Search

Background: Stigma towards COVID-19 may negatively impact people who suffer from it and those supporting and treating them. Objective: To develop and validate a scale to assess 11-item COVID-19–related stigma. Methods: A total of 696 pregnant women at a gestational age of 12 to 15 weeks were surveyed using an online survey with a newly developed scale for COVID-19 stigma and other variables. The internal consistency of the scale was calculated using omega indices. We also examined the measurement invariance of the scale. Results: Exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) of the scale items were conducted using a halved sample (n = 350). Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) among the other halved sample (n = 346) compared the single-, two-, three-, and four-factor structure models derived from the EFAs. The best model included the following three-factor structure (χ2/df = 2.718, CFI = 0.960, RMSEA = 0.071): Omnidirectional Avoidance, Attributional Avoidance, and Hostility. Its internal consistency was excellent (all omega indices > 0.70). The three-factor structure model showed configuration, measurement, and structural invariances between primiparas and multiparas, and between younger (less than 32 years) and older women (32 years or older). Fear of childbirth, mother–fetal bonding, obsessive compulsive symptoms, depression, adult attachment self-model, and borderline personality traits were not significantly correlated with the Omnidirectional Avoidance subscale but correlated with the Attributional Avoidance and Hostility subscales (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The findings suggested that our scale for COVID-19 stigma was robust in its factor structure, as well as in construct validity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Difficulty of maternal bonding towards a baby is widely recognised. It is unclear whether this phenomenon is dimensional or categorical. If categorical, an optimal cut-off score of a screening instrument is needed in clinical settings.Aims: In this study, we investigated whether maternal bonding is dimensional or categorical phenomenon and try to set optimal cut-off score of screening instruments.Methods: Self-report questionnaire studies were conducted in a general hospital and four antenatal clinics. Two-step cluster analysis was conducted for the Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale (MIBS) subscale scores in 723 mothers of neonates. ROC curves and optimal cut-off points of the MIBS scores were calculated based on cluster-analysis derived groups.Results: A 2-cluster structure appeared: "normal" (n=619) vs. "pathological maternal bonding" (n=104). Mothers of the latter category scored significantly higher in terms of postnatal depression and neonatal abuse than those of the former category. AUC of the ROC curve by the total MIBS scores both 5days and 1month after childbirth were >0.9. The optimal cut off scores were 3/4 at 5days, and 4/5 at 1month, after childbirth.Conclusions: There was a group of mothers with high MIBS scores discretely different from those with low MIBS scores. MIBS may be a useful tool to identify mothers with a severe bonding disorder that needs clinical intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Accuracy of temperament assessment is a prerequisite in research studies. To identify the extent to which parental assessment of child temperament is biased by their personal attributes, we proposed a new structural equation model, in which biases of parental attributes in their assessment of child temperament can be separated from the true (i.e. non-biased) associations between the two. Methods: We examined 234 father-mother pairs using questionnaires including Emotionality, Activity, Sociability, and Impulsivity; Social Desirability Scale; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; Temperament and Character Inventory; and State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory. Results: Paternal Depression and Persistence, maternal Trait Anger, and parental Novelty Seeking showed significant bias in assessment of Emotionality. Maternal Self-transcendence showed significant bias in assessment of child Impulsivity. Conclusion: Researchers should be cautious about biases in parental assessment of children's Emotionality and Impulsivity, but other temperament traits may be free from such biases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bonding disorders towards their child has been recognized as a serious problem, which might lead to give adverse effects on the relationship with child or maltreatment towards their child. The aim of this study was to identify the factor structure of the Mother-Infant Bonding Scale (MIBS) as well as the determinants of parental bonding disorders in Japan. In this cross-sectional observational study, the MIBS and other psychosocial questionnaires were distributed to 396 fathers and 733 mothers of children aged between 0 and 10, at 20 clinics of Kumamoto prefecture, in Japan. An exploratory factor analysis of the MIBS revealed a two-factor structure: lack of affection (LA) and anger and rejection (AR). A confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated its cross-validity, with no statistical differences between fathers and mothers. A multi-group analysis using structural equation modelling demonstrated that LA and AR were predicted by parental dysphoric mood while only AR was predicted by parental anger. To be concluded, the current study suggests that the MIBS has two subscales that can be predicted by intrapersonal and interpersonal variables, and may provide information applicable to the design of therapeutic or preventive approaches to parents with bonding disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used a structural equation model to examine the influence of resilience on the four self-conscious affects (guilt-proneness, shame-proneness, externalization, and detachment) assessed in the Test of Self-Conscious Affect-3 (TOSCA-3) and their impact on depressive mood. Our subject population consisted of 447 Japanese university students. The first analysis explored which TOSCA-3 affects help an individual adapt to stressful situations. The