Reliability and Validity of the Korean Version of the Beck Hopelessness Scale / 신경정신의학

OBJECTIVES: The Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) is a 20-item scale for measuring the extent of negative attitudes about the future. Previous studies repeatedly demonstrated clinical utility of BHS, particularly for predicting suicide. The aim of this study is to examine the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Beck Hopelessness Scale (K-BHS), which is commonly used for measuring hopelessness. METHODS: The study sample consisted of 1022 community-dwelling general adults from 4 regional areas (i.e., Seoul, Gyeonggi, Cheongju, and Jinju) across South Korea. They completed the K-BHS, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale. RESULTS: The Cronbach's alpha value for the K-BHS was 0.85. Test-retest reliability at average 7.2 days was 0.86. Discriminant validity was determined. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a three factor model. CONCLUSION: The K-BHS demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity and therefore may be useful in measuring the construct of hopelessness and in clinical suicide risk assessments. Further studies are needed in order to explore the psychometric features and correlates of this scale among clinical populations.

A Report on "Debates on the Strategy for Treating Gastric Cancer" at the Congress of the Korean Gastric Cancer Association

We have always attempted to create a standard treatment protocol for patients with gastric cancer. However, many debates still exist regarding gastric cancer treatment. For the past 2 years, at the Annual Congress of the Korean Gastric Cancer Association, we have presented a grand symposium on the "Debates on the strategy for treating gastric cancer". In 2008, four major topics were discussed and voted on after discussion. The four major topics were proximal location treatment for early gastric cancer, management choices for pyloric obstruction with advanced gastric cancer, management of liver metastasis, and reconstruction methods after a distal gastrectomy. The opinions of the audience for six minor topics were expressed by an electronic voting system. In 2009, the four main topics were treatment for submucosal tumor sized around 2 cm, laparoscopic gastrectomy in T2N1 gastric cancer, choices for managing gastric lymphoma, and application of a pylorus preserving procedure for early gastric cancer at the antrum. The opinions of the audience for these six minor topics were expressed by an electronic voting system, as was conducted in 2008. It was good opportunity to identify a point of contact about the debates on managing gastric cancer. The results of these debates and studies will identify the best methods to treat patients with gastric cancer.