Introduction COVID-19-related physical isolation, fear and anxiety determined de novo mental illnesses, by potentially facilitating the emergence of Hikikomori traits (i.e., a severe social withdrawal condition). Objectives The present study aims at screening a cohort of university students for the Hikikomori traits and assessing a set of psychopathological determinants associated with Hikikomori, particularly boredom and loneliness dimensions. Methods A cross-sectional web-based survey was carried out by administering Hikikomori Questionnaire (HQ-11), Italian Loneliness Scale (ILS), Multidimensional State Boredom Scale (MSBS), Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) and Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Results 1,148 respondents (767 women and 374 men, mean age: 23.2±SD=2.8 years old) were recruited. 70.7% declared to have experienced psychological distress. HQ-11 average total score was 18.4±SD=7.5 with statistically significant higher values in the males (p=0.017) and amongst students studying Informatics, Mathematics/Physics/Chemistry, Science of Communication and Engineering. The HQ-11 positively correlated with ILS (r=0.609), MSBS (r=0.415), TAS-20 (r=0.482) and DASS-21 (r=0.434). Conclusions This study represents the first screening of the Hikikomori phenomenon in Italian university students. Hikikomori traits appear to be particularly represented in the Italian youth population and should be carefully investigated in future studies. Disclosure No significant relationships.
IntroductionDuring the last decade, a growing digitalization allowed to implement technologies in daily life activities. Conversely, the increased use of technologies in general population, particularly in youths, facilitated the emergence of new web-based psychopathologies, including Pathological Internet use (PIU).ObjectivesOur study aims at investigating the relationship between PIU and boredom as well as loneliness dimensions in youths, by also focusing on the association with the main psychopathological symptomatology (i.e., depression, anxiety and stress).MethodsA nationwide population-based cross-sectional case-control study was conducted by recruiting a sample of Italian young adults (aged 18-24), using a snowball sampling strategy. After data cleaning, only 1,643 participants were selected for analysis based on age and classified according to the presence/absence of PIU/non-PIU. Linear regression analyses as well as Pearson correlation analyses were conducted to check for possible associations and correlations between PIU and stress/anxiety/depression. Subsequently, mediation analyses regarding boredom and loneliness were conducted on these relationships.ResultsParticipants were predominantly females (68.7%; n = 1,129). The mean age was 21.8 years (SD = 1.7), particularly ranging 20-24 years-old (88.5%; n = 1454). Around 41.7% (n = 685) of the sample declared previous psychological issues without a history of professional support (psychological and/or psychiatric), while 32.7% (n = 538) stated that they had an overt mental disorder and were currently receiving professional support. Mediation analysis demonstrated that both boredom and loneliness act as mediators in the association between PIU and depression.ConclusionsFurther studies are needed to evaluate how boredom and loneliness dimensions could be managed in order to alleviate the emergence of PIU in youths with clinically relevant depressive symptomatology.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared
Introduction Hikikomori represents the severe social withdrawal condition of the so-called ‘modern type-depression” (MTD). Digital addictions, including Internet addiction (IA), Internet gaming disorder (IGD) and smartphone addiction, have been associated with MTD and Hikikomori. Objectives This is a post-hoc study aimed at assessing digital addictions in a cohort of university students with a positive screening for MTD and Hikikomori. Methods A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted by administering the Hikikomori Questionnaire (HQ-11), Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) and the Smartphone addiction scale-Short Version (SAS-SV). Results Among 1,148 respondents, a significant association was found between the HQ-11 scale and the DASS-21 total score (r=0.434). The HQ-11 positively correlated with IAT, IGDS9-SF and SAS-SV (r=0.329; r=0.292 and r=0.205 respectively). Conclusions Digital addictions appear to be widely diffuse among university students positive to the Hikikomori and MTD screening. Further longitudinal studies are needed to weight and balance the potential consequences of digital tools in Hikikomori subjects. Disclosure No significant relationships.
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