Goro Tanaka

Burden and coping strategies in mothers of patients with schizophrenia in Japan

Aim:  The present study was conducted to identify factors contributing to burden of care in 57 mothers caring for patients with schizophrenia.

Caregiver burden and coping strategies for patients with schizophrenia: Comparison between Japan and Korea

Aim:  With the current shift to community‐centered mental health services, considerable research on the family burden of caring for patients with schizophrenia has been conducted in developed countries. However, there has been no investigation of families with Japanese or Korean sociocultural backgrounds. Therefore, the present study compared the caregiver burden and coping strategies of families of patients with schizophrenia in Japan and Korea in order to elucidate similarities and differences in the sociocultural factors that affect the care experience of families in Northeast Asia.

Usefulness of near-infrared spectroscopy to detect brain dysfunction in children with autism spectrum disorder when inferring the mental state of others

The purpose of this study was to examine the usefulness of near‐infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for identifying abnormalities in prefrontal brain activity in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) as they inferred the mental states of others.

Personal stigma and coping strategies in families of patients with schizophrenia: Comparison between Japan and Korea

Introduction: It has been extensively documented that caregivers of persons who have serious and persistent mental disorders must successfully cope with many challenging problems in order to provide good care. However, little is known about the relationship between family stigma and strategies for coping with patients with schizophrenia. Therefore, the present study compared the personal stigma and coping strategies of families of patients with schizophrenia by examining the socio‐cultural factors that affect the care experience of families in Northeast Asian countries.

Pilot Study: Efficacy of Sensory Integration Therapy for Japanese Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder

This studys objective was to investigate the efficacy of sensory integration therapy (SIT) for children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD). The subjects were 20 HFASD children with IQs above 70 selected from previously collected data. Eight participated in individual SIT sessions, and 12 participated in group therapy (GT) including social skill training, communication training, kinetic activities, and child-parent play for 8-10 months. Changes in Total score and five Index scores on the Japanese version of the Miller Assessment for Preschoolers before and after therapy between children in the SIT and GT groups were compared. The results showed that Total score and all Index scores except for Verbal Index increased significantly in the SIT group, while only Total score increased in the GT group. Furthermore, the SIT group showed more improvement compared with the GT group in Total score and on Coordination, Non-verbal, and Complex Index scores. SIT might have a more positive effect on motor coordination abilities, non-verbal cognitive abilities, and combined abilities of sensory motor and cognition in children with HFASD when compared with GT. This study has limitations such as being an analysis of previously collected data. Further study should be conducted with a randomized control trial.

Study of understanding the internalized stigma of schizophrenia in psychiatric nurses in Japan

Aim:  ‘Internalized stigma’ is a construct that reflects the degree to which a person accepts beliefs endorsed by society about mental illness. Among people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, internalized stigma has been found to moderate the associations between insight and social function, hope, and self‐esteem. Among families of patients with schizophrenia, internalized stigma may not only hinder help‐seeking but also result in the families attempting to provide care themselves, without assistance from mental health services. Little is known about internalized stigma among service providers, especially psychiatric nurses in Japan. Therefore, we investigated the correlation between internalized stigma and ‘beliefs about the most appropriate form of hospitalization’ among psychiatric nurses.

Family stigma and care burden of schizophrenia patients: Comparison between Japan and Korea

Introduction: In the present study, we compared the care burden and stigma experienced by families of patients with schizophrenia in Japan (Niigata) and Korea (Seoul and Daegu) to elucidate similarities and differences in the sociocultural factors that affect the care experience of families in East Asia.

Effects of cellular phone email use on the mental health of junior high school students in Japan

