Summary: Hikikomori is simply a analyzable information wherever a idiosyncratic withdraws from nine and remains isolated astatine location for much than six months. The information is becoming much prevalent successful Western societies. Researchers person developed a caller method designed to assistance observe hikikomori astatine an earlier signifier and supply treatment.
Source: Kyushu University
Kyushu University researchers person developed a caller ‘Hikikomori Questionnaire’ successful an effort to observe the information astatine an earlier stage.
Preliminary results amusement that isolation is simply a imaginable origin that tin separate betwixt non-hikikomori and pre-hikikomori individuals, providing imaginable validation of the caller questionnaire arsenic a instrumentality for aboriginal detection and treatment.
Hikikomori is simply a analyzable pathological information wherever an idiosyncratic withdraws from nine and remains astatine location astir each time for much than six months. Although it whitethorn beryllium viewed arsenic a information unsocial to Japan, hikikomori has been reported globally from crossed Asia, to Europe and North America.
“Hikikomori was archetypal defined successful 1998. As we studied the condition, we recovered that it is simply a precise analyzable pathology caused by an overlap of physical, societal, and intelligence conditions,” explains Takahiro A. Kato of Kyushu University’s Faculty of Medical Sciences and archetypal writer of the study.
“Its increasing planetary designation has enactment hikikomori into the purview of galore researchers and medical professionals, particularly connected the heels of the years agelong COVID-19 pandemic. Just this year, Hikikomori was recognized successful the revised variation of the DSM-5.”
Kato and his squad person been moving connected measures to evaluate, identify, and dainty hikikomori patients, to the constituent of opening the world’s archetypal outpatient session for hikikomori individuals successful 2013. In 2018, the squad developed the ‘Hikikomori Questionnaire,’ oregon HQ-25, that was plan to measure whether individuals nether societal withdrawal aft six months are symptomatic of hikikomori.
“This questionnaire allowed america to place symptomatic individuals with hikikomori. As our enactment progressed, we recovered that we needed an appraisal instrumentality that could measure symptomatic individuals astatine an earlier signifier to assistance observe and perchance forestall hikikomori,” continues Kato.
The caller Hikikomori Questionnaire, oregon HQ-25M—made successful collaboration with Nihon University and Oregon Health and Science University—is composed of 25 questions that measure the 3 subfactors of socialization, isolation, and affectional enactment connected a standard to 0–4, 4 being ‘strongly agree.’
For example, questions specified arsenic ‘I consciousness uncomfortable astir different people’ gauge socialization, portion ‘there are fewer radical I tin sermon important issues with’ covers affectional support.
The aviator trial of the caller questionnaire, reported in Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, was conducted with 762 Japanese individuals. The questionnaire archetypal asked astir the individual’s societal withdrawal presumption successful the anterior period successful bid to categorize participants into hikikomori, non-hikikomori, and pre-hikikomori groups. The squad besides added a questionnaire that evaluates the individual’s intelligence distress during the aforesaid month.
“We analyzed the information to spot immoderate comparable differences betwixt the antithetic class groups,” explains Kato. “Multiple models showed america that hikikomori groups scored importantly higher connected each metrics compared to non- and pre-hikikomori.”
Interestingly, betwixt the pre- and non-hikikomori respondents, of each the 3 subfactors that were measured, the isolation subfactor was the lone 1 that showed a important quality successful scores.
While inactive preliminary, the squad is pleased with their archetypal findings and plans to usage them to amended their questionnaire and information collecting.
“These archetypal findings are promising and amusement that our questionnaire may beryllium a bully instrumentality for aboriginal detection of hikikomori,” concludes Kato.
“Nonetheless, we person to enactment connected expanding and diversifying our illustration size and good tune our questions. Moreover, since the hikikomori pathology is being reported astir the world, we indispensable enactment with researchers and patients extracurricular of Japan.”
About this science probe news
Author: Press Office
Source: Kyushu University
Contact: Press Office – Kyushu University
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Original Research: Open access.
“One period mentation of Hikikomori Questionnaire‐25 ( HQ‐25M ): Development and archetypal validation” by Takahiro A. Kato et al. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences
Abstract
One period mentation of Hikikomori Questionnaire‐25 ( HQ‐25M ): Development and archetypal validation
Hikikomori is simply a pathological information of societal withdrawal successful which a idiosyncratic remains astatine location astir each time for much than 6 months.
Although archetypal observed successful Japan, hikikomori is described astir the world, causing superior impacts connected healthcare, welfare, and the economy.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further led to societal isolation astatine location to debar the hazard of infection, and possibly accrued the fig of radical with hikikomori-like conditions. The 25-item Hikikomori Questionnaire (HQ-25) was designed to measure societal withdrawal aft astatine slightest 6 months of symptoms.
However, appraisal tools that tin rapidly measure societal withdrawal astatine an earlier signifier are needed to assistance observe and perchance forestall hikikomori. Therefore, we herein developed a modified mentation of the HQ-25 to measure the anterior 1 month and preliminarily examined its validity.