Parental accompaniment of Hikikomori: Development and recovery process

Abstract

Parents are the first line people who are critical in the development and recovery process of hikikomori. There were numerous studies on the development and recovery of hikikomori but lack of discussion on the subjective experience of parental accompaniment of their hikikomori child. The study aims to understand parental accompaniment of hikikomori in both the development and recovery process. The researcher interviewed three families with a hikikomori child and the data was analyzed using a holistic-form narrative analysis approach. The current study revealed the parental accompaniment of hikikomori experiences in the representations of eleven life timelines. The study proposed a theoretical model with a more detailed description of intra-psychological processes of hikikomori in seven stages on the development and recovery from family dynamic perspective using transitional objects. It is a continuous and accumulative process of development of psychological pain seeded from problematic parenting styles with a critical point at the third or fourth year of secondary school. The model attributed the development to the gain of autonomous self, which was more positive. The transitional objects could help hikikomori to recover. The social withdrawal could be prevented by early interventions. The counselling psychologist could help evaluate and match the effective transitional objects to recover with in-depth interviews.