This study aimed to compare the psychological symptoms of humidifier disinfectant survivors to the general population and explore socio-demographic factors influencing survivors’ psychological symptoms. A one-way Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) and a series of two-way MANCOVA were conducted with a sample of 228 humidifier disinfectant survivors and 228 controls. The results demonstrated that the survivor group displayed higher anxious/depressed symptoms, withdrawn symptoms, somatic complaints, thought problems, attention problems, aggressive behavior and rule-breaking behavior than the general group. Moreover, among the socio-demographic factors, the two-way interaction effects of group × family economic status and group × number of friends were found to be statistically significant. The limitations and implications of this study are discussed.

This study aimed to examine group differences in the survivors of humidifier damage and the effect of individual psychotherapy on the psychological symptoms of the survivor groups, using the single group pre–post study design. A series of Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney tests were conducted to investigate the level of psychological problems before and after psychotherapy, as well as the main and interaction effects of demographic characteristics and adaptive functioning on the treatment effects in 69 humidifier disinfectant survivors. The results demonstrated significant differences in problems with socioeconomic status (SES), life functioning, friendships, family relationships, and job adjustment in the survivor groups. Groups with high SES, low life functioning, and poor friend relationships had more problem behaviors than other groups. Problem behaviors related to friendship levels were different before and after psychotherapy. After psychotherapy, individuals with limited social connections exhibited a greater decrease in problem behaviors compared to those with strong friendships. This paper extends the international literature on the long-term consequences of environmental health hazards and the importance of tailored mental health interventions.

The objective of present case study is to design user experience (UX) of an IoT system and service for sharing devices, community laundry machine. Due to distinctive usage situations of the system such as community machines, multiple users, and use of IoT technology, it was identified that a distinctive usage model and design framework are required rather than conventional UX design frameworks. Based on the unique usage model, a series of UX design process was performed including an interactive prototype as conceptual design. We expect the framework and process of the study would provide UX designers with insights to design such novel system/service environments.

Background: The Republic of Korean humidifier disinfectant disaster, involving toxic chemical exposure, constitutes a major social disaster causing severe trauma. While physical and psychological difficulties are documented, this study investigated the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and survivors’ daily life adaptation across children, adolescents, and adults, examining PTSD’s mediating role. Methods: The sample included 834 participants (417 exposed survivors and 417 unaffected individuals), divided into three age groups. PTSD symptoms and life adaptation were measured via self-reports. Multigroup Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was utilized to test the indirect associations among exposure, PTSD symptoms, and life adaptation, and to examine age-group comparisons. Results: Survivors in all age groups reported higher PTSD symptoms and lower adaptive functioning compared to unaffected individuals, with the largest PTSD mean difference found in children and adults. Multigroup SEM confirmed that exposure positively impacted PTSD symptoms, and PTSD symptoms negatively impacted life adaptation across all ages. PTSD symptoms significantly mediated the exposure-life adaptation link in all groups. Critically, the direct effect of exposure on life adaptation was significant only in adults, indicating a full mediation via PTSD symptoms in children and adolescents. Conclusions: Exposure to toxic humidifier disinfectants is linked to life adaptation difficulties through elevated PTSD symptoms. These findings emphasize addressing trauma-related symptoms and suggest the utility of developmentally sensitive psychological interventions. Limitations include reliance on self- and parent-reported measures rather than clinical diagnoses, and the lack of control for external contextual factors (e.g., policy changes, media exposure).