| Research Abstract |
To elucidate the effects of the bombing on the atomic bomb survivors' mental health, a survey of unstructured face-to-face interview about. the personal experiences at the time of bombing was conducted in 1997. In the present study, we analyzed the oral records about the atomic bomb survivor's personal experiences by using qualitative research methods. A total of 928 (339 men and 589 women) atomic bomb survivors in Nagasaki responded the survey. We brought up the oral records into the elements, for example, "atomic bombing", "flash", "dead body", "burn" and "regret", and joined the elements of same meaning together. A total of 445 elements were drawn. We classified the elements into eleven concepts : experiences about somatic effects, experiences about catastrophic scenes, experiences about family, experiences about mental conditions, experiences about chaotic situations in the surroundings, experiences about water, experiences about location, experiences about atomic bomb, experiences about war, experiences about rescue and other experiences. The most referred element was "atomic bombing", which was included in 90% of oral records, followed by "dying" (74%) and "mother" (67%). The element of "fear" and "mother" was referred more frequently in women than in men, however the element of "flash" and "dying" was referred more frequently in men than in women. The element of "fear" and "flash" was referred more frequently among those who were exposed in their childhood (5 to 9 years old of age), however the element of "dying" was referred more frequently among those who were exposed in their adulthood (20 to 29 years old of age), The findings of the present study indicate that the atomic bomb exposure has affected survivors' mental health even now. Further studies are needed to investigate the association of referred elements of experiences with mental health status, especially with post-traumatic stress disorders.
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