Exploring Hikikomori - A Mixed Methods Qualitative Research

Abstract

Introduction: Hikikomori, a term referred to a person who is in social withdrawal, and who has strictly confined him/herself in a room or house for a continuous period of six months or more, had attracted significant media and academic attention. Hikikomori have no previous diagnosis of existing mental-illness, and because of abrupt onset and association with negative media reports, the phenomenon had created tension and raised public health concerns. The interesting phenomena that arose with this problem among academics were debates about etiology and interventions. This study used a mixed-methods qualitative approach to explore hikikomori. 

Purpose: This study was designed to explore the nature of hikikomori experience and investigated the phenomenon of hikikomori, comparing and contrasting findings with the previous studies and claims, using grounded theory analysis of qualitative data.

Methods: A mixed-methods approach was necessarily adopted to recruit the sample. Snowball sampling methods and virtual participant observation approaches were adopted to circumvent the difficulties in both identifying and recruiting participants.

Data analysis: Grounded theory approach to qualitative analysis.

Results: Eight respondents were recruited using snowball sampling methods, and 160 participants were observed of the virtual participant observation method. Analysis produced three emergent themes, “Coping”, “Trust”, and “Existence”. Each theme comprised one or more categories, which in turn evidenced a number of different elements. Definitive characteristics of hikikomori were obtained from respondents through virtual participant observation. The emergent theoretical framework and the list are mutually supportive in the results obtained from this study, which suggested emotional pain exists in hikikomori in relation to human relationships. The results of the present study suggest that hikikomori is characterized by more diffuse features, including difficulties in coping with people or tasks, difficulties with trust, unhappiness about life and poor concept of time. There was no evidence of violent or aggressive behaviours.

Conclusion: The findings in this study suggest that hikikomori should not be taken lightly nor be considered comparable to depression, agoraphobia or other mental illness. The differences between self-perceived and other-perceived characteristics of hikikomori suggest existing interventions may be inappropriate, and challenges the perspective of time and target subjects. Data suggested that most Hikikomori are deeply unhappy about life and have a low quality of life and poor self-esteem, suggesting early intervention is most likely to be beneficial. The data also suggests that hikikomori is not a cultural-bound social illness limited only to Japanese, but a growing cross-cultural phenomenon. 

Hikikomori Sekai

If you study these three "productions", you might discover some interesting ideas and facts...... And you might find the three ex-hikikomori would have a very different story to tell.

The World of Ours, a disturbing movie by Ryo Nakajima, an ex-hikikomori (duration unknown). 

Nippon Hikikomori Kyokai, a humorous anime picturing the thoughts and lives of Hikikomori and Otaku, by Tatsuhiko 

Tatsumoto, an

ex-hikikomori (4 

years). 

Elemental, a philosophical "production" site by 

Mark Kay, an ex-hikikomori (8 years)

This interview was done with a caregiver to a Hikikomorian sister in Busan, Korea.

The interview was based on six questions. When, What, Why, How, Expectations.
Q1. How long your sister had been a "Hikikomori"?
A1: Almost more than 2 years now.

Q2: What does she do?
A2: Watching TV, especially sports. Doing internet.

Q3: Do you know the reasons for her to withdraw herself from connecting with people?
A3: My sister attended a church, and she was working in a mission organization, making "video animation" before she bacame a "hikikomori". She heard many people fighting each other in the company, many rejections, and saw a lot of bad things. Individually, she went through a lot of rejectio from step-mother, and elder sister inlaw. So, she had a bitter root in her heart, towards people, and God.

Can I tell you my story? (interviewer nodded, as a sign of "go ahead")

Actually , the family went through a lot of tribulation. My father is a drunker, and he died in 2003. My mother had mental disease since our childhood. The curse, passing down from old generation. Generation curses, have you heard?

Let me explain... My father's father was a drunker, and he despise woman. Then, my father hated my grandfather, but when he grew up, he became a drunker too, and despise woman. My mother's mother was a buddhist, my mother too. My mother once loved a poor young man, and my grandmother against it. Then, my mother broke up with the poor young man, and tried to suicide. However, my grandmother arranged my mother to marry with my father. After the marriage, she realized that my father was a drunker and he hated woman. She endured the relationship because of her pregnancy. Because of this relationship, my mother had mental illness, and always being hospitalized. My father brought home a stepmother when I went to university. She rejected us, and we also hated her.

Finally I met Jesus Christ, and I forgave my father. But not long after that, my mom died in the mental hospital. It was very painful to me.

My sister dropped out from university. After mom died, sister came to church. I'm not sure if she's born again, but she attended church right after mom's death in 1995.

