Earticle

Youth social isolation has emerged as a critical global challenge reflecting cumulative developmental, relational, and structural vulnerabilities, yet it remains underconceptualized within disaster and crisis studies. Drawing on slow-building disaster theory, this study reframes youth isolation as a long-term erosion of relational capacity shaped by trauma, socioeconomic precarity, and digital risk. Through cross-national policy analysis of the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan, the study identifies convergent approaches in prevention, mental health support, community reconnection, and outreach. The findings indicated that Korea has rapidly developed an integrated policy framework but remains constrained by short-term program cycles, limited outreach infrastructure, and underdeveloped digital safety governance. The study argues that a slow-disaster perspective can strengthen long-term recovery and reposition youth isolation as a core governance challenge.

This study analyzed factors influencing life satisfaction among youth preparing for independence after completing foster care or extended care in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. Using data collected in 2022 by the South Chungcheong Social Service Agency, hierarchical regression analysis was conducted on 121 respondents. The results showed that higher economic status and lower debt levels increased life satisfaction, with mental health emerging as the most influential predictor. Furthermore, life satisfaction significantly improved when difficulties in seeking help during emergencies were lower, whereas other social difficulties such as housing and employment were not statistically significant. These results suggest that the life satisfaction of youth transitioning out of care is more strongly influenced by economic stability, psychological well-being, and access to support systems than by personal issues. Based on these findings, this study proposed the need for policies prioritizing transitional economic stability, institutionalized mental health support, and mechanisms for sustained help-seeking, along with the use of subjective well-being indicators in policy evaluation.

As a strategy to respond the climate crisis caused by global warming and to achieve a carbon-neutral society, many advanced countries are developing policies to curb carbon emissions, such as imposing carbon taxes on fossil fuel use and carbon border adjustment systems. To play a vital role in the international community, we have to convert from conventional fossil fuels like coal and oil to the new renewable energy sources like hydrogen, ammonia, and next-generation solar cells, and establish legal and institutional mechanisms to achieve carbon neutrality, such as introducing a carbon tax like advanced European countries. While Korea has high social interest in carbon neutrality, the public-private partnership system is inadequate, hindering the full realization of carbon neutrality, therefore, active cooperation is needed between central, local, and private sectors through fund establishment and information sharing.

Non-urgent visits to emergency departments (EDs) contribute substantially to ED overcrowding in Korea. Whether recent declines in utilization reflect temporary disruptions or longer-term structural changes remains unclear. A nationwide time series analysis of monthly non-urgent ED visits from January 2016 to December 2024 was conducted using data from the National Emergency Department Information System. Non-urgent visits were defined as Korean Triage and Acuity Scale levels 4–5 without severe emergency diagnoses. Seasonal–trend decomposition and multiple change-point detection were performed, followed by segmented regression and interrupted time series analyses. Non-urgent ED visits increased steadily prior to 2020. A major structural break occurred in February 2020, characterized by an immediate decrease of approximately 95,279 visits (p<0.001) with no subsequent recovery in trend. A second change-point in March 2024 was associated with a larger immediate decline of approximately 86,556 visits (p<0.001) and a sustained downward trend thereafter. Non-urgent ED utilization in Korea has undergone substantial structural changes, indicating longer-term transformations in healthcare utilization rather than short-term fluctuations.

This study investigated the mediating effect of trauma guilt on the relationship between intrusive rumination and post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms, and the subsequent moderated mediating effect of decentering, among adults with a history of trauma exposure. The PROCESS macro analysis confirmed a significant partial mediating effect of trauma guilt on the influence of intrusive rumination on PTS symptoms. However, the analysis found that the moderated mediating effect of decentering on the pathway involving intrusive rumination and trauma guilt was not statistically significant. Crucially, groups reporting high levels of trauma guilt exhibited higher PTS symptoms compared to those with low trauma guilt, regardless of their decentering ability. This finding suggests that trauma guilt constitutes a critical risk factor that independently intensifies PTSD symptomatology. Consequently, high trauma guilt confers a persistent, elevated vulnerability to PTSD, even in the presence of superior decentering capacity. In conclusion, effective strategies for alleviating PTS symptoms necessitate greater attention to the individual's level of trauma guilt, underscoring the imperative need for clinical interventions that directly target and resolve trauma guilt.

This study aimed to prospectively identify risk factors for delirium in orthopedic surgery patients. The study included 140 patients aged 19 years or older who underwent orthopedic surgery. Data were collected from June 1 to September 12, 2025. Delirium was assessed using Korean Nu-DESC for five days postoperatively. Preoperative depression, anxiety, and cognitive function were measured using validated instruments. The study results showed that significant differences between the delirium and non-delirium groups were observed in age and education level, hearing aid use, BMI, sleep duration, capability of ambulation, comorbidities, surgery time, and transfusion. Logistic regression identified risk factors: higher preoperative anxiety increased delirium risk 1.44-fold, higher cognitive function decreased risk 0.57-fold, and capability of ambulation reduced risk 0.11-fold. Comprehensive preoperative assessment of psychological and cognitive factors is essential for early identification of high-risk patients and implementation of preventive interventions.

