OBJECTIVES: Insomnia is significantly influenced by the pre-sleep arousal, self efficacy, sleep hygiene, depression and anxiety. The authors tried to explore how these factors are related with the clinical features of sleep. METHODS: Fifty three patients diagnosed as insomnia by DSM-IV criteria were studied. They filled up the pre-sleep arousal scale(PSAS), sleep efficacy scale(SES), sleep hygiene awareness and practice scale, BDI, and state and trait anxiety scales. RESULTS: 1) The mean values of sleep-related variables were as follows : Sleep latency,136.89 minutes ; frequences of awakening during a night, 2.28 ; minutes to get back to sleep, 42.70 ; total sleep time, 180.19 minutes ; duration of illness, 72.00 months. 2) The mean scores of scales were as follows : PSAS(cognitive), 22.40 ; PSAS (somatic), 17.32 ; SES, 20.16 ; sleep hygiene knowledge, 25.96 ; caffeine knowledge, 59.78 ; sleep hygiene practice, 42.12 ; BDI 18.2 ; state anxiety, 41.24 ; trait anxiety ; 44.50. 3) In the subjects with superimposed depression, the mean frequency of awakening during a night and the mean pre-sleep arousal scale score were higher than in those without depression. 4) Frequency of awakening were correlated positively with a PSAS(a tight tense feeling in your muscle) and sleep hygiene awareness. PSAS(cognitive) were correlated positively with a PSAS(somatic). BDI correlated positively with a PSAS item(a jittery, nervous feeling in your body)and a SES item(not allow a poor night's sleep to interfere with daily activities). Anxiety scales were correlated positively with sleep hygiene practice scale sleep and PSAS were correlated negatively with SES. CONCLUSIONS: The mean scores of PSAS, SES, sleep hygiene awareness and practice scale, BDI, state and trait anxiety scales of insomniacs were correlated either positively or negatively in insomnia patients. These factors seem to contribute to the development and maintenance of insomnia.
Anxiety* ; Arousal* ; Caffeine ; Depression* ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Humans ; Hygiene* ; Self Efficacy* ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders* ; Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation ; Weights and Measures

No abstract available.

To provide a recent knowledge about pharmacological treatment of anxiety disorders in elderly, the author reviewed the articles and books for the treatment of elderly anxiety patients. Anxiety is the one of the most prevalent psychiatric symptoms in the elderly. Many psychological and physical causes including used drugs can induce the anxiety symptoms in elderly. However, it is often unrecognized and inadequately treated. The pharcokinetics and pharmacodynamic changes, con-comittent illnesses, compliance problems, and increased sensitivity to drugs in elderly have to be considered. Various pharmacological treatments (e.g benzodiazepines, buspirone, antidepressnats, beta-blockers, antihistamines, neuroleptics)were reported as having therapeutic effects for the treatment of geriatric anxiety disorders patients. They have their own advantages and disadvantages. However, anxiety in elderly have received little focus to date. The study results often depend on the studies from adult samples. A comprehensive, flexible, integrated, and specific treatment approaches should be applied to elderly anxious patients. The more systematized studies are needed to broaden the knowledge of the pharmacological treatment of anxiety disorders in the elderly.
Adult ; Aged* ; Anxiety ; Anxiety Disorders ; Benzodiazepines ; Buspirone ; Compliance ; Drug Therapy* ; Histamine Antagonists ; Humans

No abstract available.

Although generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a common disorder with significant impairments in clinical field, little is known about exact diagnosis and differential diagnosis. The reasons of little information about diagnosis and differential diagnosis of GAD are 1) changing and vagueness of diagnostic criteria of GAD, 2) multiple medical and psychiatric co-morbidity, 3) atypical presentation of clinical symptoms, 4) patterns of treatment seeking, 5) late introduction of effective treatment modalities. However, GAD is a commonly occurring, independent mental disorder in psychiatry. Recently, the epidemiological and clinical studies on GAD is increasing. For the exact evaluation and to resolve remaining uncertainties on diagnosing the patients with generalized anxiety symptoms, the author reviewed the different diagnostic criteria, the results of epidemiological surveys, clinical characteristics, co-morbidity, differential diagnosis for the exact diagnosis of GAD.
Anxiety Disorders* ; Anxiety* ; Diagnosis* ; Diagnosis, Differential* ; Humans ; Mental Disorders

Although generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a common disorder with significant impairments in clinical field, little is known about exact diagnosis and differential diagnosis. The reasons of little information about diagnosis and differential diagnosis of GAD are 1) changing and vagueness of diagnostic criteria of GAD, 2) multiple medical and psychiatric co-morbidity, 3) atypical presentation of clinical symptoms, 4) patterns of treatment seeking, 5) late introduction of effective treatment modalities. However, GAD is a commonly occurring, independent mental disorder in psychiatry. Recently, the epidemiological and clinical studies on GAD is increasing. For the exact evaluation and to resolve remaining uncertainties on diagnosing the patients with generalized anxiety symptoms, the author reviewed the different diagnostic criteria, the results of epidemiological surveys, clinical characteristics, co-morbidity, differential diagnosis for the exact diagnosis of GAD.
Anxiety Disorders* ; Anxiety* ; Diagnosis* ; Diagnosis, Differential* ; Humans ; Mental Disorders

