Article Abstracts: Stress and Trauma Among Japanese Journalists

1. Broadcast journalists’ awareness of the need to counter stress caused by work-related traumatic incidents

Koshiro, E., Hatanaka, M., Fukuoka, Y., Matsui, Y., Ando, K., Inoue, K., & Itamura, H. Journal of Psychotherapy, Educational Consultation and Support Center, Yokohama National University, 7，75-94, 2007.

Summary:  In this study, a questionnaire survey was conducted targeting broadcast journalists to identify the status of the stress they experience, caused by traumatic or critical incidents that they encounter at work. A total of 211 non-managers and 149 managers returned valid responses. This paper provides the results of our analysis of the respondents’ attributes as well as their degree of awareness of traumatic incident-related stress. Although the respondents were aware of the importance of stress care, very few recognized that such care services were available or actually used them. As a result, these services were virtually non-functioning. Factors that hindered these stress care services from being better known included the respondents’ busy schedules and difficulty in using the services, as well as psychological resistance to submitting to stress care. Some individuals were unaware that they were under stress. The type of stress care that many respondents looked for, other than extended rest, included intervention and assistance by external specialists. Besides these, a number of managers cited the establishment of an in-house stress-care system. In comparison, non-managers who were in a position to actually receive such care looked for care that was provided as an extension of their daily schedule, rather than in-house care systems. In summing up, measures that are deemed effective may include boosting the journalists’ awareness of stress, making stress care more accessible to them, implementing stress care as an extension of the journalists’ daily schedule, educating and training them in advance to protect them from stress, and providing leadership education to their superiors.

2. Critical Incidents and Stress Reactions in Japanese Broadcasting Journalists

Hatanaka, M., Koshiro, E., Fukuoka, Y., Matsui, Y., Ando, K., Inoue, K., & Itamura, H. Journal of Psychotherapy, Educational Consultation and Support Center, Yokohama National University, 7，95-117, 2007.

Abstract: This study investigated if Japanese broadcasting journalists experienced traumatic incidents at work, and if they did, to what degree, and also studied the extent of the stress reactions that occurred as a direct result of these traumatic experiences. A questionnaire for managerial-position journalists were distributed to 355 individuals, and a questionnaire for journalists in non-managerial positions such as reporters and camera operators were distributed to 718 individuals. The questionnaire consisted of items concerning the most traumatic event experienced at work, as well as the 12 items of the Japanese version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). The results showed that close to 90% of the respondents, comprising both managers and non-managers, have had at least one traumatic experience during the course of their coverage or broadcasting activities. Moreover, over 40% of the journalists who had a traumatic experience manifested some physical symptoms such as loss of appetite and upset stomach, while as many as 90% manifested some psychological reactions such as feeling helpless and/or overwhelmed. Regarding the level of mental health measured by GHQ-12 of all the respondents, most journalists in managerial positions were healthy, whereas many journalists in non-managerial positions were not. Our findings suggested the need for implementing, in Japanese journalists, a management program for stress induced by critical incidents which includes education on coping with critical incidents at work, and provision of care for physical and mental reactions.

3. Job-related daily stress and social support experienced by broadcast journalists: As a basic data for the effective stress care system

Fukuoka, Y., Koshiro, E., Hatanaka, M., Matsui, Y., Ando, K., Inoue, K., & Itamura, H. Journal of Psychotherapy, Educational Consultation and Support Center, Yokohama National University, 7，119-141, 2007.

