnosed depression. METHODS: Forty adolescents with depressive disorder were recruited from two psychiatric clinics, along with 46 healthy adolescents from a middle school and a high school. We then compared the participants' cognitive and behavioral characteristics and the child-rearing attitudes of their parents. RESULTS: Compared to the healthy adolescents, the adolescents with depression exhibited lower self-esteem, higher emotional reappraisal, greater disruptive behavior, and lower attention. Furthermore, compared to the mothers of the healthy adolescents, the mothers of those with depression reported less affective, less autonomic, and more rejecting parenting attitudes towards their children. CONCLUSION: We found that attentional problems, negative parenting attitudes, negative self-cognition, and expressive suppression are all associated with adolescent depression. Parenting education and interventions appear to be needed to correct the negative cognitions of adolescents with depression.
Adolescent* ; Child ; Cognition ; Depression* ; Depressive Disorder ; Education, Nonprofessional ; Humans ; Mothers ; Parenting ; Parents ; Problem Behavior

Childhood exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and other adversities has been shown to have adverse effects on health and well-being not only in childhood but also throughout the lifespan. This paper focuses on the prevalence of childhood adversities including exposure to IPV. The intersection of adverse childhood experiences and IPV victimization/perpetration in adulthood is also explored. The neurobiology of trauma is discussed and by understanding the impact of trauma on health, it is hoped that enhancement of resilience is possible. Based on the identification of protective factors at the individual, familial, and community level, examples of interventions that encourage safe, stable, and nurturing relationships between parents and children are described.
Child ; Hope ; Humans ; Intimate Partner Violence* ; Neurobiology ; Parents ; Prevalence ; Protective Factors

No abstract available.
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity ; Autistic Disorder ; Autism Spectrum Disorder ; Mental Health ; Spouse Abuse ; Learning Disorders