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KMID : 1143820100060010037
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Anxiety and Mood
2010 Volume.6 No. 1 p.37 ~ p.44
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Influence of Posttraumatic Stress on the Mental Health among Adolescents of North Korean Refugees
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Son Yong-Hun
Lee Ju-Sil
Park Min-Cheol
Lee Sang-Yeol
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Abstract
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Objectives: This study investigated the influence of traumatic experience on the ego identity, self-esteem, and general psychopathology of adolescent North Korean refugees.
Methods: The participants were 146 adolescents North Korean refugees who attended H High School for North Korean refugees. We divided the subjects into two groups according to the severity of their traumatic experience : the more-traumatic-experience group and the less-traumatic-experience group. Each group performed self-report assessments including an assessment to reveal demographic characteristics, the Traumatic Experiences Scale for North Korean Defectors, the Scale for Ego identity, the Scale for Self-esteem and the Symptom Check-90-Revision (SCL-90-R). Statistical analysis of t-test and multiple regression utilized SPSS 12.0 for Window for comparison between more-traumatic-experience group and less-traumatic-experience group.
Results: The prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder among adolescents North Korean refugees was 37%. The factor with the greatest influence on ego identity was length of time living in South Korea, while, for self-esteem the most influential factor was perception of health. The more-traumatic-experience group had lower self-esteem scores on some subscales of the Scale for Ego identity. They had higher scores on all SCL-90-R subscales than the less-traumatic-experience group.
Conclusion: Adolescent North Korean refugees experienced high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder. The more traumatic-experience-group had lower self esteem and poorer ego identity and mental health than the less-traumatic-experience group.
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KEYWORD
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Adolescent, North Korea refugees, PTSD, Self-esteem, Mental health
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