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This article reports the validation of the Chinese version of an expanded 31-item Euthanasia Attitude Scale. A 4-stage validation process included a pilot survey of 119 college students and a randomized household survey with 618 adults in Hong Kong. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed a 4-factor structure of the scale, which can therefore be used to examine attitudes toward general, active, passive, and non-voluntary euthanasia. The scale considers the role effect in decision-making about euthanasia requests and facilitates cross-cultural comparison of attitudes toward euthanasia. The new Chinese scale is more robust than its Western predecessors conceptually and measurement-wise. (Contains 1 figure.)

This article reports the findings of a cross-sectional study that compared the attitudes of 618 respondents of a general household survey and a random sample of 1,197 physicians toward different types of euthanasia in Hong Kong. The general public was found to agree with active euthanasia and non-voluntary euthanasia and was neutral about passive euthanasia. On the other hand, physicians agreed with passive euthanasia, were neutral about non-voluntary euthanasia, and disagreed with active euthanasia. Factors affecting the respondents' attitudes were also explored. The article ends with policy and research implications of the findings.

The construction industry has been recognized as a stressful industry, and a great deal of stress is placed on various construction professionals (CPs). However, due to the different 'values' among CPs in Hong Kong, susceptibility to stressors varies from individual to individual. People who grow up and live in different cultural environments have different values and this leads to different perceptions of stressors. This study aims to investigate the impact of Chinese values on the stressors of CPs in Hong Kong, one of the main cities in China. To achieve this aim, factor analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, and structural equation modeling were applied based on the survey data collected from CPs in Hong Kong. Four types of Chinese values and eight stressors are identified. The results reveal that: (1) social conventions value alleviate role ambiguity and poor workgroup relationship; (2) value of disciplined work ethos triggers work overload, although it alleviate poor workgroup relationship and work underload; (3) value of conservative personality alleviates work overload; (4) interpersonal integration value has indirect impacts on the various stressors; and (5) the objective poor working environment stressor has significant impact on the poor workgroup relationships and role ambiguity of individual CPs. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000234 CE Database subject headings: China; Hong Kong; Construction industry; Engineering profession; Organizations; Personnel management. Author keywords: Chinese values; Construction professionals; Interpersonal: Organization; Stressors; Task.

Life expectancy has been increasing rapidly in many parts of the world, including Hong Kong. A longer life can be welcome as an opportunity to fulfil as yet unmet aspirations, or to take up new challenges and projects, but it may also be a burden, especially for individuals who are unprepared. A pressing question for longer-life societies is: how may older people live their longer lives to the full positively? This article reports a qualitative study of Hong Kong Chinese people's views about 'positive ageing', as expressed and discussed in 15 focus groups of middle-aged and older people. Two themes emerged: first, the participants considered that positive ageing should comprise good health, having a positive life attitude, active engagement with an activity or with society, feeling supported by their families and friends, being financially secure, and living in a place with emotional ties; and secondly, several key factors that enable positive ageing were identified, namely, adopting a healthy lifestyle, thinking positively, promoting family and inter-personal relationships, and building up financial resources. The views of the participants about 'positive ageing' are compared with those reported from western studies, and the policy implications are considered. KEY WORDS--ageing well, positive ageing, Chinese, family relationships, healthy lifestyle, financial security, filial piety.

