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The primary objective of this research was to validate the short version of the Perinatal Grief Scale (SVPGS) in the Chinese population. The Chinese SVPGS was administered to a sample of Chinese women who had experienced recent reproductive loss (N=3t4). The results of the confirmatory factor analysis rejected the original 3-factor model delineated by Potvin (1989). A follow-up exploratory factor analysis suggested an alternative 3-factor model, consisting of a 12-item Sense of Worthlessness subscale, a 7-item Social Detachment subscale, and a 7-item Painful Recollection subscale. Further analysis showed that both the original and Chinese SVPGS demonstrated good internal consistency. Cronbach's alpha equaled .86, .83, .90, and .95, respectively, for the three subscales of Active Grief Difficulty Coping, and Despair, and the total original SVPGS, and .85, .93, .91, and .95, respectively, for the new subscales of Sense of Worthlessness, Social Detachment, and Painful Recollection, and the total Chinese SVPGS. Both versions demonstrated satisfactory correlations with the participants' psychological distress and spousal emotional support. The authors suggest that both versions are useful in measuring the responses of Chinese women to reproductive loss; the original SVPGS should be used for cross-cultural studies, whereas the Chinese SVPGS should be used for local studies. DOI: 10.1080/07481180903492539

Byline: Francis Yue-Lok Cheung (1), Catherine So-Kum Tang (2) Keywords: Emotional labor; Work family interference; Quality of work life Abstract: Purpose We adopted the conservation of resources model (COR, Hobfoll Am Psychol 44:513--524, 1989 Hobfoll in Stress, culture, and community: the psychology and philosophy of stress, Plenum, New York, 1998) to examine the associations among emotional labor, work family interference, and quality of work life. Design/Methodology/Approach Cross-sectional, self-reported data were obtained from 442 Hong Kong Chinese service employees. Findings Correlation and hierarchical regression analyses showed that surface acting was a salient correlate of work-to-family interference, even when organizational display rules and employees' demographic information were controlled. Furthermore, quality of work life had partially mediated the relationship between surface acting and work-to-family interference. However, deep acting and expression of naturally felt emotion did not relate to work-to-family interference. Finally, we found that family-to-work interference was a salient correlate of the use of surface acting in workplace. Implication This study provided useful information of how adopting different emotional labor strategies related to work family interference. Based on our results, the use of deep acting should be promoted in workplace because it related positively to quality of work life and it did not amplify the work-to-family interference. Originality/value While past studies often explored the role of emotional labor as the precursor of work family interference, our study is among the first attempt to examine family-to-work interference as the antecedent of emotional labor. Additionally, we had also confirmed the role of quality of work life as an important mediator between emotional labor-work-to-family interference. Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Sociology and Social Policy, Lingnan University, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong SAR (2) Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Kent Ridge, Singapore Article History: Registration Date: 16/03/2009 Online Date: 31/03/2009 Article note: Received and reviewed by former editor, George Neuman.

Chinese people are consistently reported to be less likely to commit to posthumous organ donation than the Westerners. This study aims at investigating how death anxiety may hinder them from expressing their willingness to donate organs. Among 290 Hong Kong Chinese adults (age [greater than or equal to] 25 years), a higher level of death anxiety was associated with a greater expectation of medical neglect and a lower level of self-efficacy. Moreover, a higher level of death anxiety was also correlated with a lower likelihood of donor card signing and discussion of organ donation. The results of regression analyses suggested a mediating role of self-efficacy on the relationship between death anxiety and these behaviors. That is, death anxiety, by lowering one's perceived self-efficacy, reduces his/her likelihood to sign the donor card or to tell his/her donation decision. Findings suggest that death education program should be included in promotion campaigns for Chinese adults.

