The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between self-esteem and quality of life(QOL) and between coping type and quality of life (QOL) in mothers of handicapped children and further to identify the level of self-esteem and quality of life of the subjects. The subjects of this study were the 51 mothers of handicapped children who were registered in two special schools in Taejon. The data were collected using a questionnaire and the period of the data collection was from April 18th to May 26th, 1997. The instruments for this study were Resenberg's self-esteem scale, Folkman and Lazarus's Ways of Coping Checklist(WCC) and the quality of life scale designed by Ro, You Ja. The results were analyzed using SPSS/PC+. Data analysis included the descriptive correlational statistics of ANOVA, Pearson Correlational Coefficient, and t-test. The results are as follows : 1. The level of self-esteem showed a mean score 34.51 and the level of QOL, a mean score 137.55. An Active type of coping was used more often than a passive one. 2. The level of self-esteem differed according to monthly income and was significantly higher in mothers of children with acquired handicaps than those of children with congenital handicaps. The level of QOL differed according to monthly income. 3. There was positive correlation between health status and self-esteem(r=.355, p<.05), and between health status and QOL(r=.367, p<.01). 4. Test for hypothesis ; Hypothesis 1, "The higher the level of self-esteem in mothers of handicapped children, the higher their level of quality of life will be." was supported(r=.755, p<.001). Hypothesis 2, "The QOL level for the active coping group as compared to the passive coping group will be higher." was not supported.

It has been noted that a genetic alteration of cells influenced by unhealthy lifestyle in addition to a series of other carcinogens increases the incidence of various neoplasmic diseases. Therefore the importance of a lifestyle that minimizes such an impact on health should be emphasized. Since stomach cancer, the most common neoplasmic disease in Korea, is related to personal lifestyle and as there is a possibility of its recurrence, patients with stomach cancer need to lead a healthy lifestyle. Also the quality of life which patients experience is negatively affected by the side effects of treatments and the possibility of recurrence. Therefore an effective nursing intervention to enhance quality of life and encourage healthy lifestyle is needed. The purpose of this study is to provide a basis for nursing intervention strategies to promote health and thus enhance quality of life. A hypothetical model for this purpose was constructed based on Pender's Health Promotion Model and Becker's Health Belief Model, with the inclusion of some influential factors such as hope for quality of life and health promoting behavior. The aims of study were to: 1) evaluate the effectiveness of patient's cognitive-perceptual factors on health promoting behaviors and quality of life; 2) examine the causal relationships among perceived benefit, perceived barrier, perceived susceptibility and severity, internal locus of control, perceived health status, hope, health concept, self efficacy, self esteem, health promoting behaviors and quality of life; 3) build and test a global hypothetical model. The subjects for this study were 164 patients who were being treated for stomach cancer were approached in the outpatient clinic on a University Hospital. The data from the completed questionnaires were analyzed using Linear Structural Relationships (LISREL). The results of research are as follows: 1) Hypothetical model and the modified model showed a good fit to the empirical data, revealing considerable explanational power for health promoting behaviors(54.9%) and quality of life(87.6%) 2) Self efficacy and hope had significant effects on health promoting behaviors. Of these, hope was affected indirectly through self efficacy and self esteem. 3) Perceived health status, hope and self esteem had significant direct effect on the quality of life. Of these variables, perceived health status was the most essential factor affecting general satisfaction in life. 4) Self-efficacy, as a mediating variable, was positively affected by perceived benifit and hope. 5) Self-esteem, as a mediating variable, was positively affected by perceived health status and hope. 6) Hope was the main variable affecting self efficacy, self esteem, health promoting behaviors and quality of life. The derived model in this study could effectively be used as a reference model for further study and could suggests a direction for nursing practices.