concept of "resilience" was used as an indicator to evaluate the adaptive functions. We based this on the assumption that an individual with higher resilience is able to use more adaptive affects. In the second analysis, taking the above relationship between resilience and the self-conscious affects into consideration, we examined how those variables as well as a negative life event are related to depressive mood. To assess the resilience level and depressive mood, we adopted the Resilience Scale (RS) and Self-rating Depressive Scale (SDS), respectively. The first analysis showed that the more resilient an individual was, the more prone they were to "detachment" and the less "shame" they experienced. The level of resilience did not have a significant effect on "guilt" or "externalization." In the second analysis we found that "resilience" had a direct inverse effect on depressive mood that was also mediated by "shame" and "detachment." We discuss how the particular self-conscious affects comprising each adaptive function are related to depressive mood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim of the study This study aims to explore the effects of perceived maternal parenting, thought to play a crucial role in the development of a child's personality, on self-conscious affects. Material and Methods We selected for analysis the four affects ("guilt-proneness", "shame-proneness", "externalization", and "detachment") that derive from negative evaluations of the given scenarios in Test of Self-Conscious Affect-3 (TOSCA-3). We used the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) for assessing perceived maternal parenting. A structural equation model was employed as a statistical technique. The 292 Japanese University students who completed every item of the TOSCA-3 and the PBI were included in our analysis. Results We found that only maternal "indifference/rejection" intensified the tendency towards "shame-proneness", where maternal "overprotection" intensified the tendency towards "externalization" and "detachment". On the other hand, maternal "care" and "allowance of autonomy/independence" did not have an impact on any of the affects. Conclusions Some maternal parenting styles, such as indifference/rejection and overprotection, play a part in one's proneness to self-conscious affects like shame-proneness, externalization and detachment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To examine the relationship of the consultation frequency and the perceived consultation time of psychiatric clinic attenders with their satisfaction towards the consultation and depression and anxiety (measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale). Methods: Questionnaires were distributed to 186 outpatients attending a psychiatric clinic. Results: In a path analytic model, a longer session with shorter interval (‘dense’ session) predicted lowered depression and anxiety level of the patientsthrough the perceived satisfaction of the patients, and it was also predicted by the higher anxiety level. The dense session was also influenced by shorter duration of clinic attendance. Conclusion: Dense psychiatric sessions in busy Japanese outpatient clinics may benefit patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of anger feelings (rated by the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory) and witnessing family violence on anxiety and depression (rated by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) were examined in 457 junior high school students. Anxiety and depression scores were correlated with frequencies of witnessing family violence. In a regression analysis, however, after controlling for the demographic variables and depression score, the anxiety score was predicted by State Anger, Anger-Out, and Anger-Control; the depression score was predicted, after controlling for the demographic and anxiety score, by State Anger, Anger-In positively, and by Anger-Out and Anger-Control negatively. Witnessing family violence failed to add significant contribution in predicting anxiety or depression. These results were generally supported by structural equation modeling. The effects of witnessing family violence on dysphoric mood may be mediated by anger feelings. The style of dysphoric mood may be predicted by the style of anger expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of personality (temperament and character) on specific depression and specific anxiety. A total of 541 Japanese undergraduates were investigated by using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that specific depression was predicted by lower Reward-Dependence, Persistence, Self-Directedness, Cooperativeness, and Self-Transcendence; specific anxiety was predicted by higher Novelty-Seeking, Harm-Avoidance, Persistence, and Self-Transcendence, and lower Self-Directedness. Immaturity of Self-Directedness is a risk factor for negative affectivity. Immaturity of all character dimensions is a risk factor for specific depression. The relationship between Harm-Avoidance and depression in previous studies may be linked partly to somatic symptoms that were deliberately eliminated in the HAD scale. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informed consent has become a central part of medical decision-making. It is based on disclosure of medical information to support patients’ rights for autonomous decision-making from a legal point of view. However, information disclosure may also benefit patients. Research indicates that information disclosure reduces stress among patients and that the more patients desire relevant information, the more stress-reductive information disclosure may be. In psychiatry, too, studies have shown that educating psychiatric patients may not necessarily reduce compliance or increase relapse rate. These findings are in line with patients’ desires and their legal right to know their own medical matters. It has long been believed that patients, be they psychiatric or non-psychiatric, should be protected and not given information that would potentially cause distress or harm to them. However, patient's competency may be a function of the physicians’ efforts to make patients understand necessary information. Therefore, a patient's right to give informed consent leads to a physician's duty to disclose individually tailored information understandable to patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Zung-Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) was distributed to 28,588 first-year university students. Factor analysis using PROMAX rotation revealed three factors interpretable as affective, cognitive, and somatic symptoms. The confirmatory factor analysis showed a goodness-of-fit index of 0.976 and an adjusted goodness-of-fit index of 0.967. The two sexes exhibited virtually the same factor structure. The result suggests that studies with this scale should use these three subscales rather than a total score. