ISSN : 1229-0688
This study examined the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), which measures posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. To this end, 908 Korean adults were administered the instrument, and data were examined for factor structure, reliability, and validity. First, verification of model factors 1, 4, 6 and 7 were conducted through confirmatory factor analysis. The results indicated that factor 1 had poor goodness of fit, while factors 4, 6 and 7 were acceptable. Next, internal reliability, construct reliability, and average variance extracted were examined to confirm reliability. Additionally, correlation analyses were conducted with the Korean version of the Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (K-PC-PTSD-5) and Brief Symptoms Inventory-18 to confirm validity. The analyses indicated that the reliability of the Korean version of the PCL-5 was excellent and that it positively correlated with the K-PC-PTSD-5, depression, anxiety, and somatization of Brief Symptoms Inventory-18. The implications of this study are discussed.
The purpose of this study is exploring South Korean heterosexuals’ attitudes towards same-sex relationships(SSR), lesbians, and gays(LGs). The authors of the study interviewed 12 adults who identify as cis-gender heterosexuals. After qualitative comparative analysis was used, the following themes emerged: 1) Paths to learning about SSR and LGs, 2) Feelings of discomfort with SSR and LGs, 3) Beliefs in the origins of same-sex attraction, and LGs identities, 4) Expectations of hetero-based relationships, marriages, and reproduction as the norm, 5) Belief that discrimination of sexual minorities does not even exist, and not wanting to be aware, 6) Willingness to better understand SSR, and LGs, 7) Beliefs that Korean-specific cultural norms must be maintained, and 8) Opposition against violence and hate speech to sexual minorities, but beliefs that sexual minorities need to take more action to advocate for themselves. Implications for future research were discussed in the social justice context.
This study explored the construct and features of authenticity as perceived by counselors based on their experiences in counseling sessions. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 experienced counselors, and analyzed using the consensual qualitative research method. The counselors perceived authenticity to mean being aware of one’s internal experiences and expressing them accordingly for the benefit of the client. counselors felt that authenticity was demonstrated through respecting and understanding the client, and being fully present with the client in sessions. Counselors identified judging clients, which is negative transference, as a hinderance to authenticity. Whereas, being aware of one’s own experiences in counseling sessions, communicating these experiences with clients, and reflecting on one’s experiences after the session, were identified as resilience factors. Finally, counselors expressed that their authenticity fostered authenticity in their clients. Implications, limitations, and recommendations for further research are discussed.
This study examined the effects of psychological sense of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community (PSOC-LGBT) and lesbian, gay, and bisexual positive identity (LGB-PIM) on the well-being (MHC-SF) of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) Korean adults through minority stress coping strategies (i.e., social support seeking coping strategy [CSI-S], problem-solving coping strategy [CSI-P], avoidance coping strategy [CSI-A]). Participants were 937 respondents, 18 years and older, who self-identified as LGB. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with Mplus 7.0. PSOC-LGBT and LGB-PIM showed positive effects on CSI-S and CSI-P. Also there was a positive effect of PSOC-LGBT on the MHC-SF of Korean LGB adults. The MHC-SF was predicted by CSI-P positively, and by CSI-A negatively. Additionally, the bootstrapping method found that PSOC-LGBT and LGB-PIM had significant indirect effects on MHC-SF through CSI-P. Implications for counseling practice, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.
The purpose of this study is to propose critical consciousness and intersectionality as valuable constructs for incorporating social justice and advocacy competencies into counseling practice. To this end, the authors reviewed the conceptualization, measurement, empirical evidences, and intervention strategies of critical consciousness. Next, the concepts and roles, empirical studies, and intervention strategies associated with intersectionality are reviewed. The authors then discussed the implications, challenges and considerations of incorporating these two constructs into counselor education in a multicultural era. They argue that critical consciousness and intersectionality can help counselors more comprehensively understand structural oppression and inequalities, and competently perform actions to promote social change. These constructs also help counselors take process-oriented and developmental approaches to building multicultural counseling competencies, which can maintain and deepen their efforts to cultivate multicultural competencies.
This study explored the psychological counseling experience of older adults using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach in order to understand the meaning and essence of their counseling experiences. To this end, the author recruited older adults age, 65 or over, who had experienced over five sessions of counseling from a professional counselor. Data were generated from between one and five interviews with eight participants. Analyses revealed the core theme of ‘Moving forward as being by revealed and accepted’. Additionally, five essential themes emerged, including (1) ‘To exist as you don’t exist,’ and (2) ‘Who was abandoned, becoming the center of attention,’ (3) ‘Breaking down the boundaries between me and you,’ (4) ‘Facing themselves after decades,’ and (5) ‘Recovering the future that had been overshadowed by death.’ Thirteen sub-themes were derived as well. The implications of this study for the understanding of older adults’ counseling experiences, and recommendations for future research are discussed.
