Kwon So-yeon and Choi Hyun-jin, PhD candidates in Counseling Psychology, Department of Psychology at Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) (advisor: Professor Lee Young-soon), have been selected for the National Research Foundation of Korea's 2026 Doctoral Research Encouragement Grant in the Humanities and Social Sciences.
 

Supported by the Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation of Korea, this program is a national research support initiative that helps doctoral students lead research linked to their dissertations and develop into future researchers who will lead their fields. This year, 472 projects were selected in the humanities and social sciences, and each selected candidate will receive a total of KRW 40 million in research funding over two years.

PhD candidate Kwon So-yeon will conduct 'Development and Validation of a Stress Coping Scale for Older Adults in Korea.' The research examines how older adults cope and adapt to various stressors encountered in later life and develops and validates a scale to measure those responses objectively. It is expected to provide foundational data for counseling and psychological services aimed at improving mental health and quality of life in a super-aged society.
 

PhD candidate Kwon said, 'Rather than viewing stress in later life only as a vulnerability, I intend to focus on how older adults cope with and adapt to life challenges,' adding, 'I will develop a scale that faithfully reflects older adults' experiences so that it can be used in actual counseling and psychological service settings.'
 

PhD candidate Choi Hyun-jin will conduct research titled 'A Grounded Theory Study on the Formation Process of Counselors' Competence in Conducting Death Counseling.' Based on the lived experiences of experienced counselors, the study aims to clarify the professional competencies required of counselors who address death and loss and to propose a theoretical model explaining how those competencies are formed and developed.
 

The research findings are expected to be used to establish education, training, and supervision systems for professionals providing counseling related to death and loss.

PhD candidate Choi said, 'Death and loss are significant life issues that anyone may experience, but research on counselors' experiences and professional development in this area is insufficient,' and added, 'I want to lay the groundwork for education and training that helps counselors remain steadily by the side of clients facing these difficulties.'

Professor Lee Young-soon said, 'Both research projects are significant not only for expanding the academic scope of counseling psychology but also for their high potential to contribute to counseling and psychological service practice,' adding, 'I expect that systematic exploration of the important topics of stress coping in later life and counseling for death and loss will lead to substantive research outcomes.'