Objectives: ：This study aims to confirm the effectiveness of a school-based very-short-term dialectical be-havior therapy-skills training (DBT-ST) program for preventing self-harm among children and adolescents, considering factors such as age, sex, self-harm history, and methods of program implementation. Methods: ：The study was conducted from September 2021 to December 2023, targeting 1,012 elementary and middle school students in the Chungcheong region. Changes in responses to the Depressed Mood Questionnaire(RDQ), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-16 (DERS-16), ‘future self-harm possibility’ scores wereanalyzed and compared before and after the program, based on age, sex, self-harm history, and methods of program implementation. Results: ：Overall, participants showed a decrease in the ‘rumination(RDQ) scale’ (t=10.49, p<0.001), ‘reversescored distraction (RDQ)’ (t=10.67, p<0.001) and the total DERS-16 (t=5.56, p<0.001) as well as a decrease in ‘future self-harm possibility’ score (t=4.26, p<0.001). Both elementary and middle school students showed decrease in ’rumination (RDQ)’ and distraction (RDQ), but only middle school students showed a decrease in theDERS-16 and most sub-scales. Regardless of sex, self-harm history, or methods of program implementation, adecrease in ’rumination (RDQ)’, distraction (RDQ) and the total DERS-16 scale and most sub-scales decreased. Conclusions ：Our program appears to be effective as a primary prevention program for preventing self-harm among children and adolescents in a school setting.

Objectives: ：This study was aimed to determine whether the presence or absence of psychotic symptoms inmood disorders is statistically significantly related to the difference between NLR, MLR, PLR. Methods: ：We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 408 patients who were hospitalized with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder type 1 (BP-I) and major depressive disorder (MDD) and underwent complete blood count.Groups were divided based on the presence or absence of psychotic symptoms. The statistical significance of the differences in NLR, MLR, and PLR between each group was examined using t-test. Results: ：When 382 mood disorder patients were divided into groups based solely on the presence or absence ofpsychotic symptoms, the difference between NLR and MLR was statistically significant (NLR: p=0.009, MLR:p=0.016). When dividing the mood disorder patients into subgroups of 176 BP-I patients and 206 MDD patients and using the same method for each subgroup, the tendency for higher NLR and MLR was maintained, but the sta-tistical significance disappeared. Conclusions ：This study suggests the possibility of relationship between psychotic symptoms and NLR and MLR in mood disorders, but additional research appears to be necessary to clarify the possibility.

Objectives: ：Among the various risk factors for suicide, geographic factors have different effects on males and females. This study aimed to identify differences between genders in spatiotemporal dependence and spatiotemporal patterns of suicide mortality over the preceding decade. Methods: ：This research analyzed the age-adjusted suicide mortality rate per 100,000 population, spanning from 2012 to 2021, for intentional suicides across each administrative district (229 Si, Gun, Gu) in Korea. Data were sourced from the National Statistical Office of the Korean Statistical Information Service. The Moran’s I in-dex for spatial autocorrelation of the suicide mortality rates was computed. An emerging hot spot analysis was conducted to examine the community-level spatiotemporal distribution patterns, thus providing insight into the re-gional clustering characteristics that reflect the temporal-spatial clusters of suicide mortality rates. Results: ：TIn males, the Moran’s I indices were almost above 0 (p-value<0.05) for most years, indicating sig-nificant spatial autocorrelation. Conversely, no significant regional clustering was observed among females dur-ing the same period. The emerging hot spot analysis, focusing on the temporal trends in the spatial distributionof male suicide mortality rates from 2012 to 2021, identified two distinct time series patterns and a total of 12 hot spot areas: seven new spots and five sporadic spots. Conclusions ：This study is the first to intuitively demonstrate the disparities in spatiotemporal dependencies and patterns of suicide mortality rates in Korea between genders. The findings highlight the necessity for tailoredsuicide prevention strategies that are sensitive to gender differences.