Objectives: Long-term volunteering has been associated with better physical, mental, and cognitive health in correlational studies. Few studies, however, have examined the longitudinal benefits of volunteering with randomized experimental designs (e.g., intervention studies). Even fewer studies have examined whether such benefits can be shown after short-term volunteering. To fill this gap, we conducted four 1-hour volunteering intervention sessions to promote volunteering among a group of older adults with limited volunteering experience and examined the impact of volunteering on depressive symptoms, meaning in life, general self-efficacy, and perceived autonomy. Methods: A total of 384 participants aged 50–96 years were assigned at random to either an intervention group to promote volunteering behaviors or an active control group to promote physical activity. The participants' monthly volunteering minutes, depressive symptoms, meaning in life, general self-efficacy and perceived autonomy were measured at baseline and six weeks, three months, and six months after the intervention. Results: Being in the volunteering intervention condition was not directly associated with depressive symptoms, meaning in life, general self-efficacy, or perceived autonomy at the 6-week, 3-month, or 6-month follow-ups after the intervention. However, there was an indirect effect of the intervention on depressive symptoms: participants in the intervention group, who had increased their volunteering at the 3-month follow-up, reported fewer depressive symptoms at the 6-month follow-up. Discussion: Our randomized controlled trial suggests that short-term volunteering does not reliably lead to short-term changes in psychosocial health measures as correlational studies would suggest. Efforts need to be made to encourage older adults to maintain long-term volunteering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives Volunteering has consistently been associated with better mental, physical, and cognitive health in older adulthood. However, the volunteering rate of older adults in Hong Kong is much lower than in Western countries. Few studies have examined whether interventions can be effective in motivating older adults to volunteer in Hong Kong. To fill this gap, we conducted a randomized controlled trial to examine the impact of a theory-based social-cognitive intervention on volunteering. Research Design and Methods A total of 264 community-dwelling older adults in Hong Kong (M age = 69.95 years, SD age = 6.90 years, 81.06% female) were randomly assigned to either an experimental group or an active control group. Participants in the experimental group received 4 weekly 1-hr face-to-face volunteering intervention sessions. Those in the active control group received parallel sessions targeting physical activity instead of volunteering. The time spent on volunteering per month was self-reported and measured at baseline, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months after the intervention. Self-efficacy, intention, action planning, and self-monitoring of volunteering were measured as mediators. Results Monthly volunteering minutes increased among participants in the experimental group when compared with the active control group at 6-week, 3-month, and 6-month follow-ups. Self-efficacy, intention, and action planning consistently mediated the effect of the intervention on volunteering minutes. Discussion and Implications The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the intervention on volunteering behavior in older adults in Hong Kong through well-established behavior change techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports one of the first known studies which examine the association between cognitive factors and older people’s satisfaction with residential care. These factors are conceptually related to but have seldom been examined in institutional care. They include perceived service performance, service expectation, expectancy disconfirmation (operationalized as the difference between service expectation and perceived performance), perceived care need, and care need fulfillment. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with Chinese Hong Kong residents from 11 government-funded long-term care homes randomly and proportionately selected from two strata based on facility size. Finally, 405 residents were successfully interviewed. Path analysis revealed that perceived performance, expectancy disconfirmation, and being female predicted residents’ satisfaction with care. Perceived care need and care need fulfillment exerted an indirect effect on residents’ satisfaction through perceived performance. It is suggested that cognitive factors as perceived by the residents be included as predictors of resident satisfaction in long-term care. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objectives: To examine the impact of the availability, use, and cultivation of a support network on the well-being of community-dwelling, middle-aged, and older Chinese., Methods: A total of 2,970 Hong Kong Chinese aged 40-74 years were interviewed using a structured questionnaire in 2004. Out of the original group of interviewees, 2,120 (71.4%) were interviewed again in 2005., Results: Structural equation modeling revealed a good fit of the model employing Wave 1 support network data and demographic characteristics to predict Wave 2 well-being. As hypothesized, the availability of important social ties and the cultivation of one's support networks were found to predict well-being one year later, but not the use of support networks to meet emotional, financial, or companion needs after controlling for demographic variables and baseline well-being., Discussion: Cultivating support networks can be interpreted as positive and active coping. Such cultivation is in line with what socioemotional selectivity theory predicts; specifically, when people age, they become more selective and concentrate on strengthening their relationship with those they are emotionally close to. We argue that network cultivation deserves more attention in theory, practice, and research to strengthen the resilience and adaptability of individuals approaching and experiencing old age.