Mental health and individual experience of unemployed young adults in Japan.

This study focused on the subjective experiences and mental health of young, unemployed adults in Japan. We explored how individuals describe their experiences of becoming unemployed and how these experiences influence their mental health within the current Japanese sociocultural context, using a social constructionist approach. We collected data from October 2012 to January 2013. Participants were 25 young unemployed Japanese job seekers (15 females), who were recruited using a purposive sampling strategy including snowball sampling. We conducted semi-structured interviews focusing on participants' previous work and job search experience, their lifestyle and health, the social support they considered necessary, their future job-seeking plans, and their demographic characteristics. Using thematic analysis, we identified four key themes from the interview data: stress relief, re-energization for future work, new job skills acquisition, and lifestyle change. The findings indicate that unemployment is sometimes experienced as more beneficial than employment. This might be because of the poor working environment in Japan, the financial support participants received, and the experience of short-term unemployment. The findings suggest that intervention is necessary to help young adults in Japan find high-quality jobs and that we must promote fair employment and decent working conditions for them.

Post-traumatic stress disorder and job stress among firefighters of urban Japan.

INTRODUCTION: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common condition among Japanese firefighters. The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship of PTSD scores to job stress, social support, and depressive stress among Japanese firefighters. METHODS: A total of 1,667 Japanese firefighters working for the local government completed a questionnaire that was used to gather information pertaining to age, gender, job type, job class, marital status, and smoking and drinking habits. Questionnaires from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the Japanese version of the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Generic Job Stress Questionnaire, and the IES-R were also used. RESULTS: After adjustment for age and gender, subjects in the PTSD-positive group had significantly higher scores for inter-group conflict, role ambiguity, and CES-D, as well as significantly lower scores for social support from their supervisors compared to those in the PTSD-negative group. CONCLUSIONS: High inter-group conflict and role ambiguity, as well as low social support from supervisors and the presence of depressive symptoms, may influence the development of PTSD among Japanese firefighters.

The effects of a stress inoculation training program for civil servants in Japan: a pilot study of a non-randomized controlled trial.

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of a stress inoculation training program for civil servants through a non-randomized trial. We divided 140 civil servants into two groups (an intervention group and a waiting list control group), and carried out three sessions with the intervention group at intervals of four weeks. The sessions included lectures on responses to stress and coping skills, problem-solving training, group discussions and self-monitoring. Data from 65 subjects in the intervention group and 63 subjects in the waiting list group were analyzed using two-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The intervention group showed statistically significant development of problem-solving skills and positive cognition, with a significant effect remaining one month after the intervention. The effect sizes in the intervention group showed a small-to-medium change in problem-solving coping and small changes in positive cognitive coping. However, no interventional effects were seen in terms of response to stress and health competence. As the number of existing studies on job stress management for workers is limited, further research in this field is necessary, including examination of the frequency and methods of intervention sessions, the effects of intervention by gender, etc.

Twenty-four-hour shift work, depressive symptoms, and job dissatisfaction among Japanese firefighters.

BACKGROUND: The influence of a 24-hr shift-work burden on firefighters' mental health has not been fully investigated. The purpose of this study is to clarify the relationships between specific workload items among firefighters engaged in 24-hr shift work and job stress as estimated by the generic job-stress questionnaire on depressive symptoms and job dissatisfaction from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). METHOD: The subjects were 1,301 firefighters. The questionnaire covered age, gender, job type, job class, marital status, smoking and drinking habits, number of attendances, turnout time, extra work hours, average nap-time, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), and questions from the NIOSH generic job-stress questionnaire, including those on job satisfaction. RESULTS: In multivariate logistic regression analyses, a model that included all variables except the measures from the NIOSH generic job-stress questionnaire showed that shorter nap-time had significant higher odds ratios (ORs) for depressive symptoms and job dissatisfaction, but the significances disappeared in a fully adjusted model. In fully adjusted logistic regression analyses, low quantitative workload, low variance in workload, high intra- and intergroup conflict, low social support from a supervisor, high role conflict and ambiguity, and low self-esteem had significant higher ORs for depressive symptoms and/or job dissatisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Amount of workload, variance in workload, intra- and intergroup conflict, social support from a supervisor, role conflict and ambiguity, and self-esteem were significantly related to depressive symptoms and/or job dissatisfaction among Japanese firefighters. Moreover, inadequate nap-time may affect their mental health.

Job stress and depressive symptoms among Japanese fire fighters.

BACKGROUND: Associations between job stresses, as assessed by theoretical job stress model and depressive symptoms among fire fighters have not been fully investigated. The purpose of this study is to clarify the factors of job stress that influence the depressive symptoms in Japanese fire fighters. METHODS: The subjects involved 1,672 fire fighters from a local government. The questionnaire comprised age, gender, job type, job class, martial status, smoking, and drinking habit, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), and The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) generic job questionnaire. RESULTS: A group showing depressive symptoms (CES-D > or = 16) included 373 subjects (22.3%). In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, high variance in workload, high intergroup conflict, high role conflict, and low self-esteem had significantly higher odds ratio for depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: High variance in workload, high intergroup conflict, high role conflict, and low self-esteem were significantly related to depressive symptoms among Japanese fire fighters. Further prospective studies are needed to clarify the influence of these stress factors on other health outcomes, and to elucidate whether alleviation of these stress factors improve the mental health among fire fighters.

Involvement of a polymorphism in the 5-HT2A receptor gene in impulsive behavior.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVE: Impulsive behavior has been suggested to occur due to a dysfunction of serotonergic 5-HT neurotransmission. After evaluation by a self-reporting measure, a polymorphism in the promoter of the 5-HT2A receptor gene has been proposed to underlie the impulsive behavior; however, this hypothesis is not convincing. In this study, we examined whether this 5-HT2A receptor gene polymorphism is involved in impulsive aggression by evaluating a behavioral task (go/no-go task) in normal volunteers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The polymorphism of the 5-HT2A receptor gene promoter was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction using lymphocytes from 71 volunteers. Impulsivity was defined as the number of commission errors (responding when one should not) made during a go/no-go task (a larger number of commission errors indicates greater difficulty in inhibiting the behavior). RESULTS: The subjects in the group with the A-1438A allele of the 5-HT2A receptor gene (A-1438A group) made more commission errors under the punishment-reward condition in a go/no-go task than those in the G-1438G group. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest the possible involvement of the A-1438A polymorphism of the 5-HT2A receptor gene in impulsive behavior; this was evaluated using a behavioral task measure that can directly reveal the traits of human impulsive behavior.