Understanding Psychological Distress After the Niigata-Chuetsu Earthquake
Author Information
Author(s): Toyabe Shin-ichi, Shioiri Toshiki, Kobayashi Kuriko, Kuwabara Hideki, Koizumi Masataka, Endo Taro, Ito Miki, Honma Hiroko, Fukushima Noboru, Someya Toshiyuki, Akazawa Kouhei
Primary Institution: Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital
Hypothesis
What is the factor structure of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) in subjects who suffered from the 2004 Niigata-Chuetsu Earthquake?
Conclusion
The two-factor structure of GHQ-12 was conserved over time, showing that recovery from social dysfunction was significantly impaired even two years after the earthquake.
Supporting Evidence
- The GHQ-12 scores indicated that 33.1% of subjects experienced psychological distress using the binary method.
- The two-factor model showed better fit than one-factor and three-factor models.
- Advanced age was associated with impaired recovery in psychological distress.
Takeaway
This study looked at how people felt after a big earthquake in Japan and found that many still had trouble coping with daily life two years later.
Methodology
Psychological distress was measured using the GHQ-12 in a survey of 2,107 subjects two years after the earthquake, employing confirmatory factor analysis and categorical regression analysis.
Potential Biases
Differences in gender ratios between the two surveys may introduce bias.
Limitations
The study lacked non-exposed or pre-earthquake control subjects and did not directly compare results from the first and second surveys due to differences in subject backgrounds.
Participant Demographics
{"gender":{"male":1310,"female":792},"age":{"under_29":34,"30_to_39":184,"40_to_49":304,"50_to_64":805,"65_to_79":693,"80_and_over":87}}
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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