Long-term socio-psychological disaster impact after 8 years: Relationships between the persistent impact of the Fukushima disaster and individuals’ media and community connectedness

Abstract

Residents of Fukushima Prefecture continue to face trauma after Japan's 2011 nuclear disaster. While there remains a substantial presence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the prefecture, and the majority of literature tends to view PTSD as an individual psychological disease that can be ameliorated; there is little understanding about how individuals experiencing PTSD influence their communities over time. The present research employs Barton's collective stress theory and Ball-Rokeach et al.'s communication infrastructure theory to examine multilevel effects of individual-level trauma and offers a new term, long-term socio-psychological disaster impact (LTSDI). LTSDI modifies pre-existing notions of persistent PTSD to a neutral understanding of experiences of symptomology and various levels of individuals’ impacts on their communities. Survey research conducted in Fukushima eight years after the disaster and analyses employing structural equation modeling found individuals experiencing LTSDI can positively contribute to their communities through community connectedness, a measure of interpersonal storytelling, collective efficacy, and civic participation. Implications of the study are discussed.