Diverse Trajectories of Hikikomori Symptoms During Job Search and the Role of Identity Distress: Three Wave Longitudinal Research

Overview

Journal Front Psychiatry

Specialty Psychiatry

Date 2022 Jul 25

PMID 35873266

Authors

Shogo Hihara

Kohei Kambara

Tomotaka Umemura

Kyonosuke Handa

Kazumi Sugimura

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: Hikikomori, a prolonged form of social withdrawal, has received attention in various research areas. This longitudinal study aimed to identify diverse trajectories of hikikomori symptoms among young Japanese adults engaged in a job search. It also tested whether identity distress, a critical developmental issue, predicts these trajectories while controlling for other risk factors (depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, career expectations, and gender).

Methods: A total of 756 third-year Japanese university students (at Time 1, = 20.88 years; women: 78.97%) who engaged in job search participated in our three-wave longitudinal survey at six-month intervals. To assess hikikomori symptoms, we used the 25-item Hikikomori Questionnaire. In addition, identity distress was measured using the 10-item Identity Distress Survey.

Results: Latent class growth analysis revealed four different trajectories of hikikomori symptoms. Most young adults showed severe levels and escalating hikikomori symptoms over time. In contrast, a small proportion of young adults prevented hikikomori symptoms through the period of job search. Additionally, young adults with more severe levels of identity distress followed trajectories marked by severe hikikomori symptoms after controlling for other risk factors.

Conclusion: The present study's findings contribute to developing a primary intervention for hikikomori symptoms by identifying the period of greatest risk. Group-based counseling support for hikikomori from the perspective of identity is recommended.

Citing Articles

Characterizing Experiences With Hikikomori Syndrome on Twitter Among Japanese-Language Users: Qualitative Infodemiology Content Analysis.

Uchiyama M, Bekki H, McMann T, Li Z, Mackey T JMIR Infodemiology. 2025; 5:e65610.

PMID: 39993295 PMC: 11894343. DOI: 10.2196/65610.

Contemporary Hermits: A Developmental Psychopathology Account of Extreme Social Withdrawal (Hikikomori) in Young People.

Muris P, Ollendick T Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev. 2023; 26(2):459-481.

PMID: 36653555 PMC: 9848719. DOI: 10.1007/s10567-023-00425-8.

References

Kato T, Kanba S, Teo A . Hikikomori : Multidimensional understanding, assessment, and future international perspectives. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2019; 73(8):427-440. DOI: 10.1111/pcn.12895. View

Nitzburg G, Farber B . Patterns of utilization and a case illustration of an interactive text-based psychotherapy delivery system. J Clin Psychol. 2019; 75(2):247-259. DOI: 10.1002/jclp.22718. View

Wong P, Li T, Chan M, Law Y, Chau M, Cheng C . The prevalence and correlates of severe social withdrawal (hikikomori) in Hong Kong: A cross-sectional telephone-based survey study. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2014; 61(4):330-42. DOI: 10.1177/0020764014543711. View

Yamamoto T, Uchiumi C, Suzuki N, Yoshimoto J, Murillo-Rodriguez E . The Psychological Impact of 'Mild Lockdown' in Japan during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Nationwide Survey under a Declared State of Emergency. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020; 17(24). PMC: 7765307. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17249382. View

Diener E, Emmons R, Larsen R, Griffin S . The Satisfaction With Life Scale. J Pers Assess. 1985; 49(1):71-5. DOI: 10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13. View

Hihara S, Sugimura K, Umemura T, Iwasa Y, Syed M . Positive and negative valences of identities: Longitudinal associations of identity content valences with adaptive and maladaptive functioning among Japanese young adults. Dev Psychopathol. 2021; 34(4):1516-1530. DOI: 10.1017/S0954579421000043. View

Ojio Y, Mori R, Matsumoto K, Nemoto T, Sumiyoshi T, Fujita H . Innovative approach to adolescent mental health in Japan: School-based education about mental health literacy. Early Interv Psychiatry. 2020; 15(1):174-182. DOI: 10.1111/eip.12959. View

Cicchetti D, Rogosch F . A developmental psychopathology perspective on adolescence. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2002; 70(1):6-20. DOI: 10.1037//0022-006x.70.1.6. View

Takagaki K, Okamoto Y, Jinnin R, Mori A, Nishiyama Y, Yamamura T . Behavioral activation for late adolescents with subthreshold depression: a randomized controlled trial. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2016; 25(11):1171-1182. DOI: 10.1007/s00787-016-0842-5. View

10.

Koyama A, Miyake Y, Kawakami N, Tsuchiya M, Tachimori H, Takeshima T . Lifetime prevalence, psychiatric comorbidity and demographic correlates of "hikikomori" in a community population in Japan. Psychiatry Res. 2010; 176(1):69-74. DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2008.10.019. View

11.

Teo A . Social isolation associated with depression: a case report of hikikomori. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2012; 59(4):339-41. PMC: 4886854. DOI: 10.1177/0020764012437128. View

12.

Nagin D, Tremblay R . Analyzing developmental trajectories of distinct but related behaviors: a group-based method. Psychol Methods. 2001; 6(1):18-34. DOI: 10.1037/1082-989x.6.1.18. View

13.

McLean K, Pasupathi M, Pals J . Selves creating stories creating selves: a process model of self-development. Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2008; 11(3):262-78. DOI: 10.1177/1088868307301034. View

14.

Sakamoto H, Ishikane M, Ghaznavi C, Ueda P . Assessment of Suicide in Japan During the COVID-19 Pandemic vs Previous Years. JAMA Netw Open. 2021; 4(2):e2037378. PMC: 7856546. DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.37378. View

15.

Larson R . Toward a psychology of positive youth development. Am Psychol. 2001; 55(1):170-83. DOI: 10.1037//0003-066x.55.1.170. View

16.

McArdle J, Epstein D . Latent growth curves within developmental structural equation models. Child Dev. 1987; 58(1):110-33. View

17.

McLean K, Mansfield C . The co-construction of adolescent narrative identity: narrative processing as a function of adolescent age, gender, and maternal scaffolding. Dev Psychol. 2011; 48(2):436-47. DOI: 10.1037/a0025563. View

18.

Uchida Y, Norasakkunkit V . The NEET and Hikikomori spectrum: Assessing the risks and consequences of becoming culturally marginalized. Front Psychol. 2015; 6:1117. PMC: 4540084. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01117. View

19.

Hihara S, Umemura T, Iwasa Y, Saiga S, Sugimura K . Identity processes and identity content valences: Examining bidirectionality. Dev Psychol. 2021; 57(12):2265-2280. DOI: 10.1037/dev0001275. View

20.

Teo A, Nelson S, Strange W, Kubo H, Katsuki R, Kurahara K . Social withdrawal in major depressive disorder: a case-control study of hikikomori in japan. J Affect Disord. 2020; 274:1142-1146. DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.06.011. View