Effects of a Sociodrama-based Communication Enhancement Program on Mothers of Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Pilot Study.

PURPOSE: The incidence and prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders have rapidly increased, indicating an urgent need for assistance through parenting interventions. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a sociodrama-based communication enhancement program on mothers of children with neurodevelopmental disorders. METHOD: A non-randomized controlled experimental study design was employed. The experimental and control groups had 16 and 18 participants, respectively. The once-a-week six-session intervention was conducted from September to November 2017, in South Korea. The effects of group, time, and group-by-time interactions among the groups were verified using generalized estimating equations with an autoregressive correlation structure. RESULTS: There was a significant decrease in the parenting burden, alongside a significant improvement in parent-child communication and parenting competence in the experimental group compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: The sociodrama-based communication enhancement program was found to positively influence the parenting burden, communication, and parenting competence of mothers of children with neurodevelopmental disorders. These findings suggest that sociodrama-based programs may be an effective intervention strategy for parents of children with neurodevelopmental disorders. The sociodrama-based communication enhancement program can be applied to decrease parenting burden and improve parent-child communication and parenting competence. Through continuous parenting interventions, an improvement in expressive language and an increase in the attachment behaviors of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities could be expected.

The effects of rational emotive behavior therapy for depressive symptoms in adults with congenital heart disease.

BACKGROUND: Over 30% of adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) experience depression. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) in reducing depressive symptoms in adults with CHD. METHODS: Forty-two adults with CHD were recruited from an outpatient clinic and randomized to a study group (n = 21), which comprised 8-weekly group-based counseling sessions, or a control group (n = 21), which received usual care. REBT effectiveness was examined using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Shorten General Attitude and Belief Scale, and salivary cortisol levels before therapy, after the last session, and at follow-up 4 weeks later. RESULTS: Average participant ages were 30.1 ± 7.58 and 33.3 ± 7.1 years in study and control groups, respectively; 52.4% of participants in each group were female. After REBT, depression (p < 0.001), irrational beliefs (p < 0.001), and salivary cortisol levels (p = 0.006) were significantly lower in the study group than in the control group. Effects of REBT in the study group remained consistent at the 4-week follow-up. CONCLUSION: REBT may be effective in reducing depression in adults with CHD.

Correction to: Violence Victimization Among Adolescents from Culturally or Ethnically Diverse South Korean Families.

The original version of the article unfortunately contained a typo in corresponding author name. The corresponding author name is Gyungjoo Lee instead it was published incorrectly as Gyungoo Lee.

Violence Victimization Among Adolescents from Culturally or Ethnically Diverse South Korean Families.

This study compared the prevalence of violence victimization requiring hospital treatment among adolescents that are culturally or ethnically diverse and those that are South Korean living in South Korea. This study used a nationally representative data set of 63,376 adolescents obtained from the Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey conducted in 2015 by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hierarchical multivariable logistic regression was conducted to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for violence victimization in each group of culturally diverse adolescents compared to that of adolescents with South Korean parents. The analysis showed that adolescents whose parents are both culturally or ethnically diverse had ORs of 18.64 (95% CI 11.28-30.81) for violent experience. To decrease the violent victimization of culturally diverse adolescents with a culturally or ethnically diverse parent, specific government policies and school strategies are needed.