Earticle

본 연구는 WHO의 ICF를 기반으로 제정된 WHODAS-Ⅱ를 활용하여 장애인의 생활기능과 사회적 장벽이 장애인 낙인감에 미치는 영향을 분석한 것이다. 주요변수로는 장애인의 생활기능에 해당하는 이해와 의사소통, 돌아다니기, 자기관리, 타인과 어울리기, 일상생활, 사회활동참여와 환경요인에 해당하는 사회적 장벽, 즉 장애인들이 지역사회에서 경험하는 사회 환경을 독립변수로 설정하였고, 인구사회학적 특성 가운데 연령, 성별, 장애등급, 손상기간을 통제변수로 하여, 종속변수인 장애인의 낙인감과의 관계를 고찰하였다. 조사대상은 전국에 거주하는 만 18세 이상의 외부신체기능장애인 421명이고, 연구방법은 주요변수의 특성파악을 위해 기술분석과 pearson 상관관계분석을 실시하였고, 장애인 낙인감에 영향을 미치는 요인 검증을 위해서는 위계적 회귀분석을 실시하였다. 연구결과, 장애인의 낙인감에 영향을 미치는 요인은 통제변수 중에서 연령이었으며, 생활기능 중 이해와 의사소통은 감각장애인의 낙인감에, 타인과 어울리기는 신체장애인의 낙인감에, 일상생활은 감각장애인과 외부신체기능장애인의 낙인감에, 사회활동참여는 외부신체기능장애인과 신체장애인의 낙인감에 유의한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 이 결과로, 장애인이 사회적 위기에 적절하게 대응하기 위해서는 낙인감에 영향을 미치는 개인요인과 환경요인을 모두 포괄하는 정책적, 실천적 방안모색이 필요함을 알 수 있었다.

The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of functioning and social barriers of the disabled on perceived stigma using WHODAS-Ⅱas an assessment instrument based on ICF by WHO. In individual perspective, functioning of the disabled-understanding and communicating, moving and getting around, self-care, getting along, life activities, and participation-was regarded as independent variables. For another independent variable, in environmental perspective, there was the social environment for the disabled to experience in their community. Having control over characteristics of socio-demographic and impairment related information, this study was to examine the effects of independent variables on perceived stigma of the disabled as a dependent variable. 421 persons with external body functioning disability over 18 selected as subjects of this study. As for method of research, descriptive analysis, Pearson correlation coefficient analysis and hierarchial regression analysis was used to identify the individual and environmental factors affecting on perceived stigma of persons with external body functioning disability. The major results of this study were as follow. As a result of examining, functioning such as understanding and communicating had an influence on perceived stigma of persons with sensory disorder, functioning such as get along had an influence on perceived stigma of the physically disabled. Also life activities affected perceived stigma of persons with sensory disorder and of persons with external body functioning disability, and participation affected perceived stigma of persons with external body functioning disability and of the physically disabled. In accordance to the results of this study, the strategies of policy and practice in social welfare for the disabled can be suggested to include all that factors, between individual factors and environmental factors, decreasing perceived stigma.

