The purpose of this study was to determine whether a relaxing music was effective in reducing stress response of patients admitted to a coronary care unit with the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction.

The research design was the chosen convenience sample of a randomized control group pre-posttest quasi- experimental design. Forty patients, 20 for an experimental group and another 20 for control group. The study was to provide the patients three different kinds of relaxing music. The experimental group listened to relaxing music for a 20-minute one time a day for 3days. The control group was just provided with a 20-minute period of rest. Test for hypothesis was done by repeated measured ANOVA.

The experimental group which received relaxing music showed a significantly lower level of electrodermal response, myocardial oxygen consumption and respiration rate, and a higher level of peripheral skin temperature than the control group. The experimental group which received relaxing music showed a significant reduction in state anxiety than the control group.

The results showed that relaxing music is an effective nursing intervention for reducing physiologic and psychologic stress response of the patients with acute myocardial infarction in a critical intensive care unit.

The study was done to identify the construct validity and reliability of the life transition scale (LTS) for parents who have children with autism.

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmative factor analysis (CFA) were conducted to identify the most adequate measurement model for structural validity. Convergent validity and discriminant validity were also conducted for structural validity. Data were collected from 208 parents through self-reported questionnaires and analyzed with SPSS/WIN 15.0 and AMOS 20.0 version.

A four factor-structure was validated (χ²=541.23, p<.001, GFI=.82, RMSEA=.07, IFI=.89, CFI=.89, PNFI=.73, Q (χ²/df)=2.20) at the 3rd order of EFA and CFA, and factors were named as denying, wandering, despairing, and accepting. Both convergent and determinant validity for LTS were 100%. Cronbach's alphas for the reliability of each structure were .77-.90 and .83 for total structure.

The four structures, 24-item instrument showed satisfactory reliability and validity. LTS has the potential to be appropriate for assessing the transition process of life for parents who have children with autism and provides basic directions for differentiated support and care at each stage.

The purpose of this research was to develop a scale to measure the life transition process of parents of children with autism, against the backdrop of a lack of research on this topic.

Seventy preliminary items were drawn from previous qualitative research, and content validity was tested by three professors as well as three parents of children with autism. A questionnaire survey was also done between August 2011 and February 2012. Data were collected from 207 parents of children with autism and analyzed using descriptive statistics, item analysis, Cronbach's alpha, Pearson correlation coefficients, and factor analysis with the SPSS Win 15.0 program.

Twenty-nine items were selected to constitute the appropriate measuring scale and categorized into 5 factors explaining 63.2% of the total variance. The 5 factors were named; stages of denial (5 items), wandering (6 items), devotion (7 items), frustration (3 items), and finally acceptance (8 items). Cronbach's alpha for the 29 items was .80.

The results of this study not only suggest assessment criteria for the life transition process of parents who have children with autism but also provide basic directions for program development to provide differentiated support and care at each stage.

While there are a number of studies on children with disabilities, there have been few studies on mothers of children with autism. The purpose of this study was to explore the process of life transition of mothers who have children with autism.

From June 2007 to May 2009, the researcher interviewed 15 mothers of children with autism living in Seoul City, Gyeonggi or Chonbuk Provinces, and then analyzed the data gathered using the constant comparative method of grounded theory.

"Living together holding a string of fate" was a core category showing along the continuum of life. The basic social process of life transition encompassed 5 stages: stages of denying, wandering, devoting, mind controlling, and finally accepting. These five stages proceeded in phases, though returned back to the wandering stage occasionally.

This study has opened the door to understanding how mothers of children with autism experienced life transition. The findings suggest that differentiated support and care at each stage should be given and there is the need to develop transition assessment tools for mothers of children with autism.