Yoonsun Han

Discrimination and Mental Health Among Sexual Minority College Students: The Type and Form of Discrimination Does Matter

Research indicates that interpersonal discrimination contributes to mental problems among sexual minorities. However, little attention has been given to subtle discrimination and witnessing discrimination. This study examines the relationship among sexual orientation, experiencing and witnessing hostility (e.g., verbal threats), incivility (e.g., dirty looks), heterosexist harassment (e.g., homophobic names), and moderate/high anxiety and depression symptoms among college students. Results indicated that experiencing hostility, incivility, and heterosexist harassment each partially mediated the relationship between sexual minority status and anxiety. Similar relationships were found for experiencing incivility and heterosexist harassment and depression. Witnessing hostility and heterosexist harassment partially mediated anxiety among sexual minority students.

Parenting and Youth Psychosocial Well-Being in South Korea using Fixed-Effects Models

The present study analyzed the relationship between various parenting practices and an array of adolescent psychosocial outcomes in South Korea, while controlling for demographic, family, school, and neighborhood factors. Analyses were based on five waves of the nationally representative Korea Youth Panel Survey using 3,263 youth (Person Years = 13,121). All parenting (warmth, monitoring, and hostility) and youth’s psychosocial (confidence, depressive symptoms, and aggressive behaviors) measures were reported by the youth. Within-person fixed-effects regression results indicated that parental warmth not only facilitated youth’s confidence, but also protected them against feelings of depression and aggression. Parental monitoring was a predictor of positive self-perception. As a parental measure with a preventive-orientation, monitoring exhibited a trend toward reducing aggressive behavior. On the other hand, hostile parenting was significantly associated with depressive symptoms and aggressive behaviors. Factors external to the family, such as school and neighborhoods were also associated with mental health outcomes among Korean youth.

School bonds and the onset of substance use among Korean youth: an examination of social control theory

This study examined the association between school bonds and the onset of substance use among adolescents in South Korea. Based on Hirschi’s social control theory, this study tested the roles of teacher attachment, educational aspiration, extracurricular activities, and rule internalization—four elements of social bonds within the school setting—in delayed initiation of alcohol drinking and cigarette smoking. Discrete-time logistic regression was used to analyze five waves of the Korea Youth Panel Survey (N = 3449 at baseline), a nationally representative sample of Korean youth. Stronger teacher attachment, higher educational aspiration, and higher rule internalization were correlated with delayed onset of alcohol drinking and cigarette smoking. On the other hand, participation in school extracurricular activities was positively associated with the onset of alcohol drinking, but not statistically significantly linked with the onset of cigarette smoking. These findings suggest that early prevention strategies for youth substance use should specifically target school-related factors that represent social bonds developed among youth.

Aging in Place of Vulnerable Older Adults: Person–Environment Fit Perspective:

Based on the premise that the experience of aging in place is different for vulnerable subgroups of older adults compared with less vulnerable subgroups, we focus on low-income older adults as a vulnerable subgroup and senior housing as an alternative to a conventional, private home environment. Using the 2008 and 2010 waves of the Health Retirement Study, regression models determined the impact of person–environment (P-E) fit between poverty status and residence in senior housing on self-rated health. Consistent with the environmental docility hypothesis, findings show that, among low-income individuals, the supportive environment of senior housing plays a pronounced compensating role and may be a key to successful adaptation in aging. As the first research effort to empirically demonstrate the positive health effects of senior housing among socioeconomically vulnerable elders, our findings provide a much-needed theoretical and practical underpinning for policy-making efforts regarding vulnerable elders.

The Association of Neighborhood Characteristics and Domestic Violence in Santiago, Chile

The growing tension between conservative attitudes and liberal policies on gender issues in Chile is reflected by the high rates of domestic violence juxtaposed by a strong governmental policy aimed at preventing this social problem. Attempts to understand factors associated with domestic violence in Chile, and in other countries as well, have not paid much attention to neighborhood-level factors. This manuscript examined the extent to which selected neighborhood characteristics were associated with domestic violence against women. Relying on theories of social disorganization and social stress, this study conceptualized residence in a disadvantaged neighborhood as a source of stress and examined the relationship between detrimental physical and social characteristics of neighborhoods and the chance of women experiencing domestic violence. Results revealed that a higher level of trash in neighborhoods was associated with increased rates of domestic violence above and beyond individual characteristics. Findings also suggested that the relationship between high levels of trash in neighborhoods and domestic violence was greater for women with higher levels of financial stress. Given the potential role of neighborhood environments in reducing domestic violence, a comprehensive approach incorporating both neighborhood- and individual-level factors may be critical in designing effective preventive interventions for domestic violence.

