| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,500,000)
Fiscal Year 2006: ¥1,600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000)
Fiscal Year 2005: ¥1,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,900,000)
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| Research Abstract |
Recently, the increasing number of young people withdrawing from society has been a cause for concern in Japan. Social withdrawal of college students appears in many forms of unfortunate academic events, such as withdrawn from school, taking time off or repeating academic years. The rates of occurrence of these academic problems have been increasing, and suicide has been the most frequent cause of university students' death in Japan. Statistical analysis of the longitudinal data for more than 20 years of academic problems and suicide of university students in Japanese national universities was as follows. The results showed that a considerable number of Japanese national college students leave or repeat school, or take academic years off because of apathy, especially in men, and male science major students are in the highest risk group in terms of leaving school. The suicide rate was high in male students, medical students, and students who repeated or took academic years off.
We execut
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ed a questionnaire and interview of students of taking academic years off from a certain university. The results showed that they were dissatisfied with classes and lacked credits during their first year. In terms of their relationship with their parents, they had either very positive or very negative feelings. Many of these students were taking themselves negatively and were moderately depressed. 40 percent out of the students who had had suicidal thoughts within the year attempted suicide, and 30 percent were still considering suicide. Therefore, it became clear that students in withdrawal who took time off or repeated academic years need mental support.
In order to compare the situation in Japan with the situation in U.S. universities, we interviewed the staff in charge of student services of certain universities. It seemed difficult for students to stay withdrawn for a long time, due to institutional pliability and efficient support services.
We conducted the survey for junior high school students in Tokyo, using the Abbreviated version of SAHA questionnaire developed by Schwab-Stone. Compared to the same age group in the USA, Japanese students felt safer in their neighborhood and school. However, feelings of depression, anxiety, and losing self-confidence were higher. Furthermore, we paid attention to "bullying" which can serve as a cause of suicide in youths. A group of bullied students and a group of none-bullied students were compared statistically. There were more boys in the bullied group, and that group had a tendency of acting appropriately toward teachers and their parents. The bullied group was significantly more worried, bothered, unhappy, depressive, tense and unconfident than the other group. Consequently, the results manifest that the bullied group has the risk of developing suicidal behavior. Although we were not permitted to straightforwardly ask about the question of social withdrawal, these results are useful in knowing the actual condition of social withdrawal and the relationship between bullying and suicidal behavior. Less
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