Resilience has been highlighted as a pivotal factor in overcoming the detrimental impact of trauma. The present study tests a resilience model of trauma using risk (rumination, emotion regulation, and entrapment) and protective (perceived social support) factors in a sample of firefighters who are at heightened risk for post-traumatic stress disorder, using a cross-sectional design. Specifically, the present study focuses on perceived social support as a resilience factor against PTSD symptoms, in response to trauma exposure. The sample included 545 firefighters from six large cities in Korea, who completed the following self-report questionnaires: Life Event Checklist, Event-related Rumination Inventory, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Entrapment scale, Impact of Event Scale-Revised, and Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire. Exposure to traumatic events indirectly affected PTSD symptoms via intrusive rumination, emotional regulation, and perceptions of entrapment. Additionally, the mediating effects of intrusive rumination and perceptions of entrapment were moderated by perceived social support. That is, firefighters with high levels of perceived social support reported lower severity of rumination and PTSD symptoms. These findings suggest that perceptions of social support may operate as a resilience factor in buffering the effects of trauma on PTSD symptoms. Perceived social support interacts with intrusive rumination and perceptions of entrapment, thereby resisting the development of PTSD symptoms.

The present study investigated the hypothesis that the magnitude of negative interpretation bias displayed by those with depression is related to the degree of depression they experience. Seventy one depressed participants (scoring 14 and above on the Beck Depression Inventory II) completed tasks spanning three domains of possible negative interpretations: semantic ambiguity; nonverbal ambiguity and situational ambiguity. Regression analyses revealed that just under half of the variance in depressive symptom severity was explained by the combination of negative interpretation bias tasks, with the strongest predictor of depressive symptom severity being negative interpretation of semantic ambiguity when reading ambiguous text descriptions. Subsidiary group analyses confirmed that severely depressed individuals interpreted emotionally ambiguous information in a more negative way than did their mildly or moderately depressed counterparts. These findings indicate that the degree of negative interpretive bias is closely related to depression severity and that bias manifests especially strongly at the most severe levels of depression. Our findings may help us to refine cognitive theories of depression and be helpful in guiding therapy.

Objective The aims of this study were to explore the prevalence of and identify predictors of anxiety and depression related to coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) in South Korea.Methods The analysis is based on a quota survey design and a sampling frame that permitted recruitment of a national sample of 1,014 individuals between March 17–31, 2020. Several standardized measurements were used, including GAD-7, PHQ-9, COVID-19 related fear, restrictions in deaily life, as well as sociodemographic information and physical and psychosocial needs during the pandemic. Multiple logistic regression was conducted to analyze the influence of sociodemographic factors, fear, and physical/psychosocial needs on anxiety and depression.Results Significant numbers of the respondents were identifiable anxiety (19.0%) and depression group (17.5%), respectively. This indicates that the depression and anxiety prevalence rate after the COVID-19 is substantially high compared to the depression rate of 2.6% in 2020 and 2.8% in 2018 both reported in the Korea Community Health Survey and the anxiety rate of 5.7% reported in 2016 Survey of Mental Disorders in Korea. Multiple logistic regression results showed age, COVID-19 related fear, and the level of restrictions in daily as significant factors in understanding and predicting the anxiety group. Likfewise, the COVID-19 related fear, restrictions in daily life, and need for economic support were important predictors in predicting the depression group.Conclusion Findings on predictors for greater vulnerability to anxiety and depression has important implications for public mental health in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The rapid increase of self-injurious behavior among Korean adolescents, and its reckless spread on social media, has driven the necessity to study this behavior. The present study investigates the characteristics of self-injurious behavior among adolescents in local communities, and the psychological factors affecting such behavior. Questionnaires were administered to 516 sixth graders in elementary school and first to third graders in middle school of both genders, nationwide. They measured the prevalence and characteristics of self-injurious behavior and the relevant psychological factors, such as levels of depression, anxiety, and self-esteem. Furthermore, group differences were assessed for self-injury experience and the characteristics relevant to self-injurious behavior. In addition, this study performs logistic regression to explore the risk factors predicting self-injurious behavior. In all, 166 participants (32.2%) reported self-injury, with a higher rate of self-injury in female students than in male students. Although the study finds high rates of mild forms of self-injury, such as “biting”, “pulling hair,” and “hitting self”, it also finds relatively high reports of more risky methods, such as “cutting or carving”. The logistic regression shows a significant effect of the negative self-image sub-factor of depression (CDI) and oversensitivity and physical and sleep problems sub-factors of anxiety (RCMAS) on self-injurious behavior. The rates of self-injury were higher in female participants than in male ones, and adolescents in local communities reported higher rates of mild forms of self-injury than the moderate/severe forms. The results of this study suggest that early screenings and interventions should be conducted through evaluation of self-image and emotional stability of early adolescents to hinder the risk of self-harm.

Despite the rapidly increasing rate of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) among adolescents, there is a dearth of culturally appropriate psychological measures screening for NSSI among the adolescents in the Asian countries. This study aimed to develop and validate the Self-Harm Screening Inventory (SHSI), a culturally sensitive and suitable scale for screening adolescents for NSSI. In total, 514 Korean adolescents (aged 12–16 years) were recruited nationwide. All participants gave informed consent and completed the online self-report measures on NSSI, depression, anxiety, and self-esteem. Thereafter, preliminary items were developed through a series of steps: literature review, ratings of experts on self-harm and suicide, and statistical analyses. Ten of the 20 preliminary items were eliminated after exploratory factor analysis due to low endorsement and factor loading (less than .70). The final version of the SHSI comprised 10 binary items relating to self-harm behaviors within the past year (e.g., cut my body with sharp objects, hit my body). A confirmatory factor analysis supported a one-factor structure, as hypothesized. The one-factor model had a good model fit (x²(35) = 84.958, p < .001, RMSEA = .053, CFI = .981, TLI = .975, SRMR = .124). The SHSI also had good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = .795) and 4-week test-retest reliability (r = .786, p < .01). The SHSI had high correlations with another self-harm related scale, the Self-Harm Inventory (r = .773, p < .01), and moderate correlations with the Child Depression Inventory (r = .484, p < .01) and Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale (r = .433, p < .01). Additionally, the SHSI was negatively correlated with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (r = -.399, p < .01). The findings indicate that the SHSI is a reliable and valid measure for the screening of self-harm behaviors among adolescents.