Problems, coping strategies and help-seeking motives of Vietnamese adolescents

• Main Author: Nguyễn, Hong Que Thi
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2007
• Subjects: Adolescent psychology—Vietnam; Adjustment (Psychology); Help-seeking behavior; Counseling; Psychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/6839
• Institution: De La Salle University

A qualitative descriptive research was conducted to explore the Vietnamese adolescents’ problems, help-seeking attitudes, from whom they sought help, the benefits they gained from help-seeking, and how they coped with problems. Qualitative approach was used in data gathering by means of open-ended survey questionnaires and interview. Survey data from one hundred twenty (120) adolescents using the researcher-made instrument and qualitative data from in-depth interviews with 12 participants were analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. Themes that emerged from content analysis were categorized and tabulated by frequency and rank. The results showed that Vietnamese adolescents encountered challenging problems in the areas of academics, family, career, time management, intrapersonal, health, romantic relationship, friendship and communication. The findings also revealed that the participants used multiple coping strategies to deal with their problems; and their preferred helpers were close friends, siblings, family members and church leaders. The findings further showed that parents, teachers and counselors were the least preferred helpers whom the participants sought help from. The findings have significant implications to the growth and development of counseling, and education in Vietnam and could add on to the literature on Vietnamese adolescent students.