Relationships between Traumatic Symptoms and Environmental Damage Conditions among Children 8 Months after the 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Usami, Masahide; Iwadare, Yoshitaka; Kodaira, Masaki; Watanabe, Kyota; Aoki, Momoko; Katsumi, Chiaki; Matsuda, Kumi; Makino, Kazunori; Iijima, Sonoko; Harada, Mikihiko; Tanaka, Hiromi; Sasaki, Yoko; Tanaka, Tetsuya; Ushijima, Hirokage; Sakamoto, Kazuhiko

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0050721

Cited by 54 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…It was better to compare 1st–3rd graders at 8 months with 2nd–4th graders at 20 months in order to discussed factors affected traumatic symptoms of children who survived huge disaster over time. According previous study using PTSSC-15, the score of PTSSC-15 increased with age of children [7]. Therefore, if we compared 1st–3rd graders at 8 months with 2nd–4th graders at 20 months, we could not determine whether the improvement because of age, or because of the environment change.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Analysis of Changes in Traumatic Symptoms and Daily Life Activity of Children Affected by the 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami over Time

et al. 2014

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BackgroundOn March 11, 2011, Japan was struck by a massive earthquake and tsunami. The tsunami caused tremendous damage and traumatized a number of people, including children. This study aimed to compare traumatic symptoms and daily life activity among children 20 months after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami with those observed after 8 months.MethodsThe study comprised two groups. The first comprised 12,524 kindergarten, elementary school, and junior high school children in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, who were evaluated 8 months after the disaster. The second comprised 10,597 children from the same place who were evaluated 20 months after the disaster. The Post Traumatic Stress Symptoms for Children 15 items (PTSSC-15), a self-completion questionnaire on traumatic symptoms, and a questionnaire on children's daily life were distributed to the children. An effective response was obtained from 11,639 (92.9%, 8 months after) and 10,597 (86.9%, 20 months after) children.ResultsThe PTSSC-15 score was significantly higher in junior high school girls than in boys. The PTSSC-15 score was significantly higher in 4th–6th grade girls than in boys after 8 months. Elementary and junior high school children evaluated after 20 months had a significantly lower PTSSC-15 score than those evaluated after 8 months. The number of children having breakfast was significantly higher after 8 months than that after 20 months. In both the groups, children of all grades who had breakfast had a significantly lower PTSSC-15 score than those who did not have breakfast.ConclusionsWe conclude that traumatic symptoms and daily life activity of children who survived the earthquake and tsunami improved over time.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Analysis of Changes in Traumatic Symptoms and Daily Life Activity of Children Affected by the 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami over Time

et al. 2014

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“…That study demonstrated relationships of post-traumatic symptoms with gender, age, house damage, evacuation experience, and bereavement experience [1]. Furthermore, children with house damage and/or evacuation experiences exhibited significantly shorter sleep time than children without these experiences [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Did Parents and Teachers Struggle with Child Survivors 20 Months after the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan? A Retrospective Observational Study

et al. 2014

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BackgroundOn March 11, 2011, Japan was struck by the earthquake and tsunami. Twenty months after the disaster, we collected information on the difficulties faced by parents and teachers in dealing with the post-traumatic symptoms of child survivors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between post-traumatic symptoms in children and parents’ and teachers’ difficulties in dealing with children who survived the huge disaster.MethodsThe subjects included 12,524 children from elementary, middle, and junior high schools in Ishinomaki City. The Post Traumatic Stress Symptoms for Children 15 items (PTSSC-15), a self-rating questionnaire on post-traumatic symptoms, was distributed among the children, and Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), a self-rating questionnaire on difficulties in dealing with children, was given to their parents and teachers. With PTSSC-15, a valid response was obtained from 10,909 (89.5%) participants. With SDQ for teachers and parents, valid responses were obtained from 10,577 (86.7%) and 7052 (83.9%) participants, respectively.ResultsPTSSC-15 scores were significantly higher (P<0.001) in girls than in boys from the junior high school. These effect sizes were less than 0.30. Correlations of teachers’ SDQ scores and PTSSC-15 scores were significantly low (r<0.21, P<0.001) for both genders and all children. Likewise, correlations between SDQ scores assigned by parents (excluding “prosocial behavior”) and PTSSC-15 scores were significantly low (r<0.21, P<0.001) for both genders and at all school levels.ConclusionThis study elucidated that the difficulties faced by parents and teachers while dealing with child survivors significantly low correlate with the child’s post-traumatic symptoms caused by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Thus, it is important that clinicians should not only evaluate post-traumatic symptoms with a self-rating questionnaire but also try to objectively evaluate whether there were day-to-day difficulties caused by the post-traumatic symptoms.

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“…to the same sample [13] revealed that scores (>0.6) of more than 66.4% of these respondents denoted a high risk of developing mental health problems. Disasters occur unexpectedly and suddenly, thereby forcing people to face the fear of death, or actual death, which often induces posttraumatic stress reaction in survivors, some of whom are subsequently diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [14]. In many cases of PTSD, a wide range of difficulties often coincide, such as anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and drug and alcohol abuse.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal Anxiety 16 Months after the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster Area: First Report

Yoshii¹,

Saito²,

Kikuchi³

et al. 2014

Health

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The Great East Japan Earthquake, a magnitude 9.0 quake that occurred on March 11, 2011, left more than 20,000 killed or missing and resulted in more than 400,000 people being displaced. The Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident released large amounts of radioactive material into the air. Among the victims of this combined disaster were many pregnant and parturient women, and this study aimed to determine post-disaster anxiety among this specific population and measures for the future. Participants were 259 women (mean age 33.02 ± 4.79 years) who gave birth around the time of the earthquake in Miyagi Prefecture, one of the disaster areas. Sixteen months after the earthquake, we administered survey questionnaires on anxiety. We transcribed questionnaire responses, coded raw data by context, and categorized these codes by commonality. After extracting subcategories of anxiety-related factors, we categorized them into more abstract concepts. Among the participants, 126 (48.6%) reported having no available professionals with whom they could consult about childrearing. Participants reported anxiety in the following 12 categories: "radiation," "child's physical and mental growth/development," "recurrence of earthquake and tsunami," "financial issues," "childrearing environment," "living environment," "maternal employment," "stigma," "familial issues," "maternal health," "childrearing," and "the future". A beneficial way to reduce maternal anxiety in the 12 areas identified would be to develop support systems that provide continuous support for children's mental health care needs, psychological guidance, community support for maternal empowerment, outreach for individual support, and professional consultation for mothers who have high anxiety about radioactivity.

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Relationships between Traumatic Symptoms and Environmental Damage Conditions among Children 8 Months after the 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Cited by 54 publications

References 19 publications

Analysis of Changes in Traumatic Symptoms and Daily Life Activity of Children Affected by the 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami over Time

Analysis of Changes in Traumatic Symptoms and Daily Life Activity of Children Affected by the 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami over Time

Did Parents and Teachers Struggle with Child Survivors 20 Months after the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan? A Retrospective Observational Study

Maternal Anxiety 16 Months after the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster Area: First Report

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