KUMANO, Hiroaki

ISSN：0033-3174

ISSN：03850307

ISSN：09106529

Outline：The present article reports effects of cognitive behavioral group therapy (CBGT) on adults with depression, using a controlled clinical trial. The cognitive behavioral group therapy consisted of 12 sessions developed by psychologists, consisting of Beck's cognitive therapy and problemsolving therapy. Participants (n=10) received this treatment from a psychologist, including pharmacotherapy (treatment as usual; TAU) combined with the cognitive behavioral group therapy program (TAU+CBGT group). The other participants (n=10) received only pharmacotherapy (TAU group). The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) which measures depression was completed by the participants at 3 times (pre-, mid-, and post) during the cognitive behavioral group therapy program. The results revealed that after the therapy, depression in the group receiving cognitive behavioral therapy with pharmacotherapy improved significantly more than in the treatment-as-usual group. These results suggest that for adults with depression, the administration of pharmacotherapy combined with cognitive behavioral group therapy managed by a psychologist may be more effective than treatment with pharmacotherapy only.

ISSN：09106529

Outline：The present case study describes treatment given to a man in his 40s who was reported to have pnigophobia (fear of choking) and some physical symptoms such as dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing). The treatment was based on a behavior analysis of the link between his covert cognitive responses and swallowing. The results of the behavior analysis suggested that simultaneous presentation of food in his mouth and his pnigophobic cognitions elicited the dysphagia which, in turn, reinforced his avoidance behavior. The treatment included exposure to body sensations and reciprocal inhibition of the cognitive response during swallowing. The client was asked to describe his body sensations in all phases of swallowing continuously. After this intervention, the client's physical symptoms were reduced; at 1-month and 3-month follow-ups, this improvement was found to have been maintained.

ISSN：03850307

Outline：Background : Body image dissatisfaction (BID) tendency is a diagnostic item for an eating disorder (ED) and body checking (BC) is a behavioral feature of ED. A relationship between BID and BC has been hypothesized. It has been reported that mirror exposure (ME) is an effective intervention method for improving BID and BC. In ME, the client looks at the whole body in a mirror for about 1〜2 minutes, doing as little evaluation as possible. However, the precise relationship between BID and BC has not been shown and the cognitive processing style during ME has not been clarified. The purpose of this research was to clarify the relationship between BID and BC by using questionnaire survey, and to experimentally examine the subjective way of viewing the whole body in a mirror based on the differences in BID tendency. Method : Participants were female college students (n=382 : mean age 20.0 years, SD=1.69) attending the Waseda University, in Tokyo, Japan. Participants responded to the following questionnaires : (1) Eating Attitude Test-26 Japanese version (EAT-26), (2) Body Image Dissatisfaction measure (BID measure), and (3) Body Checking Cognitions Scale Japanese version (BCCS). Seven participants (Mean age 21.7 years, SD=5.02) who consented to the participation in an experiment were divided into two groups based on their BID measure ; namely those with an average score of 59.1, +0.5 SD were included in the high BID group (H group) and the others in the normal BID group (N group). In the experiment, participants were asked to freely look at their whole body in a mirror for 5 minutes. After that, the participants responded to a questionnaire inquiring about their feelings when looking at the mirror, as well as their usual feelings about their body. Results : In EAT-26, BID measure, and BCCS, a moderate significant positive correlation was shown, respectively (r=0.412〜0.538, p<0.01). Moreover, a weak but significant positive correlation was shown in the partial correlation of BID measure and BCCS, after controlling EAT-26 score (r=0.253, p<0.01). When the numbers of body parts that H and N groups intentionally looked at were compared using a Wilcoxon rank sum correlation test, H group inclined to look at larger numbers of body parts than N group did (p=0.0692). Similarly, H group showed a significantly larger difference represented by the absolute value between the degree of usual negative feelings about the most disliked body part and negative feelings when looking at it in a mirror than N group did (p=0.0498). Considerations : The study indicated a relationship between BID and BC regardless of ED tendency. Moreover, people with strong BID experienced different feelings when they usually think of their body and when they look at their body in a mirror. It is suggested that this could be because they avoid looking at the parts of their body resulting in negative feelings in their daily life when looking in a mirror. Conclusion This study indicated a relationship between ED and BID and BC, and a possibility that people with strong BID avoid looking at the parts of their body. Therefore, it is expected that presenting ME to people with strong BID will stop avoiding their body image and improve body image overestimation (/underestimation).

