Author(s)

Giulio Castelpietra^1,2, Alessandra Nicotra², Diego De Leo³

¹Primary Care Services Area, Central Health Directorate, Regione autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia, Trieste, Italy.
²Department of Medicine (DAME), University of Udine, Udine, Italy.
³Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.

Originated in Japan, the hikikomori phenomenon—as a form of individual withdrawal—has progressively widespread and gained international attention, given its psycho-social and economic consequences. In fact, hikikomori appears today as a problem that cannot be confined solely to the field of mental health. Rather, it appears as a phenomenon that concerns many aspects of modern society, intersecting with medicine, sociology, anthropology, politics, economics, culture and education. In the context of the actual loneliness pandemic, hikikomori individuals present characteristics that are examined in this article, together with suggestions for its possible management.

Hikikomori, Social Withdrawal, Loneliness, Internet Addiction, Mental Health

Castelpietra, G. , Nicotra, A. and Leo, D. (2021) The Hikikomori Phenomenon: Could Loneliness Be a Choice of Self-Restriction from Society?. Open Journal of Psychiatry, 11, 47-62. doi: 10.4236/ojpsych.2021.111005.