Purpose: The purpose was to link items of questionnaires that measure functioning and disability of persons with Low Back Pain (LBP) into the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Methods: The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Roland and Morris Disability Questionnaire (RM), Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ), and Short Form-36 health survey (SF-36) were evaluated to map items of those questionnaires into the ICF categories. The linking rule was employed and linking was performed independently by 10 health professionals. One-hundred and two patients with LBP were recruited from 19 medical institutes to this study for a field test to examine relations between the scale and its linked ICF category set. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to analyze their relationships. Results: Walking was only found to be one-to-one linking between the scale and the ICF. Sixty questions in FABQ were to be linked to 9 of ICF categories. Ten and 14 ICF categories were able to be linked to RM and ODI respectively. It was found that majority of items from ODI and RM scale had similar concept and linked to the same ICF category. SF-36 had only 15 categories of the ICF linked. Strong relationship was observed between measurement scales and linked ICF code sets (r=0.79, r=0.65, r=0.47, and r=-0.31 for ODI, RM, FABQ and SF-36 respectively). Conclusion: It was found that commonly used clinical tools for LBP may be linked to ICF. The study results may suggest that clinical data can be standardized to communicate between related professionals.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate items of commonly used questionnaires that measure functioning status of persons with stroke and map to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Methods: Eighty-six patients with stroke were recruited from 12 medical institutes for the study. Each item of the Modified Bathel Index (MBI), Stroke Impact Scale (SIS), Mini Mental Status Evaluation (MMSE) and SF-36 were examined and compared its concept with the ICF. Concept linking was performed by 10 health professionals independently. A field test was performed to assess its correlation between those of scales and their linked ICF category sets. Results: It was found that 11 items in MBI was linked to 14 ICF categories, whereas 27 items of MMSE had 10 categories of ICF linked. 60 items of SIS were to be linked with 35 ICF categories. Agreement between professionals in linking was found to be high: 97.5% for MBI items, 78.0%, 78.0%, and 74.8% for MMSE, SIS, and SF-36 respectively. Strong relationship was observed between measurement scales and linked ICF code sets (r=-0.76 for SIS, r=-0.78 for MBI, r=-0.47 for MMSE) whereas there was no relationship was found between SF-36 and its ICF code set (r=-0.06) from the field test. Conclusion: It was found that items of SIS, MMSE and MBI may be linked to ICF categories. Those of linking concept between clinical tools and the ICF could be helpful for clinical data standardization.

Purpose: This study examine the functioning level and quality of life (QoL) of people with non-specific neck pain and neck pain with radiculopathy using the neck disability index (NDI), functional rating index (FRI), and short form of health survey 36 (SF-36) and each of linked lCF code lists of those scales. Methods: Each item of the NDI, FRI, and SF-36 were linked conceptually to the ICF code, and the lCF code lists of those scales were produced as iNDI, iFRI, and iSF-36, respectively. Seventy-nine patients with neck pain filled the instruments and its linked ICF code lists. The subjects were divided into two groups based on the diagnosis, non-specific neck pain (Group1), and neck pain with radiculopathy (Group2). A group comparison was performed using an independent t-test. The Pearson correlation coefficient was also used to analyze the relationships between each scale and the linked ICF code list. Results: The participants in Group 2 experienced more difficulties in their daily activities than those in Group 2 when examined in NDI and FRI (p<0.05). This result was also found consistently in the ICF code lists, iNDI and iFRI (p=0.05). On the other hand, the QoL did not show a difference between groups (p=0.06). A strong correlation was observed between the instruments and linked ICF code lists: NDI and iNDI (r=0.90), FRI and iFRI (r=0.91), and SF-36 and iSF-36 (r=-0.61). Conclusion: These findings suggest that the concept of each item in NDI and FRI could be linked to the ICF codes when examining patients with neck pain, but the items of SF-36 were found to be linked and expressed in ICF.

Purpose: This study examined the association between family functioning and environmental mastery among breast cancer survivors. Specifically, it tested a serial mediation model involving autonomous motivation and healthy behaviors and compared this pathway with the potential role of controlled motivation.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 192 community-dwelling Korean breast cancer survivors recruited from an outpatient breast clinic. Participants completed a structured self-administered questionnaire assessing family functioning, autonomous and controlled motivation for self-management, engagement in healthy behaviors, and environmental mastery. Serial mediation was tested using a regression-based bootstrapping approach implemented with Hayes’ PROCESS macro.Results: Family functioning was positively associated with both healthy behaviors and environmental mastery. The serial indirect effect through autonomous motivation and healthy behaviors was significant (standardized indirect effect, 0.03; 95% bootstrapped confidence interval [BootCI], 0.00?0.06). In addition, healthy behaviors independently mediated the association between family functioning and environmental mastery (standardized indirect effect, 0.11; 95% BootCI, 0.05?0.17). Controlled motivation was not significantly associated with family functioning and did not contribute to indirect effects.Conclusion: Supportive family functioning may enhance environmental mastery primarily through greater engagement in healthy behaviors, including a significant sequential pathway involving autonomous motivation. These findings support family-centered, autonomy-supportive approaches that strengthen healthy behaviors to promote psychological adjustment during breast cancer survivorship.

