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Under the socially critical situations, an individual’s personality pathologies tracing back to their origins a long time ago are usually exacerbated, and hidden group mentality of society as a whole is manifested. The COVID-19 outbreak, which has brought about an extremely high level of crisis all over the world, provides us with an opportunity to observe pathologies of society in addition to those of an individual more vividly, helping us understand the meanings of the pathologies. In this study, attitudes and behavioral reactions of Japanese individuals and society as a whole caused by the COVID-19 outbreak were discussed. Psychoanalytic and social psychology theories as well as self-determination theory were applied for discussing some behavioral phenomena, such as addiction behaviors and crude criticism and/or discrimination towards some particular category of people. After proposing some hypotheses regarding these attitudes and behaviors, I finally mentioned tasks with which COVID-19 challenges human society. I refer to the increased need for clinical psychiatry and psychology in contributing to society to achieve the tasks.

To study correlates of presenteeism among Japanese IT employees, a cross-sectional study in 440 employees of four IT companies were studied with a net-based questionnaire survey. A structural regression analysis revealed that presenteeism was directly associated with common mental symptoms and job strain, common mental symptoms mediated the effects of job strain and poor workplace social support as well as high Harm Avoidance and low Self-directedness and Cooperativeness upon presenteeism. IT company workers presenteeism may be a result of complicated effects of common mental symptoms, job strain and poor workplace social support, and personality traits.

The purpose of this study was to explore the motivations for entry into the sex industry. The narratives of four Japanese female psychiatric patients with a past experience of sex work were used for analysis. I identified not only practical factors such as financial difficulties or lack of job skills, but also various psycho-social factors, namely: weak emotional ties with their mothers since infancy, their mothers’ tendency to prioritize sons over daughters, unremitting needs for maternal care, fear of rejection and object-seeking behavior, desire to control others, envy and aggressive self-destructive behavior, difficulties in establishing female peer relationships during adolescence, proneness to dependency on male objects through sexual relationships, past histories of crime and delinquency, weak internal motivation, frequent acting out, and addictive behaviors. In this article I discussed whether their mental maladjustment was purely the product of their past experiences as sex workers, or whether in fact both the maladjustment and the motivations for entry were derived from personality characteristics developed since infancy. Although not applicable to every Japanese sex worker, this article presents a preliminary hypothesis regarding the contribution of the above multi-dimensional factors to the motivations for entry, and the following mental maladjustment.

Based on the experiences of psychiatric patients who were in the process of rehabilitation after a significant period of rest and recuperation, the author aimed at analyzing the phenomena that facilitate as well as hinder patient maladjustment, in order to identify ways for clinical psychiatry to support patients’ rehabilitation processes. Two female patients with pathological personality traits who were in the process of rehabilitation were chosen. One attended a community center that offers employment for people with mental disorders, followed by a vocational rehabilitation center for the unemployed; the other returned to an ordinary job for which she was qualified. The author first investigated the interactions between their personalities and the group mentalities in their workplaces, and then analyzed these interactions using psychodynamic theories. The dynamic interactions between these patients’ personality pathologies and the group mentalities of the workplaces they chose for their rehabilitation seemed to play a crucial role in determining whether they experienced maladjustment or not. Various phenomena experienced by an individual in a community setting should not be ascribed solely to either the person’s personality or the community group mentality, but rather to the interaction between the two. Community centers for people with mental disorders must provide support that facilitates the accomplishment of the original purposes of the group, but also helps each group member improve their self-esteem. At the end of this article, the author argues that the narcissistic need for approval cannot be dismissed simply as pathological, but should be seen as a ubiquitous phenomenon in the contemporary Japanese ethos.

In order to examine the relationships between parenting styles and personality traits over generations, a cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted for fathers and mothers of school-age children of grades 5–9. The parenting styles measured by the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and the personality traits measured by the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) were correlated within and between the consecutive generations (the grandparents and the parents for the PBI and the parents and the children for the TCI). A series of structural equation modeling showed that (1) while the parenting styles were transmitted directly from the grandparents to the parents, it was partly mediated by the fathers’ Co-operativeness (C) but not so for the mothers, (2) while the personality traits were transmitted directly from the parents to the children, it was only the fathers’ parenting styles that mediated C, and (3) the parents’ parenting styles had independent effects upon the children’s personality traits.

The Influence of Borderline Personality Organization on Trait Depressive Affects and the Generation of Negative Life Events This study sought to assess whether borderline personality organization (BPO) influenced trait depressive affect, the generation of negative life events (NLEs), and state depressive affect, which includes the depressive affect component caused by the NLEs. The study population was 350 university students in Japan. They were solicited to complete questionnaires on three occasions over a six-week period. The Inventory of Personality Organization and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) were used to assess BPO and depressive affect, respectively. Structural equation modeling and simultaneous analysis of multi-groups were used for statistical analysis.

