A review of studies on student apathy

Abstract

The term "Student Apathy" was originally proposed in US to describe the male university students who continued to avoid confronting their conflicts. However, it has been studied and conceptualized only in Japan. The primary purpose of this paper was to review the studies on the disorder of Student Apathy and make clear the points of controversy. At first, the trends in conceptualizations were considered from an historical point of view. It was found that the concepts suggested thus far, were so various that it was difficult to categorize the disorder as a clinical entity. Next, the studies were examined from a psychopathological and developmental point of view. It was suggested that the disorder level should be shifted from neurotic to personality disorder and the integrated concept should be formed to distinguish it from generally apathetic tendency found in adolescence in Japan, which should be searched as a background of Student Apathy.