Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to examine the process of first aid actions taken by university students when a friend is becoming depressed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 university students who had a friend who was depressive. The data were analyzed using a Grounded Theory Approach (GTA). The main hypothetical ideas were as follows: The university students helped a depressive friend when they were conscious of the benefits of aiding or risks of not aiding. When the university students were conscious about the risks of aiding or the benefits of not aiding, they placed their friend at a distance or were excessively concerned about their friend, instead of offering help. The university students did not suggest that the friend should seek professional help when they were conscious of the risks of giving such a suggestions or the friend’s adoption of their suggestion. Also, they did not suggest that their friend seek professional help when they did not know any appropriate help to suggest. The present results suggest that when friends are to be utilized as a resource for early intervention for depression in university students, it is important to reduce the perceived risks of first aid actions.