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The authors conducted in-depth interviews with 38 mothers and fathers who had lost an infant. The focus of the interview was aggression and guilt during mourning work. The participants felt strong shame after separation. Phenomena such as strong irrational guilt, aggression, and hesitation toward others were similar to feelings typical of the paranoid-schizoid position. However, mourners did not lose their sense of reality, continued to do daily chores, and kept taking care of others. In this period, mourners were in disintegration, similar to individuals in the paranoid-schizoid position. Shame may be the feeling in the residue of the paranoid-schizoid position, through which they felt persecuted by others, their partner, relatives, and God. Their aggression was strong, but generally their aggression and impulses came to be used constructively and they progressed to integration. At the moment their children died, mourners fluctuated between disintegration and integration. After a certain interval, fluctuation subsided or integration predominated. In times of fluctuation, containers were very important for mourners to move toward integration. Participants reported changes in their lifestyle after the loss of a child. Mental health professionals should view aggressive impulses among such people during mourning not as an obstacle, but rather as a means to move toward integration. The authors speculate that a psychotherapist can serve as a container for mourners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The contribution of early experiences towards the onset of personality disorder has often been stressed. However, the contribution to trait personality has received less attention. To examine the impact of early experiences on the development of personality, two subscale scores of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ): neuroticism (N) and extroversion (E), were used to assess a total of 220 residents of a rural city of Japan (aged ≥18 years). After controlling for age and social desirability response bias, the N score of men could be predicted by the experience of relocation; the E score of men by high parental care and low parental overprotection; and the E score of women by the experience of death of a sibling. Personality traits in a non-patient population may be explained by early experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the influence of early life experiences on the personality development of women in Japan. Use of Temperament and Character inventory in the analysis; Correlation between parental loss to life events; Dependence between temperament and character.

Abstract Correlations of three aspects of quality of life (QOL) (health perception, life satisfaction, and self-confidence) with personality traits and early experiences were examined. Quality of life aspects were examined using 220 inhabitants in a rural community in Japan. Health perception was better among men than among women. Life satisfaction and self-confidence were better in people aged 55 or over than in those under 55. Among the current predictor variables, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire neuroticism score was correlated with poor life satisfaction in the younger women; the extraversion score with the older women's health perception, the older men's life satisfaction, and the women's self-confidence; and the psychoticism score with the older men's life satisfaction. Among early life predictors, self-confidence was lower among those older men who had reported early parental loss. Childhood paternal overprotection was correlated with poor health perception in younger people and with good health perception in older women. Some negative life events experienced during childhood were correlated with poorer QOL measures in some subgroups, while positive life experiences were correlated with the older women's life satisfaction. These findings suggest that the three aspects of the QOL are discrete in their psychosocial correlates and that interventions on health education and care should take into account individual's psychosocial attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The perception of social support may be a trait-like construct stemming from the current personality and early environment as well as a summation of the actual support perceived. A total of 220 community individuals were examined for the effects of Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) items and early life experience at home and outside on the number of sources of perceived social support and satisfaction with that support. High extraversion and low neuroticism scores of the EPQ were correlated with the availability of support only in women, while high maternal care and low maternal overprotection in childhood were correlated with the satisfaction with support only in men. Availability of support was also correlated with some types of early life events. The quantity and quality of perception of social support differ in their links to personality and early environment, and may be, to some extent, explainable in terms of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluates the reliability of diagnoses of pathological grief and specific psychiatric disorders as assessed by Japanese psychologists and psychology students using case vignettes. Base rates of the diagnosed psychiatric disorders; Diagnostic criterion used with regards to pathological grief.

