This study promotes a new socio-psychological approach to the Brothers Grimm's tale, "Hans in Luck" and a new literary-critical interpretation. Departing from conventional understandings of Hans as a simple fool, this analysis sets forth that the narrative amounts to a sophisticated allegory for the working-class experience in the process of socio-economic transients of early 19th century Germany. Using the theoretical structure of an interdisciplinary approach combining archetypal criticism, theories of social alienation, humanistic psychology (notably the human aspect of resilience and cognitive agency) and value theory, the study decodes the tale's symbolic structure. The "seven years" of service is interpreted as an archetypical cycle of labor, favourable, whereas the succession of trades of the protagonist is read not in terms of loss, but witness to a strategic surrender of the alienating equation of an emergent market economy. Hans's enduring utterances of joy are examined in the light of our notion of cognitive reframing (a conscious adaptation practice through which one asserts agency in the face of systemic constraint or circumstances beyond one's control) as adaptive resilience. The gist of the argument comes down to the argument that the settlement of the tale is showing preferences for intrinsic human values (familial connection, freedom of mind, peace of mind) over extrinsic material accumulation, thereby providing a deep pre-emptive critique of capitalistic definitions of success. By situating literary analysis alongside the narratives of social thought and psychology, this research shows the story's continuing relevance as a story of dignity and meaning-making and an important contribution to the scholarship about folklore as a place where social thinkers and commentators debate and to methodologies for interdisciplinary study of literature.

Heterogeneity of social isolation in adolescents with depression: A latent profile analysis.

A cancer diagnosis during childhood and adolescence, together with intensive treatment, imposes significant psychosocial challenges. Alienation is a key yet underexplored component of this experience and may adversely affect physical well-being, mental health, and social adjustment. This review aimed to systematically synthesize qualitative evidence on alienation experienced by children and adolescents with cancer. We conducted a systematic search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, EMBASE (Ovid), the Cochrane Library (Wiley), and CINAHL (EBSCO) from inception to 28 May 2025. Eligible studies were qualitative or mixed-methods research exploring the experience of alienation among children and adolescents with cancer. Two reviewers independently screened records, appraised methodological quality using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research and extracted data. A meta-synthesis using the JBI meta-aggregation approach was undertaken. A total of 30 studies were included. Four synthesized findings and thirteen categories were identified: environmental alienation (e.g., locked up in hospital, being away from home, stuck in adult wards), self-alienation (e.g., caught in identity paradox, feeling like a stranger, walking alone in the shadow of fear), interpersonal alienation (e.g., they just don't get it, staying on the sidelines, trapped in my body, losing my place), and social alienation (e.g., life on pause, stuck between worlds, stamped with scars). Alienation in the pediatric oncology context is a profound and multi-dimensional phenomenon. Understanding and addressing this experience is crucial for improving the quality of life and promoting social integration. Findings should be interpreted in light of variability in study quality and contextual diversity.

