Radioprotection No 59-3 | Page 72

S . Ito and A . Goto : Radioprotection 2024 , 59 ( 3 ), 211 – 219 215
Table 2 . Comparison of mean of survey item scores by sex and prefecture ( Fukushima , neighboring prefectures , and other prefectures ).
Fukushima Prefecture Neighboring Prefectures Other Prefectures P-value
Male ( n = 67 ) 1 Female ( n = 173 ) 2 Male ( n = 143 ) 3 Female ( n = 162 ) 4 Male ( n = 212 ) 5 Female ( n = 228 ) 6
M SD M SD M SD M SD M SD M SD
Age
31.0
6.4 4 , 6
29.9
6.2 4
29.2
4.5
27.9
4.7 1 , 2 , 5
29.7
4.6 4
28.5
4.4 1
0.000
FPAM : Giving birth to a baby
7.2
1.7 2
8.0
2.0 1 , 3 , 5
7.3
1.8 2
7.8
1.8
7.2
1.8 2 , 6
7.8
2.1 5
0.000
FPAM : Caring for a baby
7.1
2.4
6.9
2.8
7.3
2.3
6.6
2.3 5
7.4
2.3 4
6.9
2.6
0.036
WHO-5
18.2
6.6
17.5
5.6
16.6
6.0
17.2
6.3
16.8
6.2
16.5
6.4
0.274
HL : Communicative
10.4
2.7
10.2
2.4
10.1
2.6
10.3
2.4
10.3
2.6
10.5
2.4
0.820
HL : Critical
6.5
1.7
6.5
1.6
6.5
1.7
6.3
1.7
6.6
1.8
6.6
1.8
0.813
Self-esteem
22.7
6.4
22.3
4.6
22.8
5.5
22.5
5.6
23.4
5.7
22.4
5.8
0.380
ATSPPH-SF
24.5
4.0
24.7
4.2
23.7
4.0
24.9
3.8
24.6
4.0
24.6
4.4
0.244
The columns with M and SD were calculated using one-way analysis of variance and Tukey ’ s method . Superscript numbers indicate areas of significant difference at the 5 % level of significance using the Tukey method . For example , " 4,6 " for the age of males in Fukushima Prefecture indicates that there was a significant difference between females in the neighboring prefectures and those in other prefectures .
[ OR ] = 4.1 , 95 % confidence interval [ CI ] = 1.0 – 16.3 )” and “ Concerns about radiation effects on a future partner ” ( OR = 2.0 , 95 % CI = 1.2 – 3.4 ) for men and women in Fukushima Prefecture , respectively , and both “ Presence of a person to give advice about radiation ” ( OR = 4.4 , 95 % CI = 1.9 – 10.3 ) and “ Concerns about radiation effects on a future partner ” ( OR = 2.4 , 95 % CI = 1.5 – 4.1 ) for women in neighboring prefectures , and both “ Presence of a person to give advice about radiation ” ( OR = 2.4 , 95 % CI = 1.3 – 4.7 ) and “ Presence of a person to give advice about radiation ” ( OR = 2.2 , 95 % CI = 1.1 – 4.2 ), respectively , for men and women in other prefectures .
To examine the factors associated with the FPAM scale among those who wanted to have children in the future , Pearson ’ s correlation coefficients between items were calculated ( Supplement 4 ), and then multiple regression analysis using the forced entry method was performed . The items with significant differences are shown in Tables 4 and 5 , and the results for all input items are shown in Supplements 5 and 6 . Focusing on the dependent variable related to radiation , the factors related to “ Giving birth to a baby ” were “ Risk perception of radiation health effects : genetic effects ” ( standardized b = 0.3 ) among women in Fukushima Prefecture , “ Concerns about radiation effects on a future partner ” ( standardized b = – 0.3 ) and “ Risk perception of radiation health effects : delayed effects ” ( standardized b = 0.3 ) among men from other prefectures . Of note , among the covariates , the direction of association with ATSPPH-SF was opposite between women in Fukushima and neighboring prefectures .
Factors related to “ Caring for a child ” were “ Presence of a person to give advice about radiation ” ( standardized b = 0.2 ) and “ Knowledge of radiation ” ( standardized b = 0.3 ) among men in neighboring prefectures , and “ Presence of a person to give advice about radiation ” ( standardized b = 0.2 ) and “ Risk perception of radiation health effects : genetic effects ” ( standardized b = – 0.4 ) among women in other prefectures .
4 Discussion
The results of this survey suggest that , at 11 years after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident , confidence in future childbearing and child-rearing among people without children differs by prefecture ( Fukushima , neighboring prefectures , and other prefectures ) and gender . Women in Fukushima Prefecture had the lowest confidence in future childbearing ( 57.2 % vs . 63.2 %– 75.5 %). In a survey of female university students in Fukushima Prefecture , 83.2 % and 80.6 % were confident in their future childbearing in 2015 and 2018 , respectively , and 86.4 % and 90.7 % in their future child-rearing ( Ito et al ., 2023 ), a higher percentage of those confident than the Fukushima Prefecture women in this survey . The respondents in the present study had a mean age of 29.9 years and did not currently have children . Therefore , it is possible that those who are confident about future childbearing and child-rearing were excluded because they already had children . These results suggest that support to increase confidence in future childbearing is needed for women in Fukushima Prefecture who do not have children .
The results of this survey also suggest that factors such as radiation-related support associated with the place of residence