What’s The Relationships Between Anime and Manga Interest and Mental Health? A Clinical Psychology Podcast Episode.

About this episode

This episode explores the relationship between interest in anime and manga and mental health, discussing implications for clinical psychology.

Content section starts at 25:50. If you’ve been a long-time listener of The Psychology World Podcast then you might be well aware that I flat out love anime and manga. Especially, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Go For It, Nakamura and Stranger by the Shore. Those are some amazing animes from Japan. For a while, and more to support my obsession or autistic special interest in them, I’ve been wondering about the clinical psychology or possible mental health implications, because in my experience autistic individuals and other nerdy people tend to be drawn to these niche interests. Of course, there is barely any research on the topic but I managed to find a fascinating study from Hajek and Konig (2024) that explores the relationship between interest in anime and manga and mental health, social connectedness and more. Therefore, by the end of this clinical psychology podcast episode, you’ll understand more about anime and manga, how interest in these forms of Japanese entertainment relate to mental health and other wellbeing outcomes and I’ll discuss possible implications for aspiring and qualified clinical and educational psychologists too. If you enjoy learning about social…

People in this episode

Host: Connor Whiteley

Topics covered

• anime
• manga
• mental health
• clinical psychology
• social connectedness
• popular culture

Keywords

• anime
• manga
• mental health
• clinical psychology
• social connectedness
• autism
• popular culture

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Go For It, Nakamura, Stranger by the Shore

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