PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the meaning and essence of suicide for elderly people who had previously attempted suicide as an older person. METHODS: Giorgi's descriptive phenomenology was used for analysis. The researchers carried out in-depth interviews, recordings and memos individually with four elders. The elders were individuals who had attempted suicide sometime in the past 5 yr. They were interviewed from 5 to 10 times using open-ended questions and a semi-structural format. Demographic data were also collected. RESULTS: The meaning of suicide before a suicide attempt in older people had four core components: conflict with family, powerlessness and despair in their life with a drop in self-esteem, using internal and external resources to resolve their troubles and awareness of imminent crisis. CONCLUSION: These results of this study will increase understanding of suicide in older people by defining their subjective experience of suicide attempts and applying grounded data in the development of programs that provide concrete intervention strategies to prevent suicide in elderly people.
Aged ; Conflict (Psychology) ; Depression ; Female ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Male ; Self Concept ; Self Psychology ; Suicide, Attempted/prevention & control/*psychology

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop an integrated internet addiction prevention program and test its effects on the self-regulation and internet addiction of elementary students who are at risk for internet addiction. METHODS: A quasi-experimental study with a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used. Participants were assigned to the experimental group (n=28) or control group (n=28). Contents of the program developed in this study included provision of information about internet addiction, interventions for empowerment and methods of behavioral modification. A pre-test and two post-tests were done to identify the effects of the program and their continuity. Effects were testified using Repeated measures ANOVA, simple effect analysis, and Time Contrast. RESULTS: The self-regulation of the experimental group after the program was significantly higher than the control group. The score for internet addiction self-diagnosis and the internet use time in the experimental group were significantly lower than the control group. CONCLUSION: The effects of the integrated internet addiction prevention program for preventing internet addiction in elementary students at risk for internet addiction were validated.
Behavior, Addictive/*prevention & control/psychology ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Internet ; Male ; Power (Psychology) ; Program Development ; *Program Evaluation ; Self-Control/*psychology

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to analyze addiction prevention related content shown in middle school text books. METHODS: Using a combination of the terms “addiction”, “drug”, “medicine”, “personal preference”, “smoking”, “drinking”, “sex”, “misuse” or “abuse” as key words, the researchers screened the table of contents of 23 randomly selected middle school textbooks from the 2009 curriculum. Finally 13 textbooks (physical education=10, health=3) were selected for this study, and analyzed using Krippendorff's contents analysis. RESULTS: Through indepth discussion and investigation of the relevant textbooks, content related to addiction prevention included material addiction (77.8%) and behavioral addiction (22.2%). The construction of addiction prevention in middle school textbooks included understanding addiction, rejection of peer temptation, and empowerment of self-control. CONCLUSION: When developing an intervention for addiction prevention that targets middle school students, education with accurate addiction information must be considered so that the students have the correct knowledge about addiction and addiction prevention. Additionally, the ability to reject peer temptation when invited to act upon related addiction behaviors should be treated seriously. The empowerment of self-control is also important, and can be promoted through strengthening self-regulation competence.
Adolescent ; Alcoholism ; Curriculum ; Education ; Humans ; Mental Competency ; Power (Psychology) ; Self-Control ; Substance-Related Disorders

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study is to present a strategy for improving the self-regulation (SR) ability and facilitating the change of vocal behavior by applying voice therapy using the SR concept to the patients with vocal cord nodule and muscle tension dysphonia. MATERIALS AND METHOD: The subjects were 80 patients and 80 patients who were diagnosed with muscle tension dysphonia and vocal nodules. As a control group, the results were compared among patients with the same dysphonia without using SR strategies. The concept of SR before voice therapy was explained to the patients, and the treatment was divided into three stages according to the goal of voice therapy. The treatment stages consist of 1) skill acquisition, 2) habit formation, and 3) habit changes. voice therapy was performed by applying SR strategies such as goal implementation intentions and a less routine behavior. Patient's dropout rates were measured to compare the adherence of voice therapy. RESULTS: Significant improvement was seen in all groups receiving voice therapy. However, in the group using the SR strategy, the voice analysis results showed a relatively low dropout rate of voice therapy. In the generalization confirmation stage, patients who applied SR concept showed better results. SR strategy did no longer be necessary to maintain newly adopted vocal behavior. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that SR is one of the cognitive factors that can have a significant impact on the outcome of voice therapy, and also has a positive impact on the acquisition and generalization of new skills. A better understanding of SR and the development of therapeutic strategies using it will play an important role in solving voice problems in clinical settings.
Dysphonia ; Generalization (Psychology) ; Humans ; Intention ; Methods ; Muscle Tonus ; Self-Control ; Vocal Cords ; Voice

