Shinichi Nagata

University of Tsukuba · Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences

This qualitative study examined professors’ experiences in teaching online courses in an English-medium graduate program at a Japanese university. Based on Andragogy Theory (Knowles, 1989), data included in-depth, semi-structured interviews (Seidman, 1998) with six professors who were faculty in a graduate program in Sport for Development. Synchron...

There have been increasing calls within critical disability studies to move beyond ethnocentric Global North/Western interpretive lenses, especially when doing work in countries that have historically been oppressed by such cultures. Dominant interpretive lenses rarely embrace the unique cultural nuances and social structures of the community under...

Research suggests that leisure is as an effective coping strategy for depression. The foundational theory of lei-sure coping assumes that leisure coping can be benefi-cial in three ways: mood enhancement, diversion, and companionship. While theorists asserted that the above three strategies are universal, research suggests that the personality trai...

Social relationships are critical to the health and well-being of people with serious mental illnesses (SMI) and are a major focus of psychiatric rehabilitation services. This study examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social relationships that people with SMI had with important people in their lives. An online survey was conducted in Ma...

This study aimed to explore common challenges to experiencing enjoyment during leisure activities among people with serious mental illnesses (SMI). Nineteen individuals receiving services at a community-based behavioral health service provider were interviewed. The analysis found three major challenges: (a) mismatch between activity difficulty and...

Promoting community participation is a core goal of behavioral health services for persons with serious mental illness (SMI) regardless of their racial/ethnic background. While practitioners are trained to respect diversity and culture, little is known about how racial/ethnic minorities participate in their communities during the recovery process....

Community participation is associated with physical, cognitive, and mental health benefits for people with serious mental illnesses (SMI) and is recognized as a critical component of health functioning. Developing reliable measurement of participation in different cultural contexts and languages is important to expanding knowledge in this area. The...

Background People with serious mental illnesses (SMI) have higher levels of loneliness than the general population. Furthermore, people with SMI tend to be less satisfied with their housing and tend to move more frequently. Aim This study aims to examine relationships between housing variables (whom they live with, duration of residence, and satis...

Social relationships are critical to the health and well-being of people with serious mental illnesses (SMI) and are a major focus of psychiatric rehabilitation services. This study examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social relationships that people with SMI had with important people in their lives. An online survey was conducted in Ma...

Many studies have examined the relationships between leisure and subjective well-being. However, eudaimonic (e.g. meaning) and non-Western perspectives are lacking. Moreover, comparing leisure with other life domains could clarify leisure's unique roles in the pursuit of well-being. This study explores leisure's relationships with ikigai, a Japanes...

The purpose of this study was to investigate five Japanese graduate (master’s level) students’ experiences in online courses in international development and peace through sport that used English as the medium of instruction. The study was situated in the framework of andragogy theory and used a descriptive-qualitative design using an in-depth, sem...

Background People with serious mental illnesses have elevated levels of depressive symptoms. Limited engagement in meaningful activities, such as work, social interactions, volunteering, and participation in faith, are one plausible explanation for this. Increased community participation over time may be associated with decreased depressive symptom...

Although leisure’s relationships with well-being have been widely studied, the literature lacks non-Western and eudaimonic perspectives. Moreover, leisure researchers have often focused exclusively on leisure. This leaves leisure’s impacts on well-being compared to other life domains understudied. The purpose of this study is to identify various so...

Leisure experience has particularly positive impacts on people’s health and well-being when it is perceived as meaningful. Research also suggests that mental health conditions, such as depression, inhibit people from deriving meaningfulness from their leisure. However, it remains underexplored what in depression has this negative effect on leisure-...

Community participation is important to the well-being of people with serious mental illnesses. While theories suggest that depressive symptoms can negatively impact community participation, evidence from previous studies was inconclusive. This study analyzed the relationship between severity of depressive symptoms and various participation constru...

Socially assistive robots (SARs) may impact health outcomes when facilitated by recreational therapists (RTs). It is unclear if RTs have the knowledge or perceive SARs as a relevant facilitation technique. This study sought to understand if a professional continuing education session on SARs improves comfort level. Seventy RTs and students attended...

Socially assistive robots (SARs) may impact health outcomes when facilitated by recreational therapists (RTs). It is unclear if RTs have the knowledge or perceive SARs as a relevant facilitation technique. This study sought to understand if a professional continuing education session on SARs improves comfort level. Seventy RTs and students attended...

Objective: This study aimed to clarify the extent of community participation by individuals with serious mental illnesses in comparison with the general population. Methods: Participants with serious mental illnesses (N=300) were recruited from 21 outpatient mental health organizations throughout the United States, and the participants without seri...

