A Longitudinal Study of Support for Children Born After the Disaster and their Families.

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19H01704
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 09060:Special needs education-related
• Research Institution: Iwate Medical University
• Principal Investigator: YAGI Junko 岩手医科大学, 医学部, 教授 (80636035)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 桝屋 二郎 東京医科大学, 医学部, 准教授 (70349504) ; 福地 成 東北医科薬科大学, 医学部, 講師 (50641958) ; 松浦 直己 三重大学, 教育学部, 教授 (20452518)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 東日本大震災 / トラウマ / 母子メンタルヘルス / 早期発見・早期支援 / 発達障害 / ソーシャルキャピタル / ACE / PTSD

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Based on a cohort study (2016-2018) that investigated children's cognitive developmental and behavioral problems and mothers' mental health and their associations, with the cooperation of 223 pairs of children and their parents who were born one year after the Great East Japan Earthquake and raised in the severely affected areas of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima, we conducted a 4-year follow-up study that began in 2019.
While both children's cognitive and vocabulary developmental delays and maternal psychiatric problems observed in the baseline study showed improvement over the course of 7 years, children's behavioral problems/mental health and maternal mental health problems passed in an interrelated manner, and the role of social capital was important in recovery.
High-risk children and families need continued long-term support through collaboration with schools, counseling agencies, and medical institutions.

Free Research Field

児童精神医学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

大震災後1年間に被災地に誕生した子どもの発達や精神健康の問題と保護者の精神健康の関連について本邦ではじめて明らかにし、被災の影響によると考えられる子どもの行動・精神健康の問題の遷延は、母親の小児期逆境体験や精神健康の問題と相互に関連しながら長期にわたり継続することが示された。大災害後には、直接被災した子どもだけでなく、震災後に生まれた子どもとその家庭にも長期的な発達支援・養育支援の継続を要することが示された。