Self and Coping Among College Students in Japan

Abstract

Japanese aspects of identity and coping attitudes, sources, and practices were examined among a sample of 240 college students in Japan. Participants reported that they tended to use family members and friends when coping with personal difficulties; only 4.3% of the sample, however, felt comfortable turning to a professional (i.e., counselor) for help. We also investigated Japanese college students' personal, collective, and social aspects of identity (Cheek & Tropp, 1997 ). We found that collective identity was a significant predictor of seeking help from family members; social identity significantly predicted using substances to cope with problems, and participants with higher personal identity engaged in artistic endeavors as a form of coping with mental health concerns. Implications for counseling college students from Japan are discussed.