Abstract: Studies on stress in journalists caused by traumatic or critical incidents encountered during their work have just begun. There is a need to collect basic data in Japan to make it possible to study and set up the most effective stress care system. This study focused on journalists who work at Japanese broadcasting stations, and examined the issues surrounding the stress and the social support they experience in their everyday work. Two types of questionnaire sheets were drawn up: one for managerial-position journalists, and the other for journalists in non-managerial positions such as reporters and camera operators. The former was distributed to 355 managers and the latter to 718 non-managers. Of these, 149 and 211 individuals, respectively, returned valid responses by post. The questions that were asked to both managers and non-managers included inquiries on the stress they experienced in their daily work, ways they deal with such stress, and their views on their work. Managerial journalists were also asked about how they handled their subordinates' stress, as well as about any assistance and support provided to them. Questions posed to non-managerial journalists also included the assistance and support they received from the people around them such as their supervisors, colleagues, friends and family ("social support"), and the questionnaire was designed to enable comparisons to be made between the answers given by the two groups. The results showed that almost all the respondents experienced some sort of work-related stress, and that they suffered both bodily and physical burdens as well as mental and qualitative burdens. The major stressor that managerial journalists cited was first and foremost the difficulty in securing time to communicate with their subordinates. Non-managerial journalists pointed out not only the quantitative burden of work and their extremely busy schedules, but also their lack of experience and immaturity as journalists, as well as the frustration of their inability to achieve the type of quality coverage they aimed for. Managers tended to answer that they monitored their subordinates' stress and provided appropriate assistance. Non-managers, however, did not necessarily perceive that their supervisors behaved in this way. Discrepancies were also seen between managers' and non-managers' answers in terms of the status of communication both inside and outside the office and the provision of support by their superiors. Stress that journalists feel on a daily basis and the poor status of communication are the background to their coverage and reporting of serious incidents. The findings of our study may be positioned as basic data for examining journalists' stress caused by critical and traumatic incidents. From here on, there is a need to further study the relationships among daily stress, social support, and stress related to traumatic and critical incidents witnessed by journalists in Japan.

4. Traumatic stress among journalists: A literature review focusing on the Japanese mass media and journalism studies

Itamura, H., Matsui, Y., Ando, K., Inoue, K., Fukuoka, Y., Koshiro, E., & Hatanaka, M. Tsukuba Psychological Research, 33, 29-41, 2007.

Abstract: This paper presents an overview of research into stress and critical incident stress in journalists，and explores desirable forms of support system. First，we review how journalists’ stress has traditionally been handled within discussions of the mass media and journalism research, focusing on the four areas: 1) terrorism and war coverage, 2) accident, incident, and disaster coverage, 3) company and organization work environments, 4) journalism and ethics. We also consider the reasons why journalist’ stress has not attracted attention thus far, drawing on comments about journalism appeared in discussions of the mass media. We then report on some current conditions which have changed this lack of attention，including large-scale disasters which victimized journalists as well as citizens．We also briefly review psychiatric and psychological studies on critical incident stress in journalists，as well as journalist support systems adopted or planned for the news media overseas．Lastly we consider what types of stress－care systems are appropriate for journalists working in the Japanese news media．

5. On the Japanese translation of “Trauma & Journalism: A Guide for Journalists, Editors, & Managers”

Fukuoka, Y., Inoue, K., Ando, K., Hatanaka, M., Matsui, Y., Koshiro, E., & Itamura, H. Journal of Psychotherapy, Educational Consultation and Support Center, Yokohama National University, 8，45-90, 2008.

Abstract: Journalists sometimes cover traumatic events such as war, natural disaster, accidents, murder, etc., as well as the human distress which accompanies these events. They are responsible to report these events well, as how trauma is reported is extremely important to those directly affected and the rest of the world. However, only recently has it become acknowledged that journalists themselves may be affected psychologically by trauma. In order to offer information concerning how to deal with trauma to journalists and those concerned, the DART Center published booklet entitled “Trauma & Journalism: A Guide for Journalists, Editors, & Managers,” and has provided it as a downloadable PDF file on its website. This booklet is so readable and contained much valuable information for journalists that we’ve decided to translate it into Japanese in order to make it easily accessible to Japanese journalists. The present paper described the background and the purpose of the translation and publication of this booklet: critical incident stress suffered by journalists, the current problems facing the stress care system for journalists, the need for educational and practical information on trauma and journalism, and an outline of the guidebook. The entire text of the Japanese translation was attached as Appendix.