We studied the navigation ability and visual functioning of patients with MCI in Virtual Environments (VEs). Forty nineparticipants consisted of elderly adults with/without MCI. Neuropsychological tests (RCFT, BVRT, TMT, and Digit Span), the Groton Maze Learning Test (12 trials), and the VE navigation learning task (6 trials) were performed. As a result, there were significant group differences for the immediate-recall RCFT, the delayed-recall RCFT, and the BVRT, but not for the GMLT. For the VE task, there was a significant difference between the MCI and normal group, and no interactions between groups and trials were found. The VE task was correlated with the RCFT, the BVRT, and the GMLT. The RCFT and the BVRT combined accounted for 45% of VE performance. Thus, we concluded that patients with MCI are inferior in VE navigation, and that visual retention/memory play a role in navigation abilities.

Differential item functioning (DIF) based on Rasch model can be used to examine whether the items function similarly across different groups and identify items that appear to be too easy or difficult after controlling for the ability levels of the compared groups. The Oswestry low back pain disability (Oswestry) has traditionally been proved as an effective instrument measuring disability resulting from low back pain (LBP). In this study, DIF method was used to explore whether items on the Oswestry perform similarly across two different groups (participants with LBP and no LBP). A series of Rasch analyses on the 10 items of the Oswestry were performed using Winsteps$^{(R)}$ software. Forty-two participants with back pain were recruited from 3 rehabilitation hospitals in Gainesville, Florida. Another 42 participants with no LBP were recruited from several public places in the rehabilitation hospitals. Based on the DIF analysis across the two groups, several items were found to have an uniform DIF. Participants with no LBP had more difficulty on lifting and personal care items and participants with LBP had more difficulty on sleeping and social life items. For non-LBP group, a high ceiling effects (83% of participants with non-LBP) was detected, which was not be able to be effectively measured with the Oswestry items. Although 4 items of the Oswestry function differently across the two groups, all items of the Oswestry were well targeted the LBP group.

Objective To follow up the long-term functioning in a community through assessing personal background and status based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) after a stroke, by using a Korean version of World Health Organization Disability Assessment Scale II (K-WHODAS II). Methods We surveyed 146 patients diagnosed at the first-onset of acute stroke and discharged after Inha University Hospital, and 101 patients answered the K-WHODAS II survey. We analyzed the relationship of six functioning domains of K-WHODAS II with K-MMSE (Korean version of Mini-Mental State Examination) and K-MBI (Korean version of Modified Barthel Index) at admission and discharge, and personal background. All subjects were divided into five groups, according to the disease durations, to assess the functional changes and the differences of K-MMSE and K-MBI at the admission and discharge. Results K-MBI and K-MMSE at admission and discharge showed no significant differences in all five groups, respectively (p>0.05), reflecting no baseline disparity for long-term follow-up. All subjects showed positive gains of K-MBI and K-MMSE at discharge (p<0.05). The six functioning domains and total scores of K-WHODAS II had decreasing trends until 3 years after the stroke onset, but rose thereafter. Higher scores of K-MBI and K-MMSE, younger age, women, working status, higher educational level, and living with a partner were correlated with lower scores of K-WHODAS II (p<0.05).Conclusion The long-term functioning after stroke was affected not only by cognitive and motor status in hospital, but also by certain kinds of personal background. K-WHODAS II may be used to monitor functioning status in a community and to assess personal backgrounds in subjects with chronic stroke.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate neck posture, range of motion, muscle endurance and self-report of pain and disability in smartphone users. Methods: Seventy-eight university student volunteers, aged between 18 and 30 years (mean age 23.2), were assessed for: a head-neck posture by measuring cranial vertical angle, neck range of motions using cervical range of motion device, and a deep neck flexor endurance using a stabilizer. Finally, subjects were asked about their neck pain and completed disability questionnaires, ie, Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire, Neck Disability Index, and World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0. Results: Thirty-eight subjects experienced recurrent neck pain with/without upper limb pain (neck pain group) and 40 reported no current neck pain with/without upper limb pain (no neck pain group). Differences were found between groups on pain and disability questionnaires. Subjects with neck pain had significantly higher disability scores than those of no neck pain group. However, there were no differences observed between groups in a head-neck posture, neck range of motions, and deep neck muscle endurance time. The smartphone usage time was negatively correlated with neck pain intensity and disability score whereas it had positive relationship with flexibility and posture. Conclusion: Group differences were observed as lower capacity not only for neck specific daily activities but for general functioning in daily routine when the neck pain and no neck pain groups were compared. Therefore, functioning in daily activities should be investigated as prevention for further developing neck pain in smartphone users.

