I led development of the 25-Item Hikikomori Questionnaire (HQ-25) with colleagues in the United States and Japan, particularly Dr. Takahiro Kato of Kyushu University. It is a self‐administered questionnaire used to assess hikikomori, a form of severe social withdrawal and an emerging mental health issue.
The HQ-25 is scored between 0-100, with higher scores representing more severe symptoms of hikikomori. Forty-four (44) is a proposed cutoff score indicating risk for hikikomori. The HQ-25 consists of three factors: lack of sociality, isolation, and lack of emotional support. This measure has only been validated as a way to assess severity of hikikomori symptoms over the past 6 months. Other uses have not been validated.
Language | Translated/Back Translated | Conducted validation study | Published in peer-reviewed journal |
|---|---|---|---|
Chinese | Yes | Yes | In Progress |
English | Yes | Yes | Yes |
French | Yes | In Progress | No |
Italian | Yes | Yes | In Progress |
Japanese | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Korean | Yes | Yes | In Progress |
Romanian | Yes | In Progress | Unknown |
Spanish | No | No | No |
Turkish | Yes | Yes | Yes |
If you experience any issues, please contact us here. However, if you are interested in adapting the original 25-item Hikikomori Questionnaire (HQ-25) into a new language, please complete this form.