Prolonged social withdrawal disorder: A hikikomori case in Spain

Abstract

Further documentation of this disorder is still needed to encompass all cases reported in Japan and around the world.

A 12-month study of the hikikomori syndrome of social withdrawal: Clinical characterization and different subtypes proposal

“…To our knowledge, this study is the first to analyse a large sample social isolation cases in our society in terms of the global characteristics and the evolution and response to long-term treatment, thereby providing more scientific evidence about the phenomenon in Western culture. The results of this study confirm that the phenomenon exists in cultures other than in Japan (Aguglia et al, 2010;De Michele et al, 2013;Furuhashi et al, 2012;García-Campayo et al, 2007;Gariup et al, 2008;Gondim et al, 2017;Kato et al, 2012;Kondo et al, 2013;Lee et al, 2013;Malagón-Amor et al, 2015;Ovejero et al, 2014;Sakamoto et al, 2005;Teo, 2013;Wong et al, 2017a). Only one case corresponded to primary hikikomori (Koyama et al, 2010;Teo and Gaw, 2010), although the subject did demonstrate behaviour compatible with internet addiction (Teo et al, 2015b) confirming our hypothesis that isolation behaviour is not a new diagnostic category but a serious syndrome common to different mental disorders (Malagón-Amor et al, 2015).…”

“…The description of its existence in other countries and cultures (De Michele et al, 2013;Furuhashi et al, 2012;García-Campayo et al, 2007;Gariup et al, 2008;Gondim et al, 2017;Kondo et al, 2013;Lee et al, 2013;Malagón-Amor et al, 2015;Ovejero et al, 2014;Sakamoto et al, 2005;Teo, 2013;Wong et al, 2017a) suggests that it is not only a disorder related to Japanese culture. Our group described the existence of hikikomori in Spain, where primary hikikomori less common than secondary hikikomori.…”

Hikikomori in Spain: A descriptive study

“…This was, to our knowledge, the first European study to describe the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of a group of hikikomori cases, since to date only punctual cases had been reported (Aguglia et al, 2010;De Michele, Caredda, Delle, Salviati, & Biondi, 2013;GarciaCampayo et al, 2007;Gariup et al, 2008;Lee et al, 2013;Malagón Amor et al, 2010;Ovejero et al, 2014;Sakamoto et al, 2005;Teo, 2013). As pointed in previous studies, the hikikomori syndrome seems to exist not only in Japan Kondo et al, 2013), but is probably a frequent problem in Spain, with 15.4% of cases being attended by the CRHT.…”

Relato de caso de síndrome de Hikikomori em Portugal: uma síndrome primária ou expressão de outra perturbação mental?

“…Foi sugerido que o contexto socioeconómico e cultural do Japão possa contribuir para o aparecimento do fenómeno hikikomori 18 . No entanto, os casos relatados em diferentes partes do mundo [1][2][3]6,8,[10][11][12][13][14] , bem como o caso português que descrevemos, apresentam características clínicas e sociodemográficas semelhantes às descritas no Japão, reforçando que essa síndrome não está unicamente ligada à cultura japonesa.…”

“…A síndrome de hikikomori foi inicialmente descrita no Japão por Tomita Fujiya, na década de 1980, e considerada um problema ligado à cultura japonesa (japanese culture-bound syndrome) 2,9 . No entanto, nos últimos anos, tornou-se uma preocupação internacional pelo número crescente de casos relatados fora do Japão, sendo conhecidos casos na Europa, América e noutros países asiáticos [1][2][3]6,8,[10][11][12][13][14] .…”