Facing and treating hikikomori (pathological social withdrawal)

Titolo Rivista QUADERNI DI PSICOTERAPIA COGNITIVA
Autori/Curatori Takahiro A. Kato
Anno di pubblicazione 2021 Fascicolo 2021/48 Lingua Italiano
Numero pagine 9 P. 11-19 Dimensione file 0 KB
DOI 10.3280/qpc48-2021oa12137
Il DOI è il codice a barre della proprietà intellettuale: per saperne di più clicca qui

FrancoAngeli è membro della Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA)associazione indipendente e non profit per facilitare (attraverso i servizi tecnologici implementati da CrossRef.org) l’accesso degli studiosi ai contenuti digitali nelle pubblicazioni professionali e scientifiche

Hikikomori is a form of pathological social withdrawal or social isolation whose essential feature is physical isolation in one’s home. The 2010 Japanese guidelines define that a person must meet the following criteria to be diagnosed with hikiikomori: a) marked social isolation in one’s home; b) duration of continuous social isolation of at least 6 months; c) significant functional impairment or distress associated with the social isolation. Advances in the conceptualization and treatment plan are discussed.;

Keywords:; hikikomori; social isolation; social withdrawal; depression; modern-type depression

  1. Hadlaczky G., Hökby S., Mkrtchian A., Carli V., Wasserman D. (2014). Mental Health First Aid is an effective public health intervention for improving knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour: A meta-analysis. International Review of Psychiatry, 26(4): 467-475. DOI: 10.3109/09540261.2014.924910.
  2. Kato T.A., Hashimoto R., Hayakawa K., Kubo H., Watabe M., Teo A.R., Kanba S. (2016). Multidimensional anatomy of “modern type depression” in Japan: A proposal for a different diagnostic approach to depression beyond the DSM-5. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 70(1): 7-23. DOI: 10.1111/pcn.12360.
  3. Kato T.A., Kanba S. (2016). Boundless syndromes in modern society: An interconnected world producing novel psychopathology in the 21st century. Psychiatry Clinical Neuroscience, 70: 1-2. DOI: 10.1111/pcn.12368.
  4. Kato T. A., Kanba S., Teo A.R. (2016). A 39-year-old “adultolescent”: understanding social withdrawal in Japan. American Journal of Psychiatry, 173(2): 112-114. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.15081034.
  5. Kato T.A., Kanba S., Teo A.R. (2019). Hikikomori: Multidimensional understanding, assessment, and future international perspectives. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 73(8): 427-440. DOI: 10.1111/pcn.12895.
  6. Kato T.A., Kanba S., Teo A.R. (2020). Defining pathological social withdrawal: proposed diagnostic criteria for hikikomori. World Psychiatry, 19(1): 116-117. DOI: 10.1002/wps.20705.
  7. Kato T.A., Sartorius N., Shinfuku N. (2020). Forced social isolation due to Covid-19 and consequent mental health problems: Lessons from hikikomori. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences. DOI: 10.1111/pcn.13112.
  8. Kato T.A., Tateno M., Shinfuku N., Fujisawa D., Teo A.R., Sartorius N., Kanba S. (2012). Does the “hikikomori” syndrome of social withdrawal exist outside Japan? A preliminary international investigation. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 47(7): 1061-1075. DOI: 10.1007/s00127-011-0411-7.
  9. Katsuki R., Inoue A., Indias S., Kurahara K., Kuwano N., Funatsu F., Kato T.A. (2019). Clarifying Deeper Psychological Characteristics of Hikikomori Using the Rorschach Comprehensive System: A Pilot Case-Control Study. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 10: 412. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00412.
  10. Katsuki R., Tateno M., Kubo H., Kurahara K., Hayakawa K., Kuwano N., Kato T.A. (2020). Autism spectrum conditions in hikikomori: A pilot case-control study. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 74(12): 652-658. DOI: 10.1111/pcn.13154.