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2006.02.012 Byline: Catherine So-kum Tang Keywords: Chinese parental physical aggression; Chinese corporal punishment; Chinese parental physical maltreatment Abstract: This study aimed to examine rates and associated factors of parent-to-child corporal punishment and physical maltreatment in Hong Kong Chinese families. Author Affiliation: Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong Article History: Received 1 August 2003; Revised 16 January 2006; Accepted 24 February 2006

Objective: This study aimed to examine rates and associated factors of parent-to-child corporal punishment and physical maltreatment in Hong Kong Chinese families. Method: Cross-sectional and randomized household interviews were conducted with 1,662 Chinese parents to collect information on demographic characteristics of parents and children, marital satisfaction, perceived social support, evaluation of child problem behaviors, and reactions to conflicts with children. Descriptive statistics, analyses of variances, and logistic regression analyses were conducted. Results: The rates of parent-to-child physical aggression were 57.5% for corporal punishment and 4.5% for physical maltreatment. Mothers as compared to fathers reported higher rates and more frequent use of corporal punishment on their children, but this parental gender effect was insignificant among older parents and those with adolescent children. Boys as compared to girls were more likely to experience higher rates and more frequent parental corporal punishment, especially in middle childhood at aged 5-12. Furthermore, parents perpetrated more frequent physical maltreatment on younger as compared to older children. Results from logistic regression analyses indicated that significant correlates of parental corporal punishment were: children's young age, male gender, and externalizing behaviors as well as parents' young age, non-employment, and marital dissatisfaction. For parent-to-child physical maltreatment, significant correlates were externalizing behaviors of children and parental marital dissatisfaction. Conclusions: Hong Kong Chinese parents commonly used corporal punishment on their children, which was associated with characteristics of children, parents, and family. Keywords: Chinese parental physical aggression; Chinese corporal punishment; Chinese parental physical maltreatment

Seventy-one Chinese social workers and 74 Chinese police officers residing in Hong Kong were surveyed on their gender-role attitudes, endorsement of wife abuse myths, and definitions of wife abuse. Results showed that compared to social workers, police officers held more conservative gender-role attitudes, endorsed more myths about wife abuse, and adopted more restrictive definitions of physical and psychological wife abuse. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that definitions of wife abuse were related to different predictors for these two groups of professionals. Among social workers, egalitarian gender-role attitudes were a significant predictor of broad definitions of physical wife abuse, but no significant predictor was found for psychological wife abuse. Among police officers, significant predictors of definitions of physical wife abuse included marital status, educational attainment, and endorsement of wife abuse myths; gender-role attitudes were the only significant predictor of definitions of psychological wife abuse. KEY WORDS: Chinese wife abuse; police officer perceptions; social worker perceptions., Wife abuse has attracted substantial international attention. Abused wives who turn to law enforcement and social services for assistance sometimes experience secondary victimization that may have detrimental effects on their [...]

Objectives: This study aimed to explore factors relating to intention to participate in community child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention programs among Chinese adults in Hong Kong. Method: A total of 1,606 Chinese adults (497 men and 1,109 women) were individually interviewed about their intention to participate in community CSA prevention programs, endorsement of myths about CSA, their acquaintance with CSA victims, worry about CSA. and perceived prevalence of CSA. Results: Among participants, nearly two-thirds believed CSA involved physical injuries of victims, 40% perceived boys as unlikely victims of CSA, and one-third were skeptical about children reports of CSA. About 24% of participants reported that they would definitely take part in CSA prevention programs. Participants who showed definite intention to participate in these programs endorsed fewer myths in relation to CSA, showed more worry about children being at risk of sexual abuse, perceived CSA as more prevalent and involving more physical injuries of victims, and were more likely to be women. Conclusions: Attention should be addressed to predisposing factors of adult participation in CSA prevention programs. Keywords: Sexual abuse prevention: Child sexual abuse; Adult participation

This study aimed to establish preliminary estimates and related risk factors for elder abuse among Hong Kong Chinese families. A total of 276 elder Chinese participated in the study, among which 27.5% reported having experienced at least one abusive behavior committed against them by their caregivers during the surveyed year. The most common form of abuse was verbal abuse (26.8%), whereas physical abuse (2.5%) and violation of personal rights (5.1%) were relatively less common. There was no gender difference in the prevalence of elder abuse. Overall and verbal abuse were best predicted by participants' poor visual and memory abilities, dependence on the caregivers, and caregivers' nondependence on them. Physical abuse was best predicted by caregivers' nondependence on the participants as well as participants' dependence on the caregivers. Participants' age was the only significant predictor for violation of personal rights. Results, limitations, and implications of the study were also discussed. KEY WORDS: chinese elder abuse; risk factors; prevalence., INTRODUCTION Domestic violence has long attracted considerable attention from researchers and remains a topic of international concern. Although early research focused on the abuse of women and children, there is [...]