Objectives: ：This study aimed to investigate the monthly characteristics of suicide attempts among adolescents considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: ：From 2018 to 2023, patients who arrived at Korea University Ansan Hospital’s emergency depart-ment following a suicide attempt were categorized by age, with adolescents defined as those aged 18 and below.These patients were then compared across three periods: pre COVID-19, COVID-19 period, and post COVID-19 periods. Results: ：From January 2018 to December 2023, a total of 3,008 patients who attempted suicide visited the emergency room. Among them, 333 (11.1%) were adolescents. In the overall sample, the proportion of suicide attempts in January increased during the COVID-19 period compared to the pre-COVID-19 period, while the proportion in September decreased. Among adolescents, the proportion of suicide attempts in August decreased after COVID-19 compared to before. Conclusions ：Our findings highlight a concerning increase in suicide attempts among teenagers, showing a cor-relation with the academic semester after COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding and addressing this trend are paramount for effective suicide risk management strategies moving forward.

Recently, a number of patients with psychiatric disorders have received surgical treatments due to physical diseases. Patients who use psychotropic drugs and require surgery have increased perioperative complications because of drug-drug interactions, risk of withdrawal symptoms, and recurrence or relapse of psychiatric disorders. Hence, perioperative management of psychotropic medications is crucial for improving the postoperative outcomes. This paper attempts to provide an overview of considerations and recommendations for perioperative use of major psychotropic drugs. Physical health-related factors such as the American Society of Anesthesi-ologist Physical Status Classification System are considered key factors in the decision process for the use ofpsychotropic drugs in the perioperative period. For patients who are healthy or with mild physical disease, most psychotropic drugs are recommended to be maintained during the perioperative period to avoid relapse of psychiatric condition. However, clozapine and lithium need to be discontinued before surgery due to serious drug-drug interactions and potential toxicity. For patients who have severe physical or mental disease with functional impairment, optimal use of psychotropic drugs should be individualized to balance the risk of maintaining psychotropics in the perioperative period versus the risk of relapse of the underlying psychiatric condition if they are discontinued before surgery. Development of the guidelines for perioperative use and management of psychotropics based on recent research and expert opinions can contribute to improving the quality of patient care in the perioperative setting.

Objectives: ：This study aims to explore the prevalence of depressive symptoms among elderly residents in the relatively stable rural areas of Jeju and to examine the relationships between levels of depression, sociodemographic factors, and health habits. Methods: ：The study site was within rural Jeju, where elderly individuals aged 65 and older were randomly selected from the ‘Agricultural Cohort’ registered at the Centers for Farmers` Safety and Health Center. Trainedinterviewers conducted surveys using the Short Form Geriatric Depression Scale (sGDS-K), defining those withscores of 6 or above as experiencing depressive symptoms for the analysis. Other variables such as sex, age, educational level, marital status, annual income, subjective health status, underlying disease, perceived stress levels, smoking, and drinking status were also recorded Results：Out of 533 subjects, the prevalence of depressive symptoms was 35.3%, with 28.5% in male and 45.6%in female (p<0.001). Factors significantly associated with the prevalence of depressive symptoms included maritalstatus (p=0.014), educational level (p<0.001), annual income (p=0.034), subjective health status (p<0.001), perceived stress level (p<0.001), feeling of despair (p<0.001) and suicidal ideas (p<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that subjective health status, perceived stress level, and feelings of despair were associated with the prevalence of depressive symptoms. Conclusions ：The high prevalence of depressive symptoms among the rural elderly in Jeju highlights the need for targeted mental health interventions. Addressing sociocultural factors and improving early detection and intervention strategies can help reduce the socioeconomic impact of depression in this population.

Objectives: ：This study aimed to explore the association between depression and perceived stress, viral anxiety, reassurance-seeking behavior, and poor sleep quality among the general population in Bangladesh, withself-efficacy as a possible mediator. Methods: ：Data on stress and anxiety during the pandemic in Bangladesh were collected through an online survey from September 16, 2021 to October 4, 2021. Viral anxiety and depression were measured using the Bangla version of Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemic-6 (SAVE-6) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), re-spectively. Self-efficacy was measured by the General Self-efficacy (GSE) scale. Reassurance-seeking behavior related to the coronavirus disease 2019 infection was measured by the Coronavirus Reassurance-Seeking Behav-iors Scale (CRBS). Results: ：The CRBS showed a significant correlation with SAVE-6 (r=0.281, p<0.001) and PHQ-9 (r=0.227, p<0.001). People with higher anxiety, reassurance-seeking behavior, and poor sleep quality had lower self-effi-cacy, which led to depression. In contrast, perceived stress increased self-efficacy. The psychological factors im-pacted depression directly as well as indirectly, and self-efficacy mediated the association. Conclusions ：Viral anxiety, reassurance-seeking behavior, perceived stress, and poor sleep quality have a close correlation with depression both directly and indirectly. Self-efficacy can be a mediating factor in the asso-ciation between psychological distress and depression. Viral anxiety, reassurance-seeking behavior, and poorsleep quality reduce self-efficacy. On the other hand, perceived stress can strengthen self-efficacy.

