Earticle

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence, subtypes and risk factors of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) among male adolescents. Methods: The survey was conducted on male adolescents (n=441) attending a high school. Rome IV criteria was used to diagnose IBS. Data on health promoting behaviors, psychological distress, sleep hygiene practices were collected using self-administered structured questionnaires. Results: The prevalence of IBS was 11.1% and the subtypes were mixed (77.5%), unclassified (10.2%), diarrheapredominant (8.2%), and constipation-predominant (4.1%). Risk factors influencing IBS were sleeping time (Odds Ratio [OR]=1.00, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.99~1.00), anxiety, a subfactor under psychological distress (OR=1.12, 95% CI: 1.02~1.22), and arousal-related behaviors, a subfactor under sleep hygiene practices (OR=1.10, 95% CI: 1.03~1.17). Conclusion: Our findings indicated that IBS is a common problem in male adolescents. It is necessary to develop school-based intervention strategies addressing sleeping time, anxiety and arousal-related behaviors in order to prevent and improve IBS in male adolescents.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the factors related to depression between non-multicultural and multicultural middle school students. Methods: In this study, data were collected using structured questionnaires targeting students of 9 middle schools in G Province, Korea. Finally, the data of 304 students were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation, and multiple regression analyses using SPSS 24.0. Results: The multicultural students showed a higher depression score (47.14±8.33) than the counterpart (44.22±8.11) (p<.001). The results of the multiple regression analysis revealed that academic stress (β=.33, p<.001), peer attachment (β=-.13, p<.02), and body image (β=.25, p<.001) were the influencing factors on depression in non-multicultural students. However, in multicultural students, depression was related to peer attachment (β=-.16, p=.03) and self-esteem (β=-.42, p<.001). Conclusion: To prevent and manage depression in non-multicultural middle school students, it is essential to help them relieve academic stress and build peer relationships and positive body image. For multicultural middle school students, helping them to have high self-esteem and peer attachment would be the first measure to prevent and manage depression.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the satisfaction level toward school sex education and its effect on character cultivation by reconstructing a unit, sex and health, included in the current health education curriculum. Methods: The study is a mixed research which utilized both two-way ANOVA & MANOVA methods, and qualitative content analysis. A total of 279 middle school students participated in the pre-test and the sex education program using the reconstructed curriculum. Then, a total of 253 participated in the posttest. Results: The results showed an increase in the satisfaction level toward school sex education (p<.05) and in character (p<.05) in both male and female students. There was no significant difference between male and female students. In the total test for character cultivation, there were no interacting effects between the test and gender (p>.05). Also, in the qualitative analysis, the program helped students to build character including self-care skills Conclusion: By revising the unit of sex and health to meet the needs and demands of the students, curriculum reconstruction increased the students’ satisfaction and had a positive effect on their character cultivation.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the risk factors for addiction-related behaviors among Korean adolescents. Methods: The study’s subjects were 60,040 middle and high school students who participated in the 14th (2018) Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey. Frequency analysis, x2 test, and multivariate logistic regression were conducted using SPSS 21.0. Results: The risk factors for addiction-related behaviors were sex, school type, living area, academic performance, economic status, residence type, health status, depression, perceived stress and sleep satisfaction. Conclusion: Addiction-related behaviors are associated with mental health. Therefore, in order to prevent addictive-behaviors of adolescents, it is necessary to develop strategies to prevent addictive-behaviors by improving their mental health.

Purpose: The purpose of the this study was to examine the mediating effect of resilience on the relationship between social capital - family, school, and community - and self-rated health in adolescents. Methods: The study is a secondary data analysis based on a cross-sectional design, using the data of 2016 Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS). The study analyzed the data of 2,001 adolescents by descriptive analysis, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients and structural equation modeling, using the SPSS and AMOS program. Results: The model’s fit was adequate (x2/df=4.51, CFI=.98, RMSEA=.04, SRMR=.02). The adolescents’ social capital - family, school and community - had direct effects on their self-rated health. Resilience was found to play a partially mediating role in accounting for self-rated health. Conclusion: Resilience partially mediated the relationship between social capital and self-rated health in adolescents. Based on the results of this study, nursing strategies to build and strengthen social capital at the family, school and community level and to promote resilience are needed to improve the health of adolescents.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effect of self-perception on the relationship between body image and depressive symptoms in middle school adolescents. Methods: This study performed a pathway analysis with a sample of 284 adolescents recruited from three middle schools. Self-reported questionnaires consisted of items regarding body image, self-perception, and depressive symptoms. Results: Body image, self-perception, and depressive symptoms showed a significant correlation. Self-perception was directly affected by body image and depressive symptoms were not affected by body image. The mediating effect of self-perception on body image’s impact on depressive symptoms was confirmed. Self-perception had a significant indirect effect on depressive symptoms, which means that self-perception has a full mediating effect on body image’s impact on depressive symptoms. Conclusion: The effect of body image on depressive symptoms was fully mediated by self-perception in early adolescents. It suggests that self-perception needs to be considered when providing nursing interventions for adolescents.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the cultural competency of elementary school nurses. Methods: Data were collected from a convenience sample of 109 school nurses who were recruited from elementary schools across three large cities in South Korea. The daata were analyzed with independent t-tests, a one-way ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression. Results: School nurses who had experience caring for multicultural students showed a significant difference in the cultural competency (t=8.75, p=.004). Factors affecting their cultural competency were awareness of multicultural families (β=.17, p=.006) and transcultural self-efficacy (β=.69, p<.001), which explained 58.6% of the total variance. Conclusion: The findings suggest that it is necessary to provide more training and educational programs for school nurses to improve their awareness of multiculcural families, including interventions to enhance transcultural self-efficacy, in order to enhance their cultural competence and to help them provide tailored care for multicultural students with diverse cultural backgrounds.