This study aimed to establish preliminary estimates and related risk factors for elder abuse among Hong Kong Chinese families. A total of 276 eider Chinese participated in the study, among which 27.5% reported having experienced at least one abusive behavior committed against them by their caregivers during the surveyed year. The most common form of abuse was verbal abuse (26.8%), whereas physical abuse (2.5%) and violation of personal rights (5.1%) were relatively less common. There was no gender difference in the prevalence of elder abuse. Overall and verbal abuse were best predicted by participants' poor visual and memory abilities, dependence on the caregivers, and caregivers' nondependence on them. Physical abuse was best predicted by caregivers' nondependence on the participants as well as participants' dependence on the caregivers. Participants' age was the only significant predictor for violation of personal rights. Results, limitations, and implications of the study were also discussed. KEY WORDS: chinese elder abuse; risk factors; prevalence.

This study examined sexual practices, condom use, and psychosocial correlates of condom use in a convenience sample of 187 Chinese gay men in Hong Kong. Among those who were sexually active and answered the item on condom use (n = 164), 22% never used condoms, 39% were inconsistent condom users, and 39% used condoms every time they engaged in sexual activities in the past 6 months. Compared to inconsistent and noncondom users, consistent condom users had more positive feelings toward condom use, perceived greater vulnerability to STD/AIDS infections, showed greater self-acceptance and disclosure of their homosexual sexual orientation, were more involved with local gay communities, endorsed more favorable attitudes toward coming out, and had a lower level of perceived discrimination because of their homosexual sexual orientation. The two groups did not differ significantly on perceived partner reaction to condom use. Results of a logistic regression analysis showed that positive feelings toward condom use were the most salient correlate of consistent condom use. KEY WORDS: coming out; condom use; Chinese; homosexuality.

This study adopted a cognitive--behavioral conceptual framework based on the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) in understanding coming out experiences and psychological distress of 187 Chinese gay men. Results showed that participants' coming out experiences were characterized by same-sex sexual fantasy at teenage years, followed by awareness of homosexual tendency, same-sex sexual contact, and then self-identification and disclosure of homosexual orientation in young adulthood. Regarding targets of disclosure, participants tended to disclose their sexual orientation to their gay friends first, followed by heterosexual friends, siblings, parents, and coworkers. This study also supported the extension of the TRA conceptual framework to Chinese societies. Results showed that a low level of psychological distress in Chinese gay men was linked to their coming out experiences, which were in turn related to TRA components of involvement and identification with gay communities and positive attitudes toward coming out. Limitations and implications were also discussed. KEY WORDS: homosexuality; distress; Chinese; Hong Kong.

Two-hundred-and-twenty-five Chinese human service professional trainees (80 police trainees, 45 medical students, and 100 nursing students) participated in a study on responsibility attribution to violence against women (VAW). Results showed that compared to medical students and police trainees, nursing students had broader definitions of VAW, endorsed more liberal attitudes toward women, and perceived VAW as more prevalent and having more negative effects on the victims and society. Compared to police trainees, medical and nursing students assigned greater responsibility to VAW perpetrators. However, there was no group difference in the attribution of responsibility to VAW victims. Among the predictor variables for a low level of responsibility attribution to the victims, liberal attitude toward women was the only significant predictor. For a low level of responsibility attribution to the perpetrators, the most salient predictors were being police trainees and perceiving VAW as having little negative effects on the victims. Limitations and implications of the study will also be discussed. KEY WORDS: responsibility attribution; Chinese human service professional trainees; violence against women.

