A Phenomenology Study of the Lived Experience of Homeless Persons / 정신간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of homeless persons. METHODS: A phenomenological methodology was used for the study. Participants were people enrolled in the Center for homeless persons in Kyunggi Province and eligible for the study. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with nine participants between October 13 and November 16, 2016. Data analysis was conducted using Colaizzi's method. RESULTS: Five themes and twenty meanings were formulated for experiences of homeless persons. The five themes were ‘Abandoning their life’, ‘Being familiar with a free homeless life’, ‘Being isolated from the world’, ‘Being impoverished’, ‘Desire to break away from the life of homelessness’. CONCLUSION: The study results suggest the need for a holistic understanding of the essential structure of the lived experiences of homeless persons. Mental health professionals need to understand the homelessness experiences from the client view and to develop programs that can help homeless persons reintegrate into the community.

Insight, Self-esteem, and Coping Skills among Patients with Alcohol Addiction / 정신간호학회지

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate the related factors of insight, self-esteem, and coping skills and the relationships among them in patients with alcohol addiction. METHODS: The participants enrolled in this study were 106 patients from two alcohol treatment hospitals in Gyeonggi Province. Data were collected from May, 12 to 20, 2010 using self-report questionnaires. The instruments were the Hanil Alcohol Insight Scale, Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, and the Ways of Coping Checklist. Data were analyzed using the SPSS-Win 12.0 program. RESULTS: Among the participants, 24.5% had poor insight, 45.3% fair insight, and 30.2% good insight. Insights of participants who had experienced withdrawal symptoms (t=-3.79, p<.001) and of those not living with family (t=-2.07, p=.041) were higher than those who had not experienced the symptoms and who were not living with family. Self-esteem of participants living with family (F=3.60, p<.001) and of those with better academic backgrounds (F=3.39, p=.021) were higher than those of the other groups. Also, self-esteem showed a positive relation with active coping (r=.34, p<.001). CONCLUSION: The results of the present study suggest that mental health practitioners need to focus on insight and self-esteem enhancement, coping skill development when treating patients with alcohol addiction.

Parents' Drinking Behavior and Factors Related to Mental Health of their University Student Offspring / 정신간호학회지

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate factors related to mental health of university student offspring according to their parents' drinking behavior. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used in this study. A convenience sample of university students were recruited from three universities in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, Korea. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires with 547 university students. The scales used for this study were the Korean version of the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST-K), Symptom Checklist-90-Revision (SCL-90-R), Rosenberg's Self-esteem Scale, and the Way of Coping Checklist. RESULTS: Participants were classified into three groups; nondrinking-parents group (53.5%), social drinking-parents group (21.8%), and problem drinking-parents group (24.7%). Participants whose parents were problem drinkers had significantly higher scores on all the subcategories of SCL-90-R compared to those of other groups. In the participants group whose parents were problem drinkers, mental health problem had a significant positive correlation to passive coping methods and a negative correlation to self-esteem. There was a significant negative relationship between self-esteem and positive coping methods. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate the mental health of university students may be negatively affected by their parents' drinking behaviors. Special attention and early interventions are needed for university students whose parents have drinking problems.

Gender-specific Problem Behaviors of School-aged Children according to Parenting Characteristics in Poverty / 정신간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between the parenting characteristics and problem behaviors of school-aged children living in poverty. METHODS: With a cross-sectional study design, the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was utilized to collect data from 190 primary caregivers of children in low income families in one middle-size city in South Korea. RESULTS: Among the children's characteristics, only school performance showed significant association with problem behaviors and children's age and gender were not associated with problem behaviors. Among the primary caregivers' parenting characteristics, discipline style, rearing confidence, and concerns for their children showed significant association with problem behaviors for girls, but not for boys. Parenting attitude was not related to problem behaviors with either girls or boys. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study indicate that the parenting characteristics of low income primary caregivers are important in children's problem behaviors, especially for girls and parent education programs for child rearing, including methods of discipline for both boys and girls, are effective nursing interventions.

Rehabilitation for Homeless Adolescent Substance Abusers at a Halfway House in Korea / 간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a rehabilitation program on hope and self-efficacy in a sample of homeless adolescent substance abusers at a halfway house in Seoul, Korea. METHODS: Five residents of a halfway house were provided with a 16-week rehabilitation program based on a cognitive-behavioral approach. To evaluate the effectiveness of the program, this study used a single-case experimental design with the variables - hope and self-efficacy - being measured at pre-, post-, and followup tests. RESULTS: While three participants showed considerable positive changes in hope and self-efficacy after the program, two participants did not show any positive changes. Despite this lack of consistent patterns in the effectiveness of the rehabilitation program, there was a qualitative change in social status (such as academic and work status) for the participants at the follow-up test. CONCLUSION: A rehabilitation program based on a cognitive-behavioral approach may improve the hope and selfefficacy of homeless adolescent substance abusers at a halfway house and help them to reintegrate into society.