Sung Seek Moon

Ethnic Enclave Resources and Predictors of Depression Among Arizona's Korean Immigrant Elders

This is the first study examining predictors of depression among Arizonas Korean immigrant elders not residing in ethnic enclaves. A snowball sample of 120 elders, aged 64 and over, completed the study interview. The proportion of respondents reporting depression was 38.1%, higher than the incidence reported among counterparts in New York Citys immigrant ethnic enclaves. Multiple regression analyses (R2 = .44) indicate that English language proficiency had the most powerful effect on explaining depression. Discussion centers on why programs aimed at reducing language barriers among socially isolated immigrant elders need to be a first priority in service provision.

Decision tree models for characterizing smoking patterns of older adults

The main objective of the present paper is to characterize smoking behavior among older adults by assessing the psychological distress, physical health status, alcohol use, and demographic variables in relations to the current smoking. We targeted 466 senior American smokers who are 65 years of age or older from the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH, 2006). We employed a decision tree algorithm to conduct classification analysis to find the relationship between the average numbers of cigarette use per day. The results showed that the most important explanatory variable for prediction of the average number of cigarette use per day is the age when first started smoking cigarettes every day, followed by education level, and psychological distress. These results suggest that social workers need to provide more customized and individualized intervention to older adults.

Predictors of Immigrant Children's School Achievement: A Comparative Study

Abstract This paper examines the predictors and indicators of immigrant childrens school achievement, using the two of the most predominant groups of American immigrants (103 Koreans and 100 Mexicans). Regression analyses were conducted to determine which independent variables (acculturation, parenting school involvement, parenting style, parent education, parent English, family income, length of stay in the United States) were the predictors of childrens school achievement. For the total sample, an overall model of four predictors (acculturation, parenting style, parent education, and length of stay in the United States) on school achievement was significant. While acculturation, parenting style, and family income were significant predictors for the Korean sample, parent education and length of stay in the United States were significant predictors for the Mexican sample. Practice implications and suggestions for the intervention were discussed based on the study findings.

Social Activity, School-related Activity, and Anti–substance Use: Media Messages on Adolescent Tobacco and Alcohol Use

In this article, we present the effects of three hypothesized protective factors—social activities, school-related activities, and anti–substance use media messages—on adolescent tobacco and alcohol use. Data were drawn from the “Monitoring the Future” research project, which was conducted by the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. The sample included 2,551 twelfth-grade students. The results of the structural equation model showed that exposure to media anti-drug messages had an indirect negative effect on tobacco and alcohol use through school-related activity and social activity. The results suggest that comprehensive ecological interventions encompassing media, family, and school can increase the preventive effects of adolescents substance use.

Exploring children's understanding of death concepts

This study is an investigation of the effects of death education on children and their understanding of death. The participants of this study were eighty 5- and 6-year-olds who were enrolled in a suburban kindergarten in Korea. To examine the level of childrens understanding of death, researchers interviewed each child in both the control and experimental groups. After the interview, researchers provided an intervention (11 educational activities) to the experimental group. No educational intervention was provided to the control group. Researchers re-interviewed children in both groups after the treatment. The overall mean score of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group on all five categories of the death concept: causality, old age, irreversibility, finality, and inevitability. Implications regarding how death education can be approached in early childhood settings are also discussed.

An Ecological Approach to Understanding Youth Violence: The Mediating Role of Substance Use.

The authors tested an ecological model that posits mediating variables (substance use and mental health) in the association between ecological factors (family closeness, school closeness, and peer closeness) and youth violence in a sample of 4,783 adolescents. Models including substance use present significantly less total effect between ecological factors and youth violence than do models without substance use. Additional probing of significant mediation effect using the Sobel test was performed and suggested that substance use did function as a mediator in the hypothesized path. Considerations of adolescent violence should recognize the possible role of ecological factors and how their influence may vary by substance use.

Risk Factors and Mediators of Suicidal Ideation Among Korean Adolescents

Background: A significant number of Korean adolescents have suicidal ideations and it is more prevalent among adolescents than any other age group in Korea. Aims: This study was conducted to attain a better understanding of the contributing factors to suicidal ideation among Korean adolescents. Method: We recruited 569 high school students in Grades 10 and 11 in Pyeongtaek, Korea. The Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation was used to measure suicidal ideation as the outcome variable. The Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, the School Related Stress Scale, the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire, and the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance questions were used to measure thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness, hopelessness, school-related stress, bullying, and previous suicidal behaviors, respectively. Data analyses included descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling. Results: The findings suggest that perceived burdensomeness, hopelessness, school-related stress, and previous suicidal behaviors have significant direct effects on suicidal ideation. Hopelessness fully mediated the relation between thwarted belongingness and suicidal ideation, and partially mediated between perceived burdensomeness, school-related stress, and suicidal ideation. Conclusion: These findings provide more specific directions for a multidimensional suicide prevention program in order to be successful in reducing suicide rates among Korean adolescents.

Social work assessment of separation anxiety disorder: A review of evidence-based approaches

This article provides a description of Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD) and its diagnosis, and reviews evidence-based methods of assessment including clinical interviews, self-report scales, parent-teacher reports, behavioral observations, and self-monitoring in order to understand the child and the relevant social ecology and to provide the basis for formulating and evaluating social work intervention strategies.

The longitudinal effects of influence of parental attachment and emotion regulation on Internet delinquency in early adolescence

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to identify the longitudinal influence of parental attachment and emotion regulation on changes in Internet delinquency. This study used the Korean Youth Panel Survey (KYPS) data, in which 2,844 school-age children were annually assessed from Grade 4 in 2004 to Grade 8 in 2008 in South Korea. Latent growth models were used to examine developmental trajectories of Internet delinquency, parental attachment, and emotion regulation longitudinally. This study showed that adolescents experience an increase in Internet delinquency over the fourth year and a decline in the fifth year. The initial level of parental monitoring had significant effects on the initial level of emotion regulation. In addition, the initial level of parental attachment was associated with a slower rate of acceleration of Internet delinquency across time. The study findings indicate that parental attachment influences Internet delinquency among Korean adolescents. The practice implications of the findings are discussed in terms of Internet delinquency reduction efforts.

Types of stressors and bullying perpetration among female adolescents in Korea

ABSTRACT Research concerning bullying among female adolescents in Korea remains extremely limited. This study examined the impact of three different types of stressors (family stress, friendship stress, and school stress) on bullying perpetration among Korean female adolescents. Five middle schools were randomly selected from 11 schools in Pyeongtaek, Korea. Participants in the study were 374 female students in 7–9th grade. A linear regression analysis based on the different types of stressors was conducted. Findings indicate that family and school related stressors were significantly associated with bullying perpetration. Results supported Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems theory. Interventions to decrease family stress and school stress are supported for Korean female adolescents engaged in bullying perpetration.