This study examined how Chinese public service professionals attributed responsibility to victims and perpetrators of violence against women (VAW). A total of 2,308 Chinese public service professionals in Hong Kong completed questionnaires on attitudes toward women, VAW-related perceptions, and assignment of responsibility to actors in written VAW vignettes. Compared to agency professionals consisting of medical doctors, lawyers, and police officers, communal professionals consisting of psychologists, social workers, and nurses attributed a higher level of responsibility to VAW victims and perpetrators. For both professional groups, attitudes toward women and educational attainment were the most salient predictors of responsibility attribution to VAW victims and perpetrators. Perceived VAW effects on victims were also a robust predictor of responsibility attribution to perpetrators. With regard to group differences, gender was predictive of responsibility attribution for communal but not for agency professionals. Except for perpetrator responsibility attribution for agency professionals, age was also predictive of how professionals assigned responsibility to VAW victims and perpetrators.

This article examines cultural beliefs regarding violence against women in China. The author argues Chinese men often blame their violent actions on the women, stating women's behaviors trigger the violent reaction, therefore excusing themselves of any blame or responsibility.

This study aims to explore various psychosocial correlates associated with how Chinese react to death and dying. A total of 282 Chinese college students participated in this study. They completed the Death Anxiety Scale, the Revised Death Anxiety Scale, and the Multidimensional Fear of Death Scale, as well as measures on self-efficacy and health locus of control. Results showed that younger as compared with older participants and women as compared with men tended to be more death anxious. Those with low levels of self-efficacy and external health control orientations were more like to report a high level of death anxiety. Only a weak association was found between internal health locus of control and fear of conscious death. Limitations of the study were also discussed.

This study aimed to explore how Chinese residing in different Chinese societies defined violence against women (VAW). A total of 3,540 Chinese human service professionals residing in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the People's Republic of China participated in the study. In general, Chinese perception of VAW was best predicted by their gender, educational attainment, attitudes toward women, and the types of criteria that they used to determine VAW. Results also showed that there were regional differences in the perception of whether the depicted behaviors would constitute VAW, criteria in determining behaviors as VAW, and attitudes toward women. Compared to agency professionals, communion professionals had a broader definition of VAW and were more likely to rate the infliction of psychological harm and violation of women's rights as important determining criteria for VAW. Results and limitations of the study were discussed.

This study explored the associations between role occupancy, role quality, and psychological distress in 897 Chinese women in Hong Kong. Results showed that employed as compared to nonemployed women reported a lower level of psychological distress. Never married as compared to married women, and mothers as compared to childless women, did not differ in their levels of psychological symptoms. Correlation results indicated that a net gain of rewards over concerns about social roles was negatively related to psychological distress. The number of social roles was related to the balance between rewards and concerns between social roles, but had no significant association with mental health status of women. Results of the hierarchical regression analyses showed that good mother role quality and the occupancy of the paid worker role were significant predictors of a low level of psychological distress. Findings based on a subsample of employed mothers failed to support the compensatory and spillover hypotheses. Limitations and implications for future studies were discussed. KEYWORDS. Chinese multiple roles and distress, Chinese women's health, Chinese role quality and adjustment

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the prevalence rate and profiles of abusers and victims of child sexual abuse in a Chinese society. Method: A convenience sample of 2147 Hong Kong Chinese college students completed questionnaires which included items on definitions of child sexual abuse, recall of sexual abuse experience before age 17, information about the sexual abuse incidents, and personal demographics. Results: The overall prevalence rate for various forms of child sexual abuse was 6%, with the rates being higher for females than for males. The average age of the victims at the time of the sexual abuse was 11 years old, with a majority of them experiencing sexual abuse during their teenage years. The average age of the abusers as estimated by the victims was 24 years old, and only 28% of the abusers were strangers to the victims. Males were about three times more likely than females to be sexually abused by their friends, whereas females were about twice more likely than males to be sexually abused by strangers. Only 39% of the victims reported their sexual victimization to others, and 56% of the reported incidents were not followed up. Conclusions: As compared to Western studies, the present study showed lower rates for more intimate or severe forms of child sexual abuse. The Chinese victims were more reluctant to disclose their sexual victimization than their Western counterparts. Limitations and practical implications of the study are also discussed. Keywords: Sexual abuse; Chinese sexual abuse

This study examined the prevalence of elder abuse of Chinese in Hong Kong and also assessed its impact on their psychological functioning. A total of 355 (120 males, 235 females) elderly Chinese residing in Hong Kong responded to a questionnaire administered individually. Results indicated prevalence rates of 2% for physical abuse and 20.8% for verbal abuse. These rates were higher than those reported by a telephone survey of similar respondents. Rates did not differ significantly for men and women. Data from the General Health Questionnaire showed that abused elders, as compared with nonabused elders, scored significantly higher on overall psychological distress. Abused participants were also significantly more dependent on their caregivers than nonabused participants. This difference did not, however, predict the level of psychological distress after accounting for physical abuse and verbal abuse.

The present studies aimed to facilitate understanding of psychological wife abuse in Chinese families by extending the generality of the Index of Spouse Abuse (ISA) to Chinese. Study 1 examined the factorial validity of the original ISA using Chinese college students. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis rejected the 2-factor structure of the original ISA. based on results of exploratory factor analysis, an alternative 19-item Chinese ISA was devised, which showed satisfactory internal consistency and correlated with the original ISA and the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS). Study 2 aimed to determine the concurrent and construct validity of the Chinese ISA. Results showed that the scale could adequately differentiate between victims of wife abuse from those women who had no abuse experiences. It also correlated with the CTS, marital dissatisfaction, and negative mental health measures of general psychological symptoms, depression, and anxiety. The clinical cutting scores of the Chinese ISA were also determined to predict psychological and physical wife abuse in Chinese families. KEY WORDS: psychological wife abuse; Chinese families; family violence.

The present study examines the impact of child and parent gender on parental violence across age span of children and their parents in Hong Kong Chinese families. A randomly selected community sample of 1,019 households was surveyed. Results indicate that, in general, boys experience more frequent parental violence than girls and mothers engage in more violent behaviors against their children than fathers. Parental violence shows a curvilinear pattern with age of children, peaking at age 8 for boys and age 3 for girls. There is a pattern of declining frequency of parental violence as parental age increases across child gender. Fathers exhibit an inverted 'U' pattern of violent behavior against their children, with a peak around age 31-40, while mothers have a steadily declining trend until age 46. Separate parental violence indices are constructed for boys and girls. KEY WORDS: parental violence; Chinese families; age; gender.

The present study used both exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic procedures to assess the factorial and construct validity of the MBI in Chinese human services professionals (N = 612). The classic three dimensions of burnout were supported, and the deletion of Items 12, 14, and 22 yielded a better fitting model. This new 19-item MBI for Chinese resembled the original 22-item MBI in the pattern of factor correlations and yielded satisfactory internal consistency estimates. Tests of equivalence of item measurements and theoretical structure of the revised 19-item MBI were also performed across gender. Results supported the invariance of the three-factor structure for men and women. Only items measuring the Depersonalization dimension were equivalent, whereas items of the Emotional Exhaustion and Lack of Personal Accomplishment dimensions were partially invariant across gender.

The present study explored the impact of wife abuse on the general and psychological well-being of Chinese women and their children in Hong Kong. Results indicated that both verbal and [...]

The present study aimed to explore effects of gender and type of profession on the definitions of violence against women (VAW) in Hong Kong. Chinese public services providers (N = 2,589), including clinical psychologists, social workers, police officers, medical doctors, nurses, teachers, and lawyers, were surveyed. Results showed that rape, sexual harassment, and unwanted bodily touch were perceived by over 90% of the public service providers as VAW; and the use of force, the inducement of physical wounds, and the lack of consent were perceived by over 90% of the professionals as important criteria in defining behaviors that constituted VAW. Compared to females, male professionals had a narrower scope of VAW and rated various criteria as less important in defining VAW. Among the respondents, clinical psychologists and social workers had the broadest definition, whereas police officers and lawyers had the narrowest definition of VAW. Lawyers, as compared to other professionals, rated the given criteria as the least important when classifying behaviors as VAW.

