https://dspace.ewha.ac.kr/handle/2015.oak/171593 Sun, 15 Nov 2026 22:20:13 GMT 2026-11-15T22:20:13Z https://dspace.ewha.ac.kr/handle/2015.oak/276808 Title: Same Word, Different Focuses: A Comparative Study of Health-Related News in the U.S. and Korea Ewha Authors: 안순태; 이하나 Abstract: The news media serves as a significant channel through which stigma can be perpetuated, particularly with linguistic tool that create stigmatizing frames when reporting on health issues. During the COVID-19 crisis that impacted both the U.S. and Korea, we conducted a content analysis to examine how online health news from these two countries addresses the issue of stigma. Our analysis specifically focused on articles that mention the term stigma, comparing the contexts and cues that either perpetuated or challenged stigmatizing narratives. We paid close attention to whether these cues were presented as the main focus or merely as incidental topics within the articles. The findings revealed a notable difference between the two countries; U.S. news primarily focused on stigmatized subjects when referencing the term stigma, while Korean news more incidentally mentioned stigmatized subjects in relation to the term stigma. In conclusion, our findings offer insights for improving digital media reporting and shaping public perception to reduce health-related stigma. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://dspace.ewha.ac.kr/handle/2015.oak/276808 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://dspace.ewha.ac.kr/handle/2015.oak/276779 Title: Power Ownership Matters, Not Political Orientation: Sources and Responsibility Attributions of Fake News in Media Articles around Two Presidential Elections in Korea Ewha Authors: 이건호 Abstract: This study examines the political status and identities of sources and responsibility attributions of fake news in media articles covering the two recent Korean presidential elections, which saw the election of candidates of different political orientations. Results of quantitative content analysis for 746 stories from four nationwide news outlets showed that power ownership (ruling vs. opposing), rather than political orientation (conservative vs. progressive), better explained the variations in source appearance. In general, regardless of ideological orientation, sources associated with ruling parties blamed fake news more than those from opposing parties. The presidents and nominatives from the ruling party, as well as electives from opposing parties, were major sources blaming fake news. Experts, media, and the private sector were occasionally found to be sources blaming fake news from neutral zones. In terms of responsibility attribution for fake news, while unidentified targets blamed for fake news outnumbered any other identified objects, the president, nominatives, and electives were more frequently blamed when sources were from opposing parties. Theoretical and practical applications of the study results are then discussed to better understand the nature of fake news. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://dspace.ewha.ac.kr/handle/2015.oak/276779 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://dspace.ewha.ac.kr/handle/2015.oak/276782 Title: From Media Use to Government Trust during Crisis: The Mediating Role of Social Cohesion following the Itaewon Disaster Ewha Authors: 김영욱 Abstract: This study explores how media use-by type, frequency, and crisis context-affects public trust in government during national emergencies, with social cohesion as a mediator. A survey of 801 South Korean adults after the 2022 Itaewon disaster was analyzed using Hayes' PROCESS Macro (Model 4). Regular mass media use boosted trust directly and indirectly via increased social cohesion. More frequent social media use during crises showed a small positive indirect effect. In contrast, identifying social media as the main crisis information source was linked to a negative indirect trend via reduced social cohesion, though the confidence interval included zero, suggesting non-significance. These findings suggest that social media's effect on trust depends on usage patterns and context. The study contributes to crisis communication research by confirming social cohesion as a key pathway between media behavior and trust. Implications are provided for improving institutional trust through strategic communication during national emergencies. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://dspace.ewha.ac.kr/handle/2015.oak/276782 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://dspace.ewha.ac.kr/handle/2015.oak/276708 Title: Help-seeking for mental health: an exploratory cross-national study of Italian and South Korean university students Ewha Authors: Peter J. Schulz Abstract: Introduction Mental health help-seeking intentions are associated with individual, social, and contextual factors, yet cross-national research comparing Western and East Asian populations remains limited, and few studies have evaluated whether cultural variables contribute explanatory value beyond established predictors.Methods A quantitative cross-sectional survey was administered to 304 university students (154 Italian, 150 South Korean) aged 19-35. A series of block-wise hierarchical regressions examined associations between demographic characteristics, social support, self-stigma, prior service use, and cultural variables with help-seeking intentions in two independently recruited national samples.Results Support from significant others toward mental health services was associated with intentions in early model steps but lost significance when cultural variables were added. Prior experience with mental health services was positively associated with future intentions. Among the variables entered in the final model, nationality had the largest standardized regression coefficient (beta = 0.251), with South Koreans reporting higher observed scores than Italians. Resistance to change-beliefs was positively associated with intentions, though this finding should be treated with caution given measurement non-equivalence. Independent and interdependent self-construal contributed no significant explanatory variance.Discussion These exploratory findings suggest that nationality and individual-level cultural proxies may capture distinct dimensions of cultural associations and point to promising directions for future research on culturally adapted mental health interventions. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://dspace.ewha.ac.kr/handle/2015.oak/276708 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z