ISSN：09106529

Outline：The present study aimed to develop a Three Senses of the Selves Questionnaire (TSSQ) and confirm its reliability and validity. Furthermore, the functions involved in the 3 selves were examined in order to identify more appropriate behavior classes (sets of behaviors with similar functions) than the 3 conventional behavioral processes. A new questionnaire, comprised of 33 items, was completed by college students. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that the Three Senses of the Selves Questionnaire had a 4-factor pattern: "acting actively and flexibly in the world," "conceptualized self," "distancing from private events," and "feeling the present moment." Additional structural equation modeling indicated that the 3 selves had 2 valid behavioral classes. Cronbach's α for all the factors was sufficiently high (α=.72-.83), and the questionnaire met the standards for content and convergent validity. Future studies should examine the relations between the 3 selves and other behavioral processes relevant to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and various clinical symptoms, and develop an understanding of how these senses of the 3 selves aggravate or assuage mental pain.

ISSN：21873968

ISSN：09106529

Outline：This study investigated the validation of the Japanese version of the 13-item Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ) whose content was revised and the 7-item CFQ. Results of a survey of university students showed that the revised CFQ-13 reflects a two-factor structure, whereas the CFQ-7 reflects a one-factor structure similar to the previous study. Results of item analysis showed that treating each factor independently is appropriate. It was previously assumed that the two structures corresponded to "cognitive fusion" (Factor I) and "cognitive defusion" getting out of cognitive fusion (Factor II), respectively. However, results showed that Factor II corresponds to "a component of the function of defusion." Therefore, Factor I or the CFQ-7 is equivalent to cognitive fusion, and Factor II is appropriate to measure a part of defusion that is "the discrimination of self and thought." Moreover, the CFQ-13 requires an additional and different validation strategy by investigating the relationship with overt behavioral measurements in future studies.

ISSN：1883-5619

ISSN：0030-2813

Outline：Recently, it has been demonstrated that children who stutter (CWS) have attentional difficulties. But little is known about attentional function in adults who stutter (AWS). Two groups of 17 AWS and 18 adults who do not stutter (AWNS) participated in the present study. We aimed to confirm (1) whether AWS also show attentional difficulties like CWS and (2) how attentional function relates to stuttering severity in AWS. Results indicated that AWS and AWNS showed similar levels of attentional function, but those who tended to react faster and more incorrectly to the experimental task showed worse stuttering severity. This outcome suggests that cognitive strategies non-specific to speech production can influence stuttering severity. We discussed intervention for the attentional function in AWS.

ISSN：0385-0307

Outline：Backgrounds : Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster occurred following the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011. It bears comparison with the incident in Chernobyl in 1986 in the degree of radiological contamination to the surrounding environment. 164,218 residents were displaced losing their home-land by this serious incident, of which 97,321 were relocated to other regions within the Fukushima prefecture, and 57,135 residents were relocated to other prefectures. The evacuees from Fukushima can be considered the largest number of 'internally displaced persons' or 'domestic refugees' in Japan after the world war two. Objective : This study investigated the scale of post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms in the evacuees as of two years after the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. It also tried to identify the impact of bio-psycho-social factors related to PTS symptoms. Samples and methods : Questionnaire survey was conducted by Waseda University and Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK). 2,425 households living at temporary housings within Fukushima prefecture were asked to answer the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and the self-report questionnaires that we generated in order to evaluate the damage by the disaster in relation to several bio-psycho-social factors in refugee lives. There were 745 replies (the cooperation rate ; 30.7%), of which 661 were analyzed. Besides, multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine several bio-psycho-social factors as predictors for probable PTSD. Results : High level PTS symptoms were found. The mean score of IES-R was 34.20±20.56, and 62.56% were over 24/25 cut-off point determined as broadly defined PTSD which means high-risk presence of probable PTSD. The significant differences by chi-square test of high-risk subjects were found among economic difficulty (p=.000), concerns about compensation (p=.000), lost jobs (p=.023), unsatisfying housing (p=.025), unsatisfying environment around temporary housing (p=.000), having chronic disease (p=.003), aggravation of chronic disease (p=.000), affection of new disease (p=.000), lack of necessary information (p=.000), family split-up (p=.031), and lack of acquaintance support (p=.000). By the result of multiple logistic regression analysis, the significant predictors of probable PTSD were economic difficulty (OR : 2.34, 95%CI : 1.30-4.24), concerns about compensation (OR : 4.16, 95%CI 1.26-13.76), aggravation of chronic disease (OR : 2.94, 95%CI : 1.63-5.30), affection of new disease (OR : 2.20, 95%CI : 1.21-3.99), and lack of acquaintance support (OR : 1.92, 95%CI : 1.07-3.42). Conclusion : The findings revealed that there is a high-risk presence of probable PTSD strongly related to a number of bio-psycho-social factors due to the nuclear power plant disaster and its consequent evacuation. Our findings underscore the specific characteristics of the nuclear disaster as man-made disaster. Since the socio-economic problems such as compensation and reparation have not been solved, it is suggested that prolonged uncertainty regarding the insufficient salvation of the evacuees might account for the high-level PTS symptoms.

