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Codependency among College Students in the United States and Taiwan: A Cross-Cultural Study

Chang, Shih-Hua
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1289834660

Abstract Details

2010, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Counselor Education (Education).
The purpose of this study was to compare and examine codependency and cultural values of individualism and collectivism reported by college students in the USA and Taiwan. Using cross-sectional data, this study also examined the relationships of codependency with gender, family functioning, self-esteem, and psychological adjustment in college students in these two countries. Convenience sampling was used, with the final two cultural comparison samples comprising 101 undergraduate students from a public university in the Midwest of the USA and 176 undergraduates from a private university in Taiwan. After controlling for differences in cultural orientations, hierarchical multiple regression analyses were employed to assess the relationships between codependency and cultural orientations as well as to determine the predictors of codependency in the total sample and the two cultural groups. The results indicated that codependency was related to cultural values, particularly interdependent/collectivistic cultural orientations, in college students in both Taiwan and the USA. The results also indicated that college students in Taiwan had higher levels of codependency than their counterparts in the USA after controlling for differences in cultural orientations. While gender, family functioning, self-esteem, and psychological adjustment were all significantly predictive of codependency in college students in the U.S. group, gender was not a significant predictor in the Taiwanese group. Contrary to the views of some scholars regarding codependency being higher in females, the results of this study indicated that college males had higher levels of codependency than females in both of the cultural groups. However, only the gender difference found in college students in the USA was statistically significant. While family functioning, self-esteem, and psychological adjustment were all significant predictors of codependency, the importance of those predictors was somewhat different for each cultural group. Further, the results of follow-up analyses showed specific differences in the subscales of codependency as well as the two cultural orientations in college students in the USA and Taiwan. The implications of these findings for counseling college students who experience codependency in both countries as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.
Christine Bhat, PhD (Committee Chair)
Yegan Pillay, PhD (Committee Member)
George Johanson, PhD (Committee Member)
Dianne Gut, PhD (Committee Member)
164 p.
Counseling Education; Counseling Psychology
codependency; cross-cultural study; cultural values/orientations; multicultural counseling; college students

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Chang, S.-H. (2010). Codependency among College Students in the United States and Taiwan: A Cross-Cultural Study [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1289834660

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Chang, Shih-Hua. Codependency among College Students in the United States and Taiwan: A Cross-Cultural Study. 2010. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1289834660.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Chang, Shih-Hua. "Codependency among College Students in the United States and Taiwan: A Cross-Cultural Study." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1289834660

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1289834660
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© 2010, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.