PURPOSE: To examine the effect of the exercise therapy, and exercise-behavior modifi- cation therapy on obesity, blood lipids and self-esteem of the obese middle-aged women. METHOD: A total of 35 middle-aged women (BMI: over 30) were selected for this research. Walking at a 50% intensity was administered 4 days a week for 12 weeks, while the behavior modification therapy performed for 60~90 minutes per week for 12 weeks. RESULT: Body weight and BMI has significantly reduced in the case of EG and E.BG. The result of comparing body weight between groups showed significant difference between EG and CG, and E.BG and CG whereas BMI showed significant difference between EG and CG only. TC, TG, LDL-C, %TC/HDL-C have shown significant decrease in EG and E-BG, while HDL-C displayed significant increase in EG and E.BG. And HDL-C showed significant decrease in CG. As for comparison between groups, significant difference was noted in EG and CG, and E.BG and CG at TC, HDL-C, LDL-C, and in EG and CG at %TC/HDL-C. Self-esteem displayed significant increase in EG and E.BG; however, there was no significant different in CG. As for comparison between groups, there was significant difference noted in E.BG and CG only. CONCLUSION: The results showed that the exercise therapy and the exercise-behavior modification therapy were effective in changing obesity, blood lipids and self-esteem of the obese middle-aged women.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of the 8-week, 16-session group art therapy program on body image and self-esteem in college women. METHOD: Data collected by self-reported questionnaires from 58 college women in Inchon who were selected by criteria of this study, from the 6 of March to 10 of May, 2002. The 11 experimental group participated in a 8-week group art therapy program. Descriptive statistics, homogeneity test, hypothesis, and reliability test were performed statistically by utilizing SPSS PC+ 8.0 program. RESULT: 1. 'The experimental group showed significantly higher scores in body image than the comparison group. 2. No significant differences were found between two groups in self-esteem. CONCLUSION: The findings showed the possibility of applying group art therapy as an effective intervention for clients with negative body image to improve their body image.

PURPOSE: This study was to identify and clarify the relationship between perceived health, self-esteem, and self-care agencies for promoting self care among Korean adolescents. METHOD: Data were collected from 817 adolescents in schools located in Seoul, Kyungki-do, and Chuncheon from Sept, 16th to Sept, 28th, 1999, and from Mar 10th to Mar 25th, 2000. The instruments used for this study were the Health Self-Rating Scale, Self-Care Agency Assessment Questionnaire (Denyes, 1981), the Self-Esteem Questionnaire (Rosenberg, 1971). RESULT: 1) The mean perceived health status among Korean adolescents was 8.75 (SD=1.72) 2) The mean self-esteem was 27.27 (SD=4.64). 3) The mean self-care agency was 99.64 (SD=21.02) and the average self-care agency score was 3.99 (SD=0.84). In the subcategories, the highest degree was feelings towards health (4.15), followed by ego strength (4.06), attending to health (3.87), general health knowledge (3.56), and the lowest degree was specific health knowledge (3.20) 4) There was statistical significant differences between demographic factors and self-care agencies, expecially, gender (t=28.65), grade (F=3.79), pocket money (t=5.72), and height (F=9.82) 5) The statistical relationship between perceived health status, self-esteem, and self-care agencies were found to have a positive correlation. 6) Self-care agencies among adolescents was the highest factor predicting self-esteem (15%). CONCLUSION: The relationship between perceived health status, self-esteem, and self-care agencies revealed a significant positive correlation among adolescents. Therefore, nursing intervention for adolescents needs to develop self-esteem programs to increase self-care agencies.

This research was performed to investigate the effectiveness of self-esteem promotion program(SEPP) to adolescents with minor delinquency on self-esteem and mental health. Samples of this study were 36 adolescents with signs of minor delinquency in the third grade of middle schools who reside in K city. Data analysis was conducted by chi-square test which tests the general homogeneity between the experiment group and the control group. To test hypothesis how SEPP affects on self-esteem, mental health, and delinquency, paired t-test was performed. The results were summarized as follow; 1. After the experimental treatment, self-esteem score was not statistically significant. 2. After the experimental treatment, mental health score was statistically significant. 3. After the experimental treatment, self reported delinquency score was statistically significant. As the result of this research, the SEPP increased the degree of mental health and decreased that of delinquency of the adolescents who committed minor delinquency. Self-esteem is difficult to be changed by itself in number for a short time, but there is potential effect, which can be expected the preceding changes of mental health and behavior of participants.

