The Japanese Society of Behavioral Medicine established a working group of core curriculum for behavioral medicine and has discussed about clinical, psychological, and public health aspects of behavioral medicine. The proposed curriculum is classified into basic components (sessions 1−8) and practical components (sessions 9−11 and 12−15). The basic topics are closely related to broad areas, and the practical components are offered in medical schools and departments responsible for health and medical care. In Japan, more than 80 medical schools exist, and curriculums for medical students have been changed in accordance with international standards. In revised curriculums, aspects of behavioral and social sciences must be included and it is a great chance to facilitate about behavioral medicine. The core curriculum proposed by the working group can be applied not only for education in medical school but also by for learning in other faculties and groups. In this review, the history of education and training at the Japanese Society of Behavioral Medicine is overviewed, the proposed curriculum by the working group is summarized, and then the importance of problem oriented approach is referred, which has been enthusiastically practiced in the author’s graduate school.

View full abstract

Background: Attention of national societies and the world community is currently focused on “happiness index” which consists of subjective well−being, health and daily life and social environment. In addition, positive psychology is expected to provide new perspective of several problem solutions. The purpose of this study was to develop the Japanese version of subjective well−being scale and to identify daily life and social environment factors relating to local community’s happiness. Methods: To propose a draft of the subjective well−being scale, 39 positive scales were collected through literature search. To analyze daily life and social environment factors relating to local community’s happiness, data were derived from the Japan Prefectural Happiness Ranking in 2012, 2014 and 2016. Results: Two scales, “interdependent happiness scale” and “the satisfaction with life scale”, met the criteria for the purpose, and six−item scale was proposed, considering the Japanese cultural characteristics. The results of the multivariate analyses showed that unemployment rate in young age population was the significant factor affecting the rank of happiness. Discussion: It is essential to plan the feasible research on the reliability and validity of the proposed scale with young, middle−aged and elderly groups as the study targets who are chosen at random and recruited from two ecologically different regions for the further survey.

View full abstract

The present study investigated whether the interaction between brooding, i.e., a negative component of cognitive processing in rumination, and emotional stimuli affects retrieval-induced forgetting. Healthy undergraduate and graduate students (N=37) participated in retrieval practice paradigm and filled out questionnaires. In the retrieval practice paradigm, correct recall rates during the test phase were measured. Results of an analysis of variance of correct recall rates, with the interaction between brooding scores (high vs. low), emotional stimuli (negative vs. neutral), and types of retrieval practice (Rp+, Rp− vs. Nrp） as independent variables, revealed that retrieval-induced forgetting did not occur for negative stimuli, but did occur for neutral stimuli in spite of brooding scores. In terms of inhibitory theory, these findings suggest that whether competition between memory representations activated by brooding and representations emotional stimuli have, and competition between emotional stimuli affects control processing in memory retrieval.

View full abstract

Metacognitive therapy (MCT), which is a form of psychotherapy for depression or anxiety, has been attracting attention in recent times. Intervention involving MCT deals with metacognitive beliefs (MCBs), which maintain repetitive negative thoughts such as rumination and worry. The metacognitive model of depression indicates the effect of rumination and positive/negative MCBs about the rumination on depression; however, it does not indicate the influence of worry and other forms of MCBs on depression. Therefore, the present study aimed at examining a metacognitive model of depression considering the influence of worry on depression. Participants were 219 university students. A covariance structure analysis was performed and the results showed a good fit of the model. Based on the model in this study, rumination, worry, and negative beliefs about worry showed significant positive influence on depression. On the other hand, negative /positive beliefs about rumination, cognitive confidence, and cognitive self− consciousness showed significant positive effects on depression through rumination and/or worry. The influence of various variables on depression was indicated by the present study. Therefore, this study suggested the importance of theoretical validity while dealing with various variables during metacognitive therapy for depression.

View full abstract