BackgroundThe 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan caused a meltdown at the
Fukushima nuclear power plant.AimsTo quantify emotional responses among British nationals in Japan and to
assess whether perceptions about the incident or accessing information
about it were associated with responses.MethodA total of 284 participants randomly selected from official records
completed a survey that included instruments to measure emotional
responses.ResultsIn total, 16% met the criteria for distress, 29.7% reported high anxiety
relating to the incident and 30.4% reported high anger. Perceptions that
strongly predicted these outcomes included feeling uncertain, being
unable to rule out harmful exposure, and believing that exposure would
have severe or hidden health effects or be difficult to detect. Using
information sources was associated with higher emotional outcome,
particularly for sources perceived to have low credibility.ConclusionsReducing uncertainty and improving the credibility of information is
essential in reducing the psychological impact of radiological
disasters.
Bipolarization of Risk Perception about the Health Effects of Radiation in Residents after the Accident at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant
