Background This cross-sectional study examined the association between types of living arrangements, quality of life, and mental health of the Korean elderly. Methods We used secondary data analysis from the data of 4248 elderly people aged 65 yr or older that completed the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010-2012). Data concerning participants' demographic characteri...

This study examined spouse abuse from the ecological perspective using the data from a national sample of 20,951 couples that took the ENRICH couple inventory. ENRICH assessed three ecological areas –contextual and socio-cultural factors; individual traits and behaviors; and couple interaction processes. Using the ENRICH couple typology, devitalized couples had the highest level of abuse while ...

Previous research has consistently documented the contribution of both illness perceptions and social support to adjustment to illness. This study combines these two approaches by examining: (1) Do patient and spouse perceptions of the patient’s heart disease differ? (2) Are each partner’s perceptions of the patient’s disease associated with his/her perceptions of spouse support and undermining...

The loss of the spouse resulting from marital breakdown appears to be a central component of post-divorce distress. However, comparatively little empirical research has examined the nature of this broken bond or its impact on the divorced adult. This study tests the hypothesis that the continuing positive feelings for the ex-spouse following divorce are very salient for the individual and are r...

BACKGROUND This study aimed to investigate the association between living arrangements and influenza vaccination among elderly South Korean subjects. METHODS We used data from the fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants older than 65 years were included and categorized into 4 groups according to the type of living arrangement as follows: (1) living alone gr...

OBJECTIVE To examine the role of spouse mood in the disability and disease course of persons with rheumatoid arthritis (PWRA). METHODS A total of 133 married PWRA completed questionnaires, including the Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease Activity Index and the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand, assessing PWRA arthritis disease activity and disability, respectively, at 2 time points 1 year...

BACKGROUND The rehabilitation of depressed stroke patients is more difficult because poststroke depression is associated with disruption of daily activities, functioning, and quality of life. However, research on depression in stroke patients is limited. The aim of our study was to evaluate the interaction of demographic characteristics including gender, age, education level, the presence of a ...

OBJECTIVES To determine potential partners for pregnant women in the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV and to determine pregnant women's perceptions towards selected potential HIV prevention efforts. DESIGN Cross sectional, questionnaire-administered study. SETTING Ante-natal clinics of eleven public health centers and the major referral and university teaching hospital of Q...

We compared self- and spouse reports of snoring and other symptoms of sleep apnea syndrome ascertained from married couples in a community-based survey. Agreement between the two types of report varied between 70-98%, but was modest (kappa = -0.01-0.52) when adjusted for chance. For men, spouse reports yielded higher prevalence rates for snoring and for four other symptoms. For women, estimates...