Purpose: Risk factors associated with stunting are often studied individually, while their combined effect within a single framework is poorly understood. This study aimed to model the interrelationships between family function, dietary diversity, family environmental sanitation, and household food insecurity access as predictors of stunting in rural areas of Indonesia.Methods: A descriptive-analytic, cross-sectional approach was conducted on 339 mothers with stunted children under five years of age in a rural area of Indonesia from June to August 2025. Data were collected using questionnaires and measurements of stunting. Data analysis utilised Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) based on Partial Least Squares (PLS) to examine the relationships among mothers' factors, child factors, family functioning (as measured by the Family Assessment Device - FAD), dietary diversity, family environmental sanitation (FES), household food insecurity access (HFIA), and stunting.Results: The final structural model demonstrated that dietary diversity (p=.001; β=.16) and family functioning (p=.003; β=.20) were the most significant direct predictors of stunting. Notably, 'child factors' (e.g., medical history) also had a direct effect on stunting (p=.029; β=0.14), but more importantly, exerted a powerful indirect influence by significantly shaping family functioning, FES, and HFIA. While 'mother factors' (e.g. education) influenced household food and hygiene, they did not have a direct statistical effect on stunting in the final model.Conclusion: Alongside dietary diversity, family functioning is a key predictor of stunting. To be effective, community nursing interventions must integrate strategies that support family dynamics with traditional nutritional guidance.

Purpose: Stroke survivors and their informal family caregivers may share the impact of the disease, which may affect family functioning and quality of life (QoL) for both. This study compared the perceptions of stroke survivors and informal family caregivers regarding family functioning and QoL and examined the QoL of those reporting effective versus ineffective family functioning. Methods: A cross-sectional study design and convenience sampling were used. Stroke survivor-informal family caregiver dyads were recruited from a medical university hospital. We assessed participants' demographic and clinical variables, including disease severity, family functioning, and QoL. Independent t-test, paired t-test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and Mann-Whitney U test were used to analyze the data. Results: Seventy-one stroke survivor-informal family caregiver dyads participated in the current study. Most stroke survivors and informal family caregivers reported effective family functioning, with no significant differences. However, significant differences existed in the seven domains (physical functioning, role-physical, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, and role-emotional) of QoL, except emotional health. Stroke survivors reporting ineffective family functioning had a significantly lower mental component summary score, unlike informal family caregivers. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that family functioning is crucial to ensure stroke survivors' QoL, particularly regarding their mental health. Health professionals should prioritize mental health assessments and provide appropriate care interventions for stroke survivors in the first 1-6 months after stroke onset.

