On March 11, 2012, the Great East Japan Earthquake, an earthquake of historic magnitude, struck Japan and efforts are needed to provide long-term psychological care to support the self-reconfiguration of school-age children who experienced terror and loss. Further, as the necessity for individualized responses to the children has been indicated, the mental state of children who were victimized by this earthquake must be documented as cases along with changes in their psychological response over time.
In this study, we examined the interactions among children who experienced the earthquake and massive tsunami together in the same time and place (environment of their school) through participant observation, studying the process of self-reconfiguration through their narratives.
The results of the study indicate that the bullying experienced in the classroom after the earthquake at school, as a community with which they are affiliated, helped children to positively grasp the changes in themselves through others, such as their peers and friends. The bullying had the effect of making the children reconfirm their value and abilities. In addition, empathy and a sense of solidarity were fostered among those who had shared the same experience in the same time and place, and we were able to glimpse the process of the recovery of self-confidence in individuals and the strengthening of ties with others.
This indicates that in addition to the care provided by adults, a sense of self-efficacy can also be promoted stimulated through the mutual effect of children upon each other ,which leads to their self-configuration.
View full abstract