HIKIKOMORI TENDENCIES AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: SOCIALIZATION, ISOLATION AND EMOTIONAL SUPPORT

Gönül Şener

Abstract


The university years constitute a critical period in the transition to adulthood for building social relationships, developing a sense of belonging, and consolidating psychosocial well-being. During this period, fluctuations in socialization, tendencies toward isolation, and insufficient perceptions of emotional support can adversely affect students’ academic functioning and psychological well-being, potentially increasing tendencies toward social isolation and loneliness among young adults and university students. This study aims to examine university students’ socialization levels, isolation tendencies, and perceived emotional support, and to determine how these behaviors relate to demographic factors. This study adopted a quantitative research approach and employed a descriptive survey design. The sample consisted of 406 university students selected through simple random sampling. Data were collected using the Hikikomori Questionnaire (HQ-25), which includes three subdimensions: Socialization, Isolation, and Emotional Support. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, and one-way ANOVA were used to analyse the data across gender, academic department, and daily social media use categories. Result indicated that responses clustered at the “undecided” level on the Hikikomori total score and across its three subdimensions (Socialization, Isolation, Emotional Support). By gender, a significant difference was observed on the Isolation subdimension; in this subdimension, female students had higher mean scores than males. No significant differences were found by academic department on the Hikikomori total or its subdimensions, and no significant differences were observed across daily social media use groups (2–4 hours, 4–6 hours, 6–8 hours, ≥8 hours) as well. In conclusion, the moderate level of social isolation observed among students indicates the influence of individual and psychosocial factors on their sense of social connectedness and perceived emotional support. This finding highlights the necessity of implementing preventive programs within university settings aimed at strengthening social interaction and enhancing psychological resilience.

 

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socialization, isolation, emotional support, hikikomori, university students

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v12i12.6375

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