This study examined counselors’ ethics-related experience and behavior based on counseling career developmental level and supervision experience. A questionnaire was developed using in-depth interviews with counselors, and 479 data were collected. The results indicated that novice counselors reported a lower frequency of ethical issues than counselors with middle and high level of counseling experience. Primary ethical issues identified were related to areas including: qualification courses, personal neglect, counselor anxiety, conflict with institutions, professional judgment, and preparation for improving counseling services. Novice counselors tended to prioritize personal convenience and qualification preparation, while more experienced counselors reported ethical conflicts related to the process of developing belief in their own professional judgment, and exerting flexibility. Based on the results, implications for ethics education and follow-up studies by developmental level are discussed.
This study examined the effects of general self-focused attention and self-absorption, which are subfactors of self-focused attention on interpersonal competence, and tested whether self-compassion and cognitive empathy play mediational roles when they affect interpersonal competence, respectively. Participants were 485 adults administered the X, and data were analyzed using X. In the relation between general self-focused attention and interpersonal competence, self-compassion did not have a mediational role, but cognitive empathy showed a partial mediation effect. In the relation between self-absorption and interpersonal competence, self-compassion and cognitive empathy had partial mediation effects. These results suggest that interpersonal competence can be increased by improving cognitive empathy among people with general self-focus, and by improving self-compassion and cognitive empathy in people with high self-absorption. The implications of these findings for therapeutic intervention, recommendations for future research, and study limitations are discussed.
The purpose of this study was to examine the moderated mediating effect of self-determined solitude motivation through mentalization in the relationship between insecure adult attachment and interpersonal problems. Data from 411 adults, aged 26 to 39, were analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis to confirm the mediation effects. SPSS Macro Model 1 and 7 analyses were used to verify the mediation and moderated mediation effects. There were partial mediating effects of mentalization on the relationship between anxious attachment and interpersonal problems, and also between avoidant attachment and interpersonal problems. The moderating effect of self-determined solitude motivation in the relationship between anxious attachment and mentalization was not significant, while that between avoidant attachment and mentalization was significant. Self-determined solitude motivation moderated the mediating effect of avoidant attachment on interpersonal problems through mentalization. Implications for counseling practice and recommendations for future research are discussed.
This study examined the mediating effect of loneliness, the moderating effect of social self-efficacy, and the moderated mediating effect of social self-efficacy on the relationship between self-compassion and smartphone addiction tendency, serially. Participants were college students in their twenties whose smartphone usage was highest compared to others in their age group. Participants were administered questionnaires consisting of self-compassion, smartphone addiction tendency, loneliness and social self-efficacy scales. Data from 308 students (122 men and 186 women) were analyzed using SPSS Macro Process. The results indicated that self-compassion predicted smartphone addiction tendency not only directly, but also through loneliness. In addition, social self-efficacy moderated the relationship between self-compassion and loneliness and there was a moderated mediating effect of social self-efficacy on the relationship between self-compassion and smartphone addiction tendency, with the mediating effect of loneliness. The implications, and limitations of the study, as well as recommendations for the future research are discussed.
This study examined existing attempts to utilize Information Technology (IT) in the field of counseling and psychotherapy, and current trends in recent overseas cases of the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in the field. While traditional online psychotherapies have focused on increasing accessibility and efficiency using IT technologies, recent studies have focused on the utilization of therapeutic interactions using chatbot and interactive agent, which can interact with clients independently, and the validation of the effects of such interventions. Accordingly, the current status of AI-based counseling and psychotherapy was reviewed through representative cases developed overseas. Technical issues related to the future prospects of AI counseling were reviewed, including natural language processing, mechanisms that enable interactive agents to express empathy, and the development of artificial intelligence that continues to develop without human assistance through self-learning processes. Finally, the significance and limitations of this study are presented.
The purpose of this study was to examine the moderated mediating effect of multicultural contact experience through prejudice on the relationship between cognitive flexibility and multicultural attitude. Data were obtained from 455 students from three middle schools in the A region. The results of the statistical analyses are as follows. First, the variables showed significant correlations with one another, with the exception of control, which is a subparameter of cognitive flexibility. Next, there was a mediating effect of prejudice on the relationship between alternative, which is a subparameter of cognitive flexibility, and multicultural attitude. Additionally, there was a moderating effect of multicultural contact experience on the relationship between prejudice and multicultural attitude. Finally, multicultural contact experience moderated the mediating effect of cognitive flexibility on multicultural attitude through prejudice. The significance and implications of this study, as well as its limitations, are presented.
This study identified whether there is difference in the suicide risk of college students depending on the presence of comorbid depression and panic symptoms. Structural equation modeling and multi-group structural equation modeling analyses were used to examine data from a college student mental health survey administered to 205 students in one college in Seoul. The result of the study indicated that depression fully mediates the relationship between stress and the intention to commit suicide. Next, the differential effects of depression on suicidal intention were identified depending on the presence of panic symptoms. This analysis indicated that the effects of depression on suicidal intention were stronger in the group with panic symptoms than the group without panic symptoms. The implications and limitations of the study are discussed.
