Yuki Miyamoto

Background: Adolescent loneliness is associated with a range of adverse health outcomes that can last into adulthood. Although social media use has been proposed as a contributor to increasing adolescent loneliness, the temporal direction of this association remains unclear. We examined whether loneliness predicts subsequent active social media use and whether social media use predicts later loneliness. Methods: We used data from the Tokyo Teen Cohort. Loneliness at ages 12, 14, and 16 years was defined by responses of “yes” or “sometimes” to “I felt lonely during the past 2 weeks.” Social media use was assessed by self-reported frequency at ages 12 and 14 years and by engagement type (active or passive) at age of 16 years. Marginal structural models were used to account time-varying confounders, with analyses stratified by sex. Findings: We included 3,171 adolescents (1,487 [46·9%] girls). Among girls, loneliness at age 14 but not 12 years was associated with active social media use at age 16 (risk ratio [RR] 1·21, 95%CI 1·02–1·45), as was loneliness at both ages 12 and 14 (RR 1·35, 95% CI 1·09–1·68). Loneliness at age 12 years alone was not significantly associated with subsequent active social media use. No significant associations were observed between social media use and subsequent loneliness among girls. Furthermore, no statistical significant associations were observed among boys in either temporal direction. Interpretation: Among girls, earlier loneliness was associated with subsequent active social media use, but the reverse association was not significant. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that active social media use might serve as a compensatory response to loneliness, although this mechanism requires further investigation.

Chronic mental illness is defined as a clinical condition that can significantly impair cognitive and emotional functioning, thereby negatively impacting an individual’s quality of life. It often h...

Objectives: To examine the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between post-traumatic growth (PTG) and professional fulfillment among healthcare workers after the COVID-19 pandemic and to determine whether PTG is associated with subsequent professional fulfillment. Methods: This two-wave cohort study surveyed healthcare workers in Japan from March 8 to 31, 2024 (first survey) and from November 19 to December 20, 2024 (second survey). The outcome was professional fulfillment as measured by subscale of the Professional Fulfillment Index, and independent variable was PTG as measured by a short form of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. Cross-sectional associations between PTG and professional fulfillment were examined using multivariable linear regression. Longitudinal associations were tested using baseline-adjusted regression models with bias-corrected and accelerated (BCa) bootstrap confidence intervals (5,000 resamples). Results: A total of 1,346 participants completed the first survey and 528 completed the second survey; 188 completed both. PTG was positively associated with professional fulfillment cross-sectionally in the first survey (B = 0.07; 95% CI, 0.06–0.08; p < 0.01). In baseline-adjusted longitudinal analysis, PTG in the first survey was associated with subsequent professional fulfillment in the second survey (B = 0.025; 95% BCa CI, 0.001–0.048; p = 0.048). Conclusions: PTG was consistently associated with professional fulfillment among healthcare workers in the post-pandemic period, and higher PTG prospectively associated greater subsequent professional fulfillment. These findings are significant in demonstrating that PTG can be a meaningful focus for promoting professional fulfillment in healthcare workers after a public health crisis.

The quality of psychiatric inpatient care is a pressing concern in Japan, where hospitalization is prolonged and coercive practices remain common. Incorporating patients’ perspectives is essential for evaluation and service improvement. The Views on Inpatient Care (VOICE) scale, originally developed in the United Kingdom through co-production between service users and researchers, assesses inpatients’ experiences. This study aimed to develop a Japanese version (VOICE-J) through rigorous translation and cross-cultural verification, and to evaluate its psychometric properties among psychiatric inpatients. People with lived experience contributed at every stage, from item review to questionnaire usability. The validation survey was conducted in a private psychiatric hospital in Tokyo, with 134 inpatients providing analyzable responses. VOICE-J demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.94), strong negative correlations with patient satisfaction (Japanese version of Client Satisfaction Questionnaire, 8-item, CSQ-8J) and recovery-oriented support (Brief INSPIRE-J), and good test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.85). Known-groups validity was partially supported, with more positive evaluations among voluntary and self-requested admissions. VOICE-J offers a reliable, patient-centered instrument for assessing psychiatric inpatient care in Japan and supports quality improvement through patients’ perspectives.