Anxiety is one of the basic human emotions. From the evolutionary psychology point of view, it is a necessary factor for survival and prosperity of human beings that had been developed throughout time with the history of human survival and development. Anxiety plays the role of protecting one from social or physical threats. In reality, lacking of anxiety showed lots of examples of maladjustments. But the result of over-adjustment, which is overanxious disorder, is definitely disturbing one's survival and growth, and it can lead to anxiety disorder that needs to be treated. Anxiety from the evolutionary psychology point of view, started as a primary adjustment form and it evolves into various types of anxiety disorders that relates to the modern society's characters. Therefore, having the grasp of evolutionary psychology, which can be the base of treating anxiety and anxiety disorders, is very important. So from now on, studies for this aspect would need to be done as integrated and multidisciplinary studies not only by psychiatrists, but by including epidemiologists, psychologists, ecologists, biologists, and neuropsychologists. In this article, the author tried to review and explore the idea of anxiety and anxiety disorders from the evolutionary psychology point of view.
Anxiety Disorders* ; Anxiety* ; Hand Strength ; Humans ; Psychiatry ; Psychology

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between insomnia severity, depression, anxiety, and anxiety sensitivity and to find out the explanatory variables that account for the insomnia severity among depression, anxiety, and anxiety sensitivity in general population. 95 mentally healthy volunteers who visit health promotion center of Kangbuk Samsung hospital for their regular medical examination were requested to complete Athens Insomnia Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Anxiety Sensitivity Index. Association between total scores of Athens Insomnia scale and other variables (total scores of Beck Depression Inventory excluded item 16, total scores of State Anxiety, total scores of Trait Anxiety, and total scores of Anxiety Sensitivity Scale) was assessed individually with partial correlations adjusted by age and then together using multiple regression analysis. The total scores of Athens Insomnia Scale were significantly associated with total scores of Beck Depression Inventory excluded item 16(r = 0.541, p<0.001), total scores of Trait Anxiety(r = 0.642, p<0.001), total scores of State Anxiety(r = 0.267, p<0.05), and total scores of Anxiety Sensitivity Index(r = 0.312, p<0.01). Total scores of trait anxiety showed the highest correlation with the total scores of Athens Insomnia Scale and was the significant predictor to total scores of Athens Insomnia Scale among the other predictor variables (p<0.001). These results show that insomnia severity is positively correlated with depression, anxiety, and anxiety sensitivity. The correlation was strongest with trait anxiety. In addition, our results suggest that trait anxiety is associated with insomnia severity in general populations.
Anxiety* ; Depression* ; Health Promotion ; Healthy Volunteers ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders*

OBJECTIVES: The study was performed to compare the quality of life and mental health -depression, suicide etc- in homosexual men with those in heterosexual men and to identify how the quality of life is related with mental health. METHODS: 129 homosexual men and 114 heterosexual men in twenties and thirties were enrolled by crosssectional method. Quality of life, depression, suicidal idea, hopelessness, self esteem, coping strategy, social support, social conflict, familiar adaptability and familiar cohesion were measured by self-report scale to compare the homosexual and the heterosexual groups. RESULTS: The results showed that age, educational level, income, alcohol intake, smoking and reli-gion were not significantly different between homosexual group and heterosexual group. Teased experience about feminity, past psychiatric history, HIV test experience in homosexual group were higher than those in heterosexual group. The self- esteem, hopelessness, coping strategy, familiar ada-ptability and social support-conflict were not significantly different between two groups. Homosexual group had poorer quality of life, lower familiar cohesion, higher depression and higher suicidal idea than heterosexual group. Being alienated from home, social system and interpersonal relationship, which are subscales of the quality of life, scored lower by homosexual group as compared with hete-rosexual group. Therefore, high depression and low familiar cohesion had significant effect on the quality of life in homosexual group. CONCLUSION: Although homosexuality is excluded from DSM, the prevalences of many mental health problems are higher in homosexual group than heterosexual group. It is suggested that the more studies on depression and familiar function related to homosexuality are needed.
Depression ; Emigrants and Immigrants ; Heterosexuality* ; HIV ; Homosexuality* ; Humans ; Male ; Mental Health* ; Prevalence ; Quality of Life* ; Self Concept ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Suicide

OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this study were to understand the difference of coping strategies for stress and to compare the degree of social avoidance, subjective distress and fear of negative evaluation between patients with generalized and nongeneralized social phobia. METHODS: Forty-six outpatients meeting the criteria of DSM-IV social phobia at the Department of Psychiatry Kangbuk Samsung Hospital were included. They were classified as generalized type (n=30) and nongeneralized type (n=16) according to the number of difficult situations. Social Phobia Scale (SPS), Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (SADS) and Brief-Fear of Negative Evaluation (BFNE) scales were administered to both groups. To evaluate the coping strategies for stress, we used 'Multidimensional Coping Scale'. RESULTS: 1) The group of generalized social phobia showed significantly lower scores on emotional expression and religious seeking and showed higher scores on passive withdrawal in multidimensional coping scales than the group of nongeneralized social phobia. 2) The group of generalized social phobia reported greater subjective fear of situation in which the patients were exposed to scrutiny by others than did the group of nongeneralized social phobia. The group of generalized social phobia tended to report severer anxiety and to avoid social situation that may be embarrassing far greater than did in group of nongeneralized social phobia. 3) In both groups, social avoidance and distress were positively correlated with passive withdrawal and emotional support and negatively correlated with active coping. Fear for negative evaluation was positively correlated with fatalism and negatively correlated with positive interpretation. CONCLUSION: Efficient and active intervention to change unproductive coping strategy such as passive withdrawal is essential in the treatment of social phobia patients. Also this study suggests that interventions designed to modify behaviors and cognitions in emotional support seeking and fatalism could improve symptoms.
Anxiety ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Humans ; Outpatients ; Phobic Disorders* ; Weights and Measures