A study on the mental health and stress coping behavior of foreign residents in Japan

Research Project

Project/Area Number	16K20852
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Community health nursing
Research Institution	Hamamatsu University School of Medicine
Principal Investigator	Masuda Ikumi 浜松医科大学, 医学部, 助教 (80771667)
Project Period (FY)	2016-04-01 – 2023-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2022)
Budget Amount *help	¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000) Fiscal Year 2017: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000) Fiscal Year 2016: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000)
Keywords	技能実習生 / 在日外国人労働者 / ベトナム人 / 質的研究 / 主観的体験 / 新型コロナウイルス感染症 / COVID-19 / メンタルヘルス / 精神的健康 / ベトナム人移民労働者 / 在日外国人 / ストレス対処行動 / 看護学
Outline of Final Research Achievements	This study aimed to identify the mental health of Vietnamese technical intern trainees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and the results were analyzed qualitatively. Technical interns had shared background factors such as language barriers, debt, and coming to Japan alone at a young age before the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, during the COVID-19 pandemic, they experienced shared anxiety because of the lack of expected income, decreased emotional connections, the fear of viral infection, and anxiety about missing important information, which led to the development of mental health problems such as stress and depression. However, technical interns tended to increase their self-efficacy with appropriate support from their surroundings. The greater understanding of their backgrounds and difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, may increase insights into how to make an appropriate supporting plan for present and future technical intern trainees.
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	本研究は、2020年にCOVID-19感染拡大の局面に入ったため、申請時に予定していたフィールドでの調査が困難となった。そのため、その時点での在日外国人の状況を鑑み、また先行研究を振り返り、研究内容を再検討の末、ベトナム人技能実習生を対象に生活状況やメンタルヘルスの主観的体験について、質的に研究することとした。これまで技能実習生のメンタルヘルスを論じた研究は限られ、その生活実態を把握し、感染症流行前後の生活上の困難感について調査することで、今後の新たなウイルス感染症の発現等、非常時における技能実習生への社会的支援の在り方について新たな知見が得られることは、学術的・社会的意義が高いと考える。