| Budget Amount *help |
¥1,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000)
Fiscal Year 2002: ¥1,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000)
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| Research Abstract |
The eruption of Mt. Fugen in November 1990 resulted in a large-scale pyroclastic flow that claimed the lives of 43 people in June 1991. As a result of this disaster, a large number of local residents entered an unfortunate new and long-lasting chapter in their lives, as evacuees. Since 1991, we have been undertaking continuous maintenance of the mental health of these evacuees.
The present study investigated volcanic eruption evacuees who lost their homes due to the disaster and therefore had no choice but to be evacuated and then re-housed as a group under a government initiative. The psychological influence of changes to lifestyle caused by mass re-housing on the victims was analyzed using GHQ-30, and the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was documented.
A total of 210 residents completed all GHQ-30 items in this study. The incidence of subjects with high scores (【greater than or equal】8) decreased from 72.0% to 32.4%, and mean score shifted from 13.6 points to 6.5 points. Decreases were observed in mean score of the factor "anxiety, tension and insomnia" from 17.2 to 10.6, of "anergia and social dysfunction" from 10.7 to 8.6, of "depression" from 6.4 to 4.4, and of "anhedonia" from 3.7 to 2.9. All these results suggested a statistically significant improvement of symptoms. Conversely, the mean score of "interpersonal dysfunction" displayed a significant increase from 1.7 to 1.9, implying that interpersonal difficulties remained.
A total of 134 evacuees underwent CAPS interviews. Of these, 64 evacuees met Criterion A for PTSD diagnosis. Seventeen evacuees fulfilled the criteria for symptoms of PTSD, and lifetime prevalence of PTSD was 26.6%. Twenty-five evacuees fulfilled the criteria for partial PTSD, and lifetime prevalence of partial PTSD was 39.1%. Two evacuees (3.1%) displayed symptoms of PTSD and 4 (6.3%) showed symptoms of PTSD at the time of interview.
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