SMART JOURNAL OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT STUDIES VOL. 19 NO. 2 PAPER 6
10.5958/2321-2012.2023.00016.7
TURKISH ADAPTATION OF THE SOCIAL WITHDRAWAL SCALE (HIKIKOMORI QUESTIONNAIRE): THE STUDY ON VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
 
Ayhan Bayram* and Ece Zeybek Yilmaz**
*    Associate Professsor, Department of Logistic Management, Gorele School of Applied Sciences, Giresun University, Gorele/Giresun, Turkey
**    Assistant Professor, Department of Logistic Management, Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences, İstanbul Gelişim University, İstanbul, Turkey
Hikikomori syndrome is a condition where individuals avoid social interaction, employment, education, and friendship. The Social Withdrawal Scale is used to measure the extent to which individuals withdraw from social life and rely on virtual worlds. The objective of this research was to examine the reliability and validity of the Social Withdrawal Scale in Turkey. This study involved the participation of 629 university students, who were asked to complete a questionnaire. The data were analyzed with the aid of statistical software programs, namely, SPSS 24 and Amos 24, with a 95% confidence interval. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the Social Withdrawal Scale in measuring the intended construct, (EFA) and (CFA) were both employed. Further, the Cronbach Alpha coefficient was calculated by the researchers and it yielded a value of 0.873. The scale included three subscales, specifically social support, socialization, and isolation, which accounted for 45.687% of the total variance. The validity and suitability of the scale, in assessing the intended construct, were supported by the CFA results. Thus, it can be inferred that the Turkish version of the Social Withdrawal Scale is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring social withdrawal behaviors.
 
KEYWORDS: Hikikomori Syndrome, Isolation, Socialization, Social Support and Virtual World JEL CLASSIFICATIONS: C12, I23 and M15 FULL TEXT