6. Exploratory study on traumatic stress in journalists, Part 2: A report on the findings of an interview survey on broadcasting journalists and managers

Hatanaka, M., Fukuoka, Y., Matsui, Y., Ando, K., Koshiro, E., Itamura, H., & Inoue, K. Journal of Psychotherapy, Educational Consultation and Support Center, Yokohama National University, 8，93-100, 2008.

Abstract: The present exploratory interview survey aimed at shedding some light on journalists’ experiences and views on traumatic stress. The interviewees were nine reporters, three camera operators, one announcer, and four directors from TV broadcasting stations, as well as one director from a radio station and four newspaper directors. The interviews included questions as follows: incidents which had exposed them to the greatest stress, their methods of coping with such stress, their views on traumatic stress experienced by journalists in general, and ideal form of stress-related care system which their organization should adopt. The results suggested that many respondents had experienced physical and/or psychological stress during their coverage of accidents and disasters. It appeared that their superiors played a major role in easing their stress. Some subordinates, however, experienced greater stress because of the way the directors -their superiors- responded to the issue. It was also revealed that almost no organization took measures to deal with journalists’ stress. The need for programs to counter traumatic stress and their ideal form are discussed.

7. Newspaper Journalists' Attitudes and Opinions Toward Corporate Traumatic-Stress Management

Yuki, H., Itamura, H., Ando, K., Inoue, K., Matsui, Y., Hatanaka, M., & Fukuoka, Y. Journal of Psychotherapy, Educational Consultation and Support Center, Yokohama National University, 9，81-98, 2009.

Abstract: A questionnaire survey was conducted for newspaper journalists to identify the status of the stress responses caused by traumatic or critical incidents they encounter at work. A total of 393 journalists (291 non-managers and 102 managers) returned valid responses. In this paper, we analyzed the data concerning the respondents’ basic attributes, their recognition of and attitudes and opinions toward traumatic incident-related stress. Although the respondents were aware of the importance of stress care by their corporate, very few recognized that such care services were available or actually utilized them. As a result, these services were virtually non-functioning. Factors identified as responsible for inhibiting the awareness and utilization of the stress care included: the respondents’ busy schedules, difficulty in using the services, and psychological resistance to submitting to stress care. As for the type of stress care, many respondents desired intervention and assistance by external professionals specializing traumatic stress, let alone the extended holidays break. Furthermore, although a number of managers recognized the importance of the external support, they also hoped the establishment of in-house stress-care systems. In summing up, our respondents seemed somewhat reluctant to admit they are psychologically affected by traumatic events they encounter as a part of their work. Also they appeared to find difficulty in disclosing their distress within their organization. It seems important to make an organizational climate in which they could understand that it is not unusual for journalists to be affected by traumatic events and in case of they have psychological problems they should be cared. In addition, it would be necessary to make a organizational effort to takes in the opinion of the worker, and perform active publicity work about an anti-critical incident stress measure when it is constructed.

8. Critical Incidents and Stress Reactions in Japanese Newspaper Journalists

Hatanaka, M., Yuki, H., Fukuoka, Y., Matsui, Y., Ando, K., Inoue, K., & Itamura, H., Journal of Psychotherapy, Educational Consultation and Support Center, Yokohama National University, 9，101-120, 2009.

Abstract: This study investigated if Japanese newspaper journalists experienced traumatic incidents at work, and if they did, to what degree, and also studied the extent of the stress reactions that occurred as a direct result of these traumatic experiences. A questionnaire for managerial-position journalists were distributed to 190 individuals, and a questionnaire for journalists in non-managerial positions, for example reporters, were distributed to 620 individuals. The questionnaire consisted of items concerning the most traumatic event experienced at work, Japanese-language version of the Impact of Event Scale Revised (IES-R), and the 12 items of the Japanese version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). The results showed that close to over 80% of the respondents, comprising both managers and non-managers, have had at least one traumatic experience during the course of their coverage. Moreover, about 70% of the journalists who had a traumatic experience manifested some stress symptoms such as feeling helpless and/or depressed. Journalists in non-managerial positions exhibited a higher IES-R score than journalists in managerial positions. Regarding the level of mental health measured by GHQ-12 of all the respondents, most journalists in managerial positions were healthy, whereas many journalists in non-managerial positions were not. These results of newspaper journalists are similar to the findings of broadcasting journalists in Japan. These suggest that the need for implementing a management program for stress induced by critical incidents in Japanese journalists, especially journalists in non- managerial positions.

