ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the phenomenon of non-attendance in Japanese university students from a psychological point of view. The author begins by describing the actual situation that surrounds Japanese young adults and non-attendant students who are psychologically isolated from society. A clinical case of a student who stayed in university for eight years without attending classes is then introduced. The examination of dreams reported by the student illustrates an unsuccessful self-relation, and thus an unsuccessful establishment of the I in the psyche. However, it is also observed that the I becomes more active when there is someone other than the Other in the dream. This chapter suggests that the Japanese young adult needs a triadic relationship among the I, the other, and “someone else” instead of a dyadic relationship between the I and the other to establish the I.