Objective: Elevated cholesterol levels contribute to changes of the arterial endothelial permeability. Hyperlipidemia promotes atherosclerosis and is associated with an increased risk of stroke incidence. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of having a history of hyperlipidemia prior to a stroke incidence on postural balance, anticipatory dynamic postural control, gait endurance and gait performance in individuals with hemiparetic stroke. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Fifty-two adults who were diagnosed with stroke 6 months ago or more were enrolled in this study. They were divided into two different groups according to hyperlipidemia history before stroke. All participants were assessed with the Activities-specific into Balance Confidence (ABC) scale, Berg Balance scale (BBS), Dynamic Gait Index (DGI), Timed Up and Go test (TUG), and the 6-minute walk test (6MWT). An independent t-test was used to analyze the difference between the hyperlipidemia group and non-hyperlipidemia group. Results: After analysis, the BBS, TUG, and 6MWT scores were significantly different between the hyperlipidemia and non-hyperlipidemia group, but not the ABC and DGI scores. Conclusions: The results of this study show that having a history of hyperlipidemia before stroke affects static and dynamic postural balance performance, anticipatory dynamic postural balance, and gait endurance in individuals with chronic hemiparetic stroke. Based on the results of this study, we also suggest treatment for hyperlipidemia should be implemented throughout the therapeutic interventions, such as pharmacological or exercise programs, in order to restore the physical function of stroke survivors.

Background: The International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health-Child and Youth version (ICF-CY) is designed to record the characteristics of developing children and examine the influence of a child's environment on their health. Objects: This study was designed to determine the relationship between the clinically extracted ICF-CY items and The Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) and Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) items. Methods: Thirty patients (17 males and 13 females) who were hospitalized in a pediatric and youth patient unit of a rehabilitation hospital were included in the study. Four health professionals (two physical therapists and two occupational therapists) working independently linked the PEDI and GMFM-66 items to the activity and participation domains of the ICF-CY. Results: There were strong negative correlations between the ICF-CY subdomains and the PEDI subdomains (r = 0.76-0.95; p < 0.05). There were positive strong correlations between the ICF-CY subdomains and the GMFM-66 (r = 0.76-0.95; p < 0.05). Conclusion: The extracted ICF codes were a valid tool for evaluating the mobility and selfcare conditions of cerebral palsy in the pediatric rehabilitation area.

Smartphones have become one of the most prevalent information devices in the current information environment. Although many people use smartphones for communication and information acquisition, these two functions are closely related and cannot be separated. However, many studies have focused on identifying each function of a smartphone independently. There are few studies that investigate the relationships between communication and information acquisition functions on smartphones. This research empirically analyzed and identified the relationships between these two functions of smartphones by conducting a survey. The results of the analysis showed that the activities for information acquisition make differences in communication on a smartphone. People who want to acquire more information tend to use a smartphone for communication purposes. Besides, communication activities on a smartphone also affect the acquisition of information. In addition, communication activities on a smartphone also affect the establishment of interpersonal relationships that lead to the acquisition of more information. From these results, it is identified that communication activities and information acquisition are interrelated when satisfying the information needs of smartphone users. Especially, communication activities on a smartphone positively affect people's information activities and enhance information acquisition.

이 연구는 K-MBECF 문항의 적합도와 난이도 분석을 통해 문항을 축소하고 내용타당도를 검증함으로써 K-MBECF 단축형 개발의 토대를 마련하고자 하였다. 이를 위해 K-MBECF 연구의 원자료를 문항반응이론에 기초한 라쉬분석을 통해 문항 적합도와 문항 난이도를 산출하였다. 또한 음악 과제 각 문항이 인지기능의 세부영역(기억력, 언어기능, 주의력, 지남력, 전두엽/집행기능)을 실제적으로 평가하고 있는가에 대한 타당성을 검증하기 위해 전문가 6명의 설문지 평정 결과를 근거로 내용타당도 지수(Content Validity Index, CVI)를 산출하였다. 문항 적합도 및 문항 난이도 분석 결과, K-MBECF 전체 18문항 중 8문항을 제외한 10문항이 적합한 것으로 나타나 이를 단축형 개발을 위한 문항으로 선정하였다. 내용타당도 검증에서는 모든 문항에서 CVI가 .60 이상으로 내용적 타당성을 가지는 것으로 나타났다. 이는 음악 과제 각 문항이 인지기능 세부영역에 대한 실제적 평가의 적절성을 제시한다고 할 수 있다. 이에 치매노인의 인지기능 평가를 위한 K-MBECF 단축형 개발은 평가의 효율성을 높이고 임상적 활용도를 증가시킬 것으로 사료된다.

