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Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the mediating effect of depression between marital dissatisfaction and problem drinking among married men and women. Methods: The subjects of this study were 724 married men and women aged 20-49 years old. Data were analyzed by AMOS 22.0. Results: First, marital dissatisfaction had a significant relationship with depression, but marital dissatisfaction did not show a significant association with problem drinking. Second, depression fully mediated the relationship between marital dissatisfaction and problem drinking. Conclusion: Depression in married men and women was a significant variable for marital relationship status and problem drinking. The implications and limitations of these findings are discussed, and directions for future studies are proposed.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effects of internet addiction on the relationship between parents’ problem drinking and their college-aged students’ mental health. Methods: This study was conducted using a descriptive survey design. The study subjects consisted of 512 college students from two universities in G city. Data were collected from November 5th to 30th, 2013 using self-reported questionnaires. The data were analyzed using SPSS 19.0. Results: Of the participants, 24.7% were the adult children of alcoholics (ACOA). The ACOA group scored significantly higher on internet addiction and negative mental health measurements than did the non-ACOA group. There were significant positive correlations between parental problem drinking and college students’ internet addiction and mental health. We also found that internet addiction partially mediated the relationship between parental problem drinking and college students’ mental health. Conclusions: To prevent mental health problems in the ACOA group and reduce the level of internet addiction, it is necessary to develop an integrated intervention that deals with the problem of internet addiction and mental health issues simultaneously.

Objective: This study aims to explore academic trends and knowledge system in the alcohol research in Korea. Method: Semantic network analysis was conducted using the titles of 232 articles published in the Journal of Korean Alcohol Sciences from 2000 to 2015. Results: Studies on problematic drinking behavior and its consequences were popular. In terms of target population, college students and alcohol addicts were frequently studied. In comparison, mental health issues, economic and social aspects of alcohol consumption were less addressed. Conclusion: Alcohol research may need more multidisciplinary studies including journalism, public relations and economics to build a solid and broad academic foundation.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to estimate the incidence rate of nonfatal injuries and to examine the relationship between problem drinking and nonfatal injuries in adults. Methods: A representative nationwide sample was taken from the 5th Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; 15,046 adults were used for our analyses. The data consisted of self-reported answers to questions about injuries, drinking patterns, health behaviors, physical disabilities, and psychosocial characteristics. The incidence rate of nonfatal injuries was estimated by asking, "Have you ever experienced any injuries or poisoning serious enough to see a doctor in the past year?" The level of problem drinking was evaluated by AUDIT. The odds ratios of nonfatal injuries given levels of problem drinking and related factors were examined by multivariate logistic regression. Results: The incidence rate of nonfatal injuries was 7.2%. High rates were found in males, those who were single, recipients of medical aid, smokers, and exercisers with low muscle flexibility. The odds ratios of nonfatal injuries were 1.4 (95% CI: 1.01-1.91) for alcohol abusers and 1.6 (95% CI: 1.15-2.14) for alcohol-dependent individuals compared to social drinkers, after controlling for sociodemographic factors, health-related behaviors, physical disabilities, and psychosocial characteristics. Conclusion: The higher the level of problem drinking, the more nonfatal injuries occur. The results of this study imply that prevention and reduction of the burden of injury could be accomplished by devising policies to reduce alcohol-related problems.

Objectives: There is an increasing need for counselors who can prevent and intervene in cases of addiction in South Korea. The number of addiction counselors is not sufficient and it is difficult to define a standardized curriculum for their education. The purpose of this study was to develop a well-structured curriculum for training addiction counselors. Methods: This study proposes a curriculum for addiction counselors through analysis of their job description and various training courses based on the‘ADDIE model,’ one of the general models of Instructional System Development (ISD). Results: We found that most courses focus on training addiction counselors who can cover both substance abuse and behavioral addictions. Practicum experience is more important than major area of study in becoming a certified addiction counselor. This study revealed that the job description of addiction counselors includes assessing the extent of addiction and associated problems, making treatment plans, coordinating necessary services, counseling clients, and preventing relapses. Therefore, a general curriculum for addiction counselors should include subjects dealing with assessment, prevention, counseling strategies, case management, interviewing skills, and evidence-based practice. A training course for addiction counselors should require trainees to take more than 30 credits and should have an outcome-based curriculum and use various teaching methods. Conclusion: These results can be utilized to develop a well-structured curriculum for training addiction counselors.

Objective: One of the important factors that leads to relapse amongst alcoholics is a negative emotional state, and the factors affecting negative emotions include sexual desire or sex life. Although relapse into alcoholism is closely related to sexual experience, few studies have been done on sexuality and sexual experiences among alcoholics in Korea. The purpose of this study was to explore the sexual experiences of recovering male alcoholics and enhance our understanding of this issue in order to develop relapse-prevention strategies. Methods: The participants included 19 male recovering alcoholics who were diagnosed as alcoholics and maintained sobriety for more than 6 months after treatment. This work includes a secondary analysis of focus group interviews conducted on 17 participants published in “A Study on Sex Education Requirements of Recovering Alcoholics.” This study added two in‐depth interviews of key informants to the qualitative data. Thematic content analysis methods were used. Results: Our results revealed that sexuality and the sexual experiences of recovering alcoholics could be divided into 4 categories: “distorted sexuality,” “wounded sexuality,” “addiction-aggravating sexuality,” and “recovering sexuality.” We found that distorted ideas of sexuality and psychological wounds related to sexual experiences affected alcohol dependency in the patients. Sexual dysfunction that males experience during the recovery process interacts with the desire for intimacy, triggers the impulse to drink, and aggravates addiction. On the other hand, participants in longer-term recovery experienced a perceptual change regarding sexuality. They came to perceive sexual behaviors and sexual life as emotional sharing and an expression of friendliness, whereas sexuality had previously been viewed as a symbolic expression of power and a method of pursuing pleasure. Conclusion: In this study, we examined sexuality and intimacy issues that recovering male alcoholics face, and explored the positive and negative effects of various sex-related behaviors on recovery. Our results can be used as basic material for the education of professionals in the addiction field and in developing intervention programs to encourage recovering male alcoholics to develop healthy sex lives.