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a school-based intervention program for middle school adolescent girls with depression. METHODS: The study was a pretest-posttest repeated-measure design with a nonequivalent control group. Fifty eight students with depressive symptoms were recruited from two middle schools in Seoul, Korea. The data were collected from the intervention (n=30) and the comparison group (n=28). The research instrument was Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale. RESULTS: The intervention group greatly improved from baseline to 10 weeks and then saw a slight positive change between 10 and 13 weeks. CONCLUSION: The results of this research show that depression intervention programs are effective for young female adolescents. Thus the investigation has important school-based treatment implications, and should be integrated into school curriculums by school health nurses for early intervention of depressive symptoms in middle school adolescent girls.
Adolescent ; *Adolescent Psychology ; Depression/*prevention & control ; Female ; Humans ; Program Evaluation ; School Health Services/*utilization ; Self Concept ; Social Support ; Students/*psychology

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a self-esteem improvement program on self-esteem and peer attachment in elementary school children with observed problematic behaviors. METHODS: This study is a quasi-experimental study with a nonequivalent control group pretest-post-test design. A total of 47 fourth grade elementary school students participated in this study. The program was provided for 45 minutes once a week; a total of 12 sessions were completed with a group in the classroom for the experimental group. Child Problem-Behavior Screening Questionnaire was used to measure problematic behavior. Self-esteem was measured using the Rosenberg's Self-esteem Questionnaire, and peer attachment was measured using the Inventory of Parent and Attachment. Measuring was performed right after the program was done (post 1) and 1 month after the program was finished (post 2). To compare the differences in self-esteem and peer attachment between groups, repeated measures analysis of variance was used. RESULTS: Most participants in the experimental group were 10 years old (62.5%, range 10-11), male (52.0%) and with middle grade point average (64.0%). The self-esteem scores in the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group (F = 26.64, p < .001). The peer attachment scores in the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group (F = 6.48, p = .014). CONCLUSIONS: The self-esteem improvement program in this study improved the self-esteem and peer attachment in elementary school children. The self-esteem program helped acknowledge the peer's name and increased their connections. The program needs to be considered as a formal and consistent program.
Case-Control Studies ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; *Peer Group ; Problem Behavior/*psychology ; Republic of Korea ; *Self Concept ; Students/*psychology ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVETo explore the relationships between alcohol expectancy,cultural orientation, self-efficacy and drinking behavior to provide theoretical support for the development of education programs aimed at preventing alcohol abuse among adolescents.

METHODSAn anonymous quantitative survey of 2756 tenth and eleventh grade students in six senior high schools in Zhengzhou and Xinyang city of Henan province was conducted in November 2005 and data was analyzed by SPSS 13.0 software.

RESULTSThe overall rate of drinking alcohol among participants was 56.5%. The median score of cultural orientation was 3.25 (3.09, 3.42); of alcohol expectancy was 3.02 (2.81, 3.23); and 79.64 (60.36, 93.21) of alcohol self-efficacy. Direct or indirect relationships were found between Chinese traditional cultural orientation, western cultural orientation, alcohol positive expectancy, alcohol negative expectancy, alcohol self-efficacy and alcohol drinking behavior. Lower monthly drinking habit was directly associated with higher self-efficacy and higher negative expectancies,lower positive expectancies and lower western cultural orientation (coefficients = -0.346, -0.282, 0.234 and 0.162 respectively), but not with Chinese cultural orientation variables.

CONCLUSIONThe current situation of alcohol drinking among the participants was critical. Drinking behavior seemed most affected by drinking beliefs and cultural orientation, suggesting that the development of education programs should focus on students' beliefs.

Adolescent ; Alcohol Drinking ; psychology ; Alcoholism ; prevention & control ; China ; Culture ; Female ; Health Education ; Humans ; Male ; Self Efficacy ; Students ; psychology

OBJECTIVETo estimate the mediating effect of smoking abstinence self-efficacy (SASE) on the association between awareness of smoking hazard and successful smoking cessation.

