Self-compassion-based online group psychotherapy for bereavement-related grief: The COMPACT feasibility trial.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of online group psychotherapy focused on self-compassion for individuals experiencing bereavement-related grief.

Method: This single-arm feasibility trial involved participants aged 18 years or older who had experienced bereavement at least 6 months prior the five-week intervention. Outcomes were measured at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and 4 and 12 weeks later.

Surname order and revaccination intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Teachers in Japanese schools employ alphabetical surname lists that call students sooner, with surnames appearing early on these lists. We conducted Internet surveys nearly every month from March 2020 to September 2022 with the same participants, wherein we asked participants where the alphabetical columns of their childhood and adult surnames were located. We aimed to identify how surname order is important for the formation of noncognitive skills.

Comparison survey on family caregivers of older persons in Japan and Thailand.

Background: While rapid population ageing is occurring worldwide, its speed is especially prominent in Asian countries. In Asia, cultural diversity might significantly affect care burden; however, few studies have investigated the differences in care burden, and mental, physical and social conditions among Asian countries. This study aimed to clarify the situations of and differences in family caregivers (FCs) of older persons in Japan and Thailand, and evaluate the factors associated with care burden in both countries.

The Effect of Being Vaccinated and National Vaccination Rates on Individuals' Cognitions, Emotions, and Economic Expectations: Evidence from Israel.

Background: Israel was the first nation to establish a vaccination program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, its citizens could look to no other country to help them judge its influence. People's predictions of their safety should depend on whether they were vaccinated, whereas their predictions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic should be based on the degree of progress of the vaccination program.

Randomised controlled trial of cultural-adapted and programme-adopted cognitive behavioural therapy for children and adolescents' anxiety in Japan: protocol for a Multi-, Inter-, and Cross-cultural Clinical Child Study (MIXCS).

Introduction: The primary objective of the Multi-, Inter-, and Cross-cultural Clinical Child Study (MIXCS) is to evaluate the hypothesis that the effects of cultural-adapted cognitive behavioural therapy (CA-CBT) and programme-adopted cognitive behavioural therapy (PA-CBT) for children and adolescents' anxiety are both superior to a psychological control (moral education control: MEC) for reducing child and adolescent anxiety disorders and symptoms as well as related constructs. The secondary objective is to explore commonalities and differences in therapy factors between CA-CBT and PA-CBT.

Method And Analysis: The study has been designed as a randomised, controlled and assessor masked multicentre superiority trial with three groups: CA-CBT, PA-CBT and MEC.

Gender Differences of the Effect of Vaccination on Perceptions of COVID-19 and Mental Health in Japan.

Vaccination has been promoted to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Vaccination is expected to reduce the probability of and alleviate the seriousness of COVID-19 infection. Accordingly, this might significantly change an individual's subjective well-being and mental health.

Association between the COVID-19 Vaccine and Preventive Behaviors: Panel Data Analysis from Japan.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine is key to reducing the probability of contracting COVID-19. The vaccine is generally known to prevent severe illness, death, and hospitalization as a result of the disease and for considerably reduce COVID-19 infection risk. Accordingly, this might significantly change an individual's perceived risk of altering everyday behaviors.

Dose birthweight matter to quality of life? A comparison between Japan, the U.S., and India.

Background: Birthweight is a widely accepted indicator of infant health and has significant and lasting associations. Several studies have found that low and high birthweight have significant negative associations with adult health. A new study in the field of social sciences has established that birthweight has significant negative associations with not only adult health but also social attributes, such as income and occupation; however, no studies have evaluated the associations between birthweight and quality-of-life (QOL) attributes such as happiness.

Disentangling cognitive inflexibility in major depressive disorder: A transcranial direct current stimulation study.

Background: Cognitive dysfunction is a persistent residual symptom in major depressive disorders (MDDs) that hinders social and occupational recovery. Cognitive inflexibility is a typical cognitive dysfunction in MDD and refers to difficulty in switching tasks, which requires two subcomponents: forgetting an old task and adapting to a new one. Here, we aimed to disentangle the subcomponents of cognitive inflexibility in MDD and investigate whether they can be improved by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the prefrontal cortex.

How does risk preference change under the stress of COVID-19? Evidence from Japan.

Unlabelled: In this study, we investigated whether the risk preference systematically changed during the spread of COVID-19 in Japan. Traditionally, risk preference is assumed to be stable over one's life, though it differs among individuals. While recent studies have reported that it changes with a large event like natural disasters and financial crisis, they have not reached a consensus on its direction, risk aversion, or tolerance.

How does the impact of the COVID-19 state of emergency change? An analysis of preventive behaviors and mental health using panel data in Japan.

This study applies the difference-in-difference method on panel data collected from internet surveys to investigate changes in the preventive behaviors and mental health of individuals as influenced by the COVID-19 state of emergency declaration between March and June 2020. The key findings are: (1) The declaration led people to exhibit preventive behaviors but also generated negative emotions; (2) Such behaviors persisted even after deregulation of the state of emergency; (3) Making the declaration early (vs. late) had a larger effect on preventive behavior, with the gap between residents' behaviors for areas that made early vs.