Participating in this study were 305 Chinese college students in Hong Kong. Objectives included (i) examination of the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory (DSFI), (ii) exploration of the associations among various domains of sexual functioning, and (iii) description of Chinese students' sexual behavior. The Chinese DSFI shows satisfactory internal consistency, except the Information, Drive, and Satisfaction subscales. In general, sex-related domains such as sexual information, experience, drive, attitudes, fantasy, and satisfaction were related to each other and to body image. Compared to their counterparts in the U.S., Chinese college students were relatively sexually inexperienced and conservative. Mean ages of students having their first sexual intercourse experience were 17.14 for males and 18.13 for females; 11% of the students had premarital sexual intercourse experience, and the mean frequencies were once weekly for males and once or twice per month for females. Compared to female students, twice as many males acknowledged masturbation (21.4 vs. 43.8%), 4.2-8.2% students had experienced oral-genital sexual stimulation and 0-1.2% anal sexual activities. KEY WORDS: Chinese sexuality; sexual behavior; premarital sex.

The purpose of this paper was to examine the characteristics of the victims and abusers of child abuse cases on the Child Protection Registry in Hong Kong as of March 1995 and to compare findings with a similar community report of child abuse in Hong Kong conducted approximately 15 years earlier. As of March 31, 1995, there were 457 active cases of child abuse or suspected child abuse (44% male and 56% female) on the computerized Child Protection Registry. Fifty percent of the victims were grade school age children between 7-12, and 62.4% suffered physical abuse. The abusers or suspected abusers were 52% male and 48% female with nearly half (49%) in their thirties. The majority of abusers were married/cohabiting (75%) with only a grade school education (60%). As compared to 1979, there was an increase of sexual child abuse cases, female victims of child abuse, and an increase in male abusers or suspected abusers. Key Words - Child abuse, Hong Kong, Chinese, Abusers, Victims.

A cross-cultural study on adolescent abuse among Chinese families living in Hong Kong is presented. The study limits itself to physical, psychological and emotional abuses committed by Chinese parents against their adolescent children but excludes sexual abuse. The study revealed that adolescent abuse is closely associated with spousal abuse. A sample of Chinese adolescents studied aged 17 to 18 years old showed that 62.5% were verbally abused, 13.2% suffered minor physical violence and 8.5% suffered severe physical abuse. Male adolescents also experienced more incidents of abuse than female adolescents from their parents.

Studies on the sexual adjustment of Hong Kong Chinese women who have gynecologic cancer are reviewed. The findings suggest that sexual beliefs based on the Confucian and Taoist traditions still prevail in contemporary Chinese societies and influence Chinese sexual attitudes and behavior. Chinese women show decreased sexual activities, interest, drive, and satisfaction after gynecologic cancer and its treatment. The sexual morbidity rates are around 30-50%, but marital relationships are minimally affected. We recommend that researchers examine the impact of cultural factors to clarify how women from different cultures experience gynecologic cancer and its treatment.

The Chinese version of the WAIS-R was factor analyzed for a sample of 130 Chinese adults in Hong Kong who had low intellectual abilities. All subtests except the Vocabulary subtest were included for analyses. Results supported a three-factor solution composed of Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization, and Memory/Freedom from Distractibility Factors, as well as a two-factor solution of classic Verbal-Perceptual dichotomy. Comparison of present two- and three-factor structure with individuals having low or normal IQ in Mainland China and North America revealed satisfactory congruence coefficients. However, our general factor accounted for only a small portion of common and total variance (28.5% and 35.3% respectively). Error variances of our subtests were large when compared to normative samples of Mainland China and US. Results were discussed in terms of clinical interpretation of the WAIS-R subtests, danger of using short-forms to assess IQ and need for normative studies of WAIS-R in Chinese-speaking countries.

