Association Between Loneliness and Hikikomori Symptoms. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Hikikomori refers to a condition indicated by profound and persistent social withdrawal (Cai et al. ). Etymologically, “hikikomori” combines the Japanese words (“to retract”) and (“to withdraw”, “seclude oneself” or “stay inside”), emphasizing the defining feature of the phenomenon: an individual's continued, voluntary withdrawal from social life. Such individuals typically stay at home and disengage from contact with others. Identifying hikikomori requires meeting specific criteria, including profound social isolation in the home or ongoing social withdrawal lasting 6 months or more (Kato et al. ). First, it was mainly interpreted as largely culture‐specific to Japan, previous studies, however, have demonstrated that hikikomori symptoms are also frequent in other societies (e.g., in Oman (Al‐Sibani et al. )). Previous bibliometric reviews has also shown a considerable increase in research activity in this area (Cai et al. ; Neoh et al. ). Former research proposed a bio‐psycho‐socio‐cultural model to better understand the factors associated with hikikomori symptoms. For instance, depressive symptoms and social anxiety symptoms are associated with more severe hikikomori symptoms (Nonaka et al. ; Zhang et al. ). Other research showed that problematic social media use or gaming disorder are associated with hikikomori symptoms (Hajek, König, et al. ; Shah et al. ). Further research showed that being overwhelmed at work is associated with more severe hikikomori symptoms (Hajek, König, et al. ).