Cross‐cultural perspectives on self‐help groups: Comparison between participants and nonparticipants in Israel and the United States

An exploratory descriptive international study of self-help groups compares self-help groups of parents of children with cancer (U.S.; N = 116) and parents of mentally ill persons (Israel; N = 50). Findings indicate that despite different cultures and focal crises, self-help group participants reported very similar benefits and other commonalities. Differences, likely to be related to the two different national service delivery systems and the two different illness foci, were discerned as well. Comparative international research, while posing methodological problems, offers the potential to greatly expand the understanding of universal vs. culture-specific attributes of self-help groups.