Mental Health and Social Withdrawal in Contemporary Japan
Proposal review
Beyond the Hikikomori Spectrum
Abstract
This book examines the phenomenon of social withdrawal in Japan, which ranges from school non-attendance to extreme forms of isolation and confinement, known as hikikomori. Based on extensive original research including interview research with a range of practitioners involved in dealing with the phenomenon, the book outlines how hikikomori expresses itself, how it is treated and dealt with and how it has been perceived and regarded in Japan over time. The author, a clinical psychologist with extensive experience of practice, argues that the phenomenon although socially unacceptable is not homogenous, and can be viewed not as a mental disorder, but as an idiom of distress, a passive and effective way of resisting the many great pressures of Japanese schooling and of Japanese society more widely. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781351260800, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CCBY-NC-ND) licence.
Keywords
Japanese schooling; Social withdrawal; Mental disorderDOI
10.4324/9781351260800ISBN
9781351260794, 9781351260787, 9781351260800, 9780815365747, 9780367645724, 9781351260770, 9781351260794Publisher
Taylor & FrancisPublisher website
https://taylorandfrancis.com/Publication date and place
Oxford, 2021Grantor
Imprint
RoutledgeSeries
Japan Anthropology Workshop Series,Classification
Anthropology
Health, illness and addiction: social aspects
Regional / International studies
Human biology
Sociology
Medical sociology