METHODSA community-based case-control study was conducted in 642 smokers who successfully stopped smoking, and 700 smokers who failed in smoking cessation were used as controls. The awareness of smoking hazard was evaluated by total score of 12 items. The SASE was assessed by using Smoking Abstinence Self-Efficacy (ASES-S). The total effect was classified as direct effect and indirect effect through logistic regression analysis based on the KHB method.

RESULTSAfter adjusting the potential confounders, including age, age of smoking initiation, occupation, educational level and marital status, the mediating effect of SASE accounted for 6.03% among the total effect of awareness of smoking hazard in those who successfully stopped smoking while the direct effect accounted for 93.97% among the total effect. In the three specific situation of SASE, the mediating effect of SASE accounted for 6.80% (positive/social situations), 3.08% (negative/affective situations) and 2.32% (habit/addictive situations) among the total effect, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSASE has part mediating effect to influence on the association between the awareness of smoking hazard and successful smoking cessation. Improving smokers' awareness of smoking hazard may not only promote successful smoking cessation directly, but also contribute to quit smoking through improving the score of SASE.

Case-Control Studies ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Self Efficacy ; Smoking ; psychology ; Smoking Cessation ; psychology ; Tobacco Use Disorder

PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine whether a blended Infant MassageeParenting Enhancement Program (IMPEP) improved maternal psychosocial health outcomes (parenting stress, depressive symptoms, self-esteem, maternal attachment) and maternal-infant interaction among substanceaddicted mothers (SAMs) actively engaged in outpatient rehabilitation. METHODS: Designed as a randomized, three-group controlled trial testing two levels of psychoeducational intervention (IMPEP vs. PEP) and a control group (standard care parenting resources), the studywas conducted in two substance abuse centers in southeast Florida on a convenience sample of 138 recovering SAM-infant pairs. IMPEP or PEP classes were held weekly onWeeks 2e5, with data collected at baseline (Week 1),Week 6, andWeek 12 via structured interviews, observation (Observation Checklist onMaternal-Infant Interaction), and self-administered questionnaires (Abidin Parenting Stress Index, Beck Depression Inventory, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Muller's Maternal Attachment Inventory), analyzed descriptively and inferentially using Kruskall-Wallis analysis of variance and post hoc Wilcoxon rank sum and Mann-Whitney U tests. RESULTS: Both IMPEP and PEP groups had significantly increased Parenting Stress Index scores (decreased parenting stress) and decreased Beck Depression Inventory scores (decreased depressive symptoms) compared to controls at Week 12, whereas there were no clinically meaningful differences among study groups in Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Muller's Maternal Attachment Inventory, or Observation Checklist on Maternal-Infant Interaction scores. Only the IMPEP group showed significant improvements in both psychological and physical (waist-hip ratio) measures of parenting stress over time. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that infant massage blended into a structured parenting program has value-added effects in decreasing parenting stress and maternal depressive symptoms, but not on SAM's self-esteem, attachment, or maternal-infant interaction.
Adult ; Depressive Disorder/*prevention & control ; Female ; Florida ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Massage ; Maternal Behavior/*psychology ; Mother-Child Relations/*psychology ; Mothers/*education/*psychology ; Parenting/*psychology ; Program Evaluation ; Self Concept ; Stress, Psychological ; Substance-Related Disorders/*psychology/rehabilitation ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: This study was done to provide fundamental data for the development of competency reinforcement programs to prevent addictive behavior in adolescents through the construction and examination of an addiction prevention core competency model. METHODS: In this study core competencies for preventing addictive behavior in adolescents through competency modeling were identified, and the addiction prevention core competency model was developed. It was validated methodologically. RESULTS: Competencies for preventing addictive behavior in adolescents as defined by the addiction prevention core competency model are as follows: positive self-worth, self-control skill, time management skill, reality perception skill, risk coping skill, and positive communication with parents and with peers or social group. After construction, concurrent cross validation of the addiction prevention core competency model showed that this model was appropriate. CONCLUSION: The study results indicate that the addiction prevention core competency model for the prevention of addictive behavior in adolescents through competency modeling can be used as a foundation for an integral approach to enhance adolescent is used as an adjective and prevent addictive behavior. This approach can be a school-centered, cost-efficient strategy which not only reduces addictive behavior in adolescents, but also improves the quality of their resources.
Adaptation, Psychological ; Adolescent ; Adolescent Psychology ; Behavior, Addictive/*prevention & control ; Family Relations ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Models, Psychological ; Questionnaires ; Self Concept