Title |
Post-traumatic Stress and Growth Among Medical Student Volunteers After the March 2011 Disaster in Fukushima, Japan: Implications for Student Involvement with Future Disasters
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Published in |
Psychiatric Quarterly, July 2015
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DOI | 10.1007/s11126-015-9381-3 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
David Anderson, Phoebe Prioleau, Kanako Taku, Yu Naruse, Hideharu Sekine, Masaharu Maeda, Hirooki Yabe, Craig Katz, Robert Yanagisawa |
Abstract |
The March 2011 "triple disaster" (earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident) had a profound effect on northern Japan. Many medical students at Fukushima Medical University volunteered in the relief effort. We aimed to investigate the nature of students' post-disaster involvement and examine the psychological impact of their experiences using a survey containing elements from the Davidson Trauma Scale and Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. We collected 494 surveys (70 % response rate), of which 132 students (26.7 %) had volunteered. Volunteers were more likely to be older, have witnessed the disaster in person, had their hometowns affected, and had a family member or close friend injured. In the month after 3/11, volunteers were more likely to want to help, feel capable of helping, and report an increased desire to become a physician. Both in the month after 3/11 and the most recent month before the survey, there were no significant differences in distressing symptoms, such as confusion, anger, or sadness, between volunteers and non-volunteers. Volunteers reported a significantly higher level of posttraumatic growth than non-volunteers. Participating in a greater variety of volunteer activities was associated with a higher level of posttraumatic growth, particularly in the Personal Strength domain. There may be self-selection in some criteria, since students who were likely to be resistant to confusion/anxiety/sadness may have felt more capable of helping and been predisposed to volunteer. However, participation in post-disaster relief efforts did not appear to have a harmful effect on medical students, an important consideration for mobilizing volunteers after future disasters. |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 2 | 2% |
Unknown | 123 | 98% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 19 | 15% |
Student > Bachelor | 18 | 14% |
Student > Master | 12 | 10% |
Researcher | 9 | 7% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 9 | 7% |
Other | 22 | 18% |
Unknown | 36 | 29% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Psychology | 30 | 24% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 16 | 13% |
Social Sciences | 9 | 7% |
Nursing and Health Professions | 4 | 3% |
Arts and Humanities | 4 | 3% |
Other | 21 | 17% |
Unknown | 41 | 33% |