title: Prosocial behaviors during school activities among child survivors after the 2011 earthquake and Tsunami in Japan: a retrospective observational study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The 2011 Japan massive tsunami traumatized many children. The aim of this study was to assess changes in strengths and difficulties experienced in home and school by among surviving children after the 2011 tsunami, in comparison with published normal Japanese data.
  
  
  METHODS
  In November 2012 (20 months after the disaster) and September 2013 (30 months after the disaster), the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), a questionnaire on children's strengths and difficulties in home and school activities, were distributed to 12,193 and 11,819 children, respectively. An effective response of children 20 months and 30 month after the disaster was obtained in 10,597 children (86.9%), and 10,812 children (91.4%), respectively. The SDQ scores evaluated by parents and teachers were compared with published normal Japanese SDQ scores.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The SDQ scores (emotional problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, peer relationship problems, and total difficulty score) evaluated by parents of children in the 4th to 9th grade who were evaluated after 30 and 20 months were significantly high compared with the published normal data of children without traumatic experiences (all P<0.001). The SDQ scores (prosocial behavior) evaluated by teachers of children in the 4th to 9th grade who were evaluated after 30 and 20 months were significantly low compared with the published normal data of children without traumatic experiences (all P<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study showed that the experience of the disaster affected those children with prosocial behaviors towards teachers and friends at school. However, no significant changes (in their prosocial attitude) had been seen at home, where they continued to keep their respect and caring feelings for parents. These results indicate that for accurate diagnosis, clinicians should not only evaluate these children's daily activities at home but also try to objectively assess their daily activities at school.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Kohnodai Hospital, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahide
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Usami
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Kohnodai Hospital, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshitaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Iwadare
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Kohnodai Hospital, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Kyota
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Mental Health, Imperial Gift Foundation, Aiiku Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kodaira
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Kohnodai Hospital, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Hirokage
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ushijima
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Kohnodai Hospital, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Yamaguchi, Japan.
authors.forename: Maiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Harada
authors.affiliation: Institute of Women's Health, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Tokyo Metropolitan Tama Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Kohnodai Hospital, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Seiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Kohnodai Hospital, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sekine
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Mental Health, Imperial Gift Foundation, Aiiku Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Saito
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D057192:Tsunamis