FACTORS INFLUENCING PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AFTER THE GREAT EAST JAPAN EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI.

Furukawa, Hirokazu; Takeuchi, Takeaki; Yano, Eiji; Muto, Shinsuke

Studies have explored the association between various characteristics and psychological distress that follows natural disasters. However, this has not been clarified in subjects who continue to reside in seriously damaged houses. We investigated factors associated with psychological distress after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. Participants included 2,773 home evacuees in Ishinomaki. Information regarding subjects' demographics; social and community networks; living and working conditions; general socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental conditions; and psychological distress was obtained. Logistic regression analyses showed that female gender (odds ratio [OR], 2.70; 95% confidence interval [CI] [2.14, 3.42]), loss of pleasure (OR, 1.32; 95% CI [1.07, 1.63]), change in family structure (OR, 1.49; 95% CI [1.17, 1.89]), and change in work status (OR, 1.24; 95% CI [1.02, 1.52]) were significant factors in psychological distress. This information might facilitate the development of countermeasures against psychological distress associated with natural disasters.

PSYCHOLOGICAL distress; SENDAI Earthquake, Japan, 2011; PSYCHOLOGICAL factors; SOCIAL networks; LOGISTIC regression analysis; PSYCHOLOGY

Journal of Community Psychology, 2015, Vol 43, Issue 5, p521

0090-4392

Academic Journal

10.1002/jcop.21695