After my brother married, my sister stayed with them. My sister inlaw not Christian. Brother at that time not Christian, they cannot understand me and my sister. My sister worked with mission organization, her salary 300,000 won (about 300 US), very low in Korea. My brother's wife cannot understand. But my sister thought God brought her to the mission organization.

After my father died, my step mother refused to return to us what he left for us. As a result, my brother bankrupt, me and my sister had economic hardship. Finally 3 years ago, my sister became a Hikikomori.

She also has sickness, inflamation in bowel. She was very thin, and she was hospitalized, the doctor told her that was not curable.

So, she hide herself in the house, and she stays with me now. About 2 years she not going out at all. Now, she goes to market with me, and she speaks only to the seller. Now she often smile, and she talks. But she still has no friends. She had one very intimate friend, but she cut all relationship. She recently told me that her intimate friend was working together with her in the same mission organization.

Q4: How come she changed? From not going out at all, to going out with you to the market?
A4: I think it's God's grace. I prayed for that! Ia ttended Benny Hyn's conference in Bangalore, India 2004. I have confidence God will heal my sister!

I think she was young at that time, as a spiritual baby, and she worked hard for the mission organization. Her burden was great. The pastor and co-workers made her felt guilty when she tried to quit. Such as making her feel that she was not a good Christian, and not following God's will...... She only told me these recently. I always though it was only because of my step mother.

Q5: Can you share with us your feelings being have to look after a Hikikomori family member?
A5: I thought it was a heavy burden because I had to support my sister economically. But now I think my thouight didn't comply with God's words. Now I accept it as God's plan to make me pure and I feel I have to fight against the evil spirit who attacked my family

Q6: How do you think you can be support better by the community?
A6: I think it's more of a evil attack towrds the family So I think the first is to pray, most important one. I think in the case of my sister, she was attacked by the religious spirit, in the mission organization. Isn't that spirit of withcraft? A spirit in using other things to control people, but not with the Holy Spirit. "If you are not involve in this movement, you are guilty for not following God!" This person became guilty, and another person is in control.

What can I do?

Where can I run to?

Who can I run to?

I can't even run to myself......

Who can help me?

What can I do?

By Ramone - May 21 & 23, 2007

親への怒りと殺意 - どこまで本当？

親への怒りと殺意？？？

服部雄一：　「私のクライアントの七割近くが親への怒りを表現します。研究所以外のケースを見ても，引き蘢りは親への怒りが強く，そのことをしきりに口にします。「親は自分のことしか考えていない」「親は俺のことを理解してくれなかった」などの表現の背後には，親に甘えられなかった恨みがあります。こうした怒りが蓄積すると親への殺意になります。 親への殺意は引き蘢りの心を蝕み、親を殺すかもしれないと密かに恐れたり，そんな自分に罪悪感を持ったり，あるいはさらに感情をマヒさせます。 引き蘢りが感情を取り戻したとたんに親への殺意に苦しむのはよくあるパターンです。親への殺意は引きこもり治療の重要なポイントです 。」

Hattori Yuichi is a psychologist. In His book, “Hikikomori and Family Trauma”, under the section of ‘Hikikomori Therapy’, there is a subtitle: The hatred 怒りagainst their parents and intention of killing 殺意 them.

By the statements that stated by his clients, like “ My parents only care about themselves,” “My parents had never try to understand me.”… he believes that Hikikomorians have strong resentment and hatred against their parents for being neglected.

Yuichi believed that the accumulative anger in them shaped an intention to kill. Because of the strong intention of kill their parents consumed their hearts, it resulted in feelings of fear and guilt. This also further paralyzes the emotion of Hikikomorians.

Yuichi believed that It’s often seen that once a Hikikomorian regains his emotions, he will suffer from the desire to kill his parents. Therefore he believed (dealing with their )desire to kill parents plays an important role in treating Hikikomori.


With this believe, Yuichi actually would go further in probing his clients such as,
“Had you ever thought about of killing your parents?”
“The way you spoke suggested a feeling of hatred.”
“By what means that you thought of killing them?”
“Can you elaborate more?”
“In other words, you had not only thought about killing them, but you had also thought about the ways of killing them.”


For whatever reasons of that, personally I think this was a dangerous approach. A suggesting approach could lead the person to respond and fantasy in a certain way. Perhaps Yuichi justified this with his experience, and perhaps this therapy approach was as if peeling the emotions layer by layer, as in opening the secret hidden boxes one by one.

It was clear that in the book of Michael Zillenger, he had quoted these emotions of hatred and intention of killing their parents quite strongly among those who he had interviewed. But could these be a suggested effect by questions being asked? Or these are really the underline problem of the phenomena. Family dynamic does exist, but to what extend? Hatred against parents could be understood, but to explore the intention of killing with the questions shaped as above could be misleading. Thus, the finding could shift to one end.

