The presence, characteristics and correlates of pathological social withdrawal in Taiwan: An online survey.

OBJECTIVES: Pathological social withdrawal (PSW) has become a public health concern, especially in Asia. However, few studies have investigated the presence of PSW and its characteristics in Taiwan. In this study, we aimed to discover whether individuals in Taiwan display PSW behaviours, the demographic characteristics and psychiatric history of those meeting criteria for PSW and the associated psychological risks. METHODS: An online self-report survey collected participants' demographic characteristics, social behaviours and their psychiatric history, along with information on adherence to cultural norms and mental health. RESULTS: Among 1,046 valid respondents, 9% reported behaviours consistent with PSW for at least 6 months, commensurate with other online surveys in Asian countries. Around 20% of these also reported current or past psychiatric disorders, although this was lower than previous findings (50%-80%). Participants with PSW reported poorer mental health and lower confidence in social/academic/work skills than unaffected participants. CONCLUSION: This study identified for the first time the presence of PSW in Taiwan. Except the lower rates of psychiatric comorbidity (which could be explained by sociocultural factors and sampling methods), data were consistent with previous findings. We also extended our understanding of possible psychological risk factors associated with this pathological condition.

Harnessing Social Media to Explore Youth Social Withdrawal in Three Major Cities in China: Cross-Sectional Web Survey.

BACKGROUND: Socially withdrawn youth belong to an emerging subgroup of youth who are not in employment, education, or training and who have limited social interaction intention and opportunities. The use of the internet and social media is expected to be an alternative and feasible way to reach this group of young people because of their reclusive nature. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the possibility of using various social media platforms to investigate the existence of the phenomenon of youth social withdrawal in 3 major cities in China. METHODS: A cross-sectional open Web survey was conducted from October 2015 to May 2016 to identify and reach socially withdrawn youth in 3 metropolitan cities in China: Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. To advertise the survey, 3 social media platforms were used: Weibo, WeChat, and Wandianba, a social networking gaming website. RESULTS: In total, 137 participants completed the survey, among whom 13 (9.5%) were identified as belonging to the withdrawal group, 7 (5.1%) to the asocial group, and 9 (6.6%) to the hikikomori group (both withdrawn and asocial for more than 3 months). The cost of recruitment via Weibo was US $7.27 per participant. CONCLUSIONS: Several social media platforms in China are viable and inexpensive tools to reach socially withdrawn youth, and internet platforms that specialize in a certain culture or type of entertainment appeared to be more effective in reaching socially withdrawn youth.

Withdrawal behaviors and mental health among college students / Comportamientos de aislamiento y salud mental en estudiantes universitarios

Youth social withdrawal has raised clinical concerns, and prevention of withdrawal behavior is important yet difficult. While human evaluation of withdrawal behavior can be subjective, technology provides objective measurement for withdrawal behavior. This study aims to examine the association between withdrawal behaviors (home-stay and non-communication) and mental health status (stress, depression and loneliness). The open-access StudentLife dataset, including the location and conversation information derived from the sensor data, stress levels, and pre- and post-questionnaires of depression (PHQ-9) and loneliness (RULS) of 47 college students over 10 weeks was used. Multilevel modeling and functional regression were employed for data analysis. Daily duration of home-stay was negatively associated with daily stress levels, and the interaction effect of daily duration of home-stay and non-communication were positively associated with daily stress levels and changes in PHQ-9 and RULS scores. Smartphone data is useful to provide adjunct information to the professional clinical judgement and early detection on withdrawal behavior

El aislamiento social de los jóvenes ha generado preocupaciones clínicas y prevenir estos comportamientos es importante pero difícil. Aunque la evaluación del aislamiento puede ser subjetiva, la tecnología proporciona medidas objetivas de este comportamiento. El objetivo de este estudio es examinar la asociación entre los comportamientos de aislamiento (permanecer en casa y no comunicarse) y el estado de la salud mental (estrés, depresión y soledad). Se utilizó la base de datos de libre acceso StudentLife, incluyendo información sobre la ubicación y la conversación registrada por un sensor de datos, los niveles de estrés y medidas de autoinforme pre y pos sobre depresión (PHQ-9) y soledad (RULS) de 47 estudiantes universitarios durante 10 semanas. Para el análisis de datos se utilizaron modelos multinivel y la regresión funcional. La duración diaria de la permanencia en casa estaba negativamente asociada con los niveles diarios de estrés y el efecto de interacción de la duración diaria de la permanencia en casa y la falta de comunicación estaban positivamente relacionados con los niveles diarios de estrés y los cambios en las puntuaciones en PHQ-9 y RULS. Los datos del teléfono inteligente son útiles para obtener información complementaria al juicio clínico profesional y para la detección temprana de los comportamientos de aislamiento

Evaluation of a Digital Game-Based Learning Program for Enhancing Youth Mental Health: A Structural Equation Modeling of the Program Effectiveness.

BACKGROUND: Digital game-based learning (DGBL) makes use of the entertaining power of digital games for educational purposes. Effectiveness assessment of DGBL programs has been underexplored and no attempt has been made to simultaneously model both important components of DGBL: learning attainment (ie, educational purposes of DGBL) and engagement of users (ie, entertaining power of DGBL) in evaluating program effectiveness. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to describe and evaluate an Internet-based DGBL program, Professor Gooley and the Flame of Mind, which promotes mental health to adolescents in a positive youth development approach. In particular, we investigated whether user engagement in the DGBL program could enhance their attainment on each of the learning constructs per DGBL module and subsequently enhance their mental health as measured by psychological well-being. METHODS: Users were assessed on their attainment on each learning construct, psychological well-being, and engagement in each of the modules. One structural equation model was constructed for each DGBL module to model the effect of users' engagement and attainment on the learning construct on their psychological well-being. RESULTS: Of the 498 secondary school students that registered and participated from the first module of the DGBL program, 192 completed all 8 modules of the program. Results from structural equation modeling suggested that a higher extent of engagement in the program activities facilitated users' attainment on the learning constructs on most of the modules and in turn enhanced their psychological well-being after controlling for users' initial psychological well-being and initial attainment on the constructs. CONCLUSIONS: This study provided evidence that Internet intervention for mental health, implemented with the technologies and digital innovations of DGBL, could enhance youth mental health. Structural equation modeling is a promising approach in evaluating the effectiveness of DGBL programs.

A study of sexual satisfaction and frequency of sex among Hong Kong Chinese couples.

There have been several studies in Western societies on the causes and consequences of sexual satisfaction within marriage. Little is known, however about the marital sexual relationship in Chinese societies. Moreover, most published studies used married individuals rather than married couples as participants. The present study examined data from a well-established knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) survey of 1,124 Hong Kong Chinese couples on martial sexual relationship. A conceptual model was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). Interest in sex was found to be the strongest predictor of both sexual satisfaction and frequency of sex for both husbands and wives. Among the sociodemographic variables, the following two were significantly associated with lower frequencies of sex: for wives, that of having a full-time job; and for husbands, the factor of age. Theoretical implications for research on the interplay among culture, marriage, and sex in non-Western societies are discussed.