A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in South Korea

Although psychologists have emphasized the importance of considering clients’ various cultural backgrounds and researching various populations, research is still overly focused on participants from English-speaking countries like the United States and Western countries. Numerous studies evaluating Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) have been published in South Korea. However, most of the studies are still unknown to English-speaking research communities because of language differences. In order to promote cross-cultural communication of study findings, the current study reviewed treatment research from South Korea. After searching for Korean ACT studies using Korean electronic databases, 62 studies were selected, and each study’s treatment outcome and characteristics were reviewed. To examine the effectiveness of ACT in South Korea, the outcomes were quantified and analyzed statistically. To explore how ACT was adapted to Korean culture, the treatment protocols were reviewed. The overall results indicated that ACT has been found effective for various psychosocial problems in South Korea. Furthermore, the review of ACT protocols revealed that therapy content was minimally adapted to Korean populations. Further research is needed to investigate the effects of cultural adaptation of ACT in South Korea

School-Based Mental Health Services for Racial Minority Children in the United States

Racial minority children have been an underserved population and are particularly vulnerable due to limited access to community resources, especially mental health services. Schools have been noted as appropriate that environment to deliver services for underserved children (Blewett, Casey, & Call, 2004). However, little is known about the effectiveness of exiting school-based services targeting minority students. Therefore, this study reviewed past research regarding the effects of school-based mental health services (SBMHS) for racial minority children and analyzed the methodological and cultural features. By applying the Levels of Evidence-Based Intervention Effectiveness (LEBIE) scale and the cultural sensitivity criteria, the researchers examined whether existing SBMS were designed with rigor and cultural sensitivity. Our study analyzed the effects of SBMS with child-centered play therapy or resilience-building programs on mental illness of racial minority groups of children, such as increasing social connectedness and decreasing depressive symptoms. Our study findings implied that SBMS should be provided for students of color who have limited access to resources and health care services in their communities. School professionals also need to reach out in multiple contexts to students of color by understanding structural racism and oppression

The Effects of Using Expressive Intervention in Group Counseling on Acculturative Stress and Depressive Symptoms among Korean Immigrant Women in South and Central Texas :a n experimental study

This study evaluated the relationship between acculturative stress and depressive symptoms in Korean immigrant women and evaluated the use of expressive group counseling interventions for these women\u27s acculturative stress and depressive symptoms. Participants were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. The intervention group received a total of four sessions of expressive group counseling interventions while the control group was asked to color pictures at home. Pearson correlations found statically significant relationships between acculturative stress and depressive symptoms in Korean immigrant women. The results of a one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) indicated no statistically significant difference in the effect of expressive group counseling on the acculturative stress between the intervention and control groups. However, ANCOVA indicated a statistically significant difference in the effect of expressive group counseling on the depressive symptoms between the intervention and control groups

Cultural Considerations for Music Therapists Working with Immigrant Korean Elders in America: A Literature Review

This literature review aims to introduce Korean cultural context to music therapists with little to no experience working with immigrant Korean elders and explore within the literature on the music therapy theory the possibilities of better serving immigrant Korean elders in America. This paper is intended to act as a recommendation for music therapists to be able to better serve immigrant Korean elders within their practice through cultural considerations and other key topics. Five key topics are explored: (a) culture and cultural sensitivity, (b) characteristics of Korean culture, (c) Korean traditional therapeutic music, (d) immigrant Korean elders and the issues they face, and (e) music therapy approaches for immigrant Korean elders. In addition, this literature review offers relevant recommendations based on personal experiences as well as supplementary research and observations made within said experiences

Educational expectations and suicide risk among university students in the western Pacific

Izzat investigated the link between educational expectations and suicide ideation among students in higher education. He argues that a student autonomy is key in determining whether high educational expectations leads to positive or negative psychological outcomes. His findings expands suicide research among youths and informs suicide prevention efforts

Acquiescence bias: exploring the applicability of ipsative scoring and acquiescence modeling