The Willingness to Pay for a Hypothetical Vaccine for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

This study investigates how people in Japan perceived the severity of and probability of infection from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and how their willingness to purchase a hypothetical vaccine depends on these perceptions and their risk attitudes. We conducted a large-scale panel survey three times between 13 March to 13 April 2020 in Japan. By analyzing the data, we found that the perception of COVID-19 became more serious.

Is stronger religious faith associated with a greater willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine? Evidence from Israel and Japan.

Achieving high vaccination rates is important for overcoming an epidemic. This study investigates the association between religious faith and intentions to become vaccinated against COVID-19 in Israel and Japan. Most of Israel's population is monotheistic, whereas most Japanese are unaffiliated with any religion.

School closures and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.

The spread of the novel coronavirus disease caused schools in Japan to close to cope with the pandemic. In response to the school closures, parents of students were obliged to care for their children during the daytime, when children usually were at school. Did the increase in the burden of childcare influence parents' mental health? Based on short panel data from mid-March to mid-April 2020, we explore how school closures influenced the mental health of parents with school-aged children.

Bodily ownership and agency sensations in a natural state.

Our bodily sensation is a fundamental cue for our self-consciousness. Whereas experimental studies have uncovered characteristics of bodily sensation, these studies investigated bodily sensations through manipulating bodily sensations to be apart from one's own body and to be assigned to external, body-like objects. In order to capture our bodily sensation as it is, this questionnaire survey study explored the characteristics of bodily sensation using a large population-based sample (N = 580, comprising 20s to 70s age groups) without experimental manipulations.

Correction to: The impact of closing schools on working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence using panel data from Japan.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1007/s11150-020-09536-5.].

The impact of closing schools on working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence using panel data from Japan.

COVID-19 has led to the closure of various schools in Japan to cope with the pandemic. This study explores how school closure influences parents' work style based on short panel data for the period of school closure from mid-March to mid-April 2020. Specifically, we analyze how the presence of their children influences parents' work at home and examine how the effect differs by the parent's gender.

Racers' attractive looks, popularity, and performance: how do speedboat racers react to fans' expectations?

Using a large sample of individual-level records in Japan speedboat racing where men and women racers participate, we investigated how racers' performance meets fans' pre-race expectations. To control for endogeneity bias, we measured the order of racers' attractiveness randomly determined in each race and then used this order as instrument for measuring racers' popularity. The fixed-effects IV estimations revealed the following.

Perceived social support moderates the association betweenemotion regulation and psychological distress: a cross-sectional study among Japanese adults.

Previous studies have evaluated the adaptiveness of emotion regulation strategies as related to various outcomes; however, most studies have focused on the effects of intrapersonal strategies, independent of interpersonal contextual factors. The present study examined the moderating effects of perceived social support on the association between cognitive emotion regulation strategies and psychological distress. Data were cross-sectional from Internet survey panels.

Assistive robots for socialization in elderly people: results pertaining to the needs of the users.

Background/aim: Technological solutions can support the elderly, improve their quality of life and reduce isolation and loneliness. The Euro-Japan ACCRA (Agile Co-Creation for Robots and Aging) project has the objective of building a reference co-creation methodology for the development of robotic solutions for ageing. The aim of this study is to provide a pilot qualitative analysis of the real needs of elderly people and their caregivers when exposed to conversational activities with robots and to identify priority needs that should be developed from end-user perspectives.

Reduction of depression and anxiety by 4 weeks Hericium erinaceus intake.

Hericium erinaceus, a well known edible mushroom, has numerous biological activities. Especially hericenones and erinacines isolated from its fruiting body stimulate nerve growth factor (NGF) synthesis, which expects H. erinaceus to have some effects on brain functions and autonomic nervous system.

Factors associated with postpartum depression and abusive behavior in mothers with infants.

Aims: This study was conducted to examine factors associated with postpartum depression and abusive behavior in mothers with infants.

Methods: Data were collected from baby check-ups in Japan and 413 participants were included in an analysis using: (i) an Original Questionnaire; (ii) the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale (ZSDS); (iii) the Parental Bonding Instrument; and (iv) the Childcare Anxiety Scale (CAS). Covariance structural analyses were performed to examine interconnections among the Parental Bonding Instrument subscales, CAS subscales ('worry about parenting', 'burden of nursing time', 'difficulty of bonding'), ZSDS, 'fear of being abusive', and 'abusive behavior'.

Association of cardiorespiratory fitness with elevated hepatic enzyme and liver fat in Japanese patients with impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

No study has so far determined whether a favorable level of cardiorespiratory fitness (CF) contributes to a reduced risk of elevated hepatic enzymes and a high degree of liver fat in patients having various metabolic risks. This study investigated the association between the maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) and the prevalence of elevated liver enzymes and high liver fat, while considering such factors as abdominal obesity, hyperinsulinemia and the other metabolic risks. The study enrolled newly diagnosed Japanese patients (n = 84; 52 males and 32 females; aged 25-69 years) with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (Type2DM) who did not receive any intervention or pharmacological therapy.

Longitudinal growth study of male Japanese junior high school athletes.

The aim of this study was to establish the pattern of adolescent growth in height of male Japanese athletes, and to compare their growth with appropriate controls. The sample consisted of 126 baseball, 39 basketball, 83 soccer, and 53 volleyball players, and 36 nonathletes. The data were collected retrospectively in six public schools in Fukui Prefecture of Western Japan between 1970 and 1987.