Sexual harassment of Chinese college students with a focus on their awareness, experiences, responses, and expectations of institutional intervention to the problem was examined. 358 male and 491 female Chinese college students in Hong Kong participated. There were no gender differences in students' awareness of the phenomenon. Students' own experiences were less frequent than what they had heard about sexual harassment. Peer harassment occurred twice as frequently as faculty harassment. Compared to men, twice as many women said they had been sexually harassed. About one in four women students experienced various forms of sexual harassment and 1% were coerced into sexual activities during their college years by either teachers or peers. Students typically avoided and ignored the harassers and felt that the university should take up active roles in combating the problem. Comparisons with U.S. studies suggested that Chinese college students had a lower awareness and experience level in sexual harassment than U.S. students. KEY WORDS: sexual harassment; Chinese college students; prevalence; awareness.

The present study aimed to extend the generality of the construct of gender role stress (GRS) to Chinese samples. Specific objectives included (1) devising Chinese versions of the Masculine Gender Role Stress Scale (MGRS) and Feminine Gender Role Stress Scale (FGRS) developed by Eisler and his colleagues, (2) examining the relationship between GRS and gender role orientation, and (3) evaluating the concurrent validity of GRS by correlating it with a measure of health adjustment. Fifty-one male and 58 female Chinese college students in Hong Kong participated in Study 1, which aimed to develop Chinese versions of the two GRS scales. Similar to Americans, Chinese male students scored higher on the MGRS scale, but lower on the FGRS scale than Chinese female students. Students' scores on the two GRS scales were independent from their global ratings of stereotypic masculinity and femininity. A second sample, consisting of 46 male and 73 female Chinese nurses, was recruited for Study 2, which evaluated the association between GRS and health adjustment. As hypothesized, a high level of MGRS or FGRS was positively related to a high level of health and mental health disturbances for both male and female nurses.

Sexual victimization in dating relationships among female Chinese college students in Hong Kong was studied. Findings were compared to Chinese males' self-reports of sexual aggression. Nonstranger sexual victimization was common among Chinese female college students, especially for less intimate forms of sexual contact. Prevalence of sexual victimization was similar to that in North America for less intimate forms of contact but less prevalent for more intimate contact, including rape. A greater proportion of women than men reported the experience of several behaviors engaged in against a woman's will. These included kissing and touching a woman's hand, knee, leg, or crotch. KEY WORDS: sexual aggression; sexual victimization; Chinese; dating; college students.

A longitudinal study investigated the prevalence and psychosocial factors of disordered eating among Chinese mothers in Hong Kong. Findings suggest that the transition to motherhood is a period of stress that might either precipitate or exacerbate disordered eating.

This study aims at investigating the impact of individual and contextual job characteristics of control, psychological and physical demand, and security on psychological distress of 193 Chinese single working women in Hong Kong. The mediating role of job satisfaction in the job characteristics-distress relation is also assessed. Multiple regression analysis results show that job satisfaction mediates the effects of job control and security in predicting psychological distress; whereas psychological job demand has an independent effect on mental distress after considering the effect of job satisfaction. This main effect model indicates that psychological distress is best predicted by small company size, high psychological job demand, and low job satisfaction. Results from a separate regression analysis fails to support the overall combined effect of job demand-control on psychological distress. However, a significant physical job demand-control interaction effect on mental distress is noted, which reduces slightly after controlling the effect of job satisfaction. KEYWORDS. Chinese women, health, job demand and satisfaction