IN RECENT YEARS, cellular phone (CP) email has become a major communication method among young people in Japan. Furthermore, ‘cyberbullying’ via email, chat and message board postings on the Internet and CP is becoming an important issue. In the present study we conducted a largescale survey of junior high school students in Japan to investigate the effects of CP email on emotional status. The subjects consisted of a total of 10 709 junior high school students in grades 7–9 from Tsu City (5335 students) and Nagasaki City (5374 students). An anonymous 50-item self-completed questionnaire survey was conducted in July 2006 (Tsu) and January 2008 (Nagasaki). Students absent on the day of the survey and those whose questionnaires were left blank were excluded; 4894 and 4864 valid responses were obtained for Tsu and Nagasaki, respectively (total, 9758; boys, 4952; girls, 4806). Overall, 49.9% of students possessed a CP. The rate of possession increased with year in school; 39.6% of 7th graders, 50.2% of 8th graders and 59.3% of 9th graders possessed CP. In response to the question ‘Have you experienced stress during email exchange using your CP in the past week?’, 8.4% of students reported ‘once’, 2.6% reported ‘twice’, 5.5% reported ‘three times or more’ ( 3 times), and the remainder reported ‘never’. Logistic regression analysis was conducted controlling for grade and sex; odds ratios (OR) of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) poor mental health status (GHQ-12 score 4) were 1.83 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.57–2.12; once), 2.36 (95%CI: 1.81–3.07; twice), and 3.97 (95%CI: 3.25–4.85; 3 times) as compared to ‘never’. Thus, the number of occurrences of email-related stress was associated with poor mental health status. A significant association was also observed between subjects who answered ‘yes’ to the item ‘Have you been the victim of bullying within the past year?’ and those who reported ‘ 3 times’ to the email question (OR, 2.02; 95%CI: 1.65–2.49). The OR of the GHQ-12 poor mental health status for subjects who met the two aforementioned criteria was markedly high (19.30; 95%CI: 10.60–35.15) compared to those who answered ‘no’ to the bullying question and ‘never’ to the email question. Thus, a marked decline in mental health was observed in subjects who were experiencing both stress due to CP email use and bullying. These findings suggest that problems with CP email may have a considerable effect on the emotional status of young teens. CP email stress should be a new focus of mental health intervention in young people in Japan.

Relationship between Sympathetic Skin Responses and Auditory Hypersensitivity to Different Auditory Stimuli

[Purpose] Auditory hypersensitivity has been widely reported in patients with autism spectrum disorders. However, the neurological background of auditory hypersensitivity is currently not clear. The present study examined the relationship between sympathetic nervous system responses and auditory hypersensitivity induced by different types of auditory stimuli. [Methods] We exposed 20 healthy young adults to six different types of auditory stimuli. The amounts of palmar sweating resulting from the auditory stimuli were compared between groups with (hypersensitive) and without (non-hypersensitive) auditory hypersensitivity. [Results] Although no group × type of stimulus × first stimulus interaction was observed for the extent of reaction, significant type of stimulus × first stimulus interaction was noted for the extent of reaction. For an 80 dB-6,000 Hz stimulus, the trends for palmar sweating differed between the groups. For the first stimulus, the variance became larger in the hypersensitive group than in the non-hypersensitive group. [Conclusion] Subjects who regularly felt excessive reactions to auditory stimuli tended to have excessive sympathetic responses to repeated loud noises compared with subjects who did not feel excessive reactions. People with auditory hypersensitivity may be classified into several subtypes depending on their reaction patterns to auditory stimuli.

Relationship between motor coordination, cognitive abilities, and academic achievement in Japanese children with neurodevelopmental disorders

Background/Objective Motor coordination impairment is common in children with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD). The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between motor coordination, cognitive ability, and academic achievement in Japanese children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Methods Thirty-four school-age (6–12 years old) children with neurodevelopmental disorders and 34 age-matched typically developing (TD) children were recruited in this study. Correlations between the scores of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (M-ABC2) and the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children — Second Edition (K-ABCII) that assesses cognitive abilities, and academic achievement were analyzed. Results The children with neurodevelopmental disorders obtained a lower total score and all component scores on M-ABC2 compared to the TD children. In children with neurodevelopmental disorders, M-ABC2 Manual Dexterity score was significantly correlated with K-ABCII Simultaneous Processing (r = .345, p = .046), Knowledge (r = .422, p = .013), Reading (r = .342, p = .048), Writing (r = .414, p = .017), and Arithmetic (r = .443, p = .009) scores. In addition, M-ABC2 Balance score was significantly correlated with K-ABCII Learning (r = .341, p = .048), Writing (r = .493, p = .004), and Arithmetic (r = .386, p = .024) scores. Conclusion These findings stress that it is essential to accurately identify motor coordination impairments and the interventions that would consider motor coordination problems related to cognitive abilities and academic achievement in Japanese children with neurodevelopmental disorders.