The aim of this study was to reduce a number of item using item goodness-of-fit and item difficulty analyses and verify content validity of Korean version of the Music-Based Evaluation of Cognitive Functioning (K-MBECF) in order to provide basis for developing a short form of K-MBECF. Item goodness-of-fit and item difficulty analyses about the low data of K-MBECF study were evaluated using Rasch analysis based on Item Response Theory (IRT). The Content Validity Index (CVI) was also evaluated by means of a questionnaire which was answered by 6 experts to verify the content validity regarding whether each item of music performance tasks practically assess detailed categories of cognitive function including memory, language, attention, orientation, frontal/executive function. The results of item goodness-of-fit and item difficulty analyses represented that 10 out of total 18 items of K-MBECF were found to be fits and were selected for those of a short form. The CVI results indicated that all items found to be valid with CVI higher than .60, which suggested that each item in music performance tasks was appropriate to evaluate detailed categories in cognitive function. Therefore, it is expected that developing a short form of K-MBECF can be effective on evaluating cognitive function for dementia elderly.

Objective To explore the amount of practice and progression during task-oriented circuit training (TOCT) in chronic stroke survivors; to test the use of pedometers and observation-based measures in detecting step activity; to verify the possible correlation between step activity and locomotor function improvements.Methods Six community-dwelling chronic stroke survivors underwent 10 TOCT sessions (2 hours/each) over 2 weeks in which they were trained both on a treadmill and on six task-oriented workstations (W1?W6). During the sessions, they wore a piezoelectric pedometer and step activities were recorded. Outcome measures were as follows: % of activities during which pedometers worked properly; pedometer-based measures (total step counts, treadmill steps, workstation steps? total and W2,W3,W5,W6); observation-based measures (number of repetitions in task W1 and W4); walking speed changes measured by the 10-m walking test (10MWT) and walking endurance changes (6-minute walking test) after TOCT.Results During TOCT sessions (n=57), activities were recorded through pedometer-based measures in 4 out of the 6 patients. The total amount of step activity was 5,980.05±1,968.39 steps (54.29% in task-oriented workstations, 37.67% on treadmill, and 8.03% during breaks). Exercise progression was highlighted significantly by observational measures (W1, W4). A positive correlation was observed between increased gait speed and observational stair step repetitions progression (W1) (r=0.91, p=0.01) or pedometer-based tandem exercise step progression (W3) (r=0.98, p=0.01).Conclusion TOCT can be considered a high-intensity, progressive intervention to restore locomotor function in chronic stroke survivors. Pedometer-based measures might help in quantifying TOCT’s volume of practice; however, further investigations are required.

Not only have female juvenile offenders been understudied, but also few attempts have been made to explore differences between female and male juvenile offenders. To examine gender differences among juvenile offenders, 36 female juvenile offenders were compared with 202 male juvenile offenders, in terms of offender background characteristics and personality functioning. As a result, female and male juvenile offenders differed in various aspects: as to whether they had a history of psychological abuse in the family and whether they had delinquent friends. Significant differences found between female and male juvenile offenders included alcohol/drug abuse and ability to handle difficult situations. In addition, female juvenile offenders were more likely to display mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression, paranoia, schizophrenia, and suicidal ideations, than male juvenile offenders. The present study emphasizes that differential efforts of intervention and treatment for female juvenile offenders are necessary in order to prevent repetitive delinquent behaviors. Finally, limitations of the present study and suggestions for future research were discussed.

