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Objective@#This study was conducted to identify factors related to loneliness during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and focused on how the fear of COVID-19 infection affects loneliness and the conditional effect of gratitude as a moderator in the relationship among the fear of COVID-19, anxiety, and loneliness. @*Methods@#For the analysis of this study, a survey was conducted among 1,500 individuals aged 19 to 69 years living in three metropolitan areas in South Korea. Questionnaires included sociodemographic data, psychological experience and stress associated with COVID-19, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale–7, UCLA Loneliness Scale–3, and Gratitude Questionnaire–6. An analysis was conducted by applying SPSS PROCESS macro models 4 and 7. @*Results@#First, anxiety mediated the relationship between the fear of COVID-19 infection and loneliness. Second, the effect of the fear of COVID-19 infection on loneliness through anxiety was moderated by gratitude. The higher the gratitude, the more the fear of COVID-19 infection is buffered in the path to anxiety, and the lower the indirect effect on loneliness. @*Conclusion@#This suggests that in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, interventions for psychological problems such as anxiety and loneliness can be carried out through gratitude, a significant protective variable.
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Background@#This study characterized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination behavior in the Korean general population using cluster analysis and explored related psychological factors. @*Methods@#We categorized 1,500 individuals based on their attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination using hierarchical clustering and identified their level of vaccine acceptance. We examined the associations between vaccine acceptance and behavioral and psychological characteristics. @*Results@#Clustering revealed three groups according to vaccine acceptance: ‘totally accepting’ (n = 354, 23.6%), ‘somewhat accepting’ (n = 523, 34.9%), and ‘reluctant’ (n = 623, 41.5%). Approximately 60% of all participants who belonged to the ‘totally accepting’ and ‘somewhat accepting’ groups were willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine despite concerns about its side effects. High vaccine acceptance was associated with older age, regular influenza vaccination, and trust in formal sources of information. Participants with high vaccine acceptance had higher levels of gratitude, extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, and lower levels of depression, anxiety, and neuroticism. @*Conclusions@#People weighed the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination against the risk of side effects when deciding to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Our findings also indicate that this vaccination behavior may be affected by coping mechanisms and psychological factors.
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Objective@#To investigate the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences-15item positive scale (CAPE-15) in college students. @*Methods@#This study had two stages: initial screening with self-report questionnaires including the CAPE-15, and semi-structured interviewsto investigate the instrument’s diagnostic validity. The initial screening involved 1,749 college students. The modified Korean versionof Prodromal Questionnaire-16 item (mKPQ-16) was also administered. The criteria for ultra-high risk (UHR) of psychosis in theComprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States (CAARMS) were the gold standard for diagnosis. @*Results@#Twelve of the interviewed subjects met the CAARMS criteria for UHR of psychosis. The area under the receiver operating characteristiccurve was highest (0.936) for the CAPE-15 distress score (p<0.001). The use of 6 as the cutoff for the CAPE-15 distress score resultedin the best balance of sensitivity (91.7%) and specificity (85.2%), with a favorable positive predictive value of 32.4%. The coefficientsof correlation between the CAPE-15 and mKPQ-16 were significant. @*Conclusion@#The Korean version of the CAPE-15 is a good instrument for screening for psychosis risk in collegiate settings. The validationof this scale could contribute to the early identification of psychosis in the Korean community. Psychiatry Investig 2020;17(4):306-311
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Objectives@#：This study aimed to investigate the moderating effects of resilience on the relationship between affective empathy and burnout among social welfare workers. @*Methods@#：A total of 416 social welfare workers completed this survey. We administered the Korean version of the Questionnaire on Cognitive and Affective Empathy (2QCAE), the Korean version of the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS). Collected data were analyzed by t-test, correlation analysis and hierarchical regression analysis using SPSS 23.0. @*Results@#：Affective empathy, measured by the 2QCAE, was significantly positively correlated with burnout, measured by the MBI-GS. CD-RISC scores were significantly negatively correlated with burnout. The hierarchical regression analysis showed that the relationship between affective empathy and burnout was moderated by resilience. @*Conclusion@#：These findings underscore the need for programs to enhance the resilience of social welfare workers to reduce burnout at work.
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Objectives@#：This study aimed to investigate the moderating effects of resilience on the relationship between affective empathy and burnout among social welfare workers. @*Methods@#：A total of 416 social welfare workers completed this survey. We administered the Korean version of the Questionnaire on Cognitive and Affective Empathy (2QCAE), the Korean version of the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS). Collected data were analyzed by t-test, correlation analysis and hierarchical regression analysis using SPSS 23.0. @*Results@#：Affective empathy, measured by the 2QCAE, was significantly positively correlated with burnout, measured by the MBI-GS. CD-RISC scores were significantly negatively correlated with burnout. The hierarchical regression analysis showed that the relationship between affective empathy and burnout was moderated by resilience. @*Conclusion@#：These findings underscore the need for programs to enhance the resilience of social welfare workers to reduce burnout at work.
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OBJECTIVE: To examine the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the 16-item Prodromal Questionnaire (KPQ-16) in non-help-seeking university students. METHODS: Among 2,246 university students participated in the initial screening, 257 subjects with KPQ-16 scores ≥4 were interviewed. The criteria for ultra-high risk (UHR) of psychosis of the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States (CAARMS) were the gold standard for diagnosis. An exploratory modified version of the questionnaire (mKPQ-16), to which three items from the Eppendorf Schizophrenia Inventory were added, was also used to compensate for items on thought and cognitive problems. RESULTS: Seventeen subjects met the CAARMS criteria for UHR of psychosis. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was highest for the mKPQ-16 total score (AUROC=0.831, p < 0.001). The use of cutoff total scores of 7 for the mKPQ-16 and 6 for the KPQ-16 resulted in the best balance of sensitivity (76.5% and 64.7%, respectively) and specificity (75.4% and 71.2%, respectively). CONCLUSION: The Korean versions of the PQ-16 are good instruments for screening for psychosis risk in university students. This validation of a questionnaire version with a small number of items may make it feasible to screen large numbers of young adults in the community.
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Humans , Young Adult , Diagnosis , Mass Screening , Psychotic Disorders , Reproducibility of Results , ROC Curve , Schizophrenia , Sensitivity and SpecificityABSTRACT
Oxidative stress appears to be implicated in the pathogenesis of various diseases including alcoholic liver injury. In this study we investigated the mechanism of apoptosis induced by tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) in HepG2 human hepatoblastoma cells. Treatment with TBHP significantly reduced glutathione content and glutathione reductase activity, and increased glutathione peroxidase activity, indicating that TBHP induced oxidative stress in the HepG2 cells. TBHP also induced reduction of cell viability and DNA fragmentation, a hallmark of apoptosis, in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, TBHP induced a sustained increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration, which was completely prevented by the extracellular Ca2+ chelation with EGTA. TBHP also induced Mn2+ influx. These results indicate that the intracellular Ca2+ increase by TBHP is exclusively due to Ca2+ influx from the extracellular site. Treatment with either an extracellular (EGTA) or an intracellular Ca2+ chelator (BAPTA/AM) significantly suppressed the TBHP-induced apoptosis. Taken together, these results suggest that TBHP induced the apoptotic cell death in the HepG2 cells and that Ca2+ influx may play an important role in the apoptosis induced by TBHP.