Urban Generation Z (youth born between 1995 and 2009 in cities) has grown up in highly digitized and urbanized environments, facing contemporary challenges such as social alienation and a lack of meaning in life. While outdoor hiking is recognized as a stress-relief activity, its specific mechanisms for fostering meaning in life among Generation Z remain unclear. Existing studies predominantly focus on the physical and mental health benefits of outdoor activities, neglecting the dynamic construction of meaning in life and particularly overlooking the unique characteristics of this generational cohort. This study aims to uncover the distinct pathways through which urban Generation Z derives meaning in life via outdoor hiking, constructing a meaning-generation model under the "digital-nature" interaction paradigm to inform intergenerational mental health interventions. Method: Combining field surveys, in-depth interviews, and grounded theory, this study engaged 23 Generation Z hiking enthusiasts (aged 18–26) from Zhejiang, Hunan, and Jiangxi provinces. Supplementary data included image-text logs from Xiaohongshu and Douyin platforms. Theoretical sampling ensured diversity, while NVivo 12 facilitated three-tier coding: 1) open coding extracted 1,562 meaning units (e.g., "digital detox," "nature immersion," "community empathy"), categorized into 18 sub-themes; 2) axial coding synthesized four main themes: natural connection, self-reconstruction, value co-creation, and meaning continuity; 3) selective coding distilled the core category—"Digital Natives’ Awakening of Meaning"—forming the theoretical framework. Findings: Urban Generation Z’s hiking practices generate meaning through four pathways: Natural Connection: Sensory immersion in nature triggers "embodied detox," reconstructing perceptions of reality post-digital disengagement. Self-Reconstruction: Physical challenges enhance self-efficacy, with social media narratives reinforcing growth identity. Value Co-Creation: Online-offline hybrid interactions foster belonging through knowledge sharing (equipment tips) and emotional support in hiking communities. Meaning Continuity: Symbolic integration of natural experiences into urban life establishes a dynamic " meaning balance. The proposed "Digitally Empowered Meaning Cycle" model illustrates how Generation Z leverages digital tools to transform hiking experiences into sustainable meaning resources. Breaking from the traditional "nature-humanities" dichotomy, this study innovatively posits the "Digital Native Meaning Awakening" theory, revealing Generation Z’s unique meaning reconstruction through technological mediation—balancing "digital detachment" and "re-embedding." Compared to prior research, it emphasizes generational traits in meaning generation. Limitations include samples concentrated in southern cities; future studies should incorporate rural counterparts and cross-cultural comparisons (e.g., Eastern vs. Western perspectives). Practically, the findings support designing "Citywalk" urban spaces and digital-nature hybrid therapeutic products to enhance mental health and social identity cohesion among Generation Z.

This study examines the psychological, sociological, and forensic dimensions of the “incel” (involuntary celibacy) subculture. Emerging from online forums, incel ideology initially served as a space for sharing loneliness and social exclusion, but gradually radicalized into a structure legitimizing misogyny, hate speech, and violence. Within the framework of the “Young Male Syndrome,” tendencies toward risk-taking, aggression, and social alienation are discussed, while emphasizing the ideology’s roots in biological determinism and partner-finding failure. Case analyses of the Tallahassee Yoga Studio attack, the Sur femicide, and the Eskişehir stabbing highlight the risk of online radicalization translating into real-world violence. Findings reveal that the incel phenomenon is shaped not only by individual psychopathologies but also by gender norms, digital culture, and collective frustrations. By contextualizing the phenomenon in Turkey, this study contributes to the literature and proposes multi-level (micro, meso, macro) preventive strategies for policy and practice.

Abstract. The study focuses on a comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon of internet addiction among Ukrainian youth in the context of rapid digitalization and social instability. The relevance of the work is driven by the need to understand the transformation of behavioral patterns among young people who use digital space as a primary environment for social interaction and education. The empirical part of the research was conducted using structured Google Forms, which allowed for the collection of high-quality data from 405 respondents, including students and educators from various regions of Ukraine. The analysis covers key indicators such as average daily time spent online, the functional purpose of using network resources, and the presence of psycho-emotional or social symptoms of dependency. A significant part of the study is devoted to data processing using machine learning techniques. Specifically, by applying the k-means clustering algorithm, the authors identified and characterized four distinct profiles of internet users. The first cluster, defined as "addicted," is characterized by uncontrolled time spent online (over 8 hours per day) and the replacement of real-life social functions with virtual ones. The second, "high-risk" group, shows signs of emerging psychological dependence. The third and fourth clusters represent "balanced" and "conscious" users, respectively, who demonstrate a pragmatic approach to digital tools with minimal negative impact on their daily productivity and mental health. The results of the study reveal a direct correlation between the duration of stay in the digital environment and the level of social alienation. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the empirical validation of the cluster structure of internet addiction during the period of martial law in Ukraine, which imposes additional psychological stress on the youth. The practical value of the findings is reflected in the proposed individualized preventive strategies. These interventions are designed to shift the focus from restrictive measures to the development of digital hygiene and emotional self-regulation, providing a basis for effective social and psychological support for young people at risk.

