2015 Volume 27 Pages 1-11
This study examined the prolonged regrets of suffers due to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake based on their 2,284 narratives in written form in order to find out the purpose of disaster prevention activity. Among them, 66 narratives are referred to regret. These narratives were classified in terms of individual attribute, actual action at the time of the disaster, and counterfactual thinking (thoughts of what might have been). The document analysis for the counterfactual statements suggests that the suffers who lost irreplaceable person or property tend to feel prolonged regret and they tend to blame themselves (e.g., counterfactual statement is such as “I would not have lost my family member if only I would return home faster”).