Gender differences in predictors of self-reported physical aggression: Exploring theoretically relevant dimensions among adolescents from santiago, chile

Research findings remain unclear on whether different factors predict aggression for adolescent men and women. Given that aggression research is rarely conducted with Latin American populations, the current study used multiple imputation and linear regression to assess gender differences in levels and predictors of self-reported physical aggression among a community sample of young (ages 11 through 17) men (n=504) and women (n = 471) from Santiago, Chile. Results revealed that adolescent women reported engaging in higher levels of physical aggression than men. The variables found to be significantly associated with higher levels of reported aggression-younger age, less family involvement, less parental control, less positive relationships with caregivers, having more friends who act out and use substances, having fewer friends committed to learning, presence of dating violence, and more exposure to neighborhood crime-were not moderated by gender, implying that similar factors are related to aggression in adolescent men and women from Chile. Implications for prevention and intervention efforts to address high-risk adolescents and reduce aggression among Chilean youth are discussed.

Associations of maternal and adolescent religiosity and spirituality with adolescent alcohol use in Chile: Implications for social work practice:

To inform social work practice with adolescents who may consume alcohol, we examined if alcohol use among Chilean adolescents varied as a function of their mothers’ and their own religiosity and spirituality. Data were from 787 Chilean adolescents and their mothers. Adolescent spirituality was a protective factor against more deleterious alcohol use. Parental monitoring and alcohol using opportunities mediated the associations. The practice of religious behaviors by themselves without meaningful faith were not associated with alcohol use among adolescents. Implications for social work practice are discussed.

Estimating the heterogeneous relationship between peer drinking and youth alcohol consumption in Chile using propensity score stratification

When estimating the association between peer and youth alcohol consumption, it is critical to account for possible differential levels of response to peer socialization processes across youth, in addition to variability in individual, family, and social factors. Failure to account for intrinsic differences in youth’s response to peers may pose a threat of selection bias. To address this issue, we used a propensity score stratification method to examine whether the size of the association between peer and youth drinking is contingent upon differential predicted probabilities of associating with alcohol-consuming friends. Analyzing a Chilean youth sample (N = 914) of substance use, we found that youths are susceptible to the detrimental role of peer drinkers, but the harmful relationship with one’s own drinking behavior may be exacerbated among youth who already have a high probability of socializing with peers who drink. In other words, computing a single weighted-average estimate for peer drinking would have underestimated the detrimental role of peers, particularly among at-risk youths, and overestimated the role of drinking peers among youths who are less susceptible to peer socialization processes. Heterogeneous patterns in the association between peer and youth drinking may shed light on social policies that target at-risk youths.

Application of social control theory to examine parent, teacher, and close friend attachment and substance use initiation among Korean Youth

Based on Hirschi’s social control theory (1969), this study examined the relationship between attachment (an element of social bonds) and the onset of substance use among South Korean adolescents. Using discrete-time logistic regression, the study investigated how attachment to parents, teachers, and close friends was associated with the timing of first alcohol and cigarette use. A nationally representative sample of Korean youth from five waves of the Korea Youth Panel Survey (N = 3,449 at baseline) was studied. Higher levels of parent and teacher attachment were associated with delayed onset of alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking. Attachment to close friends, however, was associated with earlier onset of substance use. These findings suggest that strategies for early substance use prevention should specifically target the relationships that youth develop with parents and teachers. Furthermore, the results highlight the importance of managing youth’s relationships with close friends to prevent the inadvertent negative social influence of particular types of peers.

Psychological, Family, and Social Factors Linked with Juvenile Theft in Korea.

The absence of an approach which encompasses several micro-systems in Korea may leave important factors of youth risk behaviors undetected. Thus, an examination of a broad set of ecological factors within the micro-system--including individual characteristics as well as immediate family, peer, and school environments surrounding the youth--that is associated with juvenile theft is warranted. The current study analyzes a rare dataset of 176 youth who were arrested for theft and a matching non-theft sample of 180 youth. Stepwise logistic regression analysis was used to examine variables related to theft engagement. Higher levels of depression was associated with greater odds of theft behavior when examining psychological factors only. Maternal positive parenting behaviors in the family model and school adjustment in the social model were significantly linked with decreased odds of theft engagement. These results may have important implications for providing counseling and educational services to adolescents arrested for theft. Findings encourage expanding the scope of the currently individual-focused program to consideration of family and school contexts that may be crucial for serving youth with theft experience.