Sources of perceived social support associated with reduced psychological distress at 1 year after the Great East Japan Earthquake: Nationwide cross‐sectional survey in 2012

Abstract

Aim: Lack of social support has been associated with a higher level of psychological distress after disasters, but its relative associations with sources of support such as neighbors, friends, family, and others, are underreported. The present study assessed the associations of social support with psychological distress according to support source among the general population 1 year after the Great East Japan Earthquake.Methods: An online survey was completed by a Japanese national sample of 10 469 participants in 2012, from which 8777 were analyzed. Psychological distress was measured using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6), and the associations between social support from family, friends, or neighbors and psychological distress score were estimated using a proportional odds model. This model was separately fitted for house-damage certification from the disaster (573 participants were certified, 8204 were uncertified).Results: Prevalence of K6 ≥ 13 points was 8.4% for house-damage certified and 9.0% for uncertified participants. K6 ≥ 5 points was observed among 49.9% of the house-damaged certified group and in 47.7% of the uncertified group. Lack of support from family, friends, and neighbors was similarly associated with higher K6 score among house-damage certified and uncertified participants. Similar patterns were observed from participants who received housedamage certificates and those who did not experience damage to their homes. Conclusion:Enhancing perceived sources of social support among the general population, not limited to people with house damage, can be an effective way to reduce psychological distress following a disaster.

The prevalence of mental distress before the Great East Japan Earthquake and the associated impact of an aged society: An ecological study

“…When compared to a study conducted in 2006, that reported that 3% of general Japanese population had serious mental distress [ 31 ], it appears that the prevalence of serious mental distress in this study is high. Further, a report on the prevalence of serious mental distress in the general population using a nationwide internet survey, conducted one year after the GEJE [ 12 ], also found the prevalence of serious mental distress was 8.9%, which was slightly lower than that in our study. Thus, the prevalence of serious mental distress in Miyagi Prefecture was higher than that of Japan before and after the GEJE.…”

Noncommunicable Diseases After the Great East Japan Earthquake: Systematic Review, 2011–2016

“…People who had the following characteristics or status were likely to have psychological distress: female, lost their family members, experienced residential damage, had anxiety about radioactive contamination, had difficult economic status, and had weak social support. [90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103][105][106][107][108][109][110][111][112][113][117][118][119][120]122,[124][125][126][127][128][129][132][133][134][135][136][137][138][139][140]143,144,147,151,152,155 Psychological effects of the...…”

Factors associated with social support in child-rearing among mothers in post-disaster communities

“…The results of this study indicated that the presence of pre-disaster acquaintances had a positive role in social support among mothers with infants and preschool-aged children in a post-disaster community. A previous study among the general population 1 year after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami indicated that support from neighbors contributed to a reduction of psychological distress as well as the provision of support from family members in the area affected by the disaster [ 28 ]. Our study results also showed that the presence of pre-disaster acquaintances was positively associated with child-rearing social support, especially mental/physical place of comfort and child-rearing support.…”