Nobuaki Morita

Relationship between odor perception and depression in the Japanese elderly

Abstract Odor perception has been studied in patients with various mental disorders; however, no consensus has been reached as to its detection, identification, or pleasantness/unpleasantness of odors especially in patients with depression. One hundred and nineteen normal elderly individuals living at home were exposed to odors of rose, perfume, white ginger, Indian ink, cigarette smoke, milk, feces and orange scent using the scratch and sniff method. They were asked to rate the strength of each odor, its pleasantness or unpleasantness, their liking for it, and their familiarity with it. They were also asked to complete a self‐rating depression scale (SDS). The relationship of the score of each psychological olfactory scale with the SDS score and the difference in the score of each psychological scale between high‐SDS and low‐SDS groups are discussed.

Correlation between addictive behaviors and mental health in university students

Aims:  The present study aims to clarify the relationships of addictive behaviors and addiction overlap to stress, acceptance from others and purpose in life.

Recognition of affect in facial expression using the Noh Mask Test: Comparison of individuals with schizophrenia and normal controls

Abstract  The purpose of the present study was to compare facial expression recognition in individuals with schizophrenia and normal controls using the Noh Mask Test. Fifteen men with schizophrenia and 15 normal controls were presented with a photograph of a Noh mask rotated either upward or downward from the neutral front‐facing position, and an emotion label, and were requested to judge whether the expression of the mask was congruent with the indicated emotion. Using multidimensional scaling, the facial expression of the Noh mask recognized by the patients and the healthy controls was analyzed in 3‐D: (i) Rejection–Attention; (ii) Pleasant–Unpleasant; and (iii) Awakening–Relaxation. Individuals with schizophrenia had difficulty recognizing that others had intentions of harming them. The Noh Mask Test was found to be useful in discriminating between individuals with schizophrenia and controls in the recognition of facial expression (discriminant ratio: 99.9%).

The Noh mask test for analysis of recognition of facial expression.

A preliminary study on the Noh mask test for analysis of recognition of facial expression was performed. The present study was conducted on 15 normal subjects (mean age: 32 years, SD 9.7 years) as the first step to test for the differences between psychiatric patients and normal subjects. Stimuli were created by photographs of 15 Noh masks at different vertical angles. Subjects were given 12 tasks (12 emotion items), and each task consisted of 15 trials (15 Noh mask images). In each trial, the subject viewed a colour monitor, and was shown an emotion item, followed by a Noh mask image. The subject pressed either the yes or no key to indicate whether the Noh mask image expressed the emotion item. The subject’s response and reaction time to each Noh mask image showed no deviation, although the subject’s response and reaction time to each emotion item showed some deviation. As the vertical angle of the Noh mask changed, normal subjects recognized all emotion items except the ‘uncanny’ expression. Factor analysis of the 15 Noh mask images produced three factors, and the analysis of 12 emotion items produced five factors. Thus, the Noh mask test was simplified to nine images and nine items. Further developments of the Noh mask test may include the evaluation of the dysfunction of perception on delicate facial expression in psychiatric patients.

Job Stress and Mental Health of Child-Counseling Office Workers

Job Stress and Mental Health of Child‐Counseling Office Workers: Nobuaki Morita, et al. Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, Doctoral Program in Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba—In Japan, consultations concerning child abuse cases are increasing rapidly, and the mental health of child‐counseling office workers, who must deal with them, has emerged as an issue. To measure the state of mental health of these workers, and to clarify the characteristics of their job‐related stress, we sent a questionnaire to 69 workers of child‐counseling offices in Ibaraki Prefecture and obtained responses from 45. (1) Their job environment was characterized as high demand/low control/low reward. (2) The mean score of GHQ‐12 of the subjects was 5.9 ± 3.6, indicating a very poor state of mental health. (3) Stress due to physical and verbal assaults by the parties involved in the cases and the psychological burden of intervention were found to be related to their poor mental health. Along with measures to prevent such assaults, training in intervention techniques, supervision, and care for psychological trauma are needed for child‐counseling office workers.

Relationship between solvent inhalation and antisocial behavior: Special emphasis on two types of violence seen in solvent abusers

Abstract Organic solvent inhalation is a serious problem among youths in Japan. It induces physical and mental disorders, and is related closely to crime and delinquency. The relationship between solvent inhalation and antisocial behavior was investigated in 75 youths. The subjects were divided into three groups according to the level of violent behavior and the time of appearance: a non‐violent group, a late‐onset group (violence occurred after the start of inhalation) and an early‐onset group (violence had occurred before the start of inhalation). Various parameters were compared among the groups. The late‐onset group showed the following characteristics: (i) the frequency of inhalation was high, and many subjects experienced hallucinations and mood changes caused by inhalation; (ii) the family environment was characterized by conflict; and (iii) the subjects had strong psychological conflicts and showed dissociative coping with frustration. The violence, psychological conflict and dissociation in this group were found to be related to the inhalation, with familial conflict as a background. The violence in the early‐onset group was considered to be the manifestation of a violent personality as the frequency of inhalation and the incidence of mental symptoms were both low. The subjects in this group showed weak psychological conflict and tended to be demanding of others when attempting to cope with frustration. Two types of violent behaviors in the teenagers who inhaled solvents were identified. The violence of solvent inhalers should be managed according to the type.

Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of psychiatric patients coercively brought to hospitals

Abstract In order to clarify the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of psychiatric patients with poor motivation for treatment, we examined patients who were coercively brought to hospitals. Sociodemographic and clinical data on 287 inpatients from two private psychiatric hospitals in Japan were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were in the hospitals on 1 April 1997 and had received treatment prior to this admission. Of these inpatients, 67 (23.3%) were coercively brought to hospitals. Multiple logistic regression was performed on the data of these patients to identify the factors associated with their resistance to visiting the hospital. From the results of multivariate analysis, four characteristics were associated with patients coercively brought to hospitals, namely medication compliance, receiving regular outpatient treatment or not, a history of self‐aggression or aggressive behavior towards others, and living arrangements. For patients who had lived with relatives before hospitalization, the primary caregiver being a parental caregiver was associated with patients coercively brought to hospitals, although it was not statistically significant. In addition, agitation was associated with patients not coercively brought to the hospital according to multivariate analysis. The present results suggest that psychiatric patients with poor motivation are more likely to have poor medication compliance, to have not received regular outpatient treatment, to have a history of aggressive behavior and to live alone. For patients who lived with their caregivers prior to hospitalization, poorly motivated patients tended to have parental caregivers and were less likely to be agitated.

A case of possessive state with onset influenced by ‘door‐to‐door’ sales

Abstract Recently in Japan, ‘door‐to‐door sales’ has become of concern because it has created numerous legal and social problems. In this paper, a 47 year old dissociative trance disorder case who presented with possession by God is discussed. Specific types of door‐to‐door sales is known to use superstition and folk beliefs as tools to lure customers. In this particular case, these religious factors seemed to have played an important role in the precipitation of the disorder and its presentation. In addition, the brain‐washing environment observed in video lectures used in door‐to‐door sales seemed to play an important role in the development of the possessive state. We also performed social psychiatric analysis of the occurrence of the possessive state in a city area, which has been considered to develop within traditional culture. Phenomenological classification by one of the authors was useful for diagnosing underlying disorders in the possessive state.

Parental Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms as Predictors of Psychosocial Problems in Children Treated for Cancer

The purpose of this study was to explore the association between psychosocial functioning of children treated for cancer and that of their parents. Factors associated with psychosocial functioning were also examined. The present study was a cross-sectional survey of 33 mothers and one father (mean age: 37.9), each of whom had a child that had been treated for cancer. The participants answered a package of questionnaires consisting of the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), the Parent Experience of Child Illness (PECI), and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Information about the children’s illnesses was collected from medical records. The CBCL total problems T score was correlated with the parental IES-R total scores. Intensity of treatment independently predicted the variance of parental long-term uncertainty. In conclusion, psychosocial problems of children with cancer were associated with parental post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Provision of early, adequate support to parents who are vulnerable to PTSS will help not only the parents, but also their children with cancer.

Association between Experience of Child Abuse and Severity of Drug Addiction Measured by the Addiction Severity Index among Japanese Drug-Dependent Patients

The aim of the present study was to clarify the association between child abuse experiences and drug addiction severity among Japanese drug-dependent patients using the Addiction Severity Index-Japanese version (ASI-J). One hundred and eleven inpatients and outpatients with drug dependence participated in the study. Some of the questions on the ASI-J asked about lifetime experiences of abuse. A higher percentage of female participants experienced child abuse compared with male participants. Male participants who experienced child abuse (MEA) had a significantly higher severity of drug use than men who did not experience it (MNEA). Female participants who experienced child abuse (FEA) had significantly more serious problems in family/social relationships than female participants who did not experience it (FNEA). Patients in the MEA group were arrested less frequently for drug charges, experienced more serious problems with their fathers, and experienced more severe anxiety in their lifetime compared with the MNEA group. The FEA group experienced more serious troubles with their sexual partners, close friends, and families and experienced more severe psychiatric problems in their lifetime compared with the FNEA group. These results suggest gender differences in the problems experienced by drug-dependent patients with child abuse experiences, and gender-specific interventions may be more effective in treating their drug dependence.