What is it about?

In Japan, the term “Hikikomori” is used to refer to situations of extreme social withdrawal. However, this syndrome is not yet clearly defined nor completely understood. In this paper, we lay out our preliminary hypothesis developed in the process of a number of meetings between the French and Japanese teams of researchers.

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Why is it important?

According to the case studies that we have examined, a difference seems to be apparent in the factors that trigger withdrawal and abandonment of cathexis. One of the hypotheses gathered concerns the individual's relation to his or her ideal life course: it seems that, in Japan, individuals withdraw when he or she anticipates the future and tries to avoid failure in fulfilling the ideal life course, while in France, it is caused by more concrete and tangible difficulties.

Perspectives

Multidisciplinary research involving anthropologists, sociologists, psychiatrists, and psychologists from Japan and France. Since this collaboration, the book "Hikikomori, ces adolescents en retrait" (Fansten et al. 2014, in French) was published, and I have written three articles about social withdrawal in Japan. 1. School non-attendance and counselling in Japan 2. Review of Hikikomori 3. Narratives of Hikikomori 4. 2016 Hikikomori Survey 5. Hikikomori trauma.

Dr Nicolas Tajan
National Institute of Mental Health – National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: État des lieux, points communs et différences entre des jeunes adultes retirants sociaux en France et au Japon (Hikikomori), L Évolution Psychiatrique, April 2013, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.evopsy.2013.01.016.
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