The relations of the Type A behavior subcomponents to psychological symptoms were examined. Participants were 429 Japanese college students and 307 foreign students. Type A behavior was measured by the Everyday Behavior Questionnaire, developed in part from several rating scales and composed of four subcomponents: anger/impatience, speed, competitiveness/hard-driving, and eagerness/interest. The Hopkins Symptom Checklist was used to measure psychological symptoms. The results of multiple regression analyses on the Type A behavior subcomponents and psychological symptoms indicated strong positive relations between anger/impatience and psychological symptoms, in both Japanese and foreign students. It was concluded that the Type A subcomponents anger and impatience seemed to worsen the psychological health of individuals of various cultural backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Amendment of the Mental Health and Welfare Law in Japan will limit admission for medical care and protection only for those individuals who are incapable of giving consent to admission. This is a first in the history of the Japanese mental health legislation. By reviewing the law and psychiatric literature, it is argued that: (i) informed consent is a legal transaction that embodies the idea of an individual's right to autonomous decision-making in medical settings; (ii) health professionals have a duty to protect those individuals who cannot decide medical matters because of lack of capacity to do so; (iii) some patients are marginally incompetent so assessment of their competency is essential in protecting patients' civil rights; (iv) in order for a competency assessment to be reliable (and hence fair) the method should be psychometrically sound; (v) at the same time, in order for a competency assessment to be valid, the structure of a competency assessment should match the patient's psychological, cultural, and social background; and (vi) because informed consent is a process rather than a cross-sectional event, a competency assessment should be performed in everyday practice. The use of a brief and semistructured interview to assess patients' competency to give informed consent may meet all of the requirements described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suggests that child abuse in Japan is no less prevalent than in the Western countries and that most abuse cases are unidentified and therefore go unrelieved by intervention. Investigation of the lifetime prevalence of psychiatric disorders among participants; Observation of emotional and physical abuses; Methods of abuse used by parents.

AbstractIn order to examine the effects of personality and early life experiences on perceived social support, a total of 97 young Japanese women were investigated. Current interpersonal relationships were measured by an interview modified from Henderson et al.’s Interview Schedule for Social Interaction (ISSI). Personality was measured by Cloninger et al.’s Temperament and Character Inventory. Early life experiences at home and outside of home were also identified in the interview. The number of sources of perceived support was correlated with self-directness, while satisfaction with perceived support was correlated with novelty seeking and with low harm avoidance. No early life experiences — early loss of a parent, perceived parenting, childhood abuse experiences, experiences of being bullied and/or other life events — showed significant correlations with the number or satisfaction of supportive people. The quantity and quality of perception of social support differ in their link to personality, and perceived social support may, to some extent, be explainable in terms of personality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the relationship between maternal depression and infant temperament in a Japanese population using prospective questionnaire survey administered in the postpartum period. `Rhythmicity' and `attention span and persistence' as reciprocal relationships with postnatal depression; Unidirectional effects of maternal depression on infant temperament.

The article examines the effect of the number of siblings on adults' retrospective perceptions of their childhood and their parents' rearing practices. The effects parental attitudes in childhood on the onset of depression, anxiety disorders, and other psychiatric conditions among adults have been extensively studied. Another area of perceived rearing research has been the development of measuring instruments. According to a measure of perceived parental behavior that had been validated among a population with the same cultural background as that of the present sample, the number and sex of siblings, but not the total family size, contributed, although only slightly, to the participants' views of their upbringing. The finding that parental affect was reduced as the number of elder sisters increased is consistent with other retrospective studies in contrast, the finding that parental overprotection was also reduced as the number of younger brothers increased contradicted those of the previous literature. That finding may be attributable to the different instrument used to measure the parental attitudes or to the relatively small number of siblings in this study; however, it may also be attributable to the fact that previous researchers did not subdivide the siblings as researchers did in the present study. Same sex, opposite sex, elder, or younger siblings may be differentially linked to the parental behavior toward the participant.