In academic settings, publication pressure or the demand for high publication output in prestigious journals is significantly linked to negative mental health outcomes and may lead to questionable research practices. The Revised Publication Pressure Questionnaire (PPQr) was developed to assess these pressures globally; however, this questionnaire has not been adapted to the unique academic environment in Japan. In this study, the Japanese version of the PPQr (PPQr‐J) was developed and validated in a sample of 272 researchers from various Japanese institutions. The translation and cultural adaptation methods used adhered to established guidelines. The internal consistency and test–retest reliability were assessed using Cronbach's alpha and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). We then conducted exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to validate the factor structure. Correlations with existing scales, including burnout indicators, the Survey Work–Home Interaction Nijmegen, and the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire, were examined. The EFA revealed a four‐factor model based on stress, attitude, resources, and discretion that consisted of 17 items. The PPQr‐J demonstrated acceptable to good internal consistency and moderate to good test–retest reliability, with ICC for the subscales ranging from .499 to .752. CFA supported the four‐factor model with a moderate fit. Significant correlations with existing scales confirmed the validity of PPQr‐J. This study confirmed that PPQr‐J is a reliable and valid tool for assessing publication pressure among Japanese researchers, with “discretion” added as a new element.

Pain identification and treatment are important for managing the neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia and improving quality of life in people with the condition. Quantitative clarification of facilitators and barriers to pain identification and treatment is warranted for multi-component programme implementation. This study aimed to identify the factors related to pain identification and treatment in both care recipients and providers, through the implementation of a multi-component dementia care programme for managing neuropsychiatric symptoms. This study used longitudinal data from naturalistic long-term care settings between April 2022 and March 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. A total of 1,282 care recipients with 3,497 evaluations was included. Care professionals from community and residential care providers participated in a multi-component programme for managing neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with dementia. They provided information concerning care recipients using a web-based tool. Care professionals held interdisciplinary discussion meetings to evaluate neuropsychiatric symptoms, identify their underlying causes and establish an action plan to address the identified causes. We conducted a multilevel binomial regression analysis using pain identification and treatment as dependent variables. The independent variables included sex, type of dementia and type of provider at the between-person level. Within-person-level variables included the types of caregivers involved in the meetings, prescribed medications, the number of identified causes other than pain and the levels of neuropsychiatric symptoms per evaluation. Of the 3,497 evaluations, 1,617 (46%) identified pain, and 517 (32% of evaluations with pain identified) targeted pain in the action plans. Pain identification was more likely to occur in individuals with greater number of identified causes underlying neuropsychiatric symptoms, fewer symptoms of apathy and those in residential care providers compared to home care management agencies or individual home care providers. Pain treatment was significantly more likely to appear in action plans that included care managers in interdisciplinary discussion meetings, in individuals with fewer identified causes underlying neuropsychiatric symptoms, fewer symptoms of hallucinations, and in those receiving care from residential care providers rather than home care management agencies. The involvement of care managers in interdisciplinary discussion meetings may facilitate pain treatment to address the neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia. Educational strategies are warranted to help front-line care workers improve their pain management skills.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association between the experience of rescue activities in the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and psychological distress among medical rescue workers (MRWs). Methods: MRWs were recruited from March 8 to March 31, 2024. Outcomes were psychological distress and PTSS. Independent variables were the experiences of rescue activities in the Noto Peninsula earthquake and peritraumatic distress assessed by the Peritraumatic Distress Inventory (PDI). Results: 1085 MRWs completed all questions. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that experiences of being overwhelmed by the tragic situation in the disaster area (B = 0.61, p < 0.01), experience of disagreement and conflict among rescuers during rescue activities (B = 0.51, p < 0.01) and PDI (B = 0.33, p < 0.01) were significantly associated with psychological distress, and experience of disagreement and conflict among rescuers during rescue activities (B = 1.70, p < 0.01) and PDI (B = 0.65, p < 0.01) were significantly associated with PTSS. Conclusions: This study showed factors associated with PTSS and psychological distress among MRWs during the Noto Peninsula earthquake, which was an important finding for future research on the mental health of MRWs.