Seeking the origins of psychic and social withdrawals: warning signs in the observations of young children

Abstract

ABSTRACT The authors hypothesize that the child's psychic withdrawal is a potential precursor to the social withdrawal called ‘hikikomori’, a phenomenon frequently observed among adolescents and young adults. They also hypothesize a continuum between psychic withdrawal, social withdrawal and the ‘psychic retreats’ by John Steiner. The authors investigate very early psychic withdrawal and its potential link to the development of social withdrawal. Two observations collected using the Infant Observation and Young Child Observation method provided essential support. Children with premonitory signs of psychic withdrawal observed when they were very young were contacted years later for new observations. The aim was to test the hypothesis that the mental and social functioning mechanisms observed were maintained over time, hindering the children's lines of development. In both cases, it is shown that over the years, precursor signs of mental withdrawal can be traced in the non-spontaneous modes of interaction with peers, with an adaptation to the environment that, especially in a child, seems to rely on the family context and home to avoid contact with others. The article provides clues as to how psychic withdrawal fuels social withdrawal and can contribute to the construction of internal personality organizations that lead to self-reclusion called hikikomori.