The article examines the relationship of marital adjustment and social adjustment. A sample of 67 married Japanese men and 79 married Japanese women were interviewed to clarify the relationship between marital adjustment and social adjustment. For the whole sample the total score of the Short Marital Adjustment Test and its subcategories, dyadic consensus and satisfaction, was significantly correlated with 5 subcategory scores of the Social Adjustment Scale-lI: household adjustment (except the spouse), external family adjustment, work adjustment, social leisure adjustment, and general adjustment. These correlations were present also for the women: for the men, they were present only for social leisure adjustment and general adjustment. Among men, the dyadic consensus scores of the SMAT had stronger correlations with the social adjustment scores: among women, correlations with the marital satisfaction scores of the SMAT were stronger. Thus, marital adjustment may be a part of social adjustment for women, but the two may be discrete for men.

A total of 146 married inhabitants (67 men and 79 women) in a provincial city of Japan were interviewed to examine marital adjustment and its psychosocial determinants. Fifteen items of the Short Marital Adjustment Test (Locke & Wallace. 1959) (LWT), a self-rating questionnaire, were transformed into a semi-structured interview together with two new items. Factor analysis yielded five factors which were interpreted as dyadic consensus, satisfaction, flexibility, home-loving, and interest-sharing. Better marital adjustment in women was correlated with higher standard of living, lower neuroticism, and a more caring father, whereas in men it was correlated with lower psychoticism and a more caring mother. Longitudinal studies are needed to throw more tight on the determinants of marital adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the relationship of social support to depressive symptoms among pregnant women in Japan. Effects of perceived social support on the severity of depression; Correlation of low levels of both paternal and maternal care with cognitive disturbance; Association of paternal and maternal overprotection with dysphoric mood and cognitive disturbance; Role of social support.

Examines the relevance social support during pregnancy in Japan. Categories of social support; Significance of support from the husband; Determinants of the husband's poor support; Structure of the content of social support.

AbstractThe competency of psychiatric patients to give informed consent is important in respecting patients’ decisions as well as protecting patients from undue exploitation. A total of 176 members of the Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology gave a clinical judgment in a questionnaire of competency in five case transcriptions. Their interrater reliability of competency judgment was slight (generalized kappa 0.31). Clinicians’ global judgment of patients’ competency was not reliable, but it may be improved by the use of a structured interview. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidemiological studies of psychiatric disorders using structured interviews and operational diagnostic criteria in a community population are rare in Japan. In our community study with mainly middle-aged people (Kofu Study), the lifetime prevalence of Major Depressive Episode was 19%. The prevalence was about twice as high in women as in men. The prevalence of Major Depressive Episode showed a tendency to increase as the subjects became younger. No sex difference in the lifetime prevalence of Major Depressive Episode was observed among an adolescent population (Gotemba Study), due to the equally high prevalence of this disorder among male adolescents. The figures were 24% for men and 23% for women. In a follow-up study of pregnant women (Kawasaki Study), risk factors of depression during pregnancy and after childbirth are different and, in some instances, reversed. Therefore, we speculate that the combination of psychological risk factors of the onset of depression may differ from one situation to another. Specificity of the combination of risk factors may be more important than single risk factors in the etiology of mild-form depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotions that parents feel when they think about their own child are extremely important in determining parenting approaches toward a child. Parental emotions should be defined under the rubric of human emotions that include both basic and self‐conscious emotions. The Scale for Parent‐to‐Baby Emotions (SPBE) was developed underlying this concept, whereas an applicable scale for parent‐to‐child emotions for a wider age range for both mothers and fathers is needed. This study is aimed at examining the measurement invariance of this adapted scale among Japanese families. In a cross‐sectional internet survey, men and women who had a child/children (including a fetus), whose eldest was aged up to 12 years old (N = 4600), were recruited. The questionnaire, which included the Scale for Parent‐to‐Child‐Emotions‐62 (SPCE‐62) created from the SPBE via a process of rigorous translation, focused only on the eldest child. The feasibility of the SPCE‐62 was assessed by a panel of three researchers. Each domain of both basic and self‐conscious emotions was examined both in terms of robust factor structure and stable measurement invariance by multi‐group confirmatory factor analysis. Responses to individual items were examined via item response theory, including differential item functioning. This resulted in a 43‐item SPCE consisting of 9 domains: Happiness (four items), Anger (six items), Fear (four items), Sadness (five items), Disgust (five items), Shame (five items), Guilt (seven items), Alpha Pride (three items), and Beta Pride (four items). An empirical construct of parental emotion toward a child was derived. The SPCE makes it possible to measure parent‐to‐child emotions across parents' gender and the three age ranges of the child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the authors discuss the association between character and temperament of patient's personality with anxiety disorder depression.