The article examines the problem of health preservation and self-preserving behaviour of the individual. The purpose and scientific novelty outline the theoretical justification of the relationship between health preservation and self-preserving behaviour of the individual through the prism of the concept of “health” and the health-preserving approach. It is argued that the health-preserving approach serves as a scientifically grounded methodological basis for studying and developing individual self-preserving activity, as it integrates knowledge from medicine, psychology, pedagogy, social work, and recreation science. Based on an interdisciplinary analysis, the essential characteristics of the concept of “health” have been clarified, its multidimensional nature has been revealed, and the significance of health preservation as a strategic condition for physical, mental, and social well-being has been identified. It has been proven that self-preserving behaviour is a key mechanism for the implementation of health preservation, since it aims to maintain life resources, prevent risks, ensure adaptation, stress resistance, and personal resilience. The article reveals the structure of self-preserving behaviour, which is presented on five interconnected levels: physical, cognitive, emotional, value-motivational, and social-behavioural. It is demonstrated that each level performs specific functions in maintaining life balance, and their integration determines the overall effectiveness of human adaptive behaviour. Special attention is paid to the importance of health preservation in conditions of war and social instability, where self-preserving behaviour becomes a critical factor in maintaining psychophysical functioning, counteracting traumatic stress, and ensuring resilience. The prospects for further research have been substantiated in the direction of diagnosing self-preserving readiness, developing preventive programmes, and assessing the impact of social factors on the formation of lifestyle. Keywords: health, health preservation, health-preserving approach, individual, self-preserving behaviour. Problem statement. In contemporary academic discourse, there is a growing interest in concepts that reflect the human capacity to preserve, maintain, and reproduce one’s life potential under conditions of social instability, prolonged stress, war, economic risks, informational turbulence, and ecological uncertainty. Changes in lifestyle, the increasing number of psycho-emotional disorders, risks of deviant behavioural forms, professional burnout, social alienation, as well as rising levels of anxiety and trauma within the population, indicate the need to study mechanisms of self-preservation, psychological resilience, and

Stroke patients frequently experience social alienation due to factors such as impaired self-care, depression, fatigue, and stigma. This condition exacerbates the perceived burden of disease and hinders social integration within families and society. Multiple studies have demonstrated that the level of social alienation is influenced by physical, psychological, biological, and socioeconomic factors. However, there is limited research on the dynamics of social alienation among first-onset stroke patients. In this context, this study aims to identify the developmental trajectory of social alienation in stroke patients, laying a foundation for targeted intervention strategies to mitigate its negative effects. Research subjects were assessed using the General Information Questionnaire, General Alienation Scale, Social Support Rating Scale, Self-Rating Depression Scale, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10, and Barthel Index during follow-up surveys. Group-based trajectory modeling was utilized to identify the developmental trajectories of social alienation, while multiple logistic regression applied to analyze the influencing factors. The scores of Social Alienation in first-onset stroke patients at four points were (37.8 ± 4.65), (39.67 ± 0.37), (37.14 ± 6.50) and (35.94 ± 6.72), respectively. Three developmental trajectories of social alienation were identified: the stable low alienation group, the high decreasing alienation group, and the stable high alienation group. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that BI scores (OR: 0.957), depression (OR: 1.137), psychological resilience (OR: 0.833), number of sequelae (OR: 0.246), willingness to return to work or study (OR: 2.586), and the primary caregiver after discharge (OR: 0.541) were the significant influencing factors for the different trajectories. The developmental trajectories of social alienation in stroke patients are heterogeneous. Medical staff should implement targeted nursing interventions tailored to the characteristics of various trajectory changes.

