Tohoku University · Psychology
Professor Junko Okuyama's research lab focuses on adolescent mental health, particularly in the context of disasters and major life stressors such as pandemics and natural catastrophes. The lab investigates psychological impacts, resilience, and the effectiveness of school-based mental health support systems, drawing on longitudinal studies and real-world disaster responses. A key focus is on developing and validating practical, accessible interventions—such as those led by teachers and school nurses—for adolescents affected by trauma. The lab also contributes to international disaster mental health care by adapting evidence-based practices from Japan’s experiences to global contexts.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is causing disruptions in the global social system. Japanese children and adolescents have had their schools closed, government-mandated activity restrictions imposed, and interactions outside the home reduced. These restrictions can have a considerable psychological impact on children and adolescents. This review aims to describe the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on physical activity and psychological status of this population. The review was conducted by sear
This initial study profiling the characteristics of resilience among adolescents suggests that resilience is a highly changeable component of mental health among people who have faced adversity. Resilience can be a useful indicator of recovery from adversity and a target of interventions for improving mental health conditions.
How natural disasters affect the psychological state of adolescents has not been well studied. Thus, we examined the effect of a natural disaster on high-school-aged youth and considered the most effective forms of support following such a disaster. We examined students from two high schools that were near the epicenter of the 9.0-magnitude Great East Japan Earthquake, which struck the Tohoku coastal area on March 11, 2011, causing severe damage to the region. The questionnaires measuring depres
The scientific evidence based on experiences with past disasters points to the possibility of the occurrence of future mental health issues among those who were affected by the recent Turkey-Syria earthquake. However, post-disaster care information on factors that could give rise to mental health issues among those affected have yet to be provided. In March 2011, Tohoku University compiled and published a booklet with post-disaster healthcare information based on the experiences with the Great E
Introduction: Adolescents affected by disasters need mental health support because they tend to be at risk of developing psychiatric disorders and stress as grown-ups. However, it is difficult to develop and validate a support system for adolescents affected by disasters because it is unknown when and where disasters occur, and there is inadequate data related to this in Japan. Methods: To address these issues, we present a mental health support system for high school students affected by the Gr
No other infectious disease that has had a long-lasting impact on humanity in recent times has caused as much hardship as the coronavirus disease, COVID-19. While several cross-sectional surveys have reported the effects of the pandemic on daily life, there have been very few longitudinal reports from Japan. Therefore, we conducted web-based questionnaire surveys 131 and 610 days after the first case of COVID-19 infection was reported in Japan. There were 244 and 220 participants in the first an
Objective: To study the coping pattern of a mother of a child with multiple congenital anomalies (MCAs) based on interview data. Methods: The mother of a child born at Tohoku University Hospital, Japan, who was diagnosed with MCAs at 3 days of age and subsequently underwent surgery at 7 months, was asked to be interviewed. She answered semi structured interviews at the hospital when the child was two years old and again when the child was five years old. Psychological assessment with the State-T
The paper attempt to grasp the present situation of the arrangement plan of welfare facilities for the elderly, and the plan of community care. The results of this study are (1) 29 local governments make location planning of long term care insurance facilities and facilities for in-home service in coordination with living spheres. (2) The local governments target Special nursing homes for the elderly, Group home for the elderly with dementia, and Day service in the plan. (3) 414 local government
Historical data can determine how adolescents recover from difficult situations such as the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study analysed 3 years of data obtained from high-school students who had been affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and consequently evidenced the importance of increasing resilience among affected adolescents. This involved identifying factors contributing to resilience through a model that assessed for each tsunami disaster. This model was d
In this paper, we attempt to grasp an area setting plan of a care service infrastructure and the method of implementation. The candidates for investigation are 6 local governments. It was found that they have two kinds of plans. (1) The area for care service is the same as that for a home care support center, and the local government has the leadership (for development). (2) The area for care service is newly set for location planning of welfare facilities for the elderly, and an entrepreneur of
Introduction: Health professionals and support staff need to be prepared for disasters and know how to respond. This study aimed to examine a one-day “Conductor-type disaster healthcare management personnel” training course and its effect among healthcare professionals. Tohoku University and Fukushima Medical University are experienced in disaster response preparedness and they conducted the one-day course comprising multiple sessions at the World Bosai Forum-2019 (WBF-2019). Method: The course
In this paper, we report on how the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic affected children and adolescents’ physical activity and mental health. Previous studies in PubMed revealed that only one of the 107 studies currently reported the impact of the prolonged. Therefore, a web-based questionnaire survey was conducted in Japan on February 10, 2022. A total of 236 adults (84 males and 152 females) responded to the electronic survey. Participants with children in the elementary school reported that their o
Introduction: Asia is one of the regions most affected by natural disasters such as major typhoons. In Japan, recovery from natural disasters is said to take more than 10 years, and local government officials are primarily responsible for this recovery. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of the me-fullness® smartphone application in maintaining the well-being of local government employees involved in recovery efforts. Method: We conducted a survey of 35 employees of the town of Shi
This study surveyed adult web monitor enrollees about the lives of and stress experienced by Japanese children and adolescents during the prolonged coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The survey was conducted on February 10, 2022 (after the sixth wave) and August 19, 2022 (during the seventh wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan), with 231 and 217 survey participants, respectively. The questionnaire was designed so that adults could assess the frequency of exercise, and difficulties e
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