The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the daily life and social relationships of pre-school children globally. While many studies have examined the impact of the pandemic on children, few have compared the home environment and children’s social skills before and after the pandemic. To address this research gap, we used data from the Japan Child Care Cohort study, which included questions on home environment answered by parents (1748 in 2019 and 1349 in 2020) of children aged 0–6 years using self-reported questionnaires and data on the social skills of children aged 1–6 years (1917 in 2019 and 1989 in 2020) that were evaluated by childcare professionals in childcare centres. Using the Chi-square test, home environments and social skills were compared. We found that frequencies of family meals, no punishment, and a positive attitude toward children’s mistakes were higher in 2020. In contrast, frequencies of shopping together, visiting children’s friends and relatives, and having social support from others were lower in 2020. Additionally, children’s social skills in 2019 were better than in 2020. Childcare institutions can consider these differences and create a support plan to ensure quality child-rearing practices and healthy child development.

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the bidirectional association between frailty and social relationships in older adults while distinguishing between interpersonal and intrapersonal effects. Methods: A prospective cohort study of community-dwelling older adults was conducted in Japan in three waves spanning six years with follow-ups in every three years. Random intercept cross-lagged panel model was used to explore temporal associations between frailty and social relationships. Results: Data for 520 participants (mean age 73.02 [SD 6.38] years, 56.7% women) were analyzed. Across individuals, frailty was associated with social relationships (β = -0.514, p < 0.001). At the interpersonal level, frailty was cross-sectionally associated with social relationships separately at T1(β = -0.389, p < 0.01), T2 (β = -0.343, p < 0.001) and T3 (β = -0.273, p < 0.05). Moreover, social relationships were associated with subsequent increases in symptoms of frailty in all measurement waves (β = -0.332, p < 0.001; β = -0.169, p < 0.01) and vice versa (β = -0.149, p < 0.05; β = -0.292, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The results suggest that frailty was associated with lower levels of social relationships. Frailty improvement programs can be combined with interventions to enhance social relationships, which will be beneficial in preventing frailty. The results emphasize the importance of combining clinical treatments of frailty with interventions to improve social relationships.

Externalizing and internalizing behavioral problems occurs at a high rate among children. However, this has rarely been examined among Japanese children using a person-oriented method. Hence, this study aims to explore its subtypes and clarify their association with family-based group activities. We conducted a cross-sectional survey in a typical community-based suburban area for all families with primary school children in Japan. We investigated children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors based on the Japanese version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and different types of activities that family members frequently engaged in. Data from 206 families were collected and used for the analysis. The subtypes were explored using latent class analysis (LCA). The relationship between family activities and latent class membership was analyzed using a logistic regression model. Moreover, three latent class models and their probabilities were identified, namely, risk group (31.3%), moderate group (44.9%), and normal group (23.8%). Frequent family activities including play sports, traveling or hiking, watching TV and communicating, cooking or making a dessert, and doing housework, which were significantly related to the normal group. These results would add evidence to potential types of children’s behavioral problems and preventive childcare practices needed in the primary gate of families.

Introduction: Smoking remains a significant public health issue globally, despite efforts to reduce tobacco use. In Japan, smoking persists, particularly among certain groups. Methods: This study investigates smoking attitudes, self-reported practices, and COPD knowledge among Japanese...

Strong relationship exists between loneliness and depression in older adults. However, the effect of multifaceted social relationships on the relationship between loneliness and depression has not been explored. The purpose of the current study was to find out how multifaceted social relationships affect the aforementioned processes. We investigated and evaluated the loneliness status, depression symptoms, social relationships, and demographic information of 1116 older adults aged ≥65 years living in rural Japan. The final 555 participants were included in the analysis. Statistical evidence showed a direct effect between loneliness and depression symptoms. Additionally, the mediation model found that social curiosity and participation acted as mediators between loneliness and depression symptoms. Further, independence and participation, independence, and feeling safe played a conditional moderating role in the model of loneliness–social curiosity–depression symptoms and loneliness–participation–depression symptoms, respectively. Interaction can be an individual moderator in the link between loneliness and depression symptoms without any mediator. The moderated mediation model suggests that social curiosity and participation could mediate the association between loneliness and depression symptoms. In this process, independence, participation, and feeling safe may act as moderators.