Decrease in the traumatic symptoms observed in child survivors within three years of the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami

Masahide Usami; Yoshitaka Iwadare; Kyota Watanabe; Masaki Kodaira; Hirokage Ushijima; Tetsuya Tanaka; Maiko Harada; Hiromi Tanaka; Yoshinori Sasaki; Kazuhiko Saito

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0110898

Decrease in the traumatic symptoms observed in child survivors within three years of the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami

PLoS One. 2014 Oct 23;9(10):e110898. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0110898. eCollection 2014.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Kohnodai Hospital, Chiba, Japan.
² Department of Child Mental Health, Imperial Gift Foundation, Aiiku Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
³ Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Yamaguchi, Japan.
⁴ Institute of Women's Health, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, Tokyo Metropolitan Tama Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan.

Abstract

Background: On March 11, 2011, Japan was struck by a massive earthquake and tsunami. The tsunami caused tremendous damage and traumatized several people, including children. The aim of this study was to assess changes in traumatic symptoms 8, 20, and 30 months of the 2011 tsunami.

Methods: The study comprised three groups. Copies of the Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms for Children 15 items (PTSSC-15), a self-rating questionnaire on traumatic symptoms, were distributed to 12,524 children (8-month period), 12,193 children (20-month period), and 11,819 children (30-month period). An effective response of children 8 months, 20 months, and 30 month after the disaster was obtained in 11,639 (92.9%), 10,597 (86.9%), and 10,812 children (91.4%), respectively. We calculated the total score, PTSD subscale, and Depression subscale of PTSSC-15. We calculated the total score, PTSD subscale, and Depression subscale of PTSSC-15.

Results: The PTSSC-15 total score and PTSD subscale of children belonging to 1st-9th grade groups who were tested 30 and 20 months after the tsunami significantly decreased compared with those of children tested 8 months after the tsunami. The PTSSC-15 total score and PTSD subscale of children in 1st-9th grade groups tested after 30 months did not decrease significantly compared with those of children tested after 20 months. The PTSSC-15 Depression subscale and PTSD subscale of children in 1st-9th grade groups tested after 30 months significantly decreased compared with those of children tested 8 months after the tsunami. The PTSSC-15 Depression subscale of children in 1st-9th grade groups evaluated after 30 months significantly decreased compared with those of children evaluated after 20 months.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates that the traumatic symptoms of children who survived the massive tsunami improved with time. Nonetheless, the traumatic symptoms, which in some cases did not improve with time.

Publication types

Observational Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Child
Child, Preschool
Disasters*
Earthquakes
Female
Humans
Japan
Male
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Schools
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / etiology*
Stress, Psychological / etiology*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Survivors / psychology*
Time Factors
Tsunamis

Grants and funding

Our deepest appreciation goes to the Educational Committee of Ishinomaki City. This work was supported by grants from the National Center for Global Health and Medicine (24–108), Soroptimist International of the Americas Japan Shimomatsu Region, and Ishinomaki, Yaohigashi, and Tokuyama Rotary Clubs. The funders were not involved in study design, data collection and analysis, the decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.