ArticleHeliyon2020
Development of 5-day hikikomori intervention program for family members: A single-arm pilot trial.
Article in Heliyon, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Functioning, disability, and health of individuals with Hikikomori (prolonged social withdrawal) and their families: A systematic review and meta-analysis of case-control studies.The International journal of social psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- A structured support process for social reintegration of a patient with long-term hikikomori: A case report.PCN reports : psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2026Article
- Childhood Trauma and Hikikomori in Social Anxiety Disorder: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Distortions.The International journal of social psychiatry · 2026Article
- Hikikomori in the urban digital era: a psychodynamic, transdiagnostic model and multimodal interventions.Current opinion in psychiatry · 2026Review
- Association Between the Affinity for Hikikomori (Prolonged Social Withdrawal) and Increased Hikikomori Tendencies in University Students.Psychiatry investigation · 2026Article
- Parental bonding and attachment in the hikikomori trajectory.Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2026Article
- Identifying hub functions and collaboration patterns in hikikomori support networks: A nationwide cross-sectional study.PCN reports : psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2026Article
- Psychological Factors Related to Social Exclusion of Hikikomori (Prolonged Social Withdrawal) Individuals by Local Residents.Yonago acta medica · 2025Article
- Sensitivity and Attachment in an Italian Sample of Hikikomori Adolescents and Young Adults.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Contemporary Hermits: A Developmental Psychopathology Account of Extreme Social Withdrawal (Hikikomori) in Young People.Clinical child and family psychology review · 2023Article
- Reaching hidden youth in Singapore through the Hidden Youth Intervention Program: A biopsychosocial approach integrating mental health and social work interventions.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Risk factors of hikikomori among office workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A prospective online survey.Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) · 2022Article
- The scope and nature of prolonged social withdrawal in Israel: An initial quantitative and qualitative investigation.The International journal of social psychiatry · 2022Article
- 3-day intervention program for family members of hikikomori sufferers: A pilot randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
- Psychological Factors Associated with Social Withdrawal (Hikikomori).Psychiatry investigation · 2021Article
- Autism spectrum conditions in hikikomori: A pilot case-control study.Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2020Article
- Forced social isolation due to COVID-19 and consequent mental health problems: Lessons from hikikomori.Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
19 authors at 9 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundsHikikomori, a severe form of social withdrawal, is increasingly a serious mental health issue worldwide. Hikikomori is comorbid with various psychiatric conditions including depression, social anxiety and suicidal behaviors. Family support is encouraged as a vital first step, however evidence-based programs have yet to be established. Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is one of the most well-validated educational programs encouraging lay people such as family members, to support close persons suffering from various psychiatric conditions such as depression, anxiety and suicidal behaviors.
methodsWe newly developed an educational program for family members of hikikomori sufferers mainly based on MHFA and 'Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT)' with role-play and homework. As a single-arm trial, 21 parents (7 fathers and 14 mothers) living with hikikomori sufferers participated in our program with five once-a-week sessions (2 h per session) and six monthly follow-ups, and its effectiveness was evaluated using various self-rated questionnaires.
resultsPerceived skills toward a depressed hikikomori case vignette, stigma held by participants, and subscales of two problematic and one adaptive behaviors of hikikomori sufferers were improved throughout the sessions and follow-ups. In addition, positive behavioral changes of hikikomori sufferers such as improved social participation were reported by participants. LIMITATIONS: Single-arm design and evaluation using self-rated questionnaires are the main limitations of the present study.
conclusionsOur newly developed program has positive effects on family members in their contact and support of hikikomori sufferers. Future trials with control groups are required to validate the effectiveness of this program.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.