EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL LONELINESS AS A BACKGROUND FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIKIKOMORI SYNDROME AMONG STUDENTS OF IST-DIRECTION AT ST. PETERSBURG STATE MOUNTAIN UNIVERSITY

Борисова П.В.¹, Молонова Д.Е.²

¹ORCID: 0000-0003-3743-9247, Кандидат педагогических наук, Доцент, ²ORCID: 0000-0003-3770-8291, Студент, Санкт-Петербургский горный университет

ЭМОЦИОНАЛЬНОЕ И СОЦИАЛЬНОЕ ОДИНОЧЕСТВО КАК ПРЕДПОСЫЛКА ВОЗНИКНОВЕНИЯ СИНДРОМА ХИКИКОМОРИ У СТУДЕНТОВ НАПРАВЛЕНИЯ ИСТ В САНКТ-ПЕТЕРБУРГСКОМ ГОРНОМ УНИВЕРСИТЕТЕ

Аннотация

Синдром хикикомори – острое психологическое состояние, характеризующееся избеганием социальных контактов и отказом от любой социально обусловленной деятельности представителями обоих полов юношеского возраста. Целью нашего исследования было изучение уровня эмоционального и социального одиночества и его влияние на возможность возникновения синдрома хикикомори у студентов направления ИСТ Санкт-Петербургского горного университета. Опираясь на концепцию Р. Вейса о том, что эмоциональное и социальное одиночество являются состояниями отличными друг от друга, были получены результаты, которые показали, что более 21% респондентов в возрасте от 18 до 22 лет находятся в группе риска и имеют склонность к социальной изоляции, способствующей возникновению синдрома хикикомори.

Ключевые слова: хикикомори, социальное одиночество, эмоциональное одиночество, юношеский возраст с 18 до 22 года.

Borisova P.V.¹, Molonova D.E.²

¹ORCID: 0000-0003-3743-9247, PhD in Pedagogy, Associate Professor, ²ORCID: 0000-0003-3770-8291, Student, The Saint Petersburg Mining University

EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL LONELINESS AS A BACKGROUND FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIKIKOMORI SYNDROME AMONG STUDENTS OF IST-DIRECTION AT ST. PETERSBURG STATE MOUNTAIN UNIVERSITY

Abstract

Hikikomori syndrome is an acute psychological condition characterized by a tendency to avoid social contacts and reject any socially conditioned activities by representatives of both sexes in adolescence. The aim of our study was to look into the level of emotional and social loneliness and analyse the probability of hikikomori syndrome development among students of IST-direction at St. Petersburg State Mountain University. Relying on R. Weiss's concept that emotional and social loneliness are different states, we have obtained results showing that more than 21% of the respondents aged 18 to 22 are at risk and tend to be socially excluded which contributes to the risk of hikikomori syndrome emergence.

Keywords: Hikikomori, social loneliness, emotional loneliness, adolescence (18-22 years old).

Introduction

Loneliness is a subjective, unpleasant experience that can have life threatening consequences. Weiss conception about treating social and emotional loneliness as distinct states [1] proves its importance as 94% of adolescent and young adults (aged 18-22) report feelings of loneliness and 21% of them are prone to absolute loneliness. Social loneliness is based on the lack of sense of community. Emotional loneliness is the result of the absence of personal, intimate relationship or attachment. According to Weiss emotional loneliness is a more painful form of loneliness, whereas social loneliness can be treated as the combination of feeling rejected and boredom [1].

Social loneliness can be associated with hikikomori – a syndrome of severe social withdrawal typical for adolescents and young adults and characterized by their refusing of all contacts with society and withdrawing from all social activities [2]. The term “hikikomori” refers to both the sociological syndrome and to the person suffering from it. In general, people with this syndrome have difficulties in communicating to others and do not participate in human interactions or social situations such as attending school or going to a workplace for a substantial period of time. There is a strong connection between hikikomori syndrome and computer (especially Internet) addiction precisely [3] [10] creating the supportive environment for incipience of hikis [6]. Moreover, the shift from direct to indirect contacts is correlated with the rise of level of emotional and social loneliness. According to Furlong A. there are five groups of individuals who are in the risk group to become potential hikis; socially incompetent “geeks” who are heavy internet users (The “Otaku”) and young people who are socially isolated (“The lonely and isolated”) are among them [7]. Little or no research has been made to examine the possible experience of loneliness among students majoring in computer science in the Saint Petersburg Mining University with respect to treat loneliness as the premise to Hikikomori syndrome.