Aim The coping style that individuals think they will use when encountering stressful situations may differ from actual coping response in real situations. Methods In a longitudinal study on some 500 university students, perceived coping style was identified using the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations on the first occasion. In the subsequent eight test occasions, which occurred on a weekly basis, the students were asked about a negative life event that occurred during the past week and the actual coping responses they used. Results The perceived coping style and the actual coping response matched well for task-oriented and emotion-oriented coping. For avoidance-oriented coping, however, perceived coping style and actual coping response were weakly correlated. Conclusion Epidemiological studies on coping and mental health should discriminate coping style and coping response. Clinicians should be cautious about patients' own information about avoidance-oriented coping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have suggested that self-efficacy can predict and prevent depression, while negative coping strategies, as typified by rumination, can lead to depression. The authors examined the relationship between self-efficacy, rumination, and depression in Japanese nursing students. The result of a structural equation model showed that rumination, but not self-efficacy, predicted depression. The result of simultaneous multiple group analysis indicated that there was homogeneity within the same path diagram between genders. The result implied that stress management should focus on controlling the degree of rumination rather than self-efficacy in order to efficiently maintain the mental health of Japanese nursing students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This longitudinal study was undertaken to clarify the relationships among self-esteem, interpersonal dependency, and depression, focusing on a trait and state component of interpersonal dependency and depression. In a sample of 466 working people, self-esteem, interpersonal dependency, job stressor, and depression were assessed at 2 points of time. A structural equation model (SEM) was created to differentiate the trait component of interpersonal dependency, depression and the state component of interpersonal dependency, depression. The model revealed that self-esteem influenced trait interpersonal dependency and trait depression but not state interpersonal dependency or depression. Setting a latent variable as a trait component to differentiate trait and state in interpersonal dependency and depression in SEM was found to be effective both statistically and clinically. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 67:1-9, 2011. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To examine the relations between personality traits and syndromes of depression in a nonclinical Chinese population. Method. We recruited 469 nonclinical participants in China. They completed the Chinese version temperament and character inventory (TCI) and self-rating depression scale (SDS). A structural equation model was used to rate the relation between seven TCI scales and the three SDS subscale scores (based on Shafer's meta-analysis of the SDS items factor analyses). This was based on the assumption that the three depression subscales would be predicted by the temperament and character subscales, whereas the character subscales would be predicted by the temperament subscales. Results. The positive symptoms scores were predicted by low self-directedness (SD), cooperativeness (C), reward dependence (RD), and persistence (P) as well as older age. The negative symptoms scores were predicted only by an older age. The somatic symptoms scores were predicted by high SD. Conclusion. Syndromes of depression are differentially associated with temperament and character patterns. It was mainly the positive symptoms scores that were predicted by the TCI scores. The effects of harm avoidance (HA) on the positive symptoms scores could be mediated by low SD and C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In order to further investigate the relationship of psychological well-being with depression and anxiety. Method: Students from five universities were solicited to participate in this study and 545 students with a mean age of 20.1 (SD = 2.2) years were finally accessed to analysis. Result: All six dimensions—autonomy (AU), environment mastery (EM), personal growth (PG), positive relationships with others (PR), purpose in life (PL), and self-acceptance (SA)—of the Scales of Psychological Well-being Inventory (SPWB) were moderately negatively correlated with depression and anxiety as measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Furthermore, due to a good fit with the present data, the model of SPWB on depression and anxiety was consistent with the theory of psychological well-being and indicated that HADS depression was predicted by EM, PR, and SA, while HADS anxiety was predicted by AU, EM, PG, PR, and SA. Conclusion: SPWB is a reliable measure of well-being for Japanese young adults, and the negative affectivity such as depression and anxiety is to some extent determined by the lack of psychological well-being. Depression and Anxiety, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nursing students face stressful situations during a clinical training. This two-wave (between June and December 2004) study explored the relationship between the coping styles and stressful life events in terms of the occurrence of depression and anxiety among 97 Japanese female nursing students before (Time 1) and after (Time 2) a clinical training. In a structural equation modelling, Time 2 depression was significantly predicted by Time 1 depression and stressful life events whereas Time 2 anxiety was predicted by Time 1 anxiety, stressful life events and emotion-oriented coping. Moreover, Time 1 depression predicted the impact of stressful life events