This study examined the effects of bullying and victimization experience on self-concept and social relationships among middle school students. Participants included 1,151 middle school students who were administered questionnaires every six months, at 3 time points. The data were analyzed using latent growth model. The results indicated that bullying experiences at time points 1, 2, and 3 influenced self-perception, interpersonal abilities, and social well-being at those same time points, and that bullying experience at time 1 influenced self-perception, interpersonal abilities, and social well-being at time 2. Additionally, victimization at times 1, 2, and 3 influenced self-perception, interpersonal abilities, and social well-being at those same time points. Finally, victimization at time 1 and 2 influenced self-perception at time 2 and time 3, and victimization at time 1 influenced interpersonal abilities and social well-being at times 2 and 3. The limitations and implications of this study are discussed.
The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between autobiographical memory and depression in middle-age individuals. This study addressed how the process of autobiographical memory is related to middle-age depression, and examined the relationship between depression and positive and negative emotional memory. Based on previous findings indicating that rumination has differential effects on depression, two aspects of rumination, brooding and pondering, were explored for their effects on depression. Data were obtained from 259 middle-age individuals and were analyzed using factor analysis and logistic regression. The results indicated that overgeneralized autobiographical memory, negative emotional memory, and brooding significantly predicted depression, while positive emotional memory and pondering did not. This suggests that overgeneralized memory and rumination that focuses passively on negative information and emotions can worsen middle-age depression. The results are discussed in terms of prevention and cognitive intervention for middle-age depression, and study limitations and additional implications are presented.
This study aimed to verify the structural relationship of early maladaptive schema, rejection sensitivity, loneliness, and social network services (SNS) addiction tendency in adolescents and to analyze the mediating effects of rejection sensitivity and loneliness on the effect of early maladaptive schema on SNS addiction tendency, using structural equation modeling. The results indicated that early maladaptive schema affected SNS addiction tendency through rejection sensitivity or loneliness, and early maladaptive schema was affected through double mediation through rejection sensitivity and loneliness, sequentially. This study confirmed that rejection sensitivity and loneliness caused by early maladjustment schema are highly correlated with SNS addiction tendency in adolescents, which suggests that counseling strategies for these clients should address emotional responses. The significance and limitations of the study, as well as recommendations for future research are discussed.
The present study aims to understand the experience and meaning of self-injury among college and graduate students who engaged in non-suicidal self-injury during adolescence, but no longer do so. For this purpose, four college and graduate students who no longer engage in non-suicidal self-injury were interviewed in depth, with interview data analyzed using the case study method(Creswell, 2013). The result revealed 7 dimensions, 21 common themes, and 39 individual themes related to previous non-suicidal self-injury. Prior to self-injury, participants exhibited potential risk factors. They then began to engage in self-injury impulsively out of anger or during extremely stressful situations. Participants stopped engaging in self-injury for reasons including a sense of guilt following self-injury, concerns about cuts or scars, physical pain, a lack of the intended effect, and alleviation of the causes of self-injury. Based on these results, implications and limitations of the present study are discussed.
The impact of legalization is critical in the process of developing professional authority and autonomy in a specific profession. In spite of its significant impact, laws about the school counseling profession, which should define job requirements and responsibilities, rights, and a system of accountability, have not been implemented in Korea. This has caused unnecessary debates about school counselors’ roles, and incomplete management of legal and ethical dilemmas faced by practitioners. The purpose of this study was to examine the significant issues which should be considered in the process of establishing laws to guide professional school counseling in Korea. The authors examined the major issues that appeared in the legislative proposals of Korean school counseling acts that had not passed, and the school counseling acts of Taiwan, which introduced the school counseling profession forty years before Korea. Finally, this study offers future policy tasks regarding the development of school counseling law in Korea.
The purpose of this study was to examine the posttraumatic growth phenomenon of North Korean refugees who have experienced severe traumatic experiences and cultural shock in the process of defection and settlement, and to recommend research tasks and directions for counseling interventions to promote growth beyond settlement. While the traumatic experiences of North Korean refugees often cause serious pain, the process of overcoming these adversities may lead to positive changes and growth. This study first reviewed previous studies on mental health in the adaptation and maladaptation paradigm for North Korean refugees, and then introduced posttraumatic processes and the concept of posttraumatic growth. The counseling implications of an integrated perspective on North Korean refugees' mental health are discussed, based on recent studies on posttraumatic growth of refugees from a positive psychological perspective. Lastly, recommendations for tasks and directions for future research are described.
This study was designed to develop a conceptualization of organizational multicultural competence for working with international students in university counseling centers in Korea from the perspectives of 20 current practitioners using concept mapping procedures. Specifically, this study elicited organizational behavioral indicators that are beneficial in providing counseling services to international students. Behavioral indicators were organized into core areas of competence, rated in terms of importance and degree of execution, then analyzed quantitatively through multidimensional scaling analysis. The categories of center competence for international student counseling were: (1) engaging in active partnership/advocacy for sustainability, (2) providing counselor support, (3) creating international student-friendly setting, (4) reaching out to international students, and (5) diversifying counseling services. This study represents the first formal research to systematically examine the multicultural competence of university counseling centers working with international students, and offers practical guidance on how to provide competent services to this growing population.
