In this experimental piece of writing I want to think about the pedagogy of contact and the plight of the hikikomori or social recluse in Japan. I am interested in exploring how the hikikomori practices a kind of contactlessness or what I will call a deadly ipseity of desire. What does it mean to resist contact, to be without contact, to be…

Online distance learning presents unique psychosocial characteristics due to the inherent distance between learners. Social presence --the sense of being with others-- is key to mitigating this distance. However, our understanding of social presence remains limited, despite its potential to reduce social isolation and cultivate a conducive social…

Higher rates of depression and of depressed mood are associated with autistic traits, and both are associated with social interaction factors, such as social self-efficacy, social motivation and loneliness. This study examined whether these social factors explain the association between autistic traits and depression. 658 participants (527 women)…

Ostracism and school engagement have important implications for adolescents' academic perseverance and success. However, limited previous studies have investigated the mediating effects of school engagement on the association between ostracism and academic achievement in the Chinese cultural context. The present study fills in this research gap by…

This research aims to examine the mediating role of social exclusion in the relationship between a sense of belonging and loneliness in international students. The research sample is composed of international students studying in universities in Türkiye. In the research, in which 284 students voluntarily participated, General Belongingness Scale,…

International students in a Japanese university struggled with issues of loneliness, lack of belonging, and feelings of not mattering. These issues inhibited their ability to form friendships with domestic students. This study sought to investigate causes and find actionable solutions to international student social networking issues. Participants…

The present study investigated whether autobiographical memories serve to maintain feelings of intimacy in times of social isolation that result from the restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data came from 104 young and older adults who reported three important and three social memories, that is, memories about someone the participants…

The goal of the present study was to explore the relations between social avoidance, peer preference, loneliness, and social sensitivity among urban Chinese children. Participants were 951 children attending primary and middle schools from grade 3 to grade 7. Cross-sectional data were collected using self-report assessments and peer nominations.…

This research study served to examine casual inferences within the relationships between social connectedness, drinking, resilience, and loneliness for both LGBTQ+ and heterosexual-identifying college students. The literature reviewed identified there is likely a relationship between these constructs whereby social connectedness was expected to…

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between positive and negative childhood experiences, forgiveness and social exclusion experiences of individuals in adolescence. The research was carried out using the relational survey technique, one of the quantitative research methods. The participants of the study consisted of middle school…

Rooted in scholarship of social connectedness and social support, this research raises the question: Can online chatting help mitigate the negative psychological influence of physical distancing during COVID-19? By a correlational and cross-sectional research design, the current study testified the mediating role of two factors--social…

In this study, we examined how undergraduates talk about their experiences of loneliness. Six focus group discussions were conducted with 42 undergraduates (29 women, 13 men) at a private university. We coded participants' comments by themes. Themes that occurred most frequently included: (1) ingroups vs. outgroups, (2) intervention for…

Currently, COVID-19 poses a threat to the US and the rest of the world, which has created the need for many people to establish physical distance from others. This need for physical distance is perhaps most important for those most vulnerable to COVID-19, which includes the older adult population. Through this time of physical isolation, most…

When students feel alienated, they develop various avoidance strategies, such as becoming spectators, blending into the background, faking participation, pretending to be sick or have an injury, or simply not attending class. Consequently, students lose out on opportunities to improve their skills and interact with others, which alienates them…

In Erikson's model of development, intimacy and isolation denote polar outcomes of psychosocial crisis in young adulthood. Drawing on this model, the present study used three-wave longitudinal data to examine patterns of the success and lack of success in the resolution of Eriksonian crisis in relation to romantic loneliness as a negative outcome…