État des lieux, points communs et différences entre des jeunes adultes retirants sociaux en France et au Japon (Hikikomori)

Abstract

A certain number of cases of major social withdrawal in adolescents and young adults have been observed in Europe in the last few years, particularly in France, where clinicians, social workers and educational experts are increasingly confronted by unprecedented cases of withdrawal at home. In Japan, the term “Hikikomori” is used to refer to situations of extreme social withdrawal. However, this syndrome is not yet clearly defined nor completely understood. Here, we present a review of the concept of Hikikomori in Japan, along with the relationship with school absenteeism and associated psychiatric disorders, as well as some preliminary observations stemming from our first year of international research. In this paper, we lay out our preliminary hypothesis developed in the process of a number of meetings between the French and Japanese teams of researchers. We focus on the similarities and differences between the two countries, particularly with regard to the circumstances, which trigger withdrawal. According to the case studies that we have examined, a difference seems to be apparent in the factors that trigger withdrawal and abandonment of cathexis. One of the hypotheses gathered concerns the individual's relation to his or her ideal life course: it seems that, in Japan, individuals withdraw when he or she anticipates the future and tries to avoid failure in fulfilling the ideal life course, while in France, it is caused by more concrete and tangible difficulties. The objective of this research is to examine the notion of Hikikomori as a category and to establish the bases for a clinical, social, and anthropological reflection of this phenomenon, through the analysis of withdrawal cases in France and in Japan, using the same methodological tools within the framework of multidisciplinary research. We will continue to carry out questionnaires in Japan and in France using the same criteria and taking into consideration the sociocultural circumstances of both countries.