and Time 1 anxiety predicted emotion-oriented coping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Assessing social competence is important for clinical and preventive interventions of depression. The aim of the present paper was to examine the factor structure of the Japanese Interpersonal Competence Scale (JICS). Methods: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the survey responses of 730 participants. Simultaneous multigroup analyses were conducted to confirm factor stability across psychological health status and sex differences. Results: Two factors, which represent Perceptive Ability and Self-Restraint, were confirmed to show a moderate correlation. Perceptive Ability involves a more cognitive aspect of social competence, while Self-Restraint involves a more behavioral aspect, both of which are considered to reflect the emotion-based relating style specific to the Japanese people: indulgent dependence ( amae) and harmony ( wa). In addition, Self-Restraint may be linked to social functioning. Both constructs may confound a respondent's perceived confidence. Conclusion: Despite its shortcomings, the JICS is a unique measure of social competence in the Japanese cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guidelines for treating depression often recommend continuing antidepressants at least for 6 months after remission. Whether this recommendation is implemented in daily practices represents a serious concern. We aimed to examine adequacy of continuation and maintenance treatment in Japan. A naturalistic prospective follow-up study with mood disorders was undertaken in 23 psychiatric departments from all over Japan. A total of 95 patients diagnosed with major depression were followed up every month until treatment termination and every 6 months thereafter. In this study, the cohort received 45.1 (SD = 64.7) mg of imipramine or equivalent per day during continuation phase, and about 74% were prescribed inadequate doses, i.e. less than 75 mg/day. At maintenance phase immediately before relapse, average dosage was 42.0 (SD = 74.7) mg/day and 83% were prescribed inadequate doses. There is gross under-treatment of depression during continuation and maintenance phases in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We performed a confirmatory factor analysis for the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES-III) using 3865 university students in Japan. We confirmed two factors as in the original version, but there were slight differences with the original one. Some items were deleted in order to obtain sufficient goodness-of-fit indexes in a series of confirmatory factor analyses. Moreover, items 11 “Our family, changes its way of handling tasks,” 20 “Parents and children discuss in our family,” and 15 “We shift household responsibilities,” which were originally categorized as “adaptability” items, were loaded on the “cohesion” factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the research and clinical significance of the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ), its psychometric properties have not been studied intensively. The goodness-of-fit of proposed factor models of the PBQ is poor. Configural and measurement invariance have never been reported. As a secondary analysis of the previous paper (Ohashi et al., 2016), we analysed the PBQ data at 5 days and 1 month after childbirth among 247 mothers of a singleton. We created 9 parcels of PBQ items to perform confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). We also examined configural and measurement invariances of the PBQ factor structure between the two observation times. The CFI of the 3-factor model of the PBQ was.936 and.968 for 5 days and 1 month after childbirth, respectively. Configural, measurement (metric, scalar, and residual), and structural (factor variance and factor covariance) invariances were accepted. The mean of only 'anger and restrictedness' factor was scored higher at 1 month than 5 days after childbirth. The 3-factor model of the PBQ was good in its fit with the data as well as robust in its measurement between the two observation time periods. • Maternal bonding is a maternal emotional response toward their infant. • Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ) is one of the instruments measuring bonding. • Using parceling method, we found that the 3-factor model is optimal. • The proposed model has also confirmed its configural, measurement and structural invariance. • The findings support the possibility to compare the PBQ scores at different time point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this study was to identify women with thoughts of self‐harm preceded by suicidal ideation, during the perinatal period, on cluster analysis and to clarify their psychological correlates. Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted using the data from a longitudinal study involving 18 obstetric clinics between 2011 and 2012 in Kumamoto Prefecture (Japan). Self‐administered questionnaires including demographic data, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Temperament and Character Inventory, and the Postnatal Bonding Questionnaire were distributed during the third trimester of pregnancy (wave 1), at 5 days (wave 2), and 1 month postpartum (wave 3). Results: On cluster analysis using the data of participants who answered all observational points, the participants were divided into two groups: cluster 1, normal (n = 201); and cluster 2, thoughts of self‐harm (n = 42). Low self‐directedness, low cooperativeness, higher anxiety, depression, and lack of affection and anger and rejection towards the baby were associated with cluster 2. Conclusions: The finding that low self‐directedness and low cooperativeness were related to the cluster 2 group suggests that immature personality traits may work as a predisposing factor mediating between anxiety, depression and thoughts of self‐harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presently