Individuals with serious mental illnesses generally spend extensive amounts of time at home and alone. The aim of the current study was to examine differences in emotional states between being at home and being in the community, and between being alone and being with others. Ecological momentary assessment was utilized 3 times per day over 14 days...

Myllykangas postulated that students studying various careers within the parks and recreation profession might prefer a certain learning style, which is, often the case, different from the teaching style used by the faculty. In order to address learning styles of students, it is essential to be able to adapt to the learning styles of each student i...

Depression is a common primary and secondary condition among recreational therapy clients, and is a threat to engagement and outcomes of recreational therapy. Recreational therapists are able to respond to depression through physical activity. A substantial amount of recent research has uniformly identified that there exist significant positive eff...

Aims: Improved sense of coherence (SOC) can protect health among individuals with depression. Literature suggests that leisure behavior can improve SOC, yet empirical studies are lacking. The current study aimed to examine whether leisure behavior was associated with SOC and depression. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey method was used with...

As healthcare turns its focus to preventative community-based interventions, there is increasing interest in using in-home technology to support this goal. This study evaluates the design and use of socially assistive robots (SARs) and sensors as in-home therapeutic support for older adults with depression. The seal-like SAR Paro, along with onboar...

Clinically significant depression has been consistently identified as a phenomenon directly linked to stress and stress coping. Leisure behavior as purposeful coping strategy (i.e., leisure coping) has been advanced as a potential approach to address depression; however, the leisure coping effect on depressive symptoms has not examined with two pot...

Anhedonia is a key clinical feature of major depressive disorder (MDD) and affects one's capacity to experience pleasure. This study examined the extent to which anhedonia disrupts the use and the effect of leisure coping strategies. A cross-sectional online survey design was used to recruit individuals with MDD (n = 155). Structural equation model...

As healthcare shifts towards a patient centered model, robotic technology can play an important role in monitoring, informing, supporting, and connecting independently living individuals with various physical and mental health conditions. As part of a study evaluating the use of the Socially Assistive Robot (SAR) Paro in the homes of older adults w...

Anhedonia is a key clinical feature of major depressive disorder (MDD) and impacts one’s capacity to experience pleasure. This study examined the extent to which anhedonia disrupts the use and the effect of leisure coping strategies. A cross-sectional online survey design was utilized to recruit individuals with MDD (n = 155). Structural equation m...

Background: Adolescents with mobility impairments have fewer opportunities to challenge identity as an athlete through sport participation. Objective/hypothesis: This study examined athletic identity impact of adolescent athletes with mobility impairments who participate in Paralympic Sport Clubs. Methods: This cross-sectional web-survey desig...

This study investigated the impact of wheelchair rugby participation on six psychological variables, as well as cross-cultural differences between American and Japanese wheelchair rugby players. Predictors of life satisfaction were also considered. A total of 84 wheelchair rugby players (58 Americans and 26 Japanese) responded to an electronic surv...

This paper presents the results of a pilot study measuring and evaluating the intervention effects of voluntary in-home use of a socially assistive robot by older adults diagnosed with depression. The study was performed with 8 older adult patients over the course of one month, during which participants were provided the robot to use as they desire...

This paper presents the results of research aimed at developing a methodology for the participatory design of social robots, which are meant to be incorporated into various social contexts (e.g. home, work) and establish social relations with people. In contrast to the dominant technologically driven robot development process, we aim to develop a s...

Introduction to the concept and application of SARs to recreational therapists and their practice.

Objective: This exploratory study describes the problematic secondary health conditions among adults with a spinal cord injury (SCI) and the impact these health concerns have on social participation and daily life. Design: Cross-sectional survey design. Setting: A community-based rehabilitation program within the United States. Participants:...

The purpose of the current study was to examine the conceptual framework of and factor structures of the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS) when administered to a sample of wheelchair rugby athletes. Conceptual framework was presented and the theoretical match to the existing factor structures was considered. Fifty-seven wheelchair rugby pl...

Lack of companionship, loneliness, and social isolation are often experienced by older adults diagnosed with clinical depression living independently within the community. Socially assistive robots (SARs), a relatively new concept within recreational therapy, may be one treatment modality that can address each one of these concerns. This explorator...

Both congenital and acquired disabilities can impact identity development. Adapted sport participation can foster athletic identity for those with disabilities, but building an identity exclusively around athletic involvement may bring the risk of difficulty adjusting to role loss once an athlete’s career ends. The purpose of this study was to exam...