Search

Background: Having no or few confidants is found to be associated with more severe mental health problems and a higher prevalence of depression in adults, but research examining this association in adolescents is scarce. Social relationships may be particularly critical during adolescence, as it is an important developmental period during which vulnerability to mental health problems increases. The present study examined the relationship between having no or few confidants and anxiety/depressive symptoms in adolescents. Methods: Cross-sectional self-report survey targeting 7–12th grade students (age range: 12–18) was conducted in public junior and senior high schools in Mie and Kochi, Japan. Data from 17,829 students (49.7% boys) were analyzed. Associations between anxiety/depressive symptoms (12-item General Health Questionnaire; score range: 0–12) and the number of confidants (None, 1–3, or ≥ 4) were examined using multilevel regression analyses. The analyses were stratified by gender and school level (junior/senior high), and adjusted for experiences of being physically abused and bullied and the interactions of these experiences with the number of confidants. Results: Having no or 1–3 confidants was associated with more anxiety/depressive symptoms, compared to having ≥ 4 confidants (p < 0.001) in all stratified groups. Having no confidants was associated with more anxiety/depressive symptoms than having 1–3 confidants (p < 0.001); in senior high boys, no difference was observed between having no confidants and having 1–3 confidants. In addition, in senior high boys, victims of bullying who have confidants reported significantly less anxiety/depressive symptoms than the victims who have no confidants (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Adolescents who had no or few confidants had more anxiety/depressive symptoms. Attention needs to be paid to better identify these adolescents, and avenues to support them need to be established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have investigated the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on mental health among university students within a year of its onset, but few have examined the impact of a prolonged pandemic on university life. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of students in a large university community. Online questionnaire surveys were conducted on students from March 24 to April 14 (first survey, n = 3,357) and December 2-23, 2021 (second survey, n = 2,604). The questionnaires included items on demographic data, living conditions, and mental health status as measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 for depressive symptoms and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale for anxiety symptoms. The results showed that, compared with undergraduate students, graduate students, except those in Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Science courses, had more anxiety symptoms. Furthermore, among undergraduate students, depressive and anxiety symptoms were significantly higher in fourth- than in first-year students. Logistic regression analyses of data from both surveys revealed the seven risk factors associated with depressive or anxiety symptoms that affected the mental health of university students throughout the COVID-19 pandemic: 1) female or nonbinary gender, 2) graduate student, 3) quarantine experience due to COVID-19, 4) isolation from friends and acquaintances, 5) disorganized pattern of daily life, 6) worse financial situation, and 7) no availability of consultations regarding health, life, and finances. These findings suggest that mental health measures for university students need to be designed specific to each course.

The article discusses a study which compared the frequency and correlates of taijin kyofusho symptoms (TKS) in Japanese adolescents and their parents. The study included 351 adolescents from secondary schools in Miyazaki, Japan. It found that adolescents have significantly more TKS than their parent/guardians. Study authors concluded that self-construals play diverse roles in TKS.

Background: Most of our knowledge about anxiety in adolescents has come from studies conducted in Western countries. Little is known about the extent to which these results can be generalized to those who live in other cultures. The main aim of this study was to compare the frequency and correlates of anxiety symptoms among adolescents in Japan and England. Method: A total of 689 adolescents (338 from England and 351 from Japan), aged 12-17 years, took part in this research. They completed a set of questionnaires which were used to measure DSM-IV anxiety disorder symptoms, general difficulties and positive attributes, self-construals, and social support. Results: Adolescents in England reported significantly higher levels of anxiety symptoms than adolescents in Japan. In both countries, independent self-construal was negatively associated with anxiety symptoms, while interdependent self-construal was positively associated with anxiety. However, the magnitude of this relationship was stronger for independent self-construal than the interdependent self-construal. Path analysis showed that the effect of interdependent self-construal seemed to be weaker in Japan than in England. Conclusion: Future studies need to explore the effects of cultural context and environmental experiences such as the role of parenting styles that account for the higher levels of anxiety in English compared with Japanese adolescents. Depression and Anxiety, 2011. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of this study was to compare the frequency of anxiety symptoms among adolescents in Japan and England, and to examine the association between early learning experiences and anxiety symptoms. A total of 299 adolescents (147 from England and 152 from Japan), aged 12 to 17 years were investigated. Results showed that adolescents in England reported significantly higher levels of anxiety symptoms than adolescents in Japan. For early learning experiences, no significant differences emerged between the two countries for parent punishment and reinforcement of anxious behavior. However, for non-anxiety physical symptoms (i.e. cold), adolescents in England scored significantly higher in parent punishment and the Japanese sample scored higher in parent reinforcement. Parent verbal transmission about the danger of anxiety and cold symptoms was more common in Japan than in England. The impact of learning experience on adolescent's anxiety seemed to differ across cultures, which underscore the importance of cultural factors on adolescent's anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to clarify the effect of occupational stress and changes in the work environment on non-healthcare workers' (HCWs) mental health during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. A web-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted from 16 to 17 December 2020. Data from 807 non-HCWs were included. We evaluated occupational stress using the Generic Job Stress Questionnaire (GJSQ). Depressive and anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Japanese version of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale, respectively. We collected demographic variables, work-related variables, and the variables associated with COVID-19. The adjusted odds ratios for depressive and anxiety groups were estimated using multivariate logistic regression analyses, adjusted for all the demographic variables, work-related variables, COVID-19-related variables, and the six subdivided GJSQ subscales. The results confirm a relationship between variance in workload, job future ambiguity, social support from coworkers, having contact with COVID-19 patients, and depressive and anxiety symptoms. Paying attention to job future ambiguity, the variance in workload at the workplace and individual perspectives, promoting contact and support among coworkers using online communication tools, and reducing contact with COVID-19 patients, will be useful for decreasing the depressive and anxiety symptoms among non-HCWs.