Objectives: ：The purpose of this study was to investigate individual- and community-level factors on suicidal ideation and suicide attempt among Korean adults. Methods: ：This study was conducted on 225,965 adults collected through data from the 2021 Community Health Survey and the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS). The general characteristics, suicidal behavior (e.g., suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts), and community-level characteristics of the study subjects were analyzed using frequency (%) and mean (standard deviation). The effects on individual- and community-level factors on suicidal ideation and suicide attempts was analyzed using multilevel logistic regression models. Results: ：The community-level factor associated with suicidal ideation was unmet health care (Odds Ratio [OR]=1.053, 95% CI=1.035-1.071), and the community-level factor associated with suicide attempt was the aging rate (OR=1.015, 95% CI=1.001-1.030). Regarding health-related variables, the individual-level factors associated with suicidal ideation were stress status (OR=9.388, 95% CI=8.629-10.213), depressive experience in the past year (OR=6.737, 95% CI=6.454-7.032), and the predominantly individual-level factors associated with suicide attempt were also stress status (OR=5.213, 95% CI=3.699-7.347), and depressive experience in the last one year (OR=13.433, 95% CI: 11.247-16.044). Conclusions ：We confirmed individual-level and community-level factors influencing suicidal ideation and suicide attempt. Through these findings, we need to establish suicide prevention policies, considering managing in-dividual-level factors such as stress and depression as well as community-level factors such as unmet health care.

This study examines the changes in attractiveness and social perception of mask wearers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before COVID-19, masks were seen as a sign of infection, decreasing the wearer’s attractiveness.However, with the widespread normalization of mask-wearing during the pandemic, the perception mechanisms have become more complex. The attractiveness and social perception of mask wearers now vary based on factorssuch as the wearer’s baseline attractiveness, race, and attitudes toward masks. Consequently, research findings onperception changes due to mask-wearing have been inconsistent. This inconsistency is due to the lack of standardized experimental methods and the failure to account for individual differences among participants, as wellas insufficient theoretical background in the studies. From a psychiatric perspective, it is essential to formulateand test new hypotheses centered around the psychological mechanisms related to the human behavioral immune system when studying attractiveness perception during a pandemic. Notably, attention should be given to howdifferences in the activation of individuals’ behavioral immune systems influence perceptions of mask wearers.Understanding these dynamics can provide crucial insights into how social perceptions and aversions impact mental health, thereby shedding light on various psychiatric issues that arise during infectious disease outbreaks.

Frailty is a clinical syndrome as an increased vulnerability to stressors, leading to a decrease in physiologic reserves and a decline in the ability to maintain a good homeostasis. This condition leads to an increased risk of hospitalization, disability and mortality. Frailty occurs due to various causes and requires a multidimensional approach. It is also important to detect and manage it early. Frailty is also deeply related to neuropsychiatric problems such as pain and depression. In evaluating frailty, it is desirable to comprehensively consider not only physical areas such as disease, nutrition, movement, and sensory functions, but also psychosocial areas, and representative scales include Fried’s physical frailty phenotype and Rockwood's frailty index. Physical activity and appropriate protein intake are important for frailty management, and inappropriate drug use should be reduced and oral care, cognitive function, and falls should also be noted. Frailty and pain can affect each other, and pain can promote frailty. Evidence has been published that hormone and protein abnormalities, immune system activity and inflam-matory response, and epigenetic mechanisms work in common in the field of frailty and pain. More extensive andhigh-quality research should be conducted in the future, and the quality of life will be improved if the results are applied to the suppression and treatment of old age and pain.