The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.
Authors’ contribution
Conceptualization: So Hee Lee, Won Woong Lee. Data curation: So Hee Lee, Haewoo Lee, Jin Yong Jun. Formal analysis: Jin-Won Noh, Kyoung-Beom Kim. Funding acquisition: So Hee Lee. Investigation: So Hee Lee, Hae-Woo Lee, Jin Yong Jun. Writing—original draft: So Hee Lee, Jin-Won Noh. Writing—review & editing: Won Woong Lee.
Variable | N (%) | Statistics | p-value |
---|---|---|---|
Sex | -1.500 | 0.135 | |
Male | 55 (18.3) | ||
Female | 245 (81.7) | ||
Age | 17.730 | <0.001 | |
19 to 29 | 30 (10.0) | ||
30 to 39 | 28 (9.3) | ||
40 to 49 | 68 (22.7) | ||
50 to 59 | 75 (25.0) | ||
60 or higher | 99 (33.0) | ||
Education level in NK* (min=0; max=20) | 10.6 (2.9) | -0.025 | 0.665 |
Marital status | 6.300 | 0.002 | |
Never married | 75 (25.0) | ||
Married or cohabited | 90 (30.0) | ||
Divorced, separated, or widowed | 135 (45.0) | ||
Duration of stay years in SK* (min=0; max=24) | 6.8 (4.4) | -0.036 | 0.532 |
Exposure to human trafficking in emigration process | -4.012 | <0.001 | |
Unexposed | 170 (56.7) | ||
Exposed | 130 (43.3) | ||
Exposure to inhumane treatment by the NK authority | -5.642 | <0.001 | |
Unexposed | 157 (52.3) | ||
Exposed | 143 (47.7) | ||
Experience of imprisonment in NK* (min=0; max=7) | 0.4 (0.9) | 0.202 | <0.001 |
PCL-5 scores* (min=0; max=80) | 35.9 (22.9) | N/A | N/A |
Unit=year. PTSD as a dependent variable (predictors: number of experiences of imprisonment in North Korea, exposure to inhumane treatment such as beating by the NK authority, frequency of experiences of imprisonment in North Korea. *exposure to inhumane treatment such as beating by the NK authority). SE: standard error, CI: confidence interval, ref: reference, N/A: not applicable, NK: North Korea, SK: South Korea, PTSD symptoms: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms scores on the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5)