Individuals in this sample were at least 14 times more likely to be victims of a violent crime than to be arrested for one. In general, the risk associated with being in the community was higher than the risk these individuals posed to the community

A family intervention model designed to meet the unique sociocultural needs of Asian-American schizophrenia patients and their families is proposed. This five-stage model consists of: preparation, engagement, psychoeducational (i.e., survivor skills) workshop, family sessions, and an ending stage. Guidelines and specific suggestions for implementing each of these stages are offered as a means of dealing effectively With Asian Americans' differential value orientations and cultural characteristics.

The purpose of this study was (1) to identify the demographic and psychosocial characteristics of Korean-Americans with schizophrenia, and (2) to compare the demographic and psychosocial characteristics of Korean-Americans with schizophrenia to African-American, Latino, and Euro-American individuals with schizophrenia. Based on current models of psychosocial functioning in schizophrenia, four dimensions--clinical status, functional status, subjective experience, and community risk--were examined and compared across the ethnic groups. Data on 223 individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia who were Korean-American (n = 40), Euro-American (n = 95), African-American (n = 60), and Latino (n = 28) were gathered in face-to-face interviews. All of the subjects were engaged in outpatient treatment. After controlling for sociodemographic variables, the main findings were as follows: (1) while the Korean-Americans were the least acculturated, their symptom levels and clinical status were highly comparable with those of the other ethnic groups; (2) based on living situation, family contact, social functioning, activities of daily living, and vocational data, the Korean-Americans showed a stronger familial orientation, lower social initiation, and higher affiliative qualities than other groups; (3) the Korean-American sample had comparable levels of self-esteem but reported lower satisfaction with life than the other ethnic groups. Minority status did not confound these findings. It is concluded that the psychosocial profile of the Korean-Americans was strongly influenced by their traditional and collectivistic cultural orientation. At the same time, the lower levels of life satisfaction could indicate that they experience difficulties in adjusting to Western society. Considering the Korean-Americans' strong tendency to maintain a collectivistic cultural orientation, mental health services need to be congruent with their cultural expectations. Interventions should also identify risk factors associated with lower life satisfaction. Several research implications are discussed.

The present study examined the longitudinal measurement invariance of the Korean version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale. For this purpose, two datasets from the Korean Welfare Panel Study were analyzed. Study 1 examined the data from the first four waves to determine the scale’s short-term longitudinal invariance. Study 2 extracted data every 3 years up to the 10th year, beginning with the first wave (waves 1, 4, 7, and 10) to examine the scale’s long-term longitudinal invariance. We analyzed 10,098 cases in Study 1 and 7,077 cases in Study 2. The results of Study 1 revealed that the scale had strict or residual measurement invariance, whereas the results of Study 2 indicated that the scale had strong or scalar measurement invariance. Overall, the Korean version of the CES-D-11 scale was shown to be a valid measure of depression that can be used to evaluate symptom changes over time.

The purpose of this study was to investigate cross-ethnic variations in prospective treatment outcomes over a period of 12 months from community-based psychosocial rehabilitation interventions for people with schizophrenia. Data were pooled from two similar studies of psychosocial rehabilitation for clients with schizophrenia conducted in the same urban settings. The final sample consisted of 226 people diagnosed with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder, consisting of 108 (48%) white subjects, 81 (36%) African American subjects, and 37 (16%) Latino subjects. Main analyses were performed using hierarchical linear modeling. Analyses indicated that both study groups demonstrated statistically significant rehabilitative improvement over a period of 12 months. Although African American subjects had a significantly slower rate of improvement (compared with white subjects) in social functioning, analyses in several other outcome domains generally revealed that all three ethnic groups showed similar change trajectories over time, with no additional ethnic-related differences reaching statistical significance. With the exception of slower social improvement for African Americans, the findings from this study suggest that community-based psychosocial rehabilitation interventions did not result in significantly poorer outcomes for the ethnic minority groups examined. Several important implications are discussed.

Purpose: This study investigated the effects of psychosocial rehabilitation programs provided by a psychosocial rehabilitation center on the levels of self-efficacy for mentally disabled persons. We followed the study subjects for 2 yr in order to examine whether the psychosocial rehabilitation programs had a positive impact on their levels of self-efficacy. Methods: There were 18 subjects in the experimental group and they received all the psychosocial rehabilitation services available at the psychosocial rehabilitation center for 2 yr. In the comparison group, there were 17 participants who voluntarily refused to participate in the psychosocial rehabilitation programs. Results: The results indicated that the psychosocial rehabilitation programs were effective in increasing the levels of the self-efficacy total score and specific self-efficacy score. Conclusion:The overall study results indicated that psychosocial rehabilitation programs provided by a psychosocial rehabilitation center had a positive impact on increasing the levels of self-efficacy for mentally disabled persons.