Modern society faces serious challenges due to rapid urbanization, globalization, and technological advancement, which have triggered crises of identity, social alienation, and increasing mental health issues. At the same time, secularism and materialism have distanced individuals from their spiritual foundations, creating an urgent need for a renewed search for meaning and purpose. This study analyzes Muhammad Iqbal’s thought in responding to these challenges and examines how his theological and philosophical reconstruction offers an alternative framework for addressing the spiritual and existential problems of modern Muslim society. Using a qualitative approach through an in-depth literature study, this research explores essential concepts in Iqbal’s worldview, including Khudī (selfhood), educational reform, Muslim unity, innovation in religious practice, and the reinterpretation of Islamic teachings. The findings reveal that Iqbal’s reconstruction provides a coherent paradigm for revitalizing spiritual identity, strengthening moral agency, and fostering social solidarity in the context of modernity. His emphasis on dynamic selfhood and contextual ijtihād offers practical guidance for overcoming identity fragmentation, educational stagnation, and the widening gap between religious values and contemporary realities. This study contributes to the existing scholarship by offering a systematic synthesis of Iqbal’s ideas as a transformative framework for theological–philosophical renewal and by demonstrating its relevance for addressing the structural and existential crises of modern Muslim society. Therefore, Iqbal’s intellectual legacy not only enriches contemporary discourse on Islamic thought but also provides visionary and applicable solutions for building a more just, inclusive, and spiritually grounded society in the age of globalization

This study aims to quantify the extent to which cognitive emotional regulation and social alienation independently and interactively predict the severity of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in patients after radical mastectomy for breast cancer. To test whether cognitive emotional regulation strategies mediate the relationship between fear of cancer recurrence and post-traumatic stress disorder, and to determine whether social alienation mediates the impact of fear of cancer recurrence on post-traumatic stress disorder. It is hypothesized that higher maladaptive cognitive emotional regulation and higher social alienation will respectively explain the unique variations in the severity of post-traumatic stress disorder, rather than merely sociodemographic and medical covariates; The higher the level of cognitive emotional regulation, the more obvious the connection between fear of cancer recurrence and post-traumatic stress disorder. Social distancing can partially mediate the pathway of fear of cancer recurrence - post-traumatic stress disorder. Clarifying these modifiable psychosocial pathways will provide a theoretical basis for alleviating post-traumatic stress disorder in postoperative breast cancer survivors. We recruited 256 eligible patients who had undergone breast cancer surgery to participate in the study using a cross-sectional design. The study discussed the interplay among fear of cancer recurrence, social alienation, cognitive emotion regulation, and post-traumatic stress disorder and aimed to develop effective stress intervention strategies for clinical researchers. post-traumatic stress disorder was positively connected with anxiety about cancer recurrence, maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation, and social alienation in patients after breast cancer surgery. Furthermore, the connection between fear of cancer recurrence and post-traumatic stress disorder was influenced by individual maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation and social alienation. The fear of cancer recurrence can lead to an increase in post-traumatic stress disorder among breast cancer patients after surgery. This increase is influenced by the adaptability of cognitive emotion regulation and social alienation. Hence, Efforts should be made to prevent negative cognitive emotion regulation. Additionally, patients should be encouraged and supported to enhance their confidence in social interactions and reduce social alienation. These measures aim to alleviate the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Not applicable.

This article investigates the sociality of Scandinavian public swimming halls through Jean-Paul Sartre’s reworking of Marxist alienation as seriality. Drawing on fifty-nine personal narratives, it explores how behaviors of mutual semi-unawareness in settings involving multiple activities and (partial) nudity among strangers intersect with fundamentally diverse and ambiguous experiences. Combining Iris Marion Young’s feminist reading of “seriality” with Sartre’s concept of “the look,” the article conceptualizes three forms of seriality: serial behavior, serial space, and serial being. Against the understanding of spatial alienation as exclusively the property of socially marginalized consciousness, seriality offers a deeper understanding of alienation as a general yet historical-geographical social structure. Although seriality is traditionally conceived as something normatively negative, this study demonstrates how social alienation can also foster individual relief and senses of community. Furthermore, the theory of seriality is developed by asking what it feels like to partake in a sociospatial series from different perspectives, and it is argued that in these kind of series, the notion of the Other’s look is unsurmountable. Contributing to critical phenomenology in geography, the article offers a spatially grounded account of diverse experiences within a single kind of public space, highlighting how serial spaces mediate difference, vulnerability, and coexistence.

