Stress Coping and Issues among Evacuees Four Years after the Nuclear Disaster in Fukushima: An Interview Study

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to clarify issues related to the evacuation process, including stress coping, psychological conditions, and health problems, through interviews with long-term evacuees 4 years after the Great East Japan earthquake and nuclear disaster. Methods: Group interviews focusing on stress and health conditions were conducted with eight older adults at a meeting space in Y city in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, in May 2015. Two months later, based on the results of the first group interview, four (two men, two women, age range, 60-70 years) of those eight individuals participated in 60-min individual semi-structured interviews and were assessed according to the Tri-axial Coping Scale revised for the elderly. The interviewees were asked about their anxiety and hardships, escape routes, and other points of importance. Results: Stress coping scores were higher for males than for females, especially that for "Catharsis". The "Giving up" score was higher among these participants than the general population. In the interviews, the participants described how evacuees from "Q" area were experiencing high levels of stress because of problems communicating with their neighborhoods and receiving compensation from the government and Tokyo Electric Power Company. Conclusion: Evacuees experienced hardships immediately after the earthquake, including issues related to compensation from the government and communication with their neighborhoods. Men showed higher scores for "Avoidance-like thinking" and "Giving up" than for other factors related to stress coping, suggesting that they might not use "Catharsis" as a means of coping with stress. The results also suggested that men experienced repeatedly that alone, they made little headway or could not do something. The present study suggests the importance of providing support to long-term evacuees so that original residents can better understand their situation.