PURPOSE: This study was designed to identify degrees of self-esteem, health status, and life satisfaction in elderly women and investigate the relationship between these factors. The results will contribute to effective nursing intervention for promoting the quality of life for elderly women.
METHOD
The subjects of this study included 129 elderly women. The data was collected through personal interviews using questionnaires from Nov. to Dec. of 2000. The measurement tools were the self-esteem scale developed by Rosenberg and translated by Byong-Je Jong (1974), the health status scale developed by Young Ja Lee (1989), and the life satisfaction scale developed by Jin Youn (1982). The data was analyzed by the SPSS computer program, and it included descriptive statistics, x2-test, t-test and the pearson correlation coefficient.
RESULT
The conclusions of this study are summarized as follows: 1. There was a significant difference in age (x2=12.952, p=.000), religion (x2=6.140, p=.000), spending money (x2=.7.511, p= .000), living expenses load (x2=16.189, p= .000), and the major support provider (x2=6.539, p=.000), according to general characteristics in the existence elderly women. 2. There was a significant difference in self-esteem (t=7.05, P=.000), Health status (t=-10.09, P=.000), and life satisfaction (t=6.62, P=.000) between the two groups. 3. There was a significant positive correlation between self-esteem and health status (r=.406, P=.000), self-esteem and life satisfaction (r=.524, P=.000), and health status and life satisfaction (r=.504, P= .0000) in elderly women.

The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of the 8-week, 15-session group art therapy program on self-esteem and mental health status in chronic schizophrenic inpatients. The sample consisted of two groups of chronic schizophrenic inpatients: 10 patients with an average of total disease duration of 8.90 years who participated in a 8-week group art therapy program, and 8 comparison subjects with an average of total disease duration of 8.25 years who did not participate in the program. A pretest-posttest quasiexperimental design was used to assess self-esteem and mental health status at the beginning and at the end of the 8-week, 15-session group art therapy program. The time points for obtaining data were matched for both groups. The effectiveness of the 8-week group art therapy program was assessed by Rosenberg's Self-esteem Scale(Rosenberg, 1965) and SCL-90- R(Derogatis et al., 1973). SPSSWIN 8.0 was utilized for data entry and analysis employing Mann-Whitney U test. The findings of the study indicated the followings: (a) No significant differences were found between two groups in self-esteem and (b) The experimental group showed significantly lower scores in obsessive-compulsive symptom dimension and interpersonal sensitivity symptom dimension on the SCL-90-R than the comparison group after participating in the group art therapy program. In conclusion, the findings showed the possibility of applying group art therapy as an effective nursing intervention for patients with lack of verbal communication skills and social interaction to improve their interpersonal relationship.

Although healthy lifestyle have been proved as an effective way of improving higher well-beings for individuals, researches on health -promoting behaviors of minority elderly with a specific ethnic heritage have been sparsely tried. This study was designed to explore health-promoting lifestyle patterns of Korean immigrant elderly living in Seattle. USA and its relationships with two associated elderly were recruited from two senior centers and interviewed with a structured questionnaire. Data were collected from October 1998 to January 1999, and analyzed using SPSS program through which t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson Correlation Coefficients were tested. As the results, the mean HPLP score of the Korean immigrant elderly was 2.54 (SD =.36), showing significant differences by education (F=3.61, P=.016), economic status (F=3.01, P=.034), and current health status (F=3.69, P=.008). In self-esteem, two socioecomic variables showed statistical association with self-esteem; martial status (t= 2.47, P=.015) and living situation (F= 4.03, P= .021). The HPLP subscales that showed higher mean scores were nutrition (M=3.01, SD= .52) and interpersonal support (M= 2.65, SD= .47) while lower mean scores were detected in the domain of excercise (M= 1.92, SD= .74) and stress management (M= 2.26, SD= .47). Perceived health status revealed significant positive correlation with health-promoting lifestyle patterns (r= .19, P=.043) and self-esteem (r= .19, P= .043) and self-esteem (r= .32, P= .001) in the present study. It is concluded that engagement in health-promoting lifestyle patterns should be actively encouraged to enhance personal health of Korean immigrant elderly. Developing health promotion programs focused on exercise and stress management is also imperatively suggested not only for better health practices of Korean immigrant elderly population but also for enhancing their level of well-beings and life satisfaction.

