Gahyun Youn

Differences in familism values and caregiving outcomes among Korean, Korean American, and White American dementia caregivers.

Recent theories have suggested that burden and distress among dementia caregivers may be higher in American culture, which emphasizes individualism, and lower in cultures with higher levels of familism. However, immigrants may experience higher levels of burden because of acculturation with attendant values, conflicts and stresses. Forty-four Korean caregivers and 32 Korean American caregivers were compared with 54 White American caregivers on sociodemographic variables, familism, burden, anxiety, and depression. Familism was highest in Korean caregivers and lowest in Whites, with Korean Americans in the middle. Koreans and Korean Americans reported higher levels of burden. Koreans showed higher levels of depression and of anxiety than White American caregivers, with Koreans and Korean Americans higher than Whites on anxiety. These results suggest a need for greater specificity in theories about familism values, with attention to the specific meaning of familism in different cultures.

ROLE OF EDUCATION IN GENERATIVITY DIFFERENCES OF EMPLOYED AND UNEMPLOYED WOMEN IN KOREA

This study investigated generativity differences between employed and unemployed women in Korea and examined the effect of education on generativity. There were 472 participants in this study, 252 employed married women and 220 unemployed married women living in the Kwangju metropolitan area. A questionnaire requesting demographic information and responses to the translated Loyola Generativity Scale was administered individually. Analysis showed significant generativity differences between the two groups, who also differed in education and mother and spouse roles. However, employment status was not a significant predictor for generativity when a stepwise regression analysis was applied. The analysis showed that education was the strongest predictor for generativity, while mother/wife roles, socioeconomic status, health, and childcare stress were also significant predictors. It was concluded that for Korean married women, generativity is more strongly related to education than employment status.

Influence of Training and Performance IQ on the Psychomotor Skill of down Syndrome Persons

Training effects on the psychomotor performance of Down syndrome individuals were assessed. 32 boys and 25 girls (6 to 16 years old) were divided randomly into trained or untrained groups and into either severely or moderately mentally retarded using their WISC—R Performance IQs. Analysis showed that the group who had pretest training opportunities to manipulate experimental materials performed significantly better than those without that training while the moderately retarded children did significantly better than the severely retarded ones. It appears that the performance of persons with Down syndrome could be developed through training.

Attitudinal Changes Toward Homosexuality During the Past Two Decades (1994–2014) in Korea

ABSTRACT This study was conducted to examine recent Korean perspectives on homosexuality by comparing attitudes toward mental illness, crime, friendship, and civil rights related to homosexual people in 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014. The respondents were 3,299 Korean men and women between 18 and 59 years of age, and the data were collected across 5 years. The major findings were that there has been greater acceptance of homosexuality and civil rights for homosexuals during the past two decades, but the changes have been slow; Korean homosexuals remain subjects of social stigma and discrimination primarily due to increased Christian activism.

Psychosocial Perspectives on Penile Size

Most men of today have at least four concerns on sexual health. First, a number of men worry to ejaculate earlier than they expect while having sex. Thus, they wish to have a longer lasting erection in bed with better control over their ejaculation [1, 2]. Second, penis size is a considerable concern for men of all ages [3]. Many men wish that they had larger size of penises, but the younger generations, especially, place greater concern or importance on penis size than the older generations [4–6]. Third, they wish to have no erectile dysfunction in their lives. In general, the level of depressive symptoms is negatively associated with various sexual functions, especially erectile function [7]. Fourth, they wish they will not lose their sex partners even when they are getting older and older. The older adults feel more anxious when there would have no available sex partner [8]. Among the four concerns, three of them are related to penile erection, while one of them which would be the main topic of this article is the penile size.

Evaluating Questions Used to Assess Cognitive Orientation for Very Old Adults

A number of standardized tools have been developed to assist in the diagnosis of suspected dementia in aged people. In this study, 9 orientation questions were administered to 186 elderly Koreans, aged 60 to 108 years. Analysis showed a significantly inverse relation (r = −.70) between their ages and their performance on the questionnaire. The finding raises questions about the suitability of using standard measures of orientation with very old or with uneducated persons.