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When helping hurts: validating a measure of compulsive helping and exploring potential correlates
Katey Workman1, Laura M Padilla-Walker2, Peter J Reschke2
1Department of Psychological Sciences, University of California, Merced, Merced, CA, United States.
Frontiers in Psychology
|March 13, 2025
Summary
A new measure for compulsive helping, where helping harms the helper, was validated in emerging adults. This behavior, though not frequent, is positively linked to prosocial behavior and anxiety.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Behavior
Background:
- Prosocial behavior is generally adaptive.
- However, extreme or compulsive helping can be detrimental to the helper.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and validate a new measure for compulsive helping.
- To understand the characteristics and correlates of this behavior.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study with 438 emerging adults.
- Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for construct validity.
- Bivariate correlations for convergent and discriminant validity.
Main Results:
- CFA supported a single-factor structure for compulsive helping with acceptable model fit.
- Compulsive helping showed convergent validity, positively correlating with prosocial behavior and anxiety.
- Discriminant validity was supported, with compulsive helping negatively associated with self-regulation.
Conclusions:
- Introduces a novel concept and measure of compulsive helping.
- Highlights that helping which harms the helper, while not frequent, is not uncommon.
- Suggests future research should explore qualitative methods and the multidimensionality of prosocial behavior.
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