SSR Seminar Series: Youth mental health – is there a link between suicidality and social withdrawal tendencies and behaviour?
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Seminar Details
Youth mental health is an urgent public health priority, particularly concerning the critical intersection of suicidality and severe social withdrawal (often termed hikikomori or "hidden youth"). In this webinar, Professor Paul W.C. Wong from The University of Hong Kong will unpack the complex relationship between these two situations. Drawing upon his extensive empirical research, Professor Wong will reveal how prolonged youth social withdrawal is rarely just a lifestyle choice; rather, it is a profound indicator of psychological distress that is significantly correlated with depressive symptoms and heightened suicidal ideation. He will discuss how fast-paced, high-achievement urban environments can exacerbate isolation and create profound barriers to traditional help-seeking. By sharing these findings, this session aims to inspire audiences in Singapore—a society sharing similar socio-cultural dynamics with Hong Kong—to re-evaluate their understanding of withdrawn youth. Ultimately, the webinar calls for greater societal attention, early detection, and compassionate interventions before social disconnection deepens into a life-threatening crisis.
Associate Professor
The University of Hong Kong
Professor Paul W.C. Wong is an Associate Professor and Registered Clinical Psychologist at The University of Hong Kong. With over two decades of experience, his clinical practice and research focus on youth mental health, specifically suicide prevention, prolonged social withdrawal, and caregiver support. A highly cited scholar with over 130 publications, Prof. Wong has led projects backed by over HKD 200 million in funding to improve the wellbeing of marginalized communities.
Notably, he pioneered a globally recognized, evidence-based animal-assisted intervention for socially withdrawn youth and initiated transdisciplinary suicide prevention programs serving over a million people. Beyond academia, Prof. Wong collaborates with the World Health Organization, advises multiple government bodies and NGOs, and is currently leading a territory-wide capacity-building reform for youth mental health services in Hong Kong. An award-winning researcher for his knowledge exchange efforts, he also serves as the General Secretary of the Asia Pacific Psychology Alliance.
Associate Professor
Department of Social Work,
Co-Director
Social Service Research Centre
National University of Singapore
Dr. Jungup Lee is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work and Co-Director of Social Service Research Centre at the National University of Singapore. Her research seeks to refine the understanding of how adverse childhood events relate to subsequent behavioural and mental health outcomes for children and adolescents. Specifically, Dr. Lee’s research focuses on identifying multi-level risk and protective factors (e.g., family, peer, school, and community levels) that shape various patterns of externalizing and internalizing behaviours to facilitate the development of more effective intervention strategies for social workers providing services to children, adolescents, and young adults. Her research interests include cyberbullying, school violence and safety, child maltreatment, online harassment, technology-facilitated sexual misconduct, juvenile justice, and youth mental health and digital well-being.