Parental Support as Perceived by Taiwanese University Students during Career Development

摘要

This study explores Taiwanese university student perceptions of parental support within a Chinese family context. The study used the phenomenological approach and conducted focus group interviews with 17 university students. The results were analyzed using thematic analysis. The main conclusions of this study were as follows: (1) Parental support includes four themes “autonomy support,” “tangible assistance,” “emotional support,” and “information support.” (2) Autonomy support is a significant theme of parental support, however, it is also the most difficult for Taiwanese parents to provide. (3) When there is conflict between the interest development of university students and parental expectations, students use four different coping styles: protest, avoidance, struggle, and submission.