This study aimed to examine Chinese college students' safer sex behaviors and to explore whether or not the Theory of Reasoned Action would be useful in understanding AIDS/HIV-prevention behaviors of Chinese students. A total of 455 Chinese college students (161 males and 267 females) in Hong Kong participated in the study. Results revealed that 24% of the students were sexually active during the surveyed year, with only 38.2% of them reporting regular condom use. About one third of the students intended to experiment with casual sex in the future, but only 64% would use condoms regularly if they were to have future casual sexual encounters. Results indicated that the Theory of Reasoned Action was most applicable in understanding Chinese college students' intention to use condoms in future casual sexual encounters, rather than in current and future regular sexual activities. Specifically, students who intended to use condoms in future casual sex encounters tended to have accurate AIDS/HIV information, show little prejudice against people with AIDS/HIV demonstrate greater concern about contracting AIDS/HIV feel confident in condom use, and have positive attitudes toward safer sex behaviors. Gender disparity was also noted in the pattern of associations between safer sex behaviors and various psychological variables. Limitations of the present study and implications for future research were also discussed., Researchers have argued that college students are at a particularly high risk for AIDS/HIV infection. College students are usually between 18 and 25 years old, ages when many people feel [...]

The issue of violence against women is examined in Chinese societies, and perceptions of and ways of describing such abuse are assessed.

This study aimed to explore the pattern of marital power distribution and its association with marital aggression and satisfaction in contemporary Chinese families. A randomized community sample of 1,270 (518 males and 752 females) married Chinese who were 18 years or older and who resided in Hong Kong were telephone interviewed. Approximately half of the respondents reported having egalitarian relationships with their partners regarding decision making. Women's demographic characteristics, but not men's, were related to how decision making was distributed in marital relationships. Egalitarian decision making was directly associated with marital satisfaction but inversely related to marital aggression. In particular, verbal and physical aggression was less prevalent in egalitarian marriages, and there was a trend that severe violence was more prevalent in relationships that were husband-dominant. Men tended to have higher levels of marital satisfaction than did women, and marital satisfaction was higher in egalitarian or divided power relationships.

The present study aimed to explore the extent and pattern of wife abuse in Hong Kong Chinese families. The sample included 1,132 married women aged 18 or older randomly selected from the community. Results showed that 67.2% of the surveyed women reported at least one incident of verbal abuse, and 10% experienced at least one incident of physical abuse by their husbands during the surveyed year. Husband-to-wife minor physical violence was almost seven times more than husband-to-wife severe physical violence (9.8% vs 1.4%). Couples' age and their age differences were related to physical wife abuse but not verbal wife abuse. Specifically, physical wife abuse in the form of minor violence occurred most frequently among married men and women aged 30 or below; and both minor and severe physical violence to wife was found most frequently among couples whose ages were more than 20 years apart. Couples' education level, differences in education, occupation, family income, and number of children were not related to various forms of wife abuse; whereas the length of marriage and marital satisfaction were significant correlates of wife abuse. Results were discussed with regard to relevant local and Western studies. KEY WORDS: Chinese wife abuse; Chinese family violence; Chinese spouse abuse.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the level of sexual abuse knowledge and self-protection skills in a sample of female Chinese adolescents with mild mental retardation. It was hypothesized that the participants would exhibit impoverished knowledge on sexual abuse and related self-protection strategies. Method: A total of 77 female Chinese adolescents aged from 11 to 15 years old who met the inclusion criterion of the study were recruited from four special schools for mental retardation. The Chinese versions of the Personal Safety Questionnaire and the 'What If' Situation Test (Wurtele, 1990) were administered orally to the participants during individual interviews. Results: Participants were more able to accurately recognize inappropriate than appropriate touches and sexual requests, and possessed limited information about sexual abuse. They were also inadequate in protecting themselves against sexual abuse, and had the most difficulty in reporting the sexually abusive incident and characteristics of the offender. Regression analyses also showed that their sexual abuse knowledge was the best predictor for self-protection skills. Conclusion: The present findings provided strong cross-cultural support to previous Western studies that found females with mild mental retardation of high risk to sexual abuse and in need of specially designed prevention program to enhance their competency against sexual victimization and exploitation. With modification and refinement, measurement scales used in the Western general population could be extended to Chinese adolescents with mental retardation. Suggestions on the design of the sexual abuse prevention programs, limitations of the present study, and recommendations for future studies were also discussed. Key Words - Sexual abuse, Chinese sexual abuse.