TITLE:
Adaptive Behavior across Adolescence and Early Adulthood: Psychological Vulnerability, Addictive Tendencies, and Hikikomori during Educational Transitions
AUTHORS:
Roman Id. Aizman, Alexey D. Gerasev, Irina Ig. Novikova
KEYWORDS:
Adolescence, Early Adulthood, Adaptive Behavior, Educational Transitions, Addictive Tendencies, Hikikomori, Social Withdrawal, Psychological Vulnerability
JOURNAL NAME:
Creative Education,
Vol.17 No.8,
August
21,
2026
ABSTRACT: Background: Adolescence and early adulthood are characterized by repeated developmental and educational transitions that require continuous adaptation to changing social and academic demands. Interests and preferred activities may initially support self-expression and emotional regulation; however, under conditions of psychological vulnerability, some behavioral patterns may acquire maladaptive or addictive features. The relationship between changes in addictive tendencies and the development of social withdrawal remains insufficiently understood. Objective: This study examined age- and education-related differences in psychological characteristics, addictive behavior patterns, and hikikomori risk across successive educational stages and assessed whether these differences may reflect a transformation of adaptive and maladaptive behavioral strategies. Methods: A cross-sectional study included 269 students aged 14 - 22 years representing six educational groups: Grade 8 and Grade 10 school students, first- and fourth-year college students, and first- and fourth-year university students. Hikikomori tendencies were assessed using the 25-item Hikikomori Questionnaire (HQ-25). Nervous tension, self-esteem, anxiety, and predisposition to different forms of addictive behavior were evaluated using standardized psychological assessment methods. Differences across educational stages and levels of hikikomori expression were analyzed. Results: Pronounced differences in psychological characteristics and addictive behavior patterns were observed both between educational levels and between students at the beginning and completion of the same educational stage. Increased hikikomori expression was associated with greater psychological vulnerability, including changes in nervous tension, anxiety, and self-esteem. The relationship between hikikomori expression and addictive tendencies was non-linear. Across the six educational groups, the cumulative number of detected addictive tendency occurrences was 8 among students without pronounced hikikomori tendencies, increased to 29 in the hikikomori risk group, and decreased to 19 among students with high hikikomori indicators. The greatest diversity of addictive tendencies was therefore observed at the intermediate risk stage rather than among students with the most pronounced social withdrawal. Conclusion: The findings suggest that changes in behavioral interests and addictive tendencies during adolescence and early adulthood may reflect a functional reorganization of adaptive strategies associated with educational and developmental transitions. The hikikomori risk stage may be characterized by diversification of compensatory or avoidance-oriented behaviors, whereas pronounced social withdrawal may be associated with narrowing of the behavioral repertoire and increasing dominance of avoidance behavior. Because of the cross-sectional design, this interpretation should be regarded as a conceptual hypothesis requiring longitudinal verification.