title: Mental health and PTSD in female North Korean refugees.
abstract: This study was conducted to identify mental health status, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and psychophysiological change in female North Korean refugees. Data were collected using questionnaires and symptom checklists that measured PTSD and the psychosomatic state of the subjects. As many as 97 subjects, who had settled in and around Seoul, South Korea, were selected by snowball sampling. Mental health and PTSD levels of the participants were above a moderate level. We conclude that health care professionals need to provide female North Korean defectors with services to improve mental health and make the sociocultural transition successfully.
authors.affiliation: a Red Cross College of Nursing, Chung-Ang University , Seoul , South Korea.
authors.forename: Gisoo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Suk Jeong
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D056911:Democratic People's Republic of Korea / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D012036:Refugees / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires