#japanstudy — Public Fediverse posts
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DATE: August 7, 2026 at 06:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: How your core personality traits predict your drinking habits over time
URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-your-core-personality-traits-predict-your-drinking-habits-over-time/
A new large study from Japan reveals that a person’s drinking habits over time often remain highly stable and are closely linked to their core personality traits. By tracking thousands of adults for five years, researchers found that higher extraversion is associated with more frequent drinking, while traits like conscientiousness are tied to less regular alcohol consumption. The findings were published in Alcohol and Alcoholism.
Psychologists often use a framework known as the Big Five to describe human personality. This model groups personality into five broad categories. Extraversion relates to being outgoing and sociable. Agreeableness involves cooperation and compassion. Conscientiousness covers organization, self-discipline, and persistence. Negative emotionality, often called neuroticism, refers to a tendency to experience stress or negative moods. Open-mindedness describes a person who is curious and receptive to new experiences.
Previous research frequently links these traits to various health habits, including addictive behaviors. For instance, conscientiousness is typically associated with health-protective behaviors and a lower risk of substance abuse. Extraversion, on the other hand, sometimes relates to higher alcohol consumption, likely due to the social nature of many drinking events.
However, most past studies on personality and alcohol rely on Western populations. Drinking habits are heavily influenced by local culture, social norms, and public policy. Because these environmental factors vary globally, Western findings might not apply everywhere.
In Japan, opportunities for early medical intervention regarding hazardous drinking are often limited in primary care settings. Identifying at-risk groups within the general population could help public health officials design better targeted strategies. Public health workers could use personality as an indicator to predict which individuals might maintain a high frequency of drinking over multiple years.
To explore this, researchers Matsuri Okamoto and Atsushi Oshio from Waseda University in Tokyo analyzed longitudinal data to map out drinking patterns in Japan. They wanted to see if specific personality traits predicted whether someone would fall into a frequent or infrequent drinking category over a five-year period.
The researchers utilized a large dataset tracking adult residents of Japan from 2019 to 2023. The final sample included 14,271 participants. At the start of the study in 2019, participants completed a standardized personality assessment based on the Big Five model. They also provided demographic information, including age, gender, and household income.
Over the next five years, participants repeatedly reported their drinking frequency on an eight-point scale ranging from never drinking to drinking almost every day. To analyze the data, the researchers used a statistical technique called latent class analysis. This method groups individuals into distinct, unseen categories based on their response patterns over time. Rather than assuming everyone follows a single average trend, this approach identifies natural clusters of behavior within the population.
The analysis revealed four distinct groups of drinking frequency. The largest group, making up roughly 27 percent of the sample, was characterized by abstaining or drinking very infrequently. The second group drank about once a month, accounting for nearly 24 percent of the participants. A third group, representing about 26 percent, drank weekly. The final group, comprising roughly 23 percent, consumed alcohol almost daily.
Overall, the researchers found that people’s drinking habits remained largely stable across the five years. Members of the monthly, weekly, and daily groups did show a slight decline in drinking frequency after 2020. This shift was likely a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted typical social routines and restricted access to bars and restaurants.
When the researchers looked at how baseline personality traits predicted group membership, distinct patterns emerged. Higher scores in extraversion consistently predicted membership in the higher-frequency drinking groups. This aligns with past research suggesting that outgoing individuals often find themselves in social situations where alcohol is present.
Conversely, higher conscientiousness was associated with lower odds of belonging to the intermediate monthly or weekly drinking groups, compared to the abstinent group. The researchers suggest that the specific facets of conscientiousness, such as orderliness and persistence, might differentiate intermittent drinking from more clearly routinized behaviors. Highly disciplined individuals might simply avoid casual, occasional drinking habits.
Additionally, participants who scored higher in agreeableness and open-mindedness were more likely to fall into the intermediate monthly and weekly drinking categories. Negative emotionality was the only Big Five trait that did not show a statistically significant relationship with drinking frequency class membership.
Beyond personality, demographic factors also played a substantial role. Men and individuals with higher household incomes had higher odds of belonging to the more frequent drinking groups.
The researchers noted several limitations to the data. The study relies entirely on self-reported answers regarding drinking frequency. The surveys did not measure the volume of alcohol consumed per occasion or the intensity of the drinking episodes. A person who drinks a single beer daily would be in the same frequency category as someone who drinks heavily every day.
The analytic sample was slightly older than the portion of the dataset that was excluded, which could slightly skew the prevalence estimates of the four drinking groups. The data collection also spanned the COVID-19 pandemic. This was an unusual period for social behavior, which might limit how well these specific drinking trajectories apply to normal circumstances.
As an observational study, the findings do not establish that certain personality traits cause specific drinking habits. The data only highlight long-term correlations.
Future studies could incorporate more objective measures of alcohol consumption, capturing both the context of drinking events and exact quantities consumed. Additional research comparing these results with different cultural populations could also clarify how universal these associations between personality and drinking truly are.
The study, “Infrequent, monthly, weekly, or daily? Big Five traits of longitudinal drinking-frequency profiles,” was authored by Matsuri Okamoto and Atsushi Oshio.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-your-core-personality-traits-predict-your-drinking-habits-over-time/
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #BigFivePersonality #DrinkingHabits #ExtraversionAndDrinking #Conscientiousness #AlcoholConsumption #JapanStudy #LongitudinalResearch #PublicHealthInsights #PersonalityPredictsBehavior #DrinkingFrequencyPatterns
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DATE: August 2, 2026 at 08:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: New hikikomori research identifies three distinct profiles of extreme social withdrawal
A recent study published in Psychiatry Research suggests that the majority of people experiencing extreme social withdrawal do not fit the traditional stereotype of being driven by social anxiety. Instead, scientists found that many individuals experience severe life impairment without a heightened fear of social judgment. This provides evidence that tailored support strategies are needed for different types of social isolation.
Hikikomori is a mental health condition characterized by severe physical isolation and impaired daily functioning. “Hikikomori generally refers to prolonged social withdrawal lasting at least six months,” said Shunsuke Nonaka, an associate professor in the Faculty of Human Sciences at Musashino University. “People in this state spend most of their time at home and have difficulty participating in work, education, or social activities.”
Past assumptions often categorized this behavior strictly as a coping mechanism to escape anxiety-inducing social situations. In this traditional view, the severity of a person’s physical isolation was expected to match the intensity of their fear of negative evaluation by others.
“Hikikomori has often been understood as a problem in which people avoid contact with others because of anxiety in social situations,” Nonaka said. “However, our earlier research showed that the same behavior of staying at home may continue for different reasons. It may help someone avoid difficult social situations or ease painful feelings. Staying at home may also provide a sense of safety and enjoyment.”
Recent psychological frameworks view physical withdrawal through a more varied lens. In behavioral science, what a behavior looks like on the outside can be separated from the internal reasons that maintain it. By identifying different behavioral profiles based on the specific rewards or escapes driving the isolation, researchers aim to improve how psychological support is delivered.
“A later study followed participants for one year,” Nonaka noted. “We found that depression and hikikomori might reinforce each other when people continued to withdraw because it helped them avoid contact with others. By contrast, finding comfort and enjoyment at home was not associated with worsening depression later.”
This earlier finding shaped the current approach. “In the present study, we therefore grouped people according to the factors that appeared to keep their withdrawal going,” Nonaka explained. “We then compared their difficulties in everyday life and their fear of being judged negatively by others.”
The researchers recruited 400 Japanese adults aged 18 to 59 through an online survey panel. The sample was split equally into two groups: 200 participants currently experiencing hikikomori and 200 control participants. The groups were matched in terms of age, which averaged 41 years old, and sex.
To be included in the hikikomori group, participants had to be unemployed or out of school, and they had to stay at home most days of the week for a period of at least six months. They also had to score above a specific severity threshold on a standard questionnaire evaluating social withdrawal. The control group consisted of employed individuals or students who frequently left their homes and scored below the severity threshold.
The authors asked participants to complete self-report questionnaires measuring both the physical form of their withdrawal behaviors and the underlying functions maintaining those behaviors. These functions included avoiding negative social interactions, seeking comfort or pleasure at home, and escaping unpleasant internal emotions. The survey also measured daily life impairment across areas like home management and close relationships, fear of negative evaluation by others, available social support, and daily stress levels.
Using statistical models to group individuals based on their behavior and motivations, the researchers identified three distinct profiles within the isolated sample. The first group, labeled the Mild profile, made up 11 percent of the sample, totaling 22 individuals. This group displayed moderate withdrawal behaviors but scored low on the psychological motivations that typically drive isolation.
People in the Mild profile experienced relatively low daily impairment compared to the rest of the isolated sample. They reported having fewer sources of social support than the control group, but they remained just as satisfied with the support they did receive. This suggests they might be physically isolated but experience less subjective distress about their situation.
The second group, called the Moderate-withdrawal profile, represented the majority of the sample at 52 percent, or 104 individuals. This group presented a paradox compared to traditional clinical expectations. They experienced severe daily life impairment at levels nearly identical to the most severely isolated group. Yet, their fear of negative evaluation by others was not statistically significant when compared to the control group.
“The most surprising finding was that the largest group, which accounted for 52% of the participants with hikikomori, did not have particularly strong social anxiety,” Nonaka told PsyPost. “Despite their serious difficulties in everyday life, their fear of being judged negatively by others was not high. This contrast is what we refer to as the ‘overlooked majority’ in the title of the paper.”
The Moderate-withdrawal group simply did not show the elevated social anxiety historically expected in hikikomori. They also reported lower levels of daily stressors compared to the severe group. The researchers noted this withdrawal might function as an adaptive strategy to avoid unpleasant feelings and maintain stability at home, rather than being driven primarily by an intense fear of people.
“The main message is that people with hikikomori should not be viewed as a single type,” Nonaka said. “The largest group, which included 52% of the participants with hikikomori, had substantial difficulties in everyday life, including work and relationships. However, they were not clearly more afraid of being judged negatively by others than people without hikikomori.”
“Strong social anxiety may not be obvious, but that does not mean the person’s difficulties are minor,” he added. “We need to understand what each person is struggling with and what may be keeping their withdrawal going.”
The third group, the Social-avoidance profile, comprised 37 percent of the sample, or 74 individuals. This group fit the classic understanding of the condition. They exhibited the highest withdrawal severity, intense fear of social judgment, the lowest levels of social support, and the highest levels of daily stress.
Members of the Social-avoidance group were also less likely to be married or possess a university degree compared to the other profiles. For these individuals, traditional therapies that target and reduce social anxiety might be highly appropriate, as their isolation tends to be heavily influenced by a fear of interpersonal evaluation.
“In another group, serious difficulties in daily life occurred alongside strong social anxiety,” Nonaka explained. “These participants also had far fewer people they could turn to for support. Although their withdrawal may look similar from the outside, they may need different kinds of support.”
Contextualizing these findings requires acknowledging the broader realities of social withdrawal. “I would like to emphasize that hikikomori is not necessarily a result of laziness or simply a preference for being alone,” Nonaka said. “For some people facing intense anxiety, painful experiences, or excessive social pressure, staying at home may be one of the few ways available to protect themselves, at least in the short term.”
“However, when withdrawal continues for a long time, it can narrow a person’s choices and connections with others and lead to new difficulties,” he added. “Simply urging someone to go outside is therefore not enough. We first need to understand what they may be protecting themselves from and then work with them to build safer and more sustainable alternatives.”
Interpreting these behavioral profiles requires an understanding of the study design. The cross-sectional nature of the survey means the data capture a single moment in time. This prevents researchers from determining if one variable causes another. The data cannot establish whether prolonged social withdrawal gradually reduces social anxiety over time, or if individuals in the Moderate-withdrawal group never had high social anxiety in the first place.
“The figure of 52% does not mean that 52% of all people with hikikomori fit this pattern,” Nonaka noted. “It is the proportion found among the Japanese survey participants selected using the relatively strict criteria of this study. The groups identified in this study are not diagnoses or fixed types that never change.”
“The fact that social anxiety was not prominent also does not mean that these people were free from distress or did not need support,” he added. “This study alone cannot tell us what causes these patterns, how they change over time, or which forms of support work best.”
All information in the study was self-reported. People experiencing severe isolation might underestimate their level of impairment or their fear of social judgment, which could influence the profile groupings. By using an online survey panel, the sample may also exclude individuals with the most extreme forms of isolation who lack internet access or the motivation to participate in research.
Future studies could include reports from family members or clinical evaluations to provide a more objective measure of a person’s functioning. Tracking individuals over months or years would also help determine if these profiles represent permanent psychological traits or temporary stages of social withdrawal.
“My long-term goal is to develop something like a map of the many different situations experienced by people with hikikomori,” Nonaka said. “By identifying the factors that influence how well support works, I hope this map can show which kinds of support are more likely to help different people.”
“There is no single path out of hikikomori,” he continued. “A more suitable path may depend on the person’s anxiety, difficulties in daily life, relationships with the people around them, and the factors keeping their withdrawal going. The purpose of this map would not be to place people into fixed categories. It would help each person and those supporting them understand their current position and consider together which paths may be easier to take.”
The study, “The overlooked majority of hikikomori: Latent profiles reveal a discrepancy between social anxiety and life functioning,” was authored by Shunsuke Nonaka, Hiroaki Kubo, Tomoya Takeda, and Motohiro Sakai.
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #hikikomori #socialwithdrawal #latentprofiles #mentalhealthresearch #overlookedmajority #socialanxiety #dailyimpairment #homeconfinement #Japanstudy #supporttailoredcare
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🇯🇵 Japan: When passing face-to-face, risk of COVID infection peaks within 5 seconds: Japan study
The risk of coronavirus infection peaks within 5 seconds of passing an infected person, a research team from the University of Tsukuba has found.
In their findings published in the British academic journal Scientific Reports, researchers pointed out that holding one's breath within five seconds of passing a person, keeping a distance of at least 1 meter, and standing upwind of them are effective measures to prevent infection.
#COVID19 #JapanStudy @auscovid19
Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20231024/p2a/00m/0sc/009000c