Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) have been shown to mimic endogenous hormones. The exposure to EDC involves risk to reproductive organs is well documented, but the influence of EDC on emotional development has not been studied. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the influence of EDC on aggression in male mice. From gestation days 11-17, female mice were fed bisphenol A at 2 ng/g of body weight or 20 ng/g. Aggressive evaluation and blood sampling of the offspring (n= 76) were done at 8,12, and 16 weeks of age. Aggression scores increased significantly (p<0.01) at 8 weeks of age in male mice exposed to bisphenol A at 2 ng/g and 20 ng/g concentrations compared with a control group, but no difference was found after 12 weeks. Testis weight/g body weight was significantly (p<0.05, p<0.01) lower at 8 and 12 weeks in mice treated at 2 ng/g than in the controls. Serum testosterone concentration in mice treated with bisphenol A was not different than that of the controls. These results demonstrate that bisphenol A temporarily activates male aggressive behavior at the beginning of puberty and that low doses of bisphenol A interfere with the normal development of reproductive organs. The mechanism activating this aggressive behavior was not testosterone concentration.

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In Japan, the number of suicide in young has increased by 44 % last year and became a public concern in addition to vicious crimes. We previously reported that the Japanese children had significantly more frequent physical and psychiatric complaint than did the Swedish children and that the number of children who want to die was higher in Japan than in Sweden using a self-rating psychosomatic and psychosocial inventory. In this study we further analyzed psychosocial background in children with wish for suicide. The study population comprised 742 Japanese children(375 boys and 367 girls)and 1120 Swedish children (566 boys and 554 girls) attending public compulsory schools grade 4 to grade 9(10-15 years). Multiple regression analysis was applied for the question "wish for suicide" as a dependent variable. Children answered "yes" accounted for 3.3 % and 6.9 % in Japanese elementary school and junior high school, respectively, whereas 1.9 % and 2.8 % in Sweden, respectively. Most influencing psychosocial facors were quarrel between parents and being mobbed at school in Japanese children and this was at variance with Swedish children. This finding was consistent with the report by the governmet regarding of complete suicide in adolescents. We conclude that a review of child rearing and education is necessary as a matter of the top priority for the Japanese pepole.

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Nowadays the people who lead a busy life in their company cannot avoid stress. From entering their company to retirement, there are many problems of stress in each generation. We expect that especially people in the middle echelons of the management are under stress, because they are placed in a fix between their superior and their subordinates. Therefore, we made a study of their stress and their mental changes after their promotion to a middle administrator in their company, using a questionnaire. Consequently, we considered that their promotion to a middle administrator was a stressor. It was suggested, however, that they could develop skills in stress management, such as significant raising their free child (FC) on the egogram, while they were aware of their stress, and they could duly handle their stress.

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In the elderly people hospitalized in the mixed internal medical ward of Fukuoka Tokushukai Medical Center due to acute illness, psychosocial backgrounds and nutrition states were evaluated with regard to the degree of care, and the relation between the degree of care and mortality was investigated. The subjects consisted of sixty-nine patients, 37 men and 32 women, who were 70 or more years old. When admitted to the hospital, 18.9 percent of the patients were living alone, 88.4 percent were already suffering from some illness. Most of them were under a certain stress, having difficulty in a daily physical ability, and were under nourished. Mortality from a group needing high level of care was four times higher than that from a group needing low level of care. Both the duration of hospitalization and the mortality of the patients did not depend on diseases, but on daily physical ability and/or on nutrition, which were closely related to the mental state. A psychosomatic approach including rehabilitation and/or a day-care for the elderly are necessary for the prevention of disability.

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Questionnaires were prepared using key words frequently heard from patients with respect to "past experience"and "child-rearing attitudes of parents"in order to investigate familial factors involved in the occurrence of eating disorders. With respect to "past experience", a comparative study was conducted between the norm l group and the entire patient group. As a result, the frequencies with which "parent separation or divorce"and "discord between parents"were experienced were significantly higher in comparison with the normal group. In addition, when a similar study was made according to illness type, similar results were obtained for the ANbp and BN groups. Differences were observed in items that included family dissension and confusion. Factor analysis was performed on reply results for "child-rearing attitudes of parents". Four factors were extracted and they were named "unable to get close to mother and lonely", "lack of communication with father", "afraid of father or critical father"and "good child" based on their contents. The differences in scores between groups were tested using the Mann-Whitney U-test. The first factor, "unable to get close to mother and lonely", exhibited significantly higher scores throughout the entire patient group as well as in the ANr, ANbp and BN groups in comparison with the normal group. In addition, the second factor, "lack of communication with father", exhibited significantly higher scores throughout the entire patient group and in the BN group in comparison with the normal group. No significant difference was obtained in the other factors among the groups. In order to extract those factors that predict the occurrence of eating disorders, logistic regression analysis was performed. With respect to the patient group overall, both "unable to get close to mother and lonely"and "lack of communication with father"were extracted as risk factors. In the ANr group, "unable to get close to mother and lonely"was extracted. In the ANbp group and BN group, "parent separation or divorce"and "discord between parents"were extracted, respectively, in addition to "unable to get close to mother and lonely". Based on these findings, it revealed that both "unable to get close to mother and lonely", and "lack pf communication with father" were the most strongly affecting familial risk factors. Thus, the need to review the correlation between this disease and the role of the father was reaffirmed. Furthermore, since items of past experience such as "discord between parents"and "parent separation or divorce"were extracted in the ANbp and BN patients, symptoms of "binge eating"may indicate the possibility of having significance as a coping behavior for stressful conditions in their homes. It seems necessary to increase the number of patients and to further evaluate whether these extracted factors are disease-specific and/or have different contents in each subtype of eating disorders.

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