Meet the editors

Rosalba Morese holds a Bachelors degree in Psychology from the University of Parma and a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Turin to develop new techniques and approaches in Cognitive and Social Neuroscience. She is an expert in psychology, neuroeconomics, psychophysiology, cognitive and social neuroscience. She performs neuroimaging studies in social contexts in order to investigate neural correlations involved during

social interactions, such as social exclusion, social support, empathy, communicative intention, and social decision making. She worked as a teacher and research fellow at the Department of Psychology, University of Parma until 2010. She is currently at the Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano, Switzerland.

Sara Palermo received her MSc in Clinical and Community Psychology and her PhD in Experimental Neuroscience. Currently she is a postdoctorate research fellow at the University of Turin (Italy). She is a research member of the "Center for the Study of Movement Disorders" and the "Placebo Responses Mapping Group" at the Department of Neuroscience, and a research member of the "Neuropsychology of cognitive impairment and

CNS degenerative diseases group" at the Department of Psychology. Sara Palermo is a member of the Italian Society of Neuropsychology, the Italian Association of Psychogeriatrics, the Italian Autonomous association adhering to SIN for dementias, and the International Society for Interdisciplinary Placebo Studies. Importantly, she has been involved in the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Aging (EIP on AHA).

Raffaella Fiorella holds a Masters degree in *Medicine and Surgery* from the University of Turin and a Specialization in Child Neuropsychiatry from the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Turin, Italy. She is an expert in *Child Neuropsychiatry* and works as a medical director at the Child Neuropsychiatry of the ASL Città di Torino, Italy. In addition, she has worked as a medical director at other health facilities in the Piedmont

region, Italy. She is also a clinical neuropsychiatrist with vast experience in the topic of Hikikomori. She has particular knowledge of behavioral disorders in childhood and in the application of the Coping Power Program. She has worked as a teacher at the Faculty of Education and Primary Education, Tre University, Rome and at the public health service ASL, Turin, teaching on neuropsychiatric diseases in the developmental age.

Contents

**Section 1**

**Section 2**

in Small Islands *by Sheena Moosa*

*by Laura Finley*

**Section 3**

Twenty-First Century *by Karen Stephenson*

of Autism Spectrum Disorders

*by Huyen Thi Ngoc Tran and F. Scott Hall*

*and Francesca Sechi*

**Preface III**

Social Withdrawal **1**

**Chapter 1 3**

**Chapter 2 11**

Social Isolation **27**

**Chapter 3 29**

**Chapter 4 43**

**Chapter 5 59**

Clinical Perspective of Social Isolation **67**

**Chapter 6 69**

Social Withdrawal and Mental Health: An Interdisciplinary Approach

Social Isolation Experienced by Youth in Social Withdrawal:

Social Connectedness and Wellbeing of Ageing Populations

Engaging College Men in Conversations and Activities

The Clash of Cultures: Digerati and Devolution in the

Deprivation of Social Play: Implications for the Mechanisms

Related to Dating and Domestic Violence

*by Rosalba Morese, Sara Palermo, Carlotta Torello* 

Toward an Interdisciplinary Analysis and Practice *by Victor Wong, John Yuen, Xuebing Su and Jolene Yung*

## Contents


Preface

This book deals with an increasingly current phenomenon in various countries around the world. It offers an interdisciplinary point of view with a broad and, at the same time, in-depth vision of the various aspects that can contribute to better understand social isolation. Authors, who represent different disciplines and belong to different countries of the world, offer contributions of high scientific profile with new perspectives in the field of social security thanks to the originality of their

The first chapter presents an interesting contribution of how social isolation can be considered a health risk factor as it can contribute to the development of a mental health disease. This chapter brings together the contributions of clinical psychology, psychoeducational interventions and research on social neurosciences to explain and better understand what happens when social withdrawal develops. In particular, understanding which factors favor social withdrawal can help create new theoretical approaches and innovative clinical and psycho-educational

The second chapter offers a critical analysis of the social isolation experienced by young people who adopt an airtight lifestyle characterized by isolation from the rest of the world for an extended period of time. The authors refer to four parameters,

namely time, place, social relations and social status to help professionals distinguish those who are in a state of social withdrawal. The authors carry out a review of the literature with empirical data on young people living in Hong Kong. The authors suggest that it is important to offer a favorable environment to challenge social isolation with the support of interdisciplinary research and

The third chapter deals with social isolation for people over the age of 65 in a geographically isolated context such as the island of Maldives. This chapter highlights the importance of family and friends, rather than the community, in fostering social connections. It shows specific factors of smaller contexts such as

The fourth chapter presents innovative methods for dealing with domestic violence, particularly with male students. In particular, the chapter suggests recommendations for greater involvement of male university students in this type

The fifth chapter presents, from a sociological point of view, society and social isolation due to the digital dimension. The isolation created by digital connections is very impactful as ever. This aspect is very important to better understand the

The sixth chapter addresses another type of social deprivation that manifests itself in the deficit in the social domain of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To understand how social deprivation can affect behavior, the researchers present an

ideas, theories, research, scientific results and discussions.

interventions.

practice.

islands rather than industrialized ones.

of social justice campaign.

current social and cultural aspects.