9. Development of a checklist of stress reactions to prevent Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in journalists

Hatanaka, M., Matsui, Y., Yuki, H., Fukuoka, Y., Ando, K., Inoue, K., & Itamura, H., Tsukuba Psychological Research, 39, 57-64, 2010.

Abstract: Stress reactions due to job experiences among Japanese journalists are investigated and a “PTSD Prevention Checklist” is developed. Among the journalists (N = 753) that participated in this study, 84.5 % of them had experience of covering traumatic news stories. They were asked about their stress reactions during a 2-3 month period after covering the stories. They subsequently responded to the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). Partial correlation coefficients between each item for 13 stress symptoms during the initial 2-3 month periods and IES-R scores were calculated controlling for the time that had elapsed since covering the news items. All 13 items showed significant partial correlation coefficients. The rate of participants with high risk for PTSD based on IES-R scores was calculated by the number of stress symptoms that were applicable to a participant out of the 13 items. The results indicate that when the number of stress symptoms experienced during the initial 2-3 month periods after covering the stories is high, the rate of participants being at high risk for PTSD is high. Based on these results, a scale for measuring stress reactions, the “PTSD Prevention Checklist” is developed.

10. Self-Disclosure of Job-Related Experiences and Feelings among Managerial and Non-Managerial Newspaper Journalists

Yuki, H., Hatanaka, M., Fukuoka, Y., Inoue, K., Itamura, H., Matsui, Y., & , Ando, K. Bulletin of the Graduate School, Toyo University. Graduate program of sociology, 46, 51-66, 2010.

Abstract: A questionnaire survey was conducted for newspaper journalists to identify the status of the stress reactions caused by traumatic or critical incidents they encounter at work. A total of 393 journalists (291 non-managers and 102 managers) returned valid responses. In this paper, we examined the data as follows: (1) newspaper journalists’self-disclosure of their experiences and feelings about the shocking coverage, (2) self-disclosure of their usual job-related experiences and feelings, and (3) attitudes towards several aspects of self-disclosure. Particular emphasis was put on examining the differential responses between managerial and non-managerial journalists. The results revealed some interesting differences between two groups. Specifically, there were some differences for the content and the target of the self-disclosure among the groups only for the usual job-related self-disclosure, although in general the respondents’ level of self-disclosure was rather low. It was suggested that in case of self-disclosure concerning the shocking coverage, the managerial journalists did not regard it as a special one or tried to do so. By contrast, non-managerial journalists might have a belief that the problems they encounter should be solved by their own effort. As for the low tendency to self-disclose for the usual job-related experiences, it was suggested that both managerial and non-managerial journalists had firm belief that one should not tell their own distress to others. Also they seem to believe that telling their own distress to others was not an effective way to get rid of it. So it seems crucially important to explore not only the amount of self-disclosure but also the underlying motives of self-disclosure.

11. Job-related daily stress and social support experienced by Japanese newspaper journalists: a preliminary analysis

Fukuoka, Y., Inoue, K., Matsui, Y., Ando, K., Yuki, H., Hatanaka, M., & Itamura, H. Journal of Psychotherapy, Educational Consultation and Support Center, Yokohama National University, 10，97-118, 2010.

