ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION. The problem of loneliness among teenagers and youth, the extreme expression of which is the phenomenon of "hikikomori", is relevant for the post-Soviet space. 

AIM. To conduct a review of the literary sources of Russian researchers and Russian-speaking authors of the post-Soviet space, considering the issues of loneliness.

MATERIALS AND METHODS. A review of literary sources in Russian published over the period 2014-2024 in the post-Soviet space was conducted, the databases eLibrary and Google Academy were used.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. Loneliness has different manifestations: problems in the family, with peers, learning difficulties. This is due to the difficulty of establishing and maintaining social connections and relationships. To a large extent, social isolation is increasing due to mass digitalization. With increasing dependence on the Internet and social media, the power of experiencing loneliness increases.

CONCLUSION. The reasons for the negative experience of loneliness among young people are alienation, aggression, anger, a sense of abandonment, "isolation from the world", low self-esteem.

KEYWORDS: loneliness, self-isolation, alienation, hikikomori, teenagers, youth

For citation: Igumnov S.A., Karpievich V.A. The Problem of Loneliness (The "Hikikomori" Phenomenon) Among Youth: a Review of Research in the Post-Soviet Space. Comorbidity Neurology. 2025; 2 (2): 63-71. https://doi.org/10.62505/3034-185x-2025-2-2-63-71

*For correspondence: Sergey A. Igumnov, Dr. Sci. (Med.), Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow, Russia, e-mail: sa.igumnov@gmail.com

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Sergey A. Igumnov, Dr. Sci. (Med.), Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia. E-mail: sa.igumnov@gmail.com. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3582-9751

Viktor A. Karpievich, Ph.D. Sci. (His.), Associate Professor, Associate Professor of the Department of Philosophy and Law, Belarusian State Technological University, Minsk, Belarus. E-mail: karpievich68@yandex.by. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6198-618X

Author contributions. All authors confirm that their authorship complies with the international ICMJE criteria (all authors made a significant contribution to the development of the concept, the conduct of the study, and the preparation of the article, read and approved the final version before publication). Special contributions: Igumnov S.A. – idea generation, formulation and development of key goals and objectives, approval of the final version of the article. Karpievich V.A. – analysis of literary sources, article design.

Funding. This study was not supported by any external sources of funding.

Disclosure. The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

The content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

©2025. Sergey A. Igumnov, Viktor A. Kapievich