Factors affecting physical and mental fatigue in adults from South Korea: A cross-sectional study.

In modern society, demanding and stressful events contribute to increased fatigue in adults. Moreover, fatigue is the most prevalent symptom of long coronavirus disease 2019. Fatigue is a subjective feeling of tiredness that can be attributed to various causes. This cross-sectional study investigated factors affecting physical and mental fatigue in adults living in South Korea. Self-reported data were collected through an online survey conducted between July 11 and July 17, 2021. The final sample comprised 362 participants, excluding those with uncertain responses. The collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 27.0. General characteristics and variables of the participants were examined through descriptive statistical analysis. Differences in fatigue level according to the general characteristics of the participants were analyzed using t tests and one-way analysis of variance. The correlation between variables was analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients. To investigate factors affecting fatigue, stepwise multiple regression analysis was conducted. The overall level of fatigue according to participants' general characteristics differed significantly based on alcohol use, economic status, number of chronic diseases, stress, depression, and sleep problems. Factors affecting physical fatigue were depression, sleep problems, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) scores, and number of chronic diseases. The factors affecting mental fatigue were depression, GHQ-12 score, and alcohol use. The variables that had the most significant impact on overall fatigue were alcohol consumption, the number of chronic illnesses, depression, and GHQ-12, in that order. This emphasizes the importance of lifestyle improvement and dietary management in adults for preventing chronic diseases and managing mental health. The results of this study should be considered when planning health services to provide fatigue interventions for Korean adults.

The Psychometric Validation of the EPDS-K Among Korean Women: Does It Only Measure Depressive Symptoms?

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to test the validity of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale-Korean (EPDS-K) and compare the specified models (one-, two-, three-factor model, and a model in the current study) in pregnant, first-trimester Korean women. DESIGN AND METHODS: The study consisted of two groups of 100 first-trimester Korean women recruited from maternity clinics in Korea. FINDINGS: The results show that the EPDS-K has depression, anxiety, and anhedonia factors, and that the validity of the EPDS-K with Korean women is questionable. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Healthcare providers should test the psychometric properties of tools for screening accuracy, clinical decision-making, and understanding of a phenomenon within different cultural settings.

Effect of near-infrared rays on female menstrual pain in Korea.

Most Korean women who experience menstrual pain have reported taking pain medicine and making use of complementary alternative therapies. However, because some interventions may cause side effects, more effective pain-relieving measures need to be identified. This study using a non-equivalent group design, evaluated the effects of near-infrared rays on dysmenorrhea among Korean women. The experimental group wore a near-infrared ray abdominal belt for the duration of one menstrual cycle until the end of the menstrual period, while the control group used hot packs. The level of menstrual pain, menstrual pain duration, and pain medicine use were measured. The menstrual pain, average menstrual pain duration, and use of analgesics were reduced in the near-infrared rays group. The results of this study indicate that the near-infrared ray LED belt was effective in reducing menstrual pain, menstrual pain duration compared to the use of analgesics in Korean women with dysmenorrhea. Therefore, near-infrared rays may be used to relieve menstrual pain and improve the quality of life of women with dysmenorrhea in Korea.

Different psychometric properties of the Emotional Reaction Instrument-English (ERI-E) between hospitalized African American and Caucasian children.

PURPOSE: To demonstrate the psychometric properties of the Emotional Reactions Instrument-English (ERI-E) between hospitalized African American and Caucasian children aged 7-12 years. DESIGN AND METHOD: A methodological study was conducted to examine validity and reliability of the ERI-E with 230 hospitalized African American and Caucasian children. Data were collected with sociodemographic and clinical forms, and using the ERI-E, and the Facial Affective Scale (FAS). RESULTS: Different factor structures were found between hospitalized African American and Caucasian children. In psychometric testing of the ERI-E with African American children, four items, alone, lonely, shy, and bored, were removed from the original 16-item ERI-E after exploratory factor analysis. Three factors, including Fear, Anxiety, and Distress, were identified explaining 60.71% of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the revised 12-item scale was 0.85. Six items, happy, sad, afraid, frightened, hurt, and uncomfortable, in the ERI-E were significantly correlated with the FAS (r = 0.20-0.59) as evidence of concurrent validity. In the sample with hospitalized Caucasian children, two items, bored and uncomfortable, were eliminated from the original ERI-E after exploratory factor analysis. Four factors including Fear, Anxiety, Distress, and Loneliness were extracted with 62.61% of total variance. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the revised 14-item in the ERI-E was 0.84 for hospitalized Caucasian children. As evidence of concurrent validity, 10 items, happy, sad, afraid, frightened, bad, lonely, scary, bored, hurt, and uncomfortable, in the ERI-E were significantly correlated with the FAS (r = 0.20-0.69). PRACTICE IMPLICATION: Because children with different cultural backgrounds understand or use words differently, healthcare providers should assess the cultural norms of pediatric patients and ensure steps have been taken to ensure clear, effective communication with pediatric patients. In addition, healthcare providers should evaluate the meanings of faces in the FAS before using it in a clinical setting because faces have different cultural connotations. The explosive growth of ethnic minority children in the United States makes it paramount for healthcare providers and researchers to consider the measurement equivalence of any measure to better serve different racial and cultural groups.