Koreans rarely complain of depression or other psychological problems because mental illness is viewed as a stigmatizing and threatening experience. This study examined the relationships among stressful life events, close relationships, self-esteem, and depression in 400 college women aged 18 to 30 years. Depression was positively related to stressful life events(r=.21 p=<.01). Depression and stressful life events were negatively associated with self-esteem(r=-.67: r=-.11, p<.01; p<.05 respectively). Close relationships with women and men friends were each negatively associated with depression (r=-.24; r=-.16, p<.05). Close relationships with women and men friends were positively associated with self-esteem (r=.23; r=.20, p<.01). Forty nine percent of variance in depression rates in this sample was explained. After adjustment for degrees of freedom, a total of 49% of the variance in depression was explained by self-esteem and stressful life event. This investigation into the relationships among the variables influencing depression for college women is a critical issue as health professional interventions are those designed for specific populations to meet unique care needs and since young Korean women may be at considerable risk for depression.

This is a descriptive study on quality of life(QOL) and related factors of ostomates to provide a basic data for development of nursing interventions. The subjects were 110 ostomates who were members of the Daegu or Daejon branches of the Korean Ostomy Association. Data collection was performed between March 1st and April 6th, 1998. Measurements of QOL, self-care, family support, self-esteem, and hope were used as the study tools. Data were analyzed with the SAS program by using t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation and stepwise multiple regression. The results are as follows : 1) The score on the QOL scale ranged from 97 to 226 with a mean of 164.53(+/-28.29). 2) The score of QOL on the general and ostomate-related characteristic showed significant differences according to monthly income, monthly participation in ostomate meetings, combined treatments after operation, types of evacuation management, problems of ostomy, help in caring for the ostomy, length of time since ostomate surgery, and presence or absence of readmission after discharge. 3) There were significant positive correlations between quality in life and other factors ; self-esteem(r=0.7107, P<0.001), hope(r=0.6584, P<0.001) family support(r=0.6191, P<0.001), perception of health condition(r=0.6017, P<0.001), and self-care(r=0.2286, P<0.05). 4) The variables that affected the quality of life of the subjects were self-esteem, level of family support, perception of health condition, monthly participation in ostomate meetings, combined treatments after operation, monthly income, level of hope, and age in that order. The variance of quality of life was R2=77.20 percent by calculating the sum of those variables. In conclusion, it is necessary for nursing intervention to promote self-esteem, family support, and hope in the care of ostomates in order to improve QOL.