  11. Kondo N., Sakai M., Kuroda Y., Kiyota Y., Kitabata Y., Kurosawa M. (2013). General condition of hikikomori (prolonged social withdrawal) in Japan: Psychiatric diagnosis and outcome in mental health welfare centres. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 59(1): 79-86. DOI: 10.1177/0020764011423611.
  12. Koyama A., Miyake Y., Kawakami N., Tsuchiya M., Tachimori H., Takeshima T., World Mental Health Japan Survey Group (2010). Lifetime prevalence, psychiatric comorbidity and demographic correlates of “hikikomori” in a community population in Japan. Psychiatry Research, 176(1): 69-74. DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2008.10.019.
  13. Kubo H., Urata H., Sakai M., Nonaka S., Saito K., Tateno M., Kato T.A. (2020). Development of 5-day hikikomori intervention program for family members: A single-arm pilot trial. Heliyon, 6(1): e03011. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e03011.
  14. Kubo H., Urata H., Sakai M., Nonaka S., Kishimoto J., Saito K., Kato T.A. (2021). Development of a 3-Day Intervention Program for Family Members of Hikikomori Sufferers. Japanese Psychological Research. DOI: 10.1111/jpr.12368.
  15. Kumazaki H., Muramatsu T., Yoshikawa Y., Kato T.A., Ishiguro H., Kikuchi M., Mimura M. (2021). Use of a tele-operated robot to increase sociability in individuals with autism spectrum disorder who display Hikikomori. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 57: 102588. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2021.102588.
  16. Japan-Cabinet-Office (2016). Wakamono no Seikatsu ni Kansuru Chousa-Houkokusho [Investigation on life of youth]. https://www8.cao.go.jp/youth/kenkyu/hikikomori/h27/pdf/teigi.pdf.
  17. Japan-Cabinet-Office (2019). Seikatsu Joukyou ni Kansuru Chousa [Investigation on living conditions]. https://www8.cao.go.jp/youth/kenkyu/life/h30/pdf-index.html.
  18. Meyers R.J., Miller W.R., Hill D.E., Tonigan J.S. (1998). Community reinforcement and family training (CRAFT): Engaging unmotivated drug users in treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse, 10(3): 291-308. DOI: 10.1016/S0899-3289(99)00003-6.
  19. Saito K. (2010). Hikikomori no hyouka-shien Ni kansuru gaido-rain [guideline of hikikomori for their evaluations and supports]. Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (http://www.ncgmkohnodai.go.jp/pdf/jidouseishin/22ncgm_hikikomori.pdf), Tokyo.
  20. Saito T. (1998). Social Withdrawal (Shakaiteki Hikikomori). PHP Shinsho (in Japanese), Tokyo.
  21. Sakai M., Hirakawa S., Nonaka S., Okazaki T., Seo K., Yokose Y., Mizoguchi A. (2015). Effectiveness of Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) for parents of individuals with “hikikomori”. Japanese Journal of Behavior Therapy, 41(3): 167-78.
  22. Teo A.R., Fetters M.D., Stufflebam K., Tateno M., Balhara Y., Choi T.Y., Kato T.A. (2015). Identification of the hikikomori syndrome of social withdrawal: psychosocial features and treatment preferences in four countries. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 61(1): 64-72. DOI: 10.1177/0020764014535758.
  23. Teo A.R., Nelson S., Strange W., Kubo H., Katsuki R., Kurahara K., Kato T.A. (2020). Social withdrawal in major depressive disorder: a case-control study of hikikomori in japan. Journal of Affective Disorders, 274: 1142-1146. DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.06.011.
  24. Teo A.R., Stufflebam K., Saha S., Fetters M.D., Tateno M., Kanba S., Kato T.A. (2015). Psychopathology associated with social withdrawal: Idiopathic and comorbid presentations. Psychiatry Research, 228(1): 182-183. DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2015.04.033.
  25. Yoshikawa Y., Kumazaki H., Kato T.A. (2021). Future perspectives of robot psychiatry: can communication robots assist psychiatric evaluation in the Covid-19 pandemic era? Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 34(3): 277-286. DOI: 10.1097/YCO.0000000000000692.

Takahiro A. Kato, Facing and treating hikikomori (pathological social withdrawal) in "QUADERNI DI PSICOTERAPIA COGNITIVA" 48/2021, pp 11-19, DOI: 10.3280/qpc48-2021oa12137