1. Depressive Symptoms and Associated Factors in Female Students in Fukushima Four Years after the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Disaster
- Author
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Nobuhiro Konno, Mie Sasaki, Shinya Ito, Satoko Okabe, and Aya Goto
- Subjects
Fukushima Nuclear Accident ,Adolescent ,Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis ,lcsh:Medicine ,Article ,law.invention ,03 medical and health sciences ,Young Adult ,0302 clinical medicine ,Japan ,law ,Risk Factors ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Nuclear power plant ,Medicine ,Humans ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Young adult ,reproductive health ,Path analysis (statistics) ,Radiation Injuries ,Female students ,Reproductive health ,students ,business.industry ,lcsh:R ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,Mental health ,Risk perception ,radiation ,Future Parents Attitude Measure ,Cross-Sectional Studies ,Mental Health ,depression ,Female ,women ,business ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,Demography ,Fukushima nuclear accident - Abstract
Young women in their late teens and early 20s are at the highest risk for depression onset. The present study aimed to assess depressive symptoms among female college students in Fukushima. More specifically, it aimed to clarify factors predicting possible symptom profiles, with an emphasis on determining how nuclear radiation risks affect the reporting of depression symptoms. A cross-sectional survey was conducted of 310 female students at a college in the Fukushima prefecture, Japan, in December 2015, and 288 participants submitted valid questionnaires. In total, 222 (77.1%) participants lived in Fukushima at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake. The measures included the World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index, the Fukushima Future Parents Attitude Measure, and risk perception of radiation health effects. A total of 46.5% of participants reported depressive symptoms. Path analysis revealed that higher radiation risk perceptions and reduced efficacy with reproduction related to a decline in self-esteem and self-efficacy, which was subsequently associated with increased depressive symptoms. These findings highlight the importance of radiation education among children and young adults, both after a nuclear accident and during disaster preparation, particularly in the context of reproductive and mental health.
- Published
- 2018