The increased potential for the lifespan of a child with cancer is largely due to advance in drug treatment, radiation treatment, and surgical techniques. In this generation cancer has become associated with chronic illness. Therefore supportive nursing intervention for children with cancer is needed to promote normal growth and development. This study was designed to develop and test the supportive nursing intervention program for promoting body image and self-esteem of children with cancer. The supportive nursing intervention program involved emotional, physical, informational, and social support. The subjects were 41 children with cancer(20 in intervention group, 21 in control group) in K city. Measurements were taken concerning body image and self-esteem from both groups during pre and post test. The data were analyzed using Cronvach's alpha, x2-test, paired t-test and t-test. The results were as follows: The intervention group had a more positive body image as measured by the Body Cathexis Scale(t=2.436, p=.020) and a more self esteem as measured by the Cpopersmith self-inventory (t=2.768, p=.009) than the control group at post test. According to this study, the supportive nursing intervention program was effective for promoting the body image and self-esteem of children with cancer. Repeated research is needed to develop a refined supportive nursing intervention program for children with chronic illness.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Drug abuse is one of the most serious problems among the Korean adolescents today and has been associated with delinquent behavior in adolescents. The number of adolescents who abuse drugs is increasing yearly. Solutions to the problem, however, have not been well developed. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a drug use prevention program which was developed by researchers. The program was a modified DARE(Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program for Korean adolescents. MEHTODS: This study used an experimental, one-group pretest-posttest design with a convenience sample of 122 middle school students who were at one middle school located in Seoul. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire where 'knowledge and attitude about drug use', 'social skill', and 'self-esteem' were measured. The program had 12 sessions to improve knowledge and attitudes towards drugs, decision making skills, social resistance skills, management of stress and self-esteem of students. Teaching strategies for each session were varied : lectures, group discussion, role-playing, question-and-answer sessions and audiovisual materials. Paired t-test was used to analyze the differences between the pre- and post-test scores on knowledge of and attitudes towards drug use, social skills, and self-esteem. RESULTS: There were significant differences in knowledge and attitudes about drug use between pretest and post-test(p<.05), but no significant differences in social skill and self-esteem(p>.05). CONCLUSION: Our results showed that the drug use prevention program was not effective in promoting social-skill and self-esteem of Korean adolescents. These findings might be due to the respondents being in the period of early adolescence(puberty) and not being good at group discussion. So, further study is needed to develop a drug use prevention program appropriate to students 9 and 10 years old, and to encourage small group discussion.

This study was designed to identify degrees of self-esteem, instrumental activities of daily living and life satisfaction in the elderly and to investigate the relationship between these factors thus contributing to effective nursing interventions to promote quality of life for both noninstitutionalized and institutionalized elderly. The subjects for this study included 130 noninstitutionalized and institutionalized elderly. The data were collected through personal interviews using a questionnaire, the time being from August 25 to September 7, 1997. The measurement tools were the Self-esteem Scale Developed by Rosenberg and translated by Jon, Byong Je(1974), the IADL scale developed by Lawton and Brody(1968). and the Life Satisfaction developed by Youn, Jin(1982). The data were analyzed by the S.P.S.S computer program and included descriptive statistics, t-test, One was ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient. The conclusions of this study are summarized as follows ; 1. There was a significant difference in Self-Esteem(t=7.05, P=.000). IADL(t=4.36, P=.000). and Life Satisfaction(t=6.63, P=.000) between the noninstitutionalized elderly and the institutionalized elderly. 2. There was a significant positive correlation between self-esteem and IADL(gamma=.4028). self-esteem and life satisfaction(gamma=.6415). and IADL and life satisfaction(gamma=.3884) in the noninstitutionalized elderly(P<.001). and between self-esteem and life satisfaction(gamma=.3883, P<.001). IADL and life satisfaction(gamma=.2501, P<.05) in the institutionalized elderly. 3. According to the general characteristics of the noninstitutionalized and institutionalized elderly : Self-Esteem of the noninstitutionalized elderly was significantly different, according to educational level(F=4.491, P=.031). job(F=2.53, P=.014). living expense load(F=2.861, P=.044). and self-esteem, and of the institutionalized elderly, it was significantly different according to educational level only(F=4.480, P=.006). IADL of the noninstitutionalized elderly was significantly different according to age(F=3.018, P=.021). living expense load(F=3.084, P=.033). pocket money(F=3.606, P=.010). and for the institutionalized elderly, it was significantly different according to age(F=2.899, P=.042), and religion(F=2.847, P=.044). Life Satisfaction of the noninstitutionalized elderly(F=2.718, P=.037) and institutionalized elderly(F=3.165, P=.030) was significantly different according to pocket money.