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Home visitation program for detecting, evaluating and treating socially withdrawn youth in K orea
Author(s) -
Lee Young Sik,
Lee Jae Young,
Choi Tae Young,
Choi Jin Tae
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
psychiatry and clinical neurosciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1440-1819
pISSN - 1323-1316
DOI - 10.1111/pcn.12043
Subject(s) - psychology , social anxiety , addiction , anxiety , clinical psychology , mental health , psychiatry
Aim The problems of youth social withdrawal (or hikikomori ) became a hot‐button social issue in J apan in the 1990s. Unfortunately, current nosology in the DSM‐IV may not adequately capture the concept of socially withdrawn youth ( SWY ) or hikikomori . This study aimed to investigate core SWY issues, evaluate SWY 's psychopathologies, and approach them therapeutically through a home visitation program. Methods Participants were 65 youth referred by community mental health centers and psychiatric clinics around S eoul and K yongki‐ D o province. Among them, only 41 participants (31 male, 10 female, mean age 15 ± 3.6 years) fit our SWY criteria. In addition, 248 middle and high school students in S eoul were recruited as a baseline control group. Caseworkers interviewed the SWY participants and their parents in their homes, using our structured interview manual and a number of psychiatric scales. Caseworkers also approached the participants therapeutically. Results Participants' D epression I nventory, T rait A nxiety I nventory, S ocial A nxiety S cale, and I nternet A ddiction S cale scores were significantly higher than those of baseline controls. Participants' mean number of psychotherapeutic sessions was 2.8, and the mean number of parental interview sessions was 3.4. After the therapeutic sessions, Global Assessment Functioning scores and social activities had improved somewhat in 68.3% of participants. Conclusion These findings suggest that SWY is a complex phenomenon, so an individual psychopathologic process is very important for treatment. The most difficult problem in SWY treatment was therapeutic access. Hence, the home visit approach with a structured manual may be a good gateway for solving this problem.