The Mental Health of Young Return Migrants with Ancestral Roots in Their Destination Country: A Cross-Sectional Study Focusing on the Ethnic Identities of Japanese-Brazilian High School Students Living in Japan.

BACKGROUND: The number of young Japanese Brazilians, who are return migrants with Japanese ancestral roots, is increasing rapidly in Japan. However, the characteristics of their mental health and the relation between mental health and a complex ethnic identity remains unclear. METHODS: This cross-sectional study compared 25 Japanese-Brazilian high school students with 62 Japanese high school students living in the same area. Research using self-report questionnaires on mental health, help-seeking behavior tendencies, and ethnic identity was conducted. The Japanese-Brazilian group was also divided into high and low ethnic identity groups, and their mental health conditions were compared. RESULTS: The Japanese-Brazilian group had significantly poorer mental health conditions and lower ethnic identities than the Japanese group and were less likely to seek help from family members and close relatives. Among the Japanese Brazilians, those with low ethnic identity had significantly poorer mental health than those with high ethnic identity. CONCLUSIONS: Young Japanese Brazilians may face conflicts of ethnic identity that can disturb their mental health. To build an inclusive society, the establishment of community services to support mental health and to help return migrants develop their ethnic identity is essential.

School mental healthcare services using internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy for young male athletes in Japan.

AIM: Preventive intervention and treatment using internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy (iCBT) can be easily administered to school students, as they are quite familiar with internet tools. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness and contribution of iCBT to mental healthcare in a school setting. METHODS: Eighty Japanese high school boys who were participating in a sports specialist course were enrolled in this study. The participants were randomly assigned to either the iCBT intervention group or the control group. Both programmes were administered for 4 weeks. To evaluate the effects, physical and mental health problems and self-efficacy were assessed. RESULTS: The mean number of times that the iCBT website was accessed during the intervention period was 16.9, and the mean access frequency (percentage of the number of times the website was accessed during the intervention period) was 40.1% in the iCBT group. A statistically significant interaction between group and time in favour of the iCBT group was observed based on the Kessler-6 (K6) scale for depression and anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that a school mental healthcare programme using iCBT is suitable for students and useful for coping with stress and reducing depressed mood and anxiety in young people, especially athletes, who are regarded as needing special mental health support.