Outline：

Post-Event Processing (PEP) is defined that ruminating about anxiety-evoking social events; it is a key factor contributing to social anxiety. Although previous studies have shown that rumination and worry similar to PEP in terms of repetitive thinking style are related to attentional control functions, the relevance of PEP and attentional control functions has not been clarified. Moreover, no instrument has been developed to measure the observer's perspective during PEP. We investigated the relation between the PEP of an experimental social situation and attentional control functions with developing the Functional Recall Vantage Perspective Scale during PEP. Undergraduate students completed several questionnaires and a cognitive task measuring their attentional control functions. They then participated in a speech task. The following day, we measured the PEP of the speech task and conducted a correlation analysis between the PEP scores and the attentional control function scores. The results indicated that the Observer–Avoidance perspective subscale of the Functional Recall Vantage Perspective Scale can measure the observer's perspective of PEP. Furthermore, they also showed that negative PEP and the Observer–Avoidance perspective are negatively correlated with selective attentional control functions. Therefore, to decrease PEP in particular, focusing on selective attention may be beneficial.

Outline：

Extinction training establishes extinction learning and, thus, inhibits conditioned fear responses. However, fear responses may return because extinction learning cannot affect memory trace that is the origin of fear. Exposure therapy, which is based on the extinction learning paradigm, is used to treat anxiety disorders. Relapses of anxiety disorders after exposure therapy have also been reported. Consequently, treatments, which can prevent the return of fear responses, are needed. Recently, a mechanism known as memory reconsolidation has been receiving much attention. Consolidated memory traces are destabilized after they have been retrieved. Those memory traces are stabilized again by means of the reconsolidation process. During reconsolidation, retrieved fear memory can be updated. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that extinction training during reconsolidation updates fear memory and prevents the return of fear responses. Further studies are required to determine the effects of reconsolidation interventions on anxiety disorders.

ISSN：0385-0307

Outline：

Backgrounds : This study reports the results of a questionnaire survey conducted in the households consisting of inhabitants of Fukushima Prefecture who have evacuated to Saitama Prefecture or Tokyo Metropolis at one and two years after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 has been expanded to the nuclear power plant disaster. Consequently, approximately 56,920 inhabitants of Fukushima evacuated to other prefectures as of March 2013. This consequence sets the 2011 earthquake apart from previous natural disasters. Method : This survey was conducted by "Earthquake and human sciences project" of Waseda University and Shinsai Shien Network Saitama. Psychological stress of the evacuees (2,011 households in 2012 ; 1,875 households in Saitama and 2,393 households in Tokyo in 2013) were examined one year and two years after the disaster respectively. The questionnaire also contained such items as severity of housing destruction, Tsunami affection, worries about livelihood sustainability etc. In this study, psychological stress was measured using the Stress Response Scale-18 (SRS-18). Results : The results revealed that the stress reaction level of the evacuees from Fukushima Prefecture living in other prefectures is still "somewhat higher" despite two years passed since the disaster. A chi-square test was used to determine psychosocial factors influencing stress reactions. Results of the survey in 2012 revealed that anxiety about living costs or joblessness influenced stress reactions in men, whereas damaged houses, personal relationships, and compensation problems related to the nuclear power plant influenced stress reactions in women. However, according to the results of the 2013 survey, difficult economic conditions, aggravated health conditions, negative labeling as an evacuee, and dissatisfaction with relationships with family and neighbors influenced stress reactions in both men and women. Conclusion : The results revealed that the psychological stress is strongly related to several social factors ; economic conditions, health status, family and community relationships, and dwelling environments. By the comparison between first year result and second year result, the causes of stressors have been changed from the damage of earthquake disaster itself into the circumstances of shelter life over time. Therefore, the work in cooperation among medicine, clinical psychology, social welfare, and legal support is necessary in order to obtain mental health recovery.