Well, in terms of individual choice of therapeutic methods, I agree that Yuichi has his freedom and ethic rights to explore the problem as long as it is based on individual tailor judgment. However, a research without proper designed questions will lead to invalidity of the findings. When an experience of individual is being extrapolated to the population, it can easily be an error of ecology fallacy. As a researcher, or a public worker, we need to be extra careful in this area.

The Need of Careful Assessment of Hikikomori rather than loose "expert's" opinion

The loose definition of "Hikikomori", and simplistic in putting on the caps of "causation factors" , "behavior patterns", "emotion inclination" to them is irresponsible.

A clear definition of "Hikikomori" needs to be define. A careful research needs to be carry out to test the theories and hypothesis that one made. The celebration of the event, and authors or caregivers because of the "unusual", "unique" phenomena, and tends to pin down one nation, one culture, probably slapping the nation on both side of her cheeks, is not sustainable in the long run, and the mentioned cause and factors remained no weight in public health intervention or policy implementation.

Social withdrawal, NEETs, depression, schizoprenia are all differet thing. In terms of sociology, or mental health or public health, these terms and needs of intervention need to be spell out clearly.

I celebrate the fact that people are taking concern on this event, and these people comes from different angle. Psychiatrist, economist, journalist, clinical psychologist, social workers, volunteers from different religion background, each tried to gage the problem in their own perspective. And of course works were motivated by different interest.

I believe that as a public health worker, we need to seriously and carefully look into these claims, and the magnitude of effect that had occured through media publications, voices and academic reports in the recent ten years. If the majority of these people who entrapped in social withdrawal are youths, it could become a major problem in the future 20-30 years. The burden on healthcare increase, the GDP could be affected, the single unmarry rate could increase, and so on.

It is important at this stage, that we need to ask these questions:
"What is happening here?"
"Who are being affected?"
"When did this start happening?"
"Where are the places having the problem? Does the phenomena has an origin? Or its a natural phenomena all across?"
"Why is it important?"
"How people are coping with this?"

These are basically my questions. However, with the loose cry, and aggresive claims over the issue with strong prejudice and individual perceptions make the case far more interesting and challenging.

In order to answer these questions, perhaps we need people who are likely minded to start accessing the questions from different angle. Only thourough examination of the phenomena with careful assessments on bits and pieces will carry weight and thus expand its influential effect. Generalisability of a theory is important to understand the phenomena and generate effective intervention or prevention scheme.

Confusion of Hikikomori and NEETs

Hikikomori or NEET are often being confused altogether in terms of their nature or interpretation.

Ishikawa Ryoko tried to help us to gain a clearer picture in this confusion. She interviewed people who regard themselves as "hikikomori," and point out the negative effects, especially for such individuals, caused by the confusion of the concepts of "hikikomori" with "NEETs."

"Hikikomori," which refers to youth in a state of social withdrawal, has been noted since the latter half of the 1990s in Japan. In recent years, the concept of "NEETs" has also come to attract attention. "NEETs" refers to young people who are "not in education, employment, or training."

The concept of "hikikomori" has been partly incorporated into discussions about "NEETs," and it is commonly said that the two can be discussed in the same context.

It seems to be some organizations dealing with "hikikomori" have started to support "NEETs."

According to the author, this confusion has a direct effect on individuals who consider themselves to be "hikikomori." Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish the two concepts.

In her interviews, what was revealed was that,

people who consider themselves to be "hikikomori" see themselves as inferior and withdraw from relationships with others because though they have difficulty working, they worry excessively that "working is the natural state for an adult." Their self-esteem cannot be restored immediately even if they participate in a self-help group. Informants re-construct stories about themselves and their lives and come to see the norm of life-courses in relative terms, and regain self-esteem from this. However, this can lead to a decline in their motivation to start working. Moreover, informants cannot overcome their distrust and fear of society. Therefore, sufferers of "hikikomori" seek a new way of life as they again ask themselves various questions, such as, "why must we work?" "What do I want to do?" "Who am I?" and so on. As they think through these questions, they resolve to make a fresh start. This process of struggle is in essence the process of recovery from "hikikomori."


Ryoko felt that the current measures for "NEETs," and "hikikomori" are very different. Confusing two concepts will :
1)deprive people suffering from "hikikomori" of the opportunity for recovery
2)lead them to abandon their own efforts voluntarily.


Re: Confusion of the Concepts of "Hikikomori" and "NEETs : Seen from the Perspective of People Who Regard Themselves as "Hikikomori". Ishikawa Ryoko. Tokyo Metropolis University.