Abstract: Studies on stress in journalists caused by traumatic or critical incidents encountered during their work have just begun. There is a need to collect basic data in Japan to make it possible to study and set up the most effective stress care system. This study focused on journalists who work at Japanese newspaper companies, and examined the issues surrounding the stress and the social support they experience in their everyday work. Two types of questionnaire sheets were drawn up: one for managerial-position journalists, and the other for journalists in non-managerial positions such as reporters and camera operators. The former was distributed to 190 managers and the latter to 620 non-managers. Of these, 102 and 291 individuals, respectively, returned valid responses by post. The questions that were asked to both managers and non-managers included inquiries on the stress they experienced in their daily work, ways they deal with such stress, and their views on their work. Managerial journalists were also asked about how they handled their subordinates' stress, as well as about any assistance and support provided to them. Questions also included the assistance and support they perceived on the people around them such as their supervisors, colleagues, friends and family ("social support"), and the questionnaire was designed to enable comparisons to be made between the answers given by the two groups. The results showed that almost all the respondents experienced some sort of work-related stress, and that they suffered both bodily and physical burdens as well as mental and qualitative burdens. The major stressors for managerial and non-managerial journalists were the quantitative burden of work and their extremely busy schedules. Managerial journalists as supervisors cited the difficulty in securing time to communicate with their subordinates. Non-managerial journalists pointed out their lack of experience and immaturity as journalists, as well as the frustration of their inability to achieve the type of quality coverage they aimed for. Managers tended to answer that they monitored their subordinates' stress and provided appropriate assistance and social support. Non-managers, however, did not necessarily perceive that their supervisors behaved in this way. Stress that journalists feel on a daily basis and the poor status of communication are the background to their coverage and reporting of serious incidents. The findings of our study may be positioned as basic data for examining journalists' stress caused by critical and traumatic incidents. From here on, there is a need to further study the relationships among daily stress, social support, and stress related to traumatic and critical incidents witnessed by journalists in Japan.

12. Critical incident stress among japanese journalists (1): JOB-related traumatic event and mental health

Hatanaka, M., Matsui, Y., Ando, K., Inoue, K., Fukuoka, Y., Yuki, H., & Itamura H. (2010). Paper presented at the 27th International Congress of Psychology, Melbourne, Australia, July 11-16, 2010.

The effect of traumatic incidents at work on disaster workers, such as firefighters and policemen has been demonstrated in previous works (e.g. McFarlane, 1988; Nurmi, 1999). More recently it has been noticed that journalists that are exposed to emergency traumatic situations may be at risk for mental health problems. Several previous studies in other countries have reported that journalists suffer from traumatic stress (McMahon, 2001; Pyevich, Newman, & Daleiden, 2003). Therefore, Job-related traumatic stress experienced by journalists in Japan and factors contributing to them were investigated.

In Study 1, questionnaires were administered to 149 broadcasting journalists in managerial position and 211 broadcasting journalists in non-managerial positions, such as reporters and camera operators. In Study 2, questionnaires were administered to 102 for newspaper journalists in managerial position and 291 newspaper journalists in non-managerial positions, such as reporters and camera operators. The questionnaires included items concerning the most traumatic event experienced at work, Japanese-language version of the Impact of Event Scale Revised (IES-R), the 12-item Japanese version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and scales designed to measure predictors of current posttraumatic stress symptoms, such as stress reactions during coverage, workplace issues and social support.

The results showed that almost 80 to 90 % of the respondents in both Studies 1 and 2 have had at least one traumatic experience during the course of their coverage. Of these, 8% met the IES-R criterion for potential post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Journalists in non-managerial positions, especially newspaper journalists exhibited a higher IES-R score than journalists in managerial positions. Level of mental health measured by GHQ-12 in all the respondents, indicated that nearly 40 to 50 % journalists in non-managerial positions met the criterion (>4) for unhealthy status, whereas about 25% journalist in managerial positions did so. Moreover, posttraumatic stress reactions at the time of the survey were strongly related to symptoms of stress experienced on-site, or relatively early in the course of the stressful assignment.

These findings suggest the need for implementing a program for reducing stress induced by critical incidents in Japanese journalists, especially journalists in non- managerial positions.

13. critical incident stress among japanese journalists (2): Recognition of Organizational Critical Stress Care System

Matsui, M., Yuki, H., Fukuoka, Y., Ando, K., Inoue, K., Hatanaka, M., & Itamura, H. (2010). Paper presented at the 27th International Congress of Psychology, Melbourne, Australia, July 11-16, 2010.