ISSN：0385-0307

Outline：

Background : As of March 2014, three years after the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster, 58,624 residents were relocated to other regions within the Fukushima prefecture, and 47,683 residents were relocated to other prefectures. Attenuation of human relationships due to the disruption of regional ties nurtured in the past heightens stress. This highlights the need to create a new community focused on establishing ties with neighbors. Among evacuees, providing support for elderly adults suffering from a decline in physical functioning and a deteriorating mental health is necessary. Objective : This study investigated the relationship between individual social capital and mental health in elderly adults, specifically focusing on the role of social capital in reconstruction after the earthquake. Methods : A self-report questionnaire was conducted at Waseda University and Shinsai Shien Network, Saitama. Evacuees from Fukushima prefecture (n=3,599) who lived in Saitama prefecture and Tokyo were asked to complete the Stress Response Scale-18 comprising questions related to social capital with cognitive and structural indicators. There were 772 replies (response rate=21.5%) and 229 respondents were analyzed. In addition, a multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between social capital and mental health in elderly adults. Results : The group with low confidence in neighbors relative to the group with high confidence in neighbors had a 5.192 times higher chance of being in the high-stress group (95%CI=1.042-25.865). In addition, the group with lower confidence in acquiring their neighbors assistance if a disaster occurred again, had a 2.172 times higher chance of being in the high-stress group (95%CI=1.051-4.487). Furthermore, people who have never participated in regional activities (e.g., hobbies, sports, entertainment, etc.) had a 3.112 times higher chance of being high-stressed relative to the group who participated two or three times (95%CI=1.059-9.150). Finally, the group that never greeted neighbors had a 3.317 times higher chance of being high-stressed relative to the group that had five or more greeted neighbors (95%CI=1.177-9.346). Conclusion : Lower social-capital cognitive indicators such as "trusting one's neighbors" and "helping one's neighbors" were correlated with higher stress levels. Therefore, elderly adults can presumably maintain good mental health by developing a neighborhood relationship and building mutual trust. Furthermore, lower social-capital structural indicators such as "number of greeted neighbors" and "participation frequency in regional activities" were correlated with higher stress levels. It is important to encourage social participation of evacuees and provide them with support.

Outline：

The present study aimed to develop a questionnaire to measure acceptance, a behavioral process that is emphasized in the third-wave cognitive and behavioral therapies, and to confirm its reliability and validity. Undergraduate and graduate students completed questionnaires. The results of a factor analysis indicated that the new 13-item questionnaire, the Acceptance Process Questionnaire (APQ), had a 4-factor pattern. The middle- or long-term results factors were "expanding behavioral repertoire" and "being receptive to the real world". The behavioral content factors were "making a choice not to avoid private events" and "stopping reactions". The questionnaire had adequate structural validity and internal consistency. Additionally, it is assumed that the Acceptance Process Questionnaire measures acceptance on the entire scale. However, more refinement is needed concerning convergent validity and test-retest reliability. Future research should aim to increase the workability of the questionnaire by confirming its test-retest reliability with a larger sample and by indicating the relation between questionnaire scores and behavioral tendencies in real-life.