reported patient was a 37-year-old married primipara with peripartum depression comorbid with bonding disorder. Care anxiety and a lack of affection towards her baby first appeared at around the time of delivery, and the patient developed major depression at one month after the birth of her healthy baby. At first, standard treatment for major depression including the use of antidepressants, electroconvulsive therapy, and supportive psychotherapy were provided. However, bonding problems appeared to impede and obstruct the amelioration of depression. Although treatment methods for bonding disorder have not yet been established, Kangaroo Care was introduced to facilitate skin-to-skin contact. We also educated her in better parenting behavior and provided repeated motivational interviews with her family because a lack of partner and social support and personal temperament (low self-directedness and cooperativeness) were thought to be related to her bonding disorder. This case suggests the effectiveness of Kangaroo Care, which promotes a humanizing maturation of both baby and parent alike, for mothers with postpartum depression and comorbid severe bonding disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Text messaging may be excessive and young people may be dependent on it. We distributed the Self-perception of Text-message Dependency Scale (STDS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), and Relationship Questionnaire (RQ) to 223 Japanese university students in a two-wave study, separated by a 5-month interval. The STDS yielded a three-factor structure. The STDS scores across the two measurement occasions were stable across time (except for the Relationship Maintenance subscale). A hierarchical cluster analysis suggested a three-class structure interpreted as Normal Users, Excessive Users, and Dependent Users. Excessive Users and Dependent Users were characterized by a young age at initial mobile phone use, more frequent use of text messaging, higher Novelty Seeking, and better Other-Model patterns of adult attachment. Unlike Excessive Users, Dependent Users were characterized by lower Self-directedness, poorer Self-Model of adult attachment, and higher anxiety and depression. The Excessive Users, but not the Dependent Users, were characterized by high Reward Dependence and Co-operativeness. The present study demonstrated that the STDS has a robust factor structure, good construct validity, and temporal stability (except for Relationship Maintenance subscale); students could be classified into normal, excessive, and Dependent Users of the text messaging; and Dependent Users were characterized by Excessive Use and personality immaturity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Few studies in Japan have examined whether children's later mental health is influenced by the way parental authority is exercised, specifically with a focus on gender. Our main purposes of this study were to confirm the three-factor structure of the Japanese version of the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ) and to verify its reliability and validity. We then used structural equation modeling to examine whether children's later mental health was influenced by parents' authoritative, permissive, and authoritarian parenting. The subcategories included in the Japanese version of the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure were chosen as mental health indices. A total of 1,320 people in Japan, including company employees, university students, and hospital staff members, were asked to recall and evaluate the parenting they received and to report on their current mental health. Confirmatory factor analyses verified the three-factor structure of the Japanese version of the PAQ, with a reduction in the number of items from the original version. The respondents, regardless of gender, evaluated their mothers as having been more authoritative than their fathers. Concerning the impact of parenting styles on respondents' later mental health, both maternal and paternal authoritarian parenting styles worsened respondents' later mental health, including symptomatic problems, risk to self and others, life functioning, and psychological well-being. Both maternal and paternal authoritative parenting had a beneficial impact on respondents' later mental health. Simultaneous analyses of multi-groups demonstrated that the nature of these influences did not vary with respondent gender. We present the above results in detail, and discuss them from psycho-socio-cultural viewpoints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Unhealthy use of the Internet and mobile phones is a health issue in Japan. We solicited participation in this questionnaire-based study from the employees of a city office in Kumamoto. A total of 92 men and 54 women filled in the Internet Addiction Questionnaire (IAQ), the Self-perception of Text-message Dependency Scale (STDS), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The prevalence of “light Internet addiction” and “severe Internet addiction” were 33.7% and 6.1% for men whereas they were 24.6% and 1.8% for women. The prevalence of “light mobile phone text-message addiction” was 3.1% for men and 5.4% for women. There were no cases of “sever text-message addiction”. We found a two-factor structure for the IAQ and a three-factor structure for the STDS. We also performed an EFA of the IAQ and STDS subscales, and this revealed a two-factor structure – Internet Dependency and Text-message Dependency. An STDS subscale, Relationship Maintenance, showed a moderate factor loading of the factor that reflected unhealthy Internet use. In a path analysis, Depression was associated with both Internet Dependency and Text-message Dependency whereas Anxiety was associated negatively with Text-message Dependency. These results suggest applicability of the IAQ and STDS and that Internet and Text-message Dependences are factorially distinct. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]