Studies have been conducted on critical incident stress suffered by disaster relief workers such as firefighters. However, only few studies (Matsui, et al., 2006) have been conducted in Japan regarding stress experienced by journalists covering disasters. A questionnaire survey was conducted to Japanese journalists to investigate their opinion about the critical incident stress care system in the organization they belonged to.

A mail questionnaire survey was conducted to journalists and photographers (non managerial workers) and their superiors (managerial workers) from broadcast stations and newspapers. The number of valid responses of managers was 149 (recovery rate of 42.0 %) and of workers was 211 (29.4 %) for broadcast stations. For newspapers, the number of valid responses of managers was 102 (57.3 %) and of workers was 291 (30.8%).

From 18.9% of newspapers workers to 40.3% of managers of broadcast stations, affirmed the existence of critical stress care system in their organization. Nevertheless, the stress care system mostly consisted of labor safety and hygiene such as establishment of a clinic in the office with an occupational health physician (response from 81.4% of managers of broadcast stations.) However, only few (2-6% of) broadcast workers (n=4), responded that they have used such clinics. The most common reason given for not having used the clinics was the lack of stress (90.4% of broadcast station managers), while the rate of this response was 52.3% among non-managerial newspaper workers. The latter also responded "too busy to visit the clinics" 40.9% and "feeling reluctant to visit the clinics" 27.3%. There were only few responses stating that the present stress care system was "adequate" 3-6% whereas more than 50% considered that the whole organization should deal with the problems and raise the consciousness of the managers. Over 30% of the respondents stated that they would think of a way to keep in secret to managers and colleagues that they sought help. Although most journalists recognized the importance of organizational services specializing in critical incident stress, they are not available yet.

14. critical incident stress among japanese journalists (3): differences in managers' and workers' perceptions on dealing with daily job stress

Fukuoka Y., Inoue, K., Matsui, Y., Ando, K., Hatanaka, M., Yuki, H., & Itamura, H. (2010). Paper presented at the 27th International Congress of Psychology, Melbourne, Australia, July 11-16, 2010.

Studies on critical incident stress in Japanese journalists have just started. Preliminary interviews indicated the role of the supervisor was important in dealing with critical incident stress, and that there were close relationship between critical incident stress and daily job stress (Matsui et al., 2006). A questionnaire survey was conducted with managerial and non-managerial journalists working for newspapers and broadcast stations to investigate how managers deal with workers’ job stress.

A mailed questionnaire survey was conducted to journalists in non-managerial positions, such as reporters and camera operators and their supervisors (journalists in managerial positions) of selected broadcast stations and newspapers in Japan. In broadcast stations, the number of valid responses was 149 (recovery rate of 42.0 %) from managers and 211 (29.4 %) from workers. In newspaper companies, the number of valid responses was 102 (57.3 %) from managers and 291 (30.8%) from workers. The questionnaire inquired about the communication between managers and workers and among colleagues, sensitive consideration given to the workers’ stress by managers, and the workers’ recognition of the managers’ consideration.

Generally, responses of the managers were optimistic and positive, whereas the workers’ perceptions were different. For example, in the survey at newspaper companies, 67.8 % of managers responded that the office had an atmosphere in which supervisors and workers could talk freely, whereas only 37.5 % of workers thought so. Moreover, 43.2 % of managers responded that they tried to reduce the job load with consideration to workers’ stress, whereas only 18.4 % of workers were aware of such consideration. Furthermore, 73.1 % of managers responded that they tried to listen to workers and understand their feelings, whereas workers that were aware of such efforts were only 28.0 %.

Results suggested that there was a noticeable difference between the perspective of managers and workers when dealing with job stress. This difference might prevent countermeasures for critical incident stress from being introduced into the work place. If appropriate social support is not given on a daily basis, it might be impossible to provide effective support in situations of critical incident stress, which could result in workplace problems.

