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Risk factors for severity of social withdrawal in adolescence: Understanding hikikomori as a spectrum

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

Y. Hamasaki ,
T. Nakayama ,
S. Michikoshi  and
T. Hikida
Y. Hamasaki*
Affiliation:
Faculty Of Contemporary Society, Kyoto Women’s University, kyoto, Japan
T. Nakayama
Affiliation:
Faculty Of Contemporary Society, Kyoto Women’s University, kyoto, Japan
S. Michikoshi
Affiliation:
Faculty Of Contemporary Society, Kyoto Women’s University, kyoto, Japan
T. Hikida
Affiliation:
Institute For Protein Research, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Social withdrawal, or hikikomori, is one of Japan’s most serious psychosocial issues. The concept gained international attention around 2010 and widespread psychiatric epidemiological studies have since been conducted.

Objectives

With an understanding of the extensive range of hikikomori circumstances as a spectrum, we aimed to quantitatively measure the severity of hikikomori in adolescent subjects, an age group considered particularly susceptible to the condition, and to identify factors associated with its severity.

Methods

We selected population demographics, socioeconomic data, and psycho-behavioral characteristics as factors related to hikikomori and explored their associations with hikikomori severity using cross-sectional analysis. Subjects were a patient group of middle school students examined as outpatients at a psychiatric clinic during adolescence for a chief complaint of hikikomori and a control group of middle school students matched for sex and age. Subjects’ parents completed a questionnaire pertaining to their child’s hikikomori symptoms and living environment along with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The data collected was then statistically analyzed.

Results

T-test results demonstrated that scores for all CBCL syndrome scales were significantly higher in the patient group, but no scores fell within the clinical range. Multiple regression analysis revealed that being anxious/depressed, somatic complaints, lack of communication between parents, and overuse of the Internet were statistical predictors of hikikomori severity.

Conclusions

It may be possible to prevent hikikomori from becoming severe if the above predictors are used to identify high-risk individuals requiring active intervention while hikikomori is at an early stage.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

social withdrawalHikikomoriadolescencerisk factor
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 64 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 29th European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2021 , pp. S632 - S633
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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