Search

This 12-month longitudinal study investigated the incidence of probable depression (i.e., changes in Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale [CES-D] scores from < 16 at the baseline to ≥ 16 at the follow-up) and its psychosocial predictors among secondary 1–4 students (N = 9666) in Hong Kong, China. Of the 4100 non-probable depression participants (CES-D < 16) at baseline, data obtained from the baseline and longitudinal surveys of 3584 (87.4%) participants could be matched and were analyzed. The incidence of probable depression was 46.60 per 100 person-years. Adjusted for all background factors, negative life events, loneliness, and social anxiety were significant risk factors, while self-esteem, self-efficacy, positive affect, and family support were protective predictors of incident depression. Female sex was a risk factor but the interactions between sex and the psychosocial factors in determining incident probable depression were statistically non-significant, except for loneliness. The high incidence of probable depression calls for effective interventions on both sexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This cross-sectional study applied self-determination theory to understand the relationship between coaching behaviors, psychological need satisfaction, and intrinsic motivation among young Chinese athletes from 2 universities in Macao, China (N= 208). In the path model with the demographics adjusted, coaching behaviors (training instruction, democratic behaviors, autocratic behaviors, social support, and positive feedback) and need satisfaction (perceived autonomy, competence, and relatedness) explained 44% of the variance in intrinsic motivation. We also found indirect effects of some coaching behaviors on intrinsic motivation through satisfying the psychological needs. Furthermore, independent self-construal significantly moderated the relationship between perceived relatedness and intrinsic motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Although there is a large volume of research on the relationship between social identity and volunteerism, little attention was given to national identity in volunteerism research. This study examined the role of national identity in motivating people to volunteer in the Chinese culture and its role in differentiating those who showed no interest in voluntary work (i.e. non-volunteers) from those who wanted to volunteer but did not (i.e. potential volunteers). Two hundred ninety-nine participants (age, M = 34.14 years) filled out a questionnaire on their demographics, experience of volunteering, intention to volunteer, volunteer motivations, and national identity. Results showed that a stronger national identity was associated with greater volunteer motivations. Mediation analyses further supported the positive indirect effect of national identity on intention to volunteer through strengthening volunteer motivations. Marital status was the only significant factor that differentiated current volunteers from potential volunteers. We concluded that citizens' volunteer motivation increases with national identity, yet concrete measures to bring potential volunteers to actual volunteering need to be further explored. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high prevalence of Internet gaming disorder (IGD) among Asian youth indicates an urgent need to identify protective factors and examine their consistency across Asian cultures in order to facilitate cost-effective interventions. Based on the transactional theory of stress and coping, this study collected data of 1243 online gamers (45% males; 18-25 years) through an anonymous survey from universities in China and Japan and investigated whether three coping resources (i.e., mindfulness, coping flexibility, and social support) serve to protect Chinese and Japanese youth from the impact of psychological distress on IGD tendency. After adjusting for the measurement non-invariance across samples, we found that Japanese students reported higher levels of IGD tendency and psychological distress than Chinese students. The results of multiple-group SEM analyses showed that, after controlling for other predictors, mindfulness served as the strongest protective factor against IGD across samples. Moreover, the buffering effect of mindfulness on the association between psychological distress and IGD tendency of female (but not male) students was observed. Our findings highlighted the cross-cultural invariance of the impact of psychological distress and coping resources on IGD in Chinese and Japanese youth, which can be considered in future IGD prevention programs.

Although research on self-efficacy in the gambling literature took place more than 25 years ago, only in the recent decade did researchers attempt to develop valid and reliable measures of gambling-related self-efficacy. Recently Casey et al. (J Gambl Stud 24:229-246, 2008) developed the Gambling Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (GRSEQ) in an Australian sample, which is a valuable tool for gambling research. The first objective of this study is to validate the measure in a new sample. Given that previous research on Chinese's gamblers' self-efficacy is lacking, and that related research often used ad-hoc measures of the construct, a second objective of this study is to evaluate whether the GRSEQ is suitable for Chinese people. A sample of 427 university students (56.4 % females, 50.7 % gamblers) answered a questionnaire with measures including the GRSEQ, subjective norms, intentions toward gambling, general self-efficacy, impulsiveness, and pathological gambling symptoms. Evidence was found for the four-factor structure, internal consistency, criterion-related validity, and discriminant validity of the Chinese version of the GRSEQ among this young Chinese group.