Reliability and Validity of the Korean Version of the Contraceptive Self-efficacy Scale: Focused on Women University Students.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop and test the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the Contraceptive Self-efficacy (K-CSE) scale. METHODS: The K-CSE scale was developed through forward-backward translation methods. Construct and criterion validity and internal consistency reliability were calculated using SPSS/WIN 21.0. Data were collected from 257 women students from two universities in G city, South Korea. RESULTS: The factor structure of the K-CSE scale showed the cumulative variance as 62.9% in the factor analysis. Factor loading of 13 items on four subscales ranged from .47 to .88. Factors were named as 'initiative of contraceptive use', 'sexual assertiveness', 'refusal of sexual intercourse', and 'autonomic sexual behavior'. Criterion validity compared to the Sexual Autonomy Measurement (SAM) showed significant correlation. Cronbach's α for the reliability of each subscale were .50~.82 and .76 for the total scale. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study demonstrate that the K-CSE scale is a satisfactory valid and reliable scale. Therefore, the CSE scale can be useful in measuring contraceptive self-efficacy among women university students in Korea.

Sexual life and self-esteem in married elderly.

The elderly population in South Korea is increasing. But traditionally in Korea, there is a tendency for the elderly to be cautious and sensitive to how their children view them, and younger generations tend to consider elderly sexuality to be a subject of taboo. Nevertheless, a person's sexual life is a general condition that affects the body, mental health and personality. Therefore, it is important to examine the relationship between the actual conditions of sexual life of elderly and self-esteem during old age. Sexual life was important for 38.5% of the research subjects and very important for 23.7%. Sexual partners were spouses for 93.4%. The self-esteem range was 20-38 with an average of 28.23. Those who were maintaining a sexual life had significantly higher self-esteem than those who were not (t=2.222, p=0.028). Those who felt very satisfied with their current sexual life had a significantly higher self-esteem than those who did not (F=2.824, p=0.028). The results show that it is important to have sexual life in late life. It will be necessary to develop and apply programs that will actively support elderly sexual life, as well as continue research in this area.

Outcomes of a program to reduce depression.

Depression is increasing among Korean college students. Moreover, it is common for depressed individuals to consider attempting suicide. The purpose of this study therefore was to develop and examine the effectiveness of an intervention to reduce suicidal ideation and depression among female college students. Study participants were assigned to either an intervention (n = 27) or control (n = 31) group. The intervention group received a depression-reducing program in eight 1-hr weekly sessions. Measures of suicidal ideation and depression were administered. The program has effects on suicidal ideation and depression among female college students. The findings suggest that the study program may be useful in reducing suicidal ideation and depression among female college students.

[Evaluation of cognitive functions, depression, life satisfaction among the elderly receiving visiting nursing services].

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine cognitive functions, depression, and life satisfaction among the elderly receiving visiting nursing services. METHODS: The subjects of this study consisted of 221 elderly individuals who were receiving visiting nursing services from a public health center located in Gyeonggi-do. The Mini-mental State Examination Korea version (MMSE-K), Geriatric Depression Scale-short form-Korea version (GDS-K), and Life Satisfaction Scale were utilized to determine cognitive functions, depression, and life satisfaction. Collected data was analyzed by the SPSS PC Win 12.0 program. RESULTS: The prevalence of cognitive impairment (MMSE-K or= 10) was 22.6%. Older age, lower education, and low income were associated with cognitive impairment, and low education, no religion, and low income were associated with depression. Cognitive function negatively correlated with depression. Life satisfaction level was fairly low and was not associated with any variables. CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of cognitive impairment and low life satisfaction status were determined among low-income elderly who were registered at a visiting health care center. Thus, in the future at visiting health care services, efficient and various programs for the elderly should be tried, to improve cognitive functions and reduce depression. Additionally, consistent evaluation studies for those programs will be required.

