Summary: Hikikomori is a posh situation the place an individual withdraws from society and stays remoted at dwelling for greater than six months. The situation is changing into extra prevalent in Western societies. Researchers have developed a brand new methodology designed to assist detect hikikomori at an earlier stage and supply remedy.
Source: Kyushu University
Kyushu University researchers have developed a brand new ‘Hikikomori Questionnaire’ in an effort to detect the situation at an earlier stage.
Preliminary outcomes present that isolation is a potential issue that may distinguish between non-hikikomori and pre-hikikomori people, offering potential validation of the new questionnaire as a device for early detection and remedy.
Hikikomori is a posh pathological situation the place a person withdraws from society and stays at dwelling nearly on daily basis for greater than six months. Although it might be seen as a situation distinctive to Japan, hikikomori has been reported globally from throughout Asia, to Europe and North America.
“Hikikomori was first defined in 1998. As we studied the condition, we found that it is a very complex pathology caused by an overlap of physical, societal, and psychological conditions,” explains Takahiro A. Kato of Kyushu University’s Faculty of Medical Sciences and first writer of the research.
“Its growing international recognition has put hikikomori into the purview of many researchers and medical professionals, especially on the heels of the years long COVID-19 pandemic. Just this year, Hikikomori was recognized in the revised edition of the DSM-5.”
Kato and his group have been engaged on measures to judge, determine, and deal with hikikomori sufferers, to the level of opening the world’s first outpatient clinic for hikikomori people in 2013. In 2018, the group developed the ‘Hikikomori Questionnaire,’ or HQ-25, that was design to evaluate whether or not people below social withdrawal after six months are symptomatic of hikikomori.
“This questionnaire allowed us to identify symptomatic individuals with hikikomori. As our work progressed, we found that we needed an assessment tool that could evaluate symptomatic individuals at an earlier stage to help detect and potentially prevent hikikomori,” continues Kato.
The new Hikikomori Questionnaire, or HQ-25M—made in collaboration with Nihon University and Oregon Health and Science University—consists of 25 questions that consider the three subfactors of socialization, isolation, and emotional help on a scale to 0–4, 4 being ‘strongly agree.’
For instance, questions such as ‘I feel uncomfortable around other people’ gauge socialization, whereas ‘there are few people I can discuss important issues with’ covers emotional help.
The pilot check of the new questionnaire, reported in Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, was performed with 762 Japanese people. The questionnaire first requested about the particular person’s social withdrawal standing in the prior month so as to categorize contributors into hikikomori, non-hikikomori, and pre-hikikomori teams. The group additionally added a questionnaire that evaluates the particular person’s psychological misery throughout the similar month.
“We analyzed the data to see any comparable differences between the different category groups,” explains Kato. “Multiple models showed us that hikikomori groups scored significantly higher on all metrics compared to non- and pre-hikikomori.”
Interestingly, between the pre- and non-hikikomori respondents, of all the three subfactors that had been measured, the isolation subfactor was the just one that confirmed a big distinction in scores.
While nonetheless preliminary, the group is happy with their preliminary findings and plans to make use of them to enhance their questionnaire and knowledge amassing.
“These initial findings are promising and show that our questionnaire may be a good tool for early detection of hikikomori,” concludes Kato.
“Nonetheless, we have to work on expanding and diversifying our sample size and fine tune our questions. Moreover, since the hikikomori pathology is being reported around the world, we must work with researchers and patients outside of Japan.”
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About this psychology analysis information
Author: Press Office
Source: Kyushu University
Contact: Press Office – Kyushu University
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Original Research: Open entry.
“One month version of Hikikomori Questionnaire‐25 ( HQ‐25M ): Development and initial validation” by Takahiro A. Kato et al. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences
Abstract
One month model of Hikikomori Questionnaire‐25 ( HQ‐25M ): Development and preliminary validation
Hikikomori is a pathological situation of social withdrawal during which an individual stays at dwelling nearly on daily basis for greater than 6 months.
Although first noticed in Japan, hikikomori is described round the world, inflicting critical impacts on healthcare, welfare, and the economic system.
The COVID-19 pandemic has additional led to social isolation at dwelling to keep away from the threat of an infection, and maybe elevated the quantity of individuals with hikikomori-like situations. The 25-item Hikikomori Questionnaire (HQ-25) was designed to evaluate social withdrawal after no less than 6 months of signs.
However, evaluation instruments that may shortly consider social withdrawal at an earlier stage are wanted to assist detect and doubtlessly stop hikikomori. Therefore, we herein developed a modified model of the HQ-25 to evaluate the prior 1 month and preliminarily examined its validity.
