Culture and Social Support: Who Seeks It and Why?

Are Asians and Asian Americans more or less likely to seek social support for dealing with stress than European Americans? On the one hand, the collectivist orientation of Asian countries might favor the sharing of stressful problems; on the other hand, efforts to maintain group harmony might discou...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of personality and social psychology 2004-09, Vol.87 (3), p.354-362
Main Authors: Taylor, Shelley E, Sherman, David K, Kim, Heejung S, Jarcho, Johanna, Takagi, Kaori, Dunagan, Melissa S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Americans
Asian Americans
Asian Continental Ancestry Group
Asians
Attitudes
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition
Coping Behavior
Cross Cultural Differences
Cross cultural studies
Cultural differences
Culture
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human
Humans
Korean Cultural Groups
Male
Mental stress
Patient Acceptance of Health Care
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Social interaction
Social interactions. Communication. Group processes
Social psychology
Social Support
Stress
Stress, Psychological - therapy
Surveys and Questionnaires
White People
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Are Asians and Asian Americans more or less likely to seek social support for dealing with stress than European Americans? On the one hand, the collectivist orientation of Asian countries might favor the sharing of stressful problems; on the other hand, efforts to maintain group harmony might discourage such efforts. In 2 studies, Koreans (Study 1) and Asians and Asian Americans in the United States (Study 2) reported using social support less for coping with stress than European Americans. Study 3 examined potential explanations for these effects and revealed that relationship concerns accounted for the cultural differences in use of support seeking. Discussion centers on the potential benefits and liabilities of seeking social support.
ISSN:0022-3514
1939-1315
DOI:10.1037/0022-3514.87.3.354