A Review of Korean Mental Health Studies Related to Trauma and Disasters

Special Article

Psychiatry Investigation 2005;2(2):22-30.

Jung Bum Kim, MD, PhD1,2;Seol Young Ryu, MA1,2; and Hyunnie Ahn, PhD3;

¹;Department of Psychiatry, Keimyung University School of Medicine, Daegu, ²;Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center, Daegu, ³;Department of Psychology, Pusan National University, Pusan, Korea

Abstract

<p class="MsoPlainText" style="word-spacing: 1; line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="left"><font face="HY중고딕" size="2">This article reviews the findings from the studies on disasters and Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) conducted during the last decade in Korea. Forty-five studies directly related to the psychological impact and stress from various types of disasters were selected through a literature search. We present prevalence/incidence, risk factors and other variables related to disasters, the treatments, and case reports. Most of the studies have not yet systematically examined different types of disaster and trauma, and have strong methodological weaknesses. It is suggested that further systematic studies are greatly needed to understand the comprehensive aspect of disaster and PTSD, especially focusing on the epidemiology, child and adolescent victims, biological aspects, pharmacotherapy, and psychological treatments.

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Key words Posttraumatic stress disorder disasters;Korea.