Tsuno Kanami, Oshima Kazuki, Kubota Kazumi, Kawakami Norito
Department of Hygiene, School of Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, 811-1 Kimiidera 641-8509; University of Tokyo, Japan.
Sangyo Eiseigaku Zasshi. 2014;56(6):245-58. doi: 10.1539/sangyoeisei.B14006. Epub 2014 Sep 19.
The Great East Japan Earthquake caused severe infrastructure damage in the Kanto and Tohoku regions, but the psychological stress of public sector employees in the Kanto region where tsunami damage was small has received little attention. This study examined the association between personal resilience and post-traumatic stress symptoms of local government employees in the Kanto region.
In this cross-sectional study, all employees (N=2,069) of a single municipality in the Kanto region were recruited in September 2011, six months after the earthquake, and 991 completed the questionnaire (response rate, 47.9%). After excluding respondents who had missing values, the data from 825 respondents (607 males and 218 females) were analyzed. Post-traumatic stress symptoms were measured using the Impact Event Scale-Revised. Resilience was measured using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and divided into three groups on the basis of scores; low, moderate, and high. House damage and respondents or their families' experience of injury that were caused by the earthquake were assessed using single-item questions. Participants who reported house damage or injury were defined as being affected. Using multiple logistic regression analysis, the odds ratio of post-traumatic stress symptoms (IES-R score ≥25) was calculated for the upper, middle, and low resilience score groups.
Among the respondents, 4.6% experienced injuries within their families, 82.3% reported house damage, and thus 83.3% were affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Post-traumatic stress symptoms were significantly higher among the affected group and those with chronic diseases. After adjusting for the demographic and occupational characteristics, the likelihood of post-traumatic stress symptoms was greater in the low resilience group (Odds ratio: 2.10 [95% confidence interval = 1.31-3.37]). A significant negative relationship was observed between resilience and post-traumatic stress symptoms particularly in the affected group.
Low personal resilience predicted post-traumatic stress symptoms among local government employees who experienced some house damage or injury during the Great East Japan Earthquake. This result may indicate that resilience reduces the onset of post-traumatic stress symptoms, even when faced by the difficulties imposed by a natural disaster such as an earthquake.
东日本大地震给关东和东北地区的基础设施造成了严重破坏，但海啸破坏较小的关东地区公共部门员工的心理压力却很少受到关注。本研究调查了关东地区地方政府员工的个人复原力与创伤后应激症状之间的关联。
在这项横断面研究中，2011年9月，即地震发生六个月后，招募了关东地区一个市的所有员工（N = 2069人），991人完成了问卷调查（回复率为47.9%）。在排除有缺失值的受访者后，对825名受访者（607名男性和218名女性）的数据进行了分析。创伤后应激症状采用修订后的冲击事件量表进行测量。复原力采用康纳-戴维森复原力量表进行测量，并根据得分分为三组：低、中、高。房屋损坏以及受访者或其家人在地震中受伤的情况通过单项问题进行评估。报告房屋损坏或受伤的参与者被定义为受影响者。使用多元逻辑回归分析，计算高、中、低复原力得分组创伤后应激症状（IES-R得分≥25）的比值比。
在受访者中，4.6%的家庭成员受伤，82.3%的人报告房屋受损，因此83.3%的人受到东日本大地震的影响。受影响组和患有慢性病的人创伤后应激症状明显更高。在调整了人口统计学和职业特征后，低复原力组出现创伤后应激症状的可能性更大（比值比：2.10 [95%置信区间 = 1.31 - 3.37]）。在复原力与创伤后应激症状之间观察到显著的负相关关系，尤其是在受影响组中。
低个人复原力预示着在东日本大地震中经历了一些房屋损坏或受伤的地方政府员工会出现创伤后应激症状。这一结果可能表明，即使面对地震等自然灾害带来的困难，复原力也能减少创伤后应激症状的发生。