ISSN：16617827

Outline：© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. In-situ real-time monitoring of volatile organic compound (VOC) exposure and heart rate variability (HRV) were conducted for eight multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) patients using a VOC monitor, a Holter monitor, and a time-activity questionnaire for 24 h to identify the relationship between VOC exposure, biological effects, and subjective symptoms in actual life. The results revealed no significantly different parameters for averaged values such as VOC concentration, HF (high frequency), and LF (low frequency) to HF ratio compared with previous data from healthy subjects (Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2010, 7, 4127–4138). Significant negative correlations for four subjects were observed between HF and amounts of VOC change. These results suggest that some patients show inhibition of parasympathetic activities along with VOC exposure as observed in healthy subjects. Comparing the parameters during subjective symptoms and normal condition, VOC concentration and/or VOC change were high except for one subject. HF values were low for five subjects during subjective symptoms. Examining the time-series data for VOC exposure and HF of each subject showed that the subjective symptoms, VOC exposure, and HF seemed well related in some symptoms. Based on these characteristics, prevention measures of symptoms for each subject may be proposed.

Outline：© 2016 Tsujiuchi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Objective: This study investigated post-traumatic stress symptoms in relation to the population affected by the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, one year after the disaster. Additionally, we investigated social factors, such as forced displacement, which we hypothesize contributed to the high prevalence of post-traumatic stress. Finally, we report of written narratives that were collected from the impacted population. Design and Settings: Using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), questionnaires were sent to 2,011 households of those displaced from Fukushima prefecture living temporarily in Saitama prefecture. Of the 490 replies; 350 met the criteria for inclusion in the study. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine several characteristics and variables of social factors as predictors of probable post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD. Results: The mean score of IES-R was 36.15±21.55, with 59.4% having scores of 30 or higher, thus indicating a probable PTSD. No significant differences in percentages of high-risk subjects were found among sex, age, evacuation area, housing damages, tsunami affected, family split-up, and acquaintance support. By the result of multiple logistic regression analysis, the significant predictors of probable PTSD were chronic physical diseases (OR = 1.97), chronic mental diseases (OR = 6.25), worries about livelihood (OR = 2.27), lost jobs (OR = 1.71), lost social ties (OR = 2.27), and concerns about compensation (OR = 3.74). Conclusion: Although there are limitations in assuming a diagnosis of PTSD based on self-report IES-R, our findings indicate that there was a high-risk of PTSD strongly related to the nuclear disaster and its consequent evacuation and displacement. Therefore, recovery efforts must focus not only on medical and psychological treatment alone, but also on social and economic issues related to the displacement, as well.

ISSN：00302813

Outline：Recently, it has been demonstrated that children who stutter (CWS) have attentional difficulties. But little is known about attentional function in adults who stutter (AWS). Two groups of 17 AWS and 18 adults who do not stutter (AWNS) participated in the present study. We aimed to confirm (1) whether AWS also show attentional difficulties like CWS and (2) how attentional function relates to stuttering severity in AWS. Results indicated that AWS and AWNS showed similar levels of attentional function, but those who tended to react faster and more incorrectly to the experimental task showed worse stuttering severity. This outcome suggests that cognitive strategies non-specific to speech production can influence stuttering severity. We discussed intervention for the attentional function in AWS.

Outline：© 2017 Kawashima and Kumano. Mind-wandering (MW), task-unrelated thought, has been examined by researchers in an increasing number of articles using models to predict whether subjects are in MW, using numerous physiological variables. However, these models are not applicable in general situations. Moreover, they output only binary classification. The current study suggests that the combination of electroencephalogram (EEG) variables and non-linear regression modeling can be a good indicator of MW intensity. We recorded EEGs of 50 subjects during the performance of a Sustained Attention to Response Task, including a thought sampling probe that inquired the focus of attention. We calculated the power and coherence value and prepared 35 patterns of variable combinations and applied Support Vector machine Regression (SVR) to them. Finally, we chose four SVR models: two of them non-linear models and the others linear models; two of the four models are composed of a limited number of electrodes to satisfy model usefulness. Examination using the held-out data indicated that all models had robust predictive precision and provided significantly better estimations than a linear regression model using single electrode EEG variables. Furthermore, in limited electrode condition, non-linear SVR model showed significantly better precision than linear SVR model. The method proposed in this study helps investigations into MW in various little-examined situations. Further, by measuring MW with a high temporal resolution EEG, unclear aspects of MW, such as time series variation, are expected to be revealed. Furthermore, our suggestion that a few electrodes can also predict MW contributes to the development of neuro-feedback studies.