This article applies frameworks from literary theory and intellectual history to reflect on social alienation and mental illness labeling while dialoguing with the birth and evolution of the anti-psychiatry movement in the 1960s and 1970s. By then, Galician author Margarita Ledo Andión initiated a long-standing reflection on madness and social marginalization that led her to the novel analysed in the article: Porta blindada (1990). There, the leading character is based on an intern from a mental hospital who saw in Ledo’s interest an opportunity to escape the label of madness and regain control over his own personal history.

IntroductionSocial alienation is an important issue for patients with cancer. However, the interrelationships among factors influencing social alienation in cancer patients have not been sufficiently investigated. The study aimed to clarify the relationships among social alienation, illness perception, fear of cancer progression, and perceived social support in patients with cancer.MethodsA cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted with 244 cancer patients recruited through convenience sampling from a tertiary hospital in Changsha, China. Data were collected using the General Information Questionnaire, Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, General Alienation Scale, Fear of Progression Questionnaire-Short Form, and Perceived Social Support Scale.ResultsThe findings show that the mean social alienation score among cancer patients was 33.11 ± 7.95. Model fit indices indicated a good fit. Illness perception and perceived social support have a direct and significant negative impact on social alienation, with path coefficients of −0.19 and −0.25, respectively. Fear of cancer progression has a direct and significant positive effect on social alienation, with a path coefficient of 0.45. Additionally, the results of the mediation analysis indicate that illness perception indirectly influences social alienation through its effects on fear of cancer progression and perceived social support; employment status indirectly influences social alienation through illness perception; disease stage indirectly influences social alienation through illness perception and fear of cancer progression.ConclusionThis suggests that illness perception, fear of cancer progression, and perceived social support are key factors influencing social alienation in cancer patients. These factors exerted both direct and indirect effects on each other and on social alienation.

Midnights Children, by British-Indian author Salman Rushdie, takes the birth of its protagonist Saleem Sinai at the exact moment of Indias independence in 1947 as its narrative starting point. Through Saleems psychic connection with a thousand other midnights children, the novel recounts the turbulent history of post-independence India. The mystery surrounding Saleems origins serves as a metaphor for the identity crisis inherent in the postcolonial condition, revealing the complex relationship between cultural hybridity and national identity. In Rushdies hands, history is pickled like pickles, where fact and myth intermingle and coexist. He uses magical elements as a flavoring agent, skillfully deconstructing the Western rationalist view of history and transforming India from a described object into a self-interpreting subject. The numerous metaphors in the text reflect the malformation of individuals and society by colonial power, with themes of language, culture, and national resistance interwoven, constituting the core concerns of postcolonial literature. Therefore, employing post-colonialism as the theoretical framework, this paper begins with the social alienation precipitated by colonial rule to analyze the interaction between individual destiny and national history in Midnights Children, and to explore the cultural and political implications behind the birth, development, and tragic end of the midnights children collective. Furthermore, the author hopes this study will enrich current literary scholarship on post-colonialism and provide a valuable reference.

Social alienation and related factors in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder: a cross-sectional study.

The development of digital technology has fundamentally changed the patterns of social interaction in society, especially in urban areas. Digital culture, born from the integration of technology, social media, and the internet, has created new social spaces that transcend geographical and temporal boundaries. In this context, the concept of community has undergone a transformation in meaning: from one that was previously based on physical proximity to one based on symbolic connectivity and digital networks. This paper aims to examine how digital culture influences the construction and meaning of community in urban society using a conceptual literature review approach. The results of the study show that digital culture has given rise to new forms of solidarity, participation, and social expression, but it has also created a paradox in the form of fragmentation, polarization, and social alienation. Thus, digital culture not only shapes new ways of interacting, but also reconstructs the meaning of community amid the complexity of modern urban life.

