2005 Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 1-13
The purpose of this study was to find out what factors were related to mental health of Japanese-Brazilians in Japan. Considering depressive symptoms as the indicators of mental health, we examined three factors related to mental health; a) personal attributes (age, sex, duration of residence in Japan, etc.), b) a sense of belonging to culture (the relative strength of belonging to Brazilian culture and Japanese culture), and social support networks (interpersonal relationships with Brazilians and Japanese, and support from them). A questionnaire was completed by 198 Japanese-Brazilians in Japan and the following results were yielded. As for personal attributes, higher prevalence rates of depressive tendencies were shown under 30 years old than over 30 years old, and in women than in men. As for a sense of belonging to culture, the respondents who felt stronger sense of belonging to both Brazilian culture and Japanese culture had the least symptoms of depression. As for social support networks, support from Japanese were not related to less depressive symptoms if all respondents were included, though support from Brazilians living both in Japan and in Brazil were related. From these results, we described what kind of mental health program we should develop in the near future in order to support Japanese-Brazilians in Japan effectively.
