Radioprotection 2024 , 59 ( 2 ), 95 – 103 © SFRP , 2024 https :// doi . org / 10.1051 / radiopro / 2023045
Available online at : www . radioprotection . org
ARTICLE
Comparative analysis of gender and prefecture-based attitudes toward future parenthood following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident
S . Ito 1 ,* and A . Goto 2
1 School of Nursing , Kitasato University , 2-2-1 , Kitasato , Minamiku , Sagamihara-city , Kanagawa 252-0329 , Japan . 2 Center for Integrated Science and Humanities , Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine , 1 , Hikarigaoka , Fukushima-city ,
Fukushima 960-1295 , Japan . Received : 4 October 2023 / Accepted : 11 December 2023
Abstract – This study aimed to examine both concerns about future childbirth and childcare associated with radiation exposure among men and women in different prefectures . In December 2018 , a crosssectional , online questionnaire-based survey was conducted on 620 adults in the general population . The survey included 155 men and 155 women who lived in Fukushima Prefecture at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake ( March 11 , 2011 ), and 155 men and 155 women who lived outside of Fukushima Prefecture . Regardless of gender and prefecture , the greater the perceived anxiety about radiation effects on a partner , the greater the perceived anxiety about future childbirth . In addition , those who did not want to have children were more anxious about rearing children in the future . Compared with women in other prefectures , men in Fukushima Prefecture were more knowledgeable about radiation , thought that radiation would have fewer health effects on their children , and were more confident about future childbearing . These findings suggest that for those who are anxious about future childbirth and childcare , it is important to create an environment where necessary information can be accessed regardless of gender or residence in an area affected by a nuclear accident .
Keywords : Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant / radiation effects / childbearing intentions / epidemiology
1 Introduction
The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident released a substantial number of radioactive materials , which has led many people to feel concerned about radiation exposure . Nuclear accidents have been shown to have longterm effects on the mental health of mothers and children ( Bromet et al ., 2011 ), and mothers tend to worry about their children even when no health problems are apparent ( Bromet et al ., 2009 ). For example , mothers who blamed themselves for the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident were twice as likely to experience major depression and posttraumatic stress disorder 11 – 19 yr after the accident ( Adams et al ., 2002 ; Adams et al ., 2011 ) compared with their peers who had not evacuated . In addition , mothers who had evacuated were more likely to rate their health as poor and worry about the health effects of radiation exposure ( Bromet et al ., 2002 ). Similarly , in the case of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident , the proportion of mothers with depressive
* Correspondence : shinyai @ nrs . kitasato-u . ac . jp symptoms has decreased over time . However , the rates of postpartum depression according to the Hamamatsu Birth Cohort in Japan were 11 % within the first month postpartum and 4 % at 2 – 3 months ’ postpartum , while the rate of mothers in Fukushima Prefecture with depressive symptoms was as high as 28 % ( Aoyagi et al ., 2019 ; Ishii et al ., 2022 ; Ito et al ., 2018a ).
Although investigations of anxiety about childbirth and childcare associated with radiation exposure have been conducted on mothers who have been exposed to radiation , few studies have been conducted on men who have been exposed to radiation , or on women who have been exposed to radiation but do not currently have any children . For example , our group conducted a questionnaire survey on female college students who were living in Fukushima Prefecture at the time of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident and found that some women were concerned about future childbirth and childcare ( Ito et al ., 2018b ). However , as that was a descriptive epidemiological survey , it only ascertained the actual situation and did not compare the results by group . Our subsequent research ( Ito et al ., 2023 ) examined anxiety about future childbirth and childcare among female university students in Fukushima Prefecture in 2015 and 2018 , and