Taking upon ourselves the entirety of our human state: young writers imagining what it is to be old.

In this paper, we start from the real judgment that today’s digital environment has become a representative type of object rule. The digital native generation has grown up in a virtual environment where it can no longer grow with its roots in the real world community. Scholars worry that a life spent growing up in a virtual world promotes anxiety, animosity, and loneliness. The reconstruction of childhood, which changed play-based childhood to smartphone-based childhood, has turned out to be a disaster-like failure. The representative youth drama Adolescence (known as Boy’s Timein Korea) in the Netflix era is a work that realistically sheds light on the problems of this internal conflict and the absence of self-care in the digital native generation. The process of Jamie, the main character, experiencing a moral dilemma related to domestic violence, social alienation, and distorted masculinity reveals the self-care problem in adolescence and its socio-cultural and structural background. In fact, this work is expected to be used as an educational material in French middle schools. This paper is an attempt to analyze the problems of the digital native generation by fully utilizing the educational value of Boy’s Timeand to find a solution from the perspective of Foucault’s ‘self-care’. Specifically, based on the case analysis of Boy’s Time, we would like to present a writing education plan for the self-care recovery of digital native generation youth.

This study aims to determine and explicate displacement lexico-semantic patterns in Madeline Miller’s Circe (2018) and classical sources, such as The Odyssey by Homer, Theogony by Hesiod, Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodius, and Metamorphoses by Ovid. We utilized semantic field theory and digital corpus stylistics. By applying Voyant Tools, we identified 847 lexical cases related to displacement in Circe and 126 in the classical texts. The following semantic fields were identified: social alienation, spatial displacement, psychological interiority, vulnerability and violence, and agency and power. In classical texts, spatial displacement (43%) and power (31%) were presented only through male characters. The first-person narration in Circe significantly changed the above-indicated figures. Psychological interiority (39%), social alienation (24%), and vulnerability and violence (19%) were prominent for Madeline Miller. By combining feminist views and trauma theory, the study revealed original choices of lexical units made by Miller to name sexual types of violence in an explicit way, which contradicts classical masterpieces. Miller made a female the leading character in her novel and presented exile as a multi-layered trauma. This feminist influence demonstrated how classical texts were transformed and interpreted at the lexico-semantic level in modern works, including Circe.

This study aims to analyze the practices of social domination and the experiences of alienation encountered by Gregor Samsa in Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis through the integration of Seeman’s Alienation Theory and Pratto’s Social Dominance Theory. This investigation emerges from the need to understand how power relations within the family sphere and pressures from the capitalist work system shape conditions of estrangement that erode an individual’s identity, dignity, and social relations. The research employs a qualitative approach using close reading techniques applied to the literary text. The analysis is strengthened by Abrams’s model, which emphasizes the relationship between text, reader, and contemporary social context, thereby enabling a more interdisciplinary interpretation. The findings reveal that Gregor experiences the five forms of alienation identified by Seeman—powerlessness, meaninglessness, social isolation, self-estrangement, and anomie. These forms of alienation emerge as direct consequences of the family’s structure of domination, led by the father and reproduced by Grete, and are further reinforced by pressures from the capitalist economic system that reduces Gregor to an instrument of production. The results demonstrate that social domination operates not only through physical and symbolic power but also through internalization processes that lead Gregor to accept himself as “the other,” ultimately causing the loss of his identity and the meaning of his existence. This study offers an original contribution by addressing a gap in the literature through the integration of Seeman’s and Pratto’s theoretical frameworks—a combination rarely applied in Kafka studies—to show that alienation cannot be understood solely as a psychological phenomenon but must be viewed as the outcome of structural power relations within the family. The study also affirms that literary works can serve as reflective media for examining the dynamics of domination, structural violence, and the erosion of human dignity in contemporary social realities.