ArticleSocial science & medicine (1982)2021
Increased frequency of participation in civic associations and reduced depressive symptoms: Prospective study of older Japanese survivors of the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake.
Article in Social science & medicine (1982), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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2 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sport-related activities as a psychosocial strategy for mental health recovery following natural disasters: a narrative review.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Effect of social capital, social support and social network formation on the quality of life of American adults during COVID-19.Scientific reports · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
rationaleFew studies have examined whether changes in participation in civic associations can mitigate depressive symptoms among older disaster survivors.
objectivesWe examined prospectively the association between changes in participation in civic associations and changes in depressive symptoms among older survivors of the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake.
methodsWe analyzed questionnaire-based survey data on pre- and post-disaster participation in civic associations and depressive symptoms compiled for 3567 respondents aged 65 years and above. Changes in these symptoms were assessed using a 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) as a continuous variable for 2010 and 2013. We investigated four types of civic associations: sports, hobby, voluntary groups, and senior citizens' clubs. Changes in participation were calculated by subtracting the participation frequency measured in 2010 from that measured in 2013. Applying 95% confidence intervals, we used linear regression models with imputation to estimate the age- and sex-adjusted and multivariate-adjusted standardized coefficients.
resultsThe survivors' GDS scores increased by 0.13 points on average between the pre-disaster and post-disaster periods. Average changes in the participation frequencies of respondents in each group were respectively +0.36 days/year, -5.63 days/year, +0.51 days/year, and -1.45 days/year. Increased frequencies of participation in the sports and hobby groups were inversely associated with changes in GDS scores (B = -0.003, Cohen's f
conclusionsDepressive symptoms of older adults post-disaster may be mitigated through increased frequency of participation in sports and hobby groups; yet, civic participation did not mitigate the adverse impact of disaster experiences on mental health.
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