Taiwanese university students' perspectives on helping

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to use a framework of folk psychology to describe Taiwanese university students' perspectives on helping. Through interviews and transcript analysis, the study synthesized responses from 30 male and 30 female Taiwanese university students and described participants' beliefs, desires, concepts, motives, values, rationales and explanations about helping. Two proverbs identified with the content of helping were 'God helps people who help themselves', and 'Solve problems on my own'. Areas of inquiry included the characteristics of helpers and the helping relationship, two forms of helping, the interchangeable roles of helper and helpee, the impact of helping on helpees, and the ultimate goal for helping were among the general beliefs and attitudes. Participants indicated these fundamental themes: (1) help-seeking as a sign of weakness and shame; (2) formal help-seeking only for serious conditions; (3) familiarity as a key factor for help-seeking; and (4) informal help as mainstream help and formal help as the last choice. The study also delineated findings and implications for clinical counseling, research, and training.