This study focused on the functional aspects of narcissism in regulating self-conscious emotions (guilt, shame, hubristic pride, and achievement-oriented pride) as well as two other attribution styles (externalization and detachment). The authors investigated Japanese university students (N = 452) with regard to their self-conscious emotions using the Test of Self-Conscious Affect-3 (TOSCA-3) and their narcissistic personality using the short version of Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI-S). Structural equation modeling was used for the analysis. The authors found that narcissism led individuals to feel achievement-oriented pride, hubristic pride, externalization, and detachment, but inhibited feelings of shame. It did not have a significant effect on guilt. Shame-proneness prompted hubristic pride and externalization. Guilt-proneness inclined an individual toward achievement-oriented pride, but deterred externalization. In this article, the authors present and interpret these results in detail and then discuss how they can be utilized in psychotherapy.

To simultaneously examine the impact of childhood abuse history on borderline personality traits, negative life events, and depression, undergraduate students (N=243) were studied by questionnaire surveys with one week intervals. Neglect and emotional abuse as well as sexual maltreatment predicted borderline personality traits and baseline depression. Baseline depression as well as the impact of negative life events occurring the week prior predicted depression a week later. However, after considering the baseline depression level, child abuse history failed to predict the follow-up depression level. Borderline personality traits did not moderate these findings. Childhood emotional and sexual abuse history may influence depression and borderline personality traits.

Aims: To identify the psychosocial correlates of adolescents. Methods: Unmarried university students (n = 4226) aged 18–23 years were examined in a questionnaire survey. Results: Four clusters of people (indifferent, secure, fearful, and preoccupied) identified by cluster analysis were plotted in 2-D using discriminant function analysis with the first function (father's and mother's Care, Cooperativeness, and family Cohesion on the positive end and Harm Avoidance and father's and mother's Overprotection on the negative end) representing the Self-model and the second function (Reward Dependence and experience of Peer Victimization on the positive end and Self-directedness on the negative end) representing the Other model. Conclusions: These findings partially support Bartholomew's notion that adult attachment is based on the good versus bad representations of the self and the other and that it is influenced by psychosocial environments experienced over the course of development.

A total of 946 Japanese children in the 5th to 9th grades and their parents were studied in order to investigate the extent to which parenting characteristics (measured by the Parental Bonding Instrument) and the personality of the child (measured by the junior version of the Temperament and Character Inventory) would be associated with the two aspects of the externalizing problems — aggression and delinquency — of the child (measured by the Child Behavior Checklist). A series of regression analyses demonstrated that (1) aggressive children were higher in Novelty Seeking, and delinquent children were higher in Novelty Seeking and lower in Harm Avoidance, and (2) both aggressive and delinquent children were characterised by low maternal care, paternal over-protection, and low maternal overprotection. A structural equation model confirmed these findings except for the link between the two externalising behaviour scores and the maternal care. Moreover, it was suggested that Novelty seeking of the child would be predicted by low parental care and low paternal and high maternal overprotection. The children's aggression and delinquency could, to some extent, be explainable by their temperament patterns and parental characteristics.

Few studies have examined patients with pathological personality traits in terms of their competency to exercise autonomy, despite the increasing number of these individuals who visit psychiatric clinics in Japan. The purpose of this study was to assess such patients’ competencies using medical record data focusing not only on the therapeutic relationship but also on the patients’ social relationships throughout their life histories. Two patients were evaluated: one with borderline personality disorder and another with the “as if personality”, a concept of personality prototype proposed by Helene Deutsch in 1942. Their clinical materials were analyzed from psychosocial viewpoints. I attempted to identify with borderline personality disorder and another with the “as if personality”, a concept of personality prototype proposed by Helene Deutsch in 1942. Their clinical materials were analyzed from psychosocial viewpoints. I attempted to identify the points in their lives at which any competency weaknesses originated. I further discuss their competencies in decision making and exercising autonomy using psychoanalytic theory, in particular Winnicott’s contributions. Finally, I propose the role of contemporary psychiatry in nurturing patients’ autonomy, in order to help them live more comfortably in Japanese modern society.

To evaluate the personality correlates of mobile phone text message use in Japanese youth, university students (N = 232) were distributed a set questionnaires containing the Temperament and Character Inventory and items enquiring their text message use. Greater text messaging was associated with high Novelty Seeking (NS). The results of this study suggest that text message was based on NS.