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Depressive symptoms in elementary school children in Jeju Island, Korea: prevalence and correlates

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Abstract

We investigated the prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms in elementary school children in Jeju Island, Korea. The study participants were 2305 children enrolled in elementary schools in Jeju-si, Seogwipo-si, Namjeju-gun, and Bukjeju-gun and their parents who completed questionnaires about sociodemographics, health habits, family relationship information, and the Korean form of the Kovac’s children’s depression inventory (CDI) in September to December 2005. Multiple logistic regression showed that higher age (OR = 1.259, 95% CI 1.098–1.445), short time spent developing a relationship with the mother (OR = 2.770, 95% CI 1.280–5.944), and a low level of body image satisfaction (OR = 3.397, 95% CI 1.823–6.330) were correlates of depressive symptoms in children. Our results suggest that the following are essential to prevent depressive symptoms in elementary school children in Jeju, Korea: advanced education and social activity programs at home, in school, and in the community to help children have a positive self-image, and much time spent building a relationship with the mother.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Cheju National University, #1 ara-1dong, Jeju, 690-756, South Korea

    Young-Sook Kwak MD, PhD, Chang-In Lee MD, PhD, Ji-Hyun Moon, Eun-Mi Seok, Yun-Hee Jang BSc, Min-Jeong Park MD, Ju-Yeon Hong RN & Moon-Doo Kim MD, PhD

  2. Department of Preventive Medicine, Institute of Medical Science, College of Medicine, Cheju National University, #1 ara-1dong, Jeju, 690-756, South Korea

    Seong-Chul Hong MD, PhD & Yong-Beom Kim MD, MSc

  3. Department of Computer Engineering, NCSU, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA

    Young-Ja Song PhD

  4. Oe-do Primary School, # 235-1 Oe-do 2-dong, Jeju, 690-192, South Korea

    In-Cheol Kim MST

  5. Seogwipo Dae-Sin Middle School, #136 Gangjung-dong, Seogwipo, 697-801, South Korea

    Seok-Ho Moon BSc

  6. Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University Hospital, # 600 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Sang-Hee Lee MD, MSc

  7. Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Cheju National University, #1 ara-1dong, Jeju, 690-756, South Korea

    Hyeon Ju Kim MD, MSc

Authors
  1. Young-Sook Kwak MD, PhD
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  2. Chang-In Lee MD, PhD
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  3. Seong-Chul Hong MD, PhD
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  4. Young-Ja Song PhD
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  5. In-Cheol Kim MST
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  6. Seok-Ho Moon BSc
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  7. Ji-Hyun Moon
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  8. Eun-Mi Seok
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  9. Yun-Hee Jang BSc
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  10. Min-Jeong Park MD
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  11. Ju-Yeon Hong RN
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  12. Yong-Beom Kim MD, MSc
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  13. Sang-Hee Lee MD, MSc
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  14. Hyeon Ju Kim MD, MSc
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  15. Moon-Doo Kim MD, PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Moon-Doo Kim MD, PhD.

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Kwak, YS., Lee, CI., Hong, SC. et al. Depressive symptoms in elementary school children in Jeju Island, Korea: prevalence and correlates. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 17, 343–351 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-008-0675-y

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