Depressive Symptoms and Associated Factors in Female Students in Fukushima Four Years after the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Disaster

Shinya Ito, Mie Sasaki, Satoko Okabe, Nobuhiro Konno and Aya Goto
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Shinya Ito: School of Nursing, Kitasato University, Kanagawa Prefecture 252-0329, Japan
Mie Sasaki: Faculty of Humanities, Saitama Gakuen University, Saitama Prefecture 333-0831, Japan
Satoko Okabe: Department of Food and Nutrition, Koriyama Women’s University, Fukushima Prefecture 963-8503, Japan
Nobuhiro Konno: Department of Food and Nutrition, Koriyama Women’s University, Fukushima Prefecture 963-8503, Japan
Aya Goto: Center for Integrated Science and Humanities, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima Prefecture 960-1295, Japan

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 11, 1-11

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.

Keywords: depression; Fukushima nuclear accident; radiation; Future Parents Attitude Measure; women; students; reproductive health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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