Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to examine the correlation between cognitive factors and stress responses in parents of individuals with hikikomori (acute social withdrawal). Parents (N =175) were requested to complete the following questionnaires: (a) Hikikomori Behavior Checklist (Sakai et al., 2004, in Japanese), (b) the Negative Evaluation of Hikikomori (Sakai et al., 2009, in Japanese) , (c) Self-Efficacy of Coping With Problem Behaviors of Individuals with Hikikomori, and (d) Stress Response Scale-18 (Suzuki et al., 1997, in Japanese) . The results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that the parents' scores on the Negative Evaluation of Hikikomori were positively correlated with their depression-anxiety scores, and their scores on Self-Efficacy of Coping With Problem Behaviors of Individuals with Hikikomori were negatively correlated with all their stress response scores. The results of the present study suggest that it would be important to intervene in the parents' cognitive factors.