PURPOSE: This study was conducted as a literature review to analyze the research trends related to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) in Korea from 2015 to 2020. METHODS: Precedent studies were searched with the search term "ICF" or "international classification of functioning, disability and health" from the databases of RISS, KISS, DBpia, and Pubmed. The inclusion criteria are that the studies have been carried out in Korea from 2015 to 2020 using ICF by researchers consisting of one or more Koreans and have been peer-reviewed. RESULTS: Of the total 269 studies, 107 that met the inclusion criteria were analyzed. It was found that these studies were published at a similar frequency each year. The most common area of expertise was identified as the clinical area (n = 67), followed by special education (n = 21) and social welfare (n = 13). The study subject groups were mostly patients (n = 39), disabled people (n = 25), and related experts (n = 13). The most common research topic was functioning evaluation (n = 49) and followed by a literature review (n = 29), and the most frequently used components in all the areas of expertise were activity and participation (n = 98), body function and structure (n = 73), and environmental factors (n = 61). CONCLUSION: For the past six years, domestic ICF-related research has been conducted in a wider range of expertise areas on more subdivised subject groups. Continuous research, development of standardized curricula and contents, and development of coding tools are considered to be important in vitalizing the use of the ICF.

In the present study, we explored whether there are items that function differently across women and men on Tellegen’s Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire(MPQ; Tellegen, 1982; Tellegen & Waller, In Press) by using Mantel-Haenszel(MH) statistic. For the purpose of the study, we applied MHITER program to a sample of responses to the 300-item MPQ personality test. The subjects were 300 individuals(137 men and 163 women, with a mean age of 39.72). The findings of the present study are as following. Firstly, some of the MPQ scales showed significant mean differences across gender; these were Social Potency, Social Closeness, Stress Reaction, Aggression, Harm Avoidance, and Absorption scales. Secondly, six MPQ scales showed more than three items functioning differently. Among others, the Traditionalism scale had the most DIF items, which is followed by Stress Reaction, Aggression, Social Potency, Achievement, and Harm Avoidance. In conclusion, there was a non-negligible number of DIF items across gender in MPQ scales, implying that there may be many DIF items in other personality tests that are currently used. The fact that men and women differently responded to some items reflect a socio-cultural impact in their perspectives on the personality items/tests.

이 연구는 치매노인의 인지기능에 대한 음악치료 진단평가 도구인 MBECF 수정판을 번안한 K-MBECF의 타당도와 신뢰도를 검정하고자 한 것이었다. K-MBECF 개발은 한국의 문화적 특성을 고려하여 임상 전문가들 간의 토의와 2차례의 예비연구를 통해 이루어졌다. 연구방법은 2012년 8월 21일부터 2013년 2월 18일까지 치매노인 50명을 대상으로 K-MBECF와 K-MMSE 검사를 진행하였다. 연구 결과, K-MBECF와 K-MMSE의 Pearson 상관계수는 .745로 높은 공존타당도를 보였으며, K-MMSE 범주에 따른 K-MBECF의 점수 분포를 살펴본 결과, 중증 집단이 경증 및 중등도 집단보다 유의미하게 낮은 점수를 보였다. K-MBECF의 문항 신뢰도에 있어서는 Cronbach's α 계수가 .833으로 높은 내적 일치도를 보였으며, 관찰자 간 신뢰도는 93%의 일치도를 보였다. 이와 같은 결과는 K-MBECF가 한국 치매노인의 인지기능에 대한 음악치료 진단평가 도구로서 활용될 수 있음을 시사한다.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of Korean version of the Music-Based Evaluation of Cognitive Functioning(K-MBECF), which was translated from the revised version of MBECF, as a music therapy assessment tool for cognitive function of older adults with dementia. The K-MBECF has been developed in consideration of the cultural characteristics of Korea, after discussion with clinical experts and two preliminary studies. Both K-MBECF and K-MMSE tests for fifty older adults with dementia were performed during the period from Aug 21, 2012 to Feb 18, 2013. The results revealed that high concurrent validity was found between K-MBECF and K-MMSE with Pearson correlation coefficient value of .745. The examination of corresponding score distribution of K-MBECF according to K-MMSE category indicated that the severe group showed significantly lower scores compared to mild or moderate groups. The item reliability of K-MBECF showed a high internal consistency with Cronbach's α value of .833, and the inter-scorer reliability was 93%. The results obtained from this study suggested that the K-MBECF could be used as one of music therapy assessment tools for cognitive function of older adults with dementia in Korea.