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Cited by 140Youth Substance Use and School AttendanceImpact of Technology on AdolescentsSchizophrenia research and treatment

Internet Addiction, Hikikomori Syndrome, and the Prodromal Phase of Psychosis

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Stip, Emmanuel, Thibault, Alexis, Beauchamp-Chatel, Alexis, Kisely, Steve·2016·Frontiers in Psychiatry
DOI 10.3389/fpsyt.2016.00006PMC PMC4776119
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Abstract

Computers, video games, and technological devices are part of young people's everyday lives. Hikikomori is a Japanese word describing a condition that mainly affects adolescents or young adults who live isolated from the world, cloistered within their parents' homes, locked in their bedrooms for days, months, or even years on end, and refusing to communicate even with their family. These patients use the Internet profusely, and only venture out to deal with their most imperative bodily needs. Although first described in Japan, cases have been described from around the world. This is the first published report from Canada. The disorder shares characteristics with prodromal psychosis, negative symptoms of schizophrenia, or Internet addiction, which are common differential or comorbid diagnoses. However, certain cases are not accompanied by a mental disorder. Psychotherapy is the treatment of choice although many cases are reluctant to present. The exact place of hikikomori in psychiatric nosology has yet to be determined. We searched Medline up to 12th May, 2015 supplemented by a hand search of the bibliographies of all retrieved articles. We used the following search terms: Hikikomori OR (prolonged AND social AND withdrawal). We found 97 potential papers. Of these 42 were in Japanese, and 1 in Korean. However, many of these were cited by subsequent English language papers that were included in the review. Following scrutiny of the titles and abstracts, 29 were judged to be relevant. Further research is needed to distinguish between primary and secondary hikikomori and establish whether this is a new diagnostic entity, or particular cultural or societal manifestations of established diagnoses.

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  • Stip et al. reported overuse of Internet games, social media, and YouTube in Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea, China, and Hong Kong, but not in other countries.

    “Stip et al. reported overuse of Internet games, social media (Instagram, Facebook, etc.), and YouTube in Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea, China, and Hong Kong, but not in other countries”

    From Preliminary study of the social withdrawal (hikikomori) spectrum in French adolescents: focusing on the differences in pathology and related factors compared with Japanese adolescents (2022) · cites this paper as [28]

    The Literature Review’s “Differential Diagnosis of Hikikomori” section reports widespread social-media and YouTube use and gives Internet-addiction figures for adolescents in Hong Kong and Korea. It does not report overuse of all three activities in Japan, South Korea, China, and Hong Kong, or say that such overuse does not occur elsewhere. The paper says Asian countries are at the forefront of research, not that the problem is confined to them. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [17]Garcia-Campayo J Alda M Sobradiel N Sanz Abos B [A case report of hikikomori in Spain]. Med Clin (2007) 129(8): 318– 9. 17878030

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Authors
Stip, E., Thibault, A., Beauchamp-Chatel, A., & Kisely, S.
Affiliations
  • Université de Montréal (CA)
  • Dalhousie University (CA)
ORCID
Kisely, Steve
Venue
Frontiers in Psychiatry
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2016-03-03
Volume
7
Pages
6-6
ISSN
1664-0640 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fpsyt.2016.00006
PMC
PMC4776119
OpenAlex
W2315317958
Cited by
140
References
61
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 1
FWCI
3.10
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Griffith Research Online (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Education › Youth Substance Use and School Attendance
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
Keywords
hikikomori, internet addiction, prodromal psychosis, social withdrawal, adolescents, young adults, negative symptoms of schizophrenia, comorbidities, differential diagnosis, psychotherapy, psychiatric classification

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