15. critical incident stress of journalists that covered the tohoku earthquake: report of intervention and survey results by journalists' cis research group

Takahashi, Y., Fukuoka, Y., Ando, K., Matsui, Y., Inoue, K., & Hatanaka, M. (2012). Paper presented the 2012 Annual Convention of Korean Psychological Association, Chuncheon, Korea, August 23-25, 2012.

The Tohoku Earthquake that happened on March 11, 2011 caused and immense damages mainly to the Tohoku area as a result of the earthquake itself and the tsunami, as well as the nuclear accident. We, the members of Journalists' Critical Incident Stress (CIS) Research Group, have been conducting researches on critical incident stress of journalists before the earthquake happened. After the earthquake, we have been conducting enlightenment activities and interviews with journalists covering the disaster area. We have also conducted questionnaire surveys with the journalists between February and March in 2012. This presentation introduces the activities of Journalists' CIS Research Group and report on the outline of results of our investigation with journalists in the disaster area. Valid responses were collected from journalists (n=120) working in the disaster area, mainly young or mid-level male reporters and cameramen. About 90% of the participants covered the area damaged by the earthquake or tsunami, as well as in danger of aftershocks. Over 70% of the participants responded that they expanded much energy and that the situation was confused. The average number of subjective symptoms of psychosomatic stress (Range 0-16) during one month after starting the coverage was 3.65 (SD=3.22). Female journalists tended to show higher stress scores than male journalists. Furthermore, journalists without spouses and children showed significantly higher scores than those with a spouse, but no children. Based on these results, the situations and problems in disaster coverage by journalists were discussed.

16. the tohoku earthquake and critical incident stress of journalists: questionnaire survey with newspaper companies in the disaster area

Fukuoka, Y., Takahashi, N., Matsui, Y., Ando, K. Inoue, K., & Hatanaka, M. (2012). Paper presented at the 28th annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Los Angeles, November 1-3, 2012.

Journalists conducted many activities after the Tohoku Earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011 to inform people of the conditions of victims and disaster areas. A questionnaire survey on the critical incident stress was conducted with journalists, photographers, and editors of local newspaper companies in the disaster areas from the beginning of February to March 2012. Participants were inquired about the damage in the areas that they covered, characteristics of the news they covered, problems related to their coverage and news reporting activities in and outside of their organizations, monthly subjective mental and physical symptoms after the disaster, their relationship with people close to them, their health condition at the time of survey, and psychological changes resulting from the coverage and reporting activities, including the sense of development, among others. Approximately 270 questionnaires were distributed and 118 valid responses were obtained. Participants had a distribution of scores on the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) Japanese version ranging between 0 to 57, with 28 participants (23.7%) scoring 25 points or more, which was considered the cut-off point for PTSD symptoms. We analyzed the experience of news reporting activities, as well the mental and physical symptoms of the as participants one month after starting the activities, their relationship with people close to them, and their health condition at the time of the survey, one year after the disaster among others, were analyzed.

17. characteristics of traumatic stress in chinese journalist

Takahashi, N. Fukuoka, Y., Matsui, Y., Cho, K., & Li, S. (2012). Paper presented at the 28th annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Los Angeles, November 1-3, 2012.

Job-related traumatic stress experienced by Chinese journalists reporting on critical incidents was investigated. Journalists (n = 292) working for news companies in Shanghai, Sichuan, Guangdong, and Tianjin participated in the study. A questionnaire inquiring about the most traumatic events they have faced when covering the news, and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) was administered to the participants. Moreover, their delayed stress reactions from just after the event to 2-3 months later were assessed. Results indicated that 9.6% of the participants met the IES-R criterion for potential posttraumatic stress disorder. Moreover, posttraumatic stress reactions at the time of the event were positively correlated with delayed stress reactions after 2-3 months, whereas they were negatively correlated with items assessing the goal of making a difference in the world through the coverage. Also, these delayed stress reactions were increase by stressful experiences during the coverage, problems pertaining to the assignment, and social achievements of coverage. Furthermore, the delayed stress reactions were unaffected by social support from the supervisor during the coverage. Features of job-related traumatic stress experienced by Chinese journalists are discussed through comparison with Japanese and American journalists.