This study examined the sequential mediating effects of intrusive rumination, deliberate rumination, and self-compassion on the relationship between self-disclosure and posttraumatic growth among 455 adults who reported subjectively perceived traumatic experiences. Correlation analyses and sequential mediation analyses using PROCESS Macro Model 6 were conducted. The results showed that self-disclosure was positively associated with deliberate rumination, self-compassion, and posttraumatic growth, whereas intrusive rumination was negatively associated with self-compassion. Deliberate rumination and self-compassion sequentially mediated the relationship between self-disclosure and posttraumatic growth, whereas the mediating pathway involving intrusive rumination was not significant. These findings suggest that posttraumatic growth is associated with self-disclosure, deliberate rumination, and self-compassion.

This study examined sex-specific risk factors for depression among Korean adolescents using the 2025 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey (KYRBS). Complex sample logistic regression were conducted for the overall sample and separately by sex. The model accounted for 9.1% of the variance in depression among all adolescents (p<.001). Depression was more prevalent among females (OR=1.367). Poor subjective health (F: OR=3.234; M: OR=2.514), short sleep duration (F: OR=1.474; M: OR=1.513), and caffeinated beverage consumption (F: OR=1.455; M: OR=1.367) were associated with depression in both sexes. Trying to lose or maintain weight was linked to more depression in both genders, while trying to gain weight increased depression only in boys (OR = 1.356). Perceived underweight was linked to higher depression in females, whereas perceived overweight was linked to lower depression in males. Watching “mukbang” and “cookbang” broadcasts was associated with depression in both sexes (F: OR=1.083; M: OR=1.116). These findings underscore the need for gender-sensitive screening and interventions addressing sleep, subjective health, body image, weight-related behaviors, and digital media use to support adolescent mental health.

This study presented the meaning and future tasks of the reorganization of the Ministry of Climate and Energy and Environment, which was newly established to respond to the global climate crisis carried out by the Lee Jae-myung administration. To this end, the government reorganization bill discussed at the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea was reviewed, and the characteristics of government organizations to respond to the climate crisis in major countries and Korean government organizations were compared. Korea was similar to the government reorganization process in the UK and France. Germany has returned to the past due to changes in the policy environment after the government reorganization. Future tasks after the government reorganization to the Ministry of Climate Energy and Environment were discussed. Specifically, they include organizational design for the integration of climate and energy policies, a balance between responding to the climate crisis and maintaining and strengthening industrial competitiveness, and measures to resolve administrative inefficiencies such as conflicts within ministries.

This study aims to examine how the climate crisis generates multi-hazard vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure systems and to identify governance innovations necessary to address cascading and socially uneven risks. As climate-related hazards increasingly overlap and infrastructure interdependencies deepen, conventional protection strategies centered on physical hardening and post-event recovery have become insufficient. Such conditions heighten the likelihood of cascading failures that disproportionately affect socially vulnerable populations. Using extreme heat as an illustrative case, the study demonstrates how climate-induced hazards amplify social inequality and disaster vulnerability while revealing systemic weaknesses in infrastructure governance. Methodologically, the paper synthesizes interdisciplinary literature on compound disasters and critical infrastructure interdependencies and conducts a descriptive comparative analysis based on policy documents and publicly available statistical data. The findings highlight the need for inclusive, community-based governance frameworks that integrate vulnerable groups, clarify public–private roles, and institutionalize implementation-oriented guidelines. The study further underscores the role of digital technologies in enabling proactive risk management and advancing system-level resilience in the era of climate crisis.

This study aimed to examine the effects of nursing work intensity and meaning of work on presenteeism among nurses working in tertiary general hospitals. The study subjects were 169 nurses with at least six months of clinical experience. Data were collected between June 26 and July 25, 2025. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, group comparison tests, correlation analysis, and stepwise multiple regression analysis. The regression analysis revealed that nursing work intensity, meaning of work, and working in specialized units were significant predictors of work impairment due to presenteeism, accounting for 15.0% of the variance. In conclusion, nursing work intensity and meaning of work were identified as significant factors associated with presenteeism among nurses. These findings suggest that efforts to reduce nursing work intensity and enhance nurses’ meaning of work may contribute to reducing presenteeism.

In response to the unprecedented disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, governments worldwide implemented emergency public health policies to stabilize supply chains and protect citizens. Among these, South Korea’s 5-day rotation mask distribution system serves as a representative case of crisis-driven consumer policy. This study examines consumer perceptions of the system across three dimensions—safety, costs, and public interest—and evaluates their effects on both purchase satisfaction and policy satisfaction. Using survey data from 783 participants and employing factor analysis and regression techniques, the study identifies distinct consumer perception types and analyzes how these factors influence satisfaction with the emergency distribution policy. The findings highlight that safety perception was the most influential determinant shaping both behavioral responses and satisfaction. These results provide empirical insights for designing future emergency health policies that are consumer-centered, transparent, and responsive.