Very little research has examined patient-physician trust in Japan. In a previous study, we conducted semi-structured interviews to explore Japanese patients' trust in physicians, and identified three major factors (Nishigaki, et al., 2004). The purpose of this study was to confirm these factors through quantitative research with a larger sample, as well as to further classify and identify characteristic patient types. Participants of the study (n = 312) completed the Patient Trust Questionnaire, the Japanese Interpersonal Trust Scale, and the Japanese Health Locus of Control Scale. The results highlighted three major factors in patient-physician trust: (1) physicians' respectful attitude toward patients, (2) physicians' amicable communication skills, and (3) physicians' prestige and authority. We also identified three unique patient types: those who value the physicians' respectful attitude, those who value the physicians' prestige and communication skills, and, those who emphasize the physicians' utility. Patient types varied according to their age, sex, and beliefs regarding the importance of the family. It is suggested that in order to establish trust, physicians should take the patient type into consideration when communicating with their patients.

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The relationship between the tendency for developing eating disorders and self-evaluation of everyday life and body shape by non-clinical adolescent girls was investigated. High school girls (n = 336) completed the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI; Garner, Olmstead, & Polivy, 1983), and a questionnaire inquiring about their current weight, ideal weight, everyday life, sleep, eating, fatigue, and overall life satisfaction. The participants were classified according to the scores of the EDI into four groups; Anorexic-Bulimic (AN-BN) tendency, Anorexic (AN) tendency, Bulimic (BN) tendency, and Healthy. The results suggested a high prevalence of eating disorder tendencies in non-clinical schoolgirls. The groups AN-BN, AN and BN differed in the overall life satisfaction, in self-evaluation of the body shape, and in the ideal body shape. The AN-BN and AN groups scored significantly higher on the “ Ineffectiveness” subscale of the EDI, in comparison to the Healthy group. They also differed in sleep time, and self-evaluations about sleep and fatigue. Behavioral characteristics of their everyday life schedules indicated more extroverted activities such as talking with friends in the eating disorder tendency groups in comparison to the healthy group.

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The adaptability of escape-avoidance coping, which is considered to be an ineffective strategy was investigated in relation to the following conditions: (1) In combination with problem-focused coping, (2) in combination with the intention to rest, and (3) in combination with considering positive strategies to be ineffective. Participants were 265 college students. They were requested to respond to a questionnaire on stressful events. Results of ANOVAs revealed that participants scoring low for the use of problem-focused coping and high for escape-avoidance coping reported less stressful events than those scoring low for the use of escape-avoidance coping in interpersonal situations. Results of a multiple regression analyses indicated that the intention to rest decreased stress responses, but considering positive strategies to be ineffective increased it. These results suggest that escape-avoidance coping would be effective when it is used in parallel with the intention to rest.

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The Children's Stages of Change Scale for Stress Management Behavior (CSC-SMB) was developed and the effects of a Stress Management Program for children were investigated. Students in grade six (49 boys and 55 girls) participated in the study. In Study I, the CSC-SMB was developed and tested. Results indicated its test-retest reliability with this population of children (ρ =.54). Same students also participated in Study II that examined the effects of a Stress Management Program using relaxation- and activation-techniques. Children were assigned to three groups (Relaxation group (Breathing Control & progressive muscle relaxation), Activation group (“karadahogushi” exercise), and Control group). A Chi-square analysis indicated that there was a significant difference between the three groups for the ratio of children who shifted their stages, students in the relaxation group shifted their stage to better one more than other groups. The results of this study suggest that stress management education using relaxation-techniques is effective for changing the consciousness and behavior of children regarding stress management in daily life.

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The use of manipulation strategies was examined by focusing on the adaptive aspects of such strategies. Undergraduate student participants (N=263) completed a questionnaire. Results indicated that participants used manipulative strategies that were appropriate to the situation. Moreover, emotional and physical health of participants who used manipulative strategies was poor. Furthermore, the emotional health of participants who used manipulative strategies to obtain emotional support was also poor, whereas participants who used manipulative strategies to obtain instrumental support were adapted to daily life. These findings indicate that manipulative strategies are not necessarily maladaptive, and suggest that the adaptive aspects of manipulative strategies should be investigated in future studies.

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Relationship between changes in psychological and psychophysiological responses to “Agari” (stage fright) during oral examinations was investigated. The heart rate (HR) of undergraduate students (n = 17) at an oral defense of their graduation thesis was recorded with ambulatory monitoring equipment for 75 minutes while waiting for the examination to start, during the examination, and in the recovery period from the examination. They were also asked to complete questionnaires on psychological responses to Agari, as well as on subjective arousal throughout the experiment. Results indicated that the Agari score was highest before beginning the examination and decreased gradually after finishing it. Subjective arousal scores also indicated temporal changes similar to the Agari score. HR was highest during the examination and decreased after finishing it. These results suggest that psychophysiological responses were more saliently activated than psychological responses, though subjective responses and psychophysiological response showed almost similar temporal changes in actual Agari situations.

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In a 2002 issue of the European Psychologist, a psychologist was defined as “an academically educated professional who helps clients to understand and solve problems by applying the theories and methods of psychology” (Roe, 2002, p. 193). The major areas of specialization including health, traffic, organizational, educational, clinical and sport psychology differ with respect to several dimensions including the role of the clients or subjects of study, the institutional setting in which they are placed, the type of problem addressed, and client behaviour being identified as normal or abnormal (Roe, 2002).
Health psychology has been defined succinctly as the “field within psychology devoted to understanding psychological influences on how people stay healthy, why they become ill, and how they respond when they do get ill” (Taylor, 1995, p. 3). The field is therefore devoted to the study of cognitive processes, behavioral styles, and decisions and choices that are made, that impact directly or indirectly on health, well-being, and illness.

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