The purpose of this study was first (i) to measure the level of loneliness of students majoring in computer science in the Saint Petersburg Mining University (using UCLA scale version 3) and (ii) to analyze the results of the questionnaire presented to the students with a high level of loneliness to find out if these students are able to be prone to hikikomori syndrome.

Material and methods

The subjects of this study were students the Saint Petersburg Mining University majoring in computer science. The total number of the respondents was 375 (aged from 18 to 22). The students were offered to answer 20-item, self-report measure, UCLA (University  of  California, Los Angeles) [9] Loneliness Scale concerning an individual’s satisfaction with his or her interpersonal relationships. UCLA is one of the most widely used instruments to measure the subjective experience of loneliness. Then the subjects were offered to answer a questioner aimed to determine if loneliness can be a premise of hikikomori syndrome origination. The answers of three hundred seventy five IST students majoring in computer science who had been offered to respond to the questionnaire consisting of 10 questions were analyzed in the given study. The results were statistically analyzed by Survey Monkey. The statistical procedure to test the research questions was the One Way Analysis of variance was performed using the statistical package for social science SPSS. After the data was collected, the information was downloaded from Survey Monkey. All statistical analyses were tested at a minimum of 0.05 level of significance.

Results

1. What is the level of loneliness among the students majoring in computer science in the Mining University? Table 1 displays the results obtained from 375 students of both genders (N=375). The mean score for lowliness (35.81) of participants demonstrates us the average level of loneliness with a tendency to a lower end of the scale score (20-80) on the UCLA. This indicates a significantly low level of loneliness among students.

 

Table 1 - Measure Mean Standard Deviation UCLA

Measure	Mean	Standard Deviation
UCLA	35.81	10.001

2. What students with high level of loneliness (40 and higher on the UCLA) are in the risk group to become potential hikikomori? The summary of the obtained results can be seen in Table 2. A Likert scale is a commonly used method for the measurement of attitudes in survey studies. The students ranked their answers to a statements according to 5 point scale ranging from 1(strong disagreement) to 5 (strong agreement), with 3 neutral responses.

 

Table 2 - The summary of the results

	Students (N 76)
1. Experiencing loneliness by the respondents	5.67±4.1
2. Frequency of feeling lonely	2.80±1.0
3. Absence/Presence of a partner	3.11±1.2
4. Absence/Presence of  a true friend	3.61±1.1
5. Frequency of shutting down	3.89±0.9
6. Satisfaction with loneliness	4.13±0.8
7. Satisfaction with having friends	3.70±0.8
8. Influence of Internet to the social interaction	4.02±0.6
9. Subjection to social isolation	3.85±0.7
10. Satisfaction with social isolation	4.13±0.8

 

All the questions offered to the subjects can be divided to two big groups – social loneliness and emotional loneliness (romantic emotional loneliness and family emotional loneliness). The respondents tended to show strong agreement to limit their interaction with the outside world (about 21% of answers). Unfortunately, the responses given to this question demonstrate that these respondents are prone to absolute loneliness making them potential hiks. The present pilot study has demonstrated that, every fifth man/woman is addicted to become socially isolated. So, hikikomori syndrome is becoming more and more impending threat.

Discussion

The present study investigated the level of loneliness among the students of The Saint Petersburg Mining University demonstrated that the level of emotional and social loneliness of the students studying of the Saint Petersburg University majoring in computer science as it can be the premise of hikikomory syndrome origination. The results of the study supporting Weiss' conception about treating social and emotional loneliness as distinct states showed that more than 21% of the respondents (aged from 18 to 22) are prone to absolute loneliness making them be potential hikikomori.

Conclusion

The aim of the present study has been to measure the level of loneliness of students majoring in computer science in the Saint Petersburg Mining University and to determine whether students with high level of loneliness are able to be prone to hikikomori syndrome. On the basis of statistical findings obtained, the following conclusions can be made: 1. There is significantly low level of loneliness among the students from the Saint-Petersburg Mining University who major in computer science. 2. Those students who have a high level of loneliness are prone to absolute loneliness that can make them potential hikikomori. This new knowledge can be used to inform professionals working with the students in the Mining University.

Список литературы / References

1. Weiss, R.S. (1973). Loneliness: The experience of emotional and social isolation. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
2. Saitō T. Shakaiteki hikikomori: Owaranai shishunki.Tōkyō: PHP Kenkyūjo ; 1998
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