Acquiescence bias, defined as the tendency to agree with an item irrespective of the content is an important methodological issue in cross-cultural psychological research. The present study compared two methods to control for acquiescence bias, namely ipsatizing and modeling an acquiescence factor using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Simulated data sets are being used to compare raw data estimation methods, ipsative estimation methods and the acquiescence modeling method on how well they can reproduce the true theoretical correlations between underlying factors of an uncorrelated bidimensional model. Three conditions were manipulated: factor strength, acquiescence strength and factor intercorrelation. Depending on the specific model conditions, correlations and CFA using raw data and ipsative estimation methods show big under- or overestimations. The acquiescence modeling method reproduces the true theoretical correlations very well, irrespective of the specific conditions. Estimating relationships between constructs by means of acquiescence modeling in CFA is much more widely applicable than previously thought and is advised, even when unbalanced item sets are used to measure constructs

Complex Trauma Exposure and Psychological Outcomes in Incarcerated Juvenile Offenders

This study examined the extent to which the lifetime traumatic and stressful experiences of incarcerated youths cluster in meaningful and understandable ways. It also evaluated the differential effects of various types of these events on a variety of psychosocial outcomes for this population. The sample consisted of 185 incarcerated male and female adolescents (ages 12-19). Confirmatory factor analysis results suggested that an empirically-derived model based on negative event type (i.e., Community Violence, Interpersonal trauma/stress, and Loss) better predicted how negative life events group together on the Adolescent Stress and Trauma Exposure Questionnaire -Version 2 (ASTEQ-2) than the model based on a traditional framework of traumatic versus less severe stressful events in this population. Further, the empirically-derived factors varied substantially in their ability to uniquely predict different psychosocial outcomes, assessed with the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSC-C) and the Structured Interview for Disorders of Extreme Stress, Adolescent version (SIDES-A). For example, the Interpersonal trauma/stress factor accounted for substantially more unshared variance than other factors in TSC-C Depression and Posttraumatic stress outcomes, while the Community Violence factor accounted for substantially more unshared variance than other factors in TSC-C Anger and SIDES-A Self-Destructive Behavior outcomes. Results both partially support prior research, while also exposing its limitations with regard to the inappropriate generalization of a culturally bound trauma framework to traditionally marginalized adolescent populations

Making Meaning of the Family\u27s Immigrant Experience, Distress, and Help-Seeking: A Critical Inquiry of Mental Health Support for Second-Generation Korean Americans

The Korean American community is a predominantly immigrant population with a long history of historical and cultural trauma, including the continued losses, hardships, and violence endured through the immigration process, that continues to impact the well-being and functioning of individuals and families today. Second-generation Korean Americans play critical roles in establishing and maintaining the livelihoods and security of their immigrant families; however, they have been underrepresented and under-researched within the literature on immigration and its effects on the mental health and help-seeking patterns of this population. Although there is strong evidence for the influence of culture in the intergenerational patterns of poor mental health service utilization amongst Korean Americans, there have been no studies to date investigating what specific cultural factors are at work and how they impact the help- seeking patterns and behaviors of second-generation Korean Americans. This qualitative study is a critical inquiry of the cultural determinants of help-seeking by examining the meaning-making process developed out of the family immigration narratives of 12 second-generation Korean Americans. Results indicate a strong connection between the family’s immigrant experience and help-seeking behaviors of second-generation Korean Americans through the activation of unique sociocultural schemas. Findings suggest the presence of specific trauma patterns embedded within the Korean American immigrant experience with significant intergenerational effects. Recommendations for clinical application and future research are provided

Comparison of International Art Therapy Projects: Purpose, Training, and Practice of Art Therapy in Developing and Transitioning Countries

Around the world, art therapy varies in its definition, training process, purpose, and theoretical approach. Furthermore, there is a limited amount of research on international art therapy projects, particularly in developing and transitioning countries. The variations within the field and the limited amount of research make it challenging for art therapists to engage in international art therapy work. An integrative, systematic literature review was conducted to gain an understanding of varying training processes, purposes, and implementations of art therapy in developing and transitioning countries. Contemporary research articles on international art therapy projects were found and integrated in order to create a guiding framework to inform future art therapy projects in these nations. Overall, twenty countries were included in this literature review. The resulting definition of art therapy provides a guiding framework for future work in these areas. This framework includes a crisis intervention theoretical orientation and community-oriented structure. The art therapy approach is studio art therapy with an emphasis on indigenous art making and sustainable art materials. The guiding framework also promotes the training of local community members to utilize art therapy interventions and stresses the importance of avoiding power dynamics that further marginalize oppressed communities