title: Mental health in Japanese members of the United Nations peacekeeping contingent in the Golan Heights: effects of deployment and the Middle East situation.
abstract: This study evaluates the mental health of Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF) members of the peacekeeping contingent in the Golan Heights before and since the Second Gulf War between 1998 and 2003. Before the war, the General Health Questionnaire 30 (GHQ30) scores during and after duty tended to be lower than those before duty; all scores were lower than those of adult Japanese men in general. After the war, GHQ30 scores did not significantly change between before, during, and after duty. Manifest Anxiety Scale (MAS) scores were not significantly different between groups. Stressors identified included problems with foreign language and familial matters at home. Post war stressors included work content and relationships with collaborating foreign army units. These findings suggest that the mental health of contingent members remained stable, with some variation in mental health conditions influenced by the situation in the Middle East. This study suggests that the stable mental condition of JSDF personnel during their deployment in the absence of combat, and that this could be enhanced by education about mental health issues and by providing counseling support to their families.
authors.affiliation: Division of Behavioral Sciences, National Defense Medical College Research Institute, Saitama, Japan. sawa@ndmc.ac.jp
authors.forename: Takehito
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sawamura
authors.forename: Kunio
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.forename: Yoshinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Masaki
authors.forename: Nobuhisa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Mariko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sugawara
authors.forename: Tomoya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsunoda
authors.forename: Akihito
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: Taisuke
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Toda
authors.forename: Soichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nomura
authors.forename: Yoshitomo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oryu
authors.forename: Tsuneyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ogasawara
authors.forename: Katsuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ogata
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D044466:Asian People / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D007564:Japan / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D008877:Middle East; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014480:United Nations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*