[The relationship between eating disorders and parent-adolescent communication in middle school students in rural areas].

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between eating disorders and parent-adolescent communication in middle school students. METHOD: There were 267 adolescents taken as participants from two middle schools in rural areas. Data were collected from June to July 2005, using the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 questionnaire (23 items) and Parent-Adolescent Communication Inventory (10 items for open family communication, 10 items for problem in family communication). The SPSS Win version 12.0 was used for descriptive analysis, t-test, and partial correlation coefficient. RESULT: The mean score on the eating disorder was 2.74 (range: 1-6). Meanwhile, the mean scores on the parent-adolescent communication was 3.37 (range: 1-5). There were significant differences in eating disorders according to gender, age, negative perception of the participant's body weight, family's perception of obesity, diet experiences, and BMI. Eating disorders showed a significant negative correlation with parent-adolescent communication. CONCLUSION: In this study, there was a significant negative correlation between eating disorders and parent-adolescent communication. In order to prevent an eating disorder, education and training to enhance communication skills should be provided to adolescents and their parents as well.

Body mass index, body shape satisfaction, and weight control behaviors among Korean girls.

The present study investigated the relations among Body Mass Index, body shape satisfaction, and weight control behaviors among Korean girls. Subjects were 266 girls (M age= 16.6 yr., SD= .9), recruited from two girls' high schools in Seoul, Korea. Based on Body Mass Index, 73.7% were normal weight, 22.9% were underweight, and 3.4% were overweight. 174 girls (65.4%) indicated that they were currently using any weight control method. Weight control behaviors differed significantly by Body Mass Index category, with girls whose Body Mass Indexes indicating normal weight being more likely to claim they used weight control behaviors. Also, the girls who rated themselves as dissatisfied with their body shape were more likely to report weight control behaviors.

[Influencing factors on HRQOL of physically disabled persons].

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influencing factors on health-related quality of life of physically disabled persons. METHOD: Data was collected from 96 persons with a physical disability in three cities in Korea from June to September, 2003. Social support and depression were measured by a Social Support Questionnaire 6 (SSQ6) and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression questionnaire (CES-D). The Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale was used to measure self-esteem. Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) was measured using Smith Kline Beecham Quality of Life Scale (SBQOL). The SPSS WIN 11.0 version program was used for data analysis. RESULT: There were significant differences of HRQOL according to monthly income and economic status. All subjects had a high level of depression and low self-esteem. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study show that self-esteem and the size of the social support network are significant influencing variables on HRQOL in physically disabled persons. Nursing intervention and counseling programs which improve self-esteem and increase the size of a social support network are needed to promote HRQOL in physically disabled persons.

[Dependency, abuse, and depression by gender in widowed elderly].

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of dependency and abuse on depression according to gender in widowed elderly. METHOD: A convenient sample consisted of 246 widowed elderly who were more than 65 years old in four cities. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire from August to September, 2002. A dependency Scale developed by Ahn (1999) was used to measure the level of dependency. Emotional abuse and physical abuse were measured by 10 items for emotional abuse and 7 items for physical abuse selected out of the Conditions Scale of Elder Abuse. The level of depression was measured by the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). The SPSS WIN 11.0 version program was used for data analysis. RESULT: In male widowed elderly, dependency affected depression indirectly through emotional abuse. While in female widowed elderly, dependency affected depression directly and affected emotional abuse indirectly. CONCLUSION: The study showed that dependency was the most explainable variable on depression in widowed female elderly. Therefore, it dependency should be assessed first in nursing intervention to relieve depression of widowed elderly.

Comparisons of body mass index, perception of body weight, body shape satisfaction, and self-esteem among Korean adolescents.

The purpose of this study was to compare sex differences in Body Mass Index, subjective perception of body weight, body shape satisfaction, and self-esteem in Korean adolescent boys and girls. Subjects were 109 boys (M age= 16.1 yr., SD = .6) and 131 girls (M age = 16.0 yr., SD = .5), recruited from two high schools in Korea. There were differences in Body Mass Index, perception of body weight, body shape satisfaction, and self-esteem by group. More girls (31%) than boys (16%) evaluated themselves as overweight, while higher proportions of boys (6.4%) than girls (1.5%) were actually overweight. A higher proportion of girls responded that they were dissatisfied with their body shape (61% vs 28%). Self-esteem mean score was significantly higher for the boys than the girls. There was a significant relationship between actual Body Mass Index and perception of body weight. There was a significant negative relation between Body Mass Index and rated self-esteem for girls.