Catherine So-kum Tang

Childhood experience of sexual abuse among Hong Kong Chinese college students

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 2,147 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.

Prevalence and Psychological Impact of Chinese Elder 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.

Cross-cultural assessment of psychological trauma and PTSD /

PART I: THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL CONSIDERATIONS IN THE CROSS-CULTURAL ASSESSMENT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA Chapter 1: The Lens of Culture: Theoretical and Conceptual Perspectives in the Assessment of Psychological Trauma and PTSD John P. Wilson Chapter 2: Cultural-Ecological Perspectives on the Understanding and Assessment of Trauma Lisa Tsoi Hoshmand Chapter 3: Ethnomedical Best Practices for International Psychosocial Efforts in Disaster and Trauma |Siddharth Ashvin Shah Chapter 4: Assessing Trauma Across Cultures from a Multigenerational Perspective Yael Danieli Chapter 5: Refugee Assessment Practices and Cultural Competency Training Richard Dana Chapter 6: Wrestling with Ghosts from the Past in Exile: Assessing Trauma in Asylum Seekers Boris Drozdek & John P. Wilson PART II: ASSESSMENT METHODS Chapter 7: Assessment of PTSD and Psychiatric Morbidity in Contemporary Chinese Societies Catherine So-kum Tang Chapter 8: Culture and the Assessment of Trauma in Youth Kathleen Nader Chapter 9: The Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire : An International Perspective Charles R. Marmar, Thomas J. Metzler, Christian Otte, Shannon McCaslin, Sabra Inslicht, Clare Henn Haase Chapter 10: Cross Cultural Use of the Impact of Events Scale - Revised (IES-R) Daniel Weiss Chapter 11: Posttraumatic Stress in Asylum Seekers from Chechnya, Afghanistan and West Africa - Differential Findings Obtained by Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Three Austrian Samples Walter Renner, Ingrid Salem & Klaus Ottomeyer PART III: TRAUMA AND CULTURAL ADAPTATION Chapter 12: The Cross-Cultural Assessment ofDissociation Robert Lewis-Fernandez, Alfonso Martinez-Taboas, Vedat Sar, Sapana Patel, & Adeline Boatin Chapter 13: Mass Psychological Trauma and PTSD: Epidemic or Cultural Illusion? Derrick Silove, Zachary Steele, & Adrian Bauman Chapter 14: Assessment of Trauma for Aboriginal People Beverly Raphael, Pat Delaney, & Daniel Bonner Chapter 15: Combined Psychosocial & Pharmacological Treatment of Traumatized Refugees J. David Kinzie Chapter 16: Western Psychiatry and Difficulty Understanding and Treating Hmong Refugees Joe Westermeyer and S. Cheng Her

The Rate of Physical Child Abuse in Chinese Families: A Community Survey in Hong Kong

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to describe the extent and pattern of parental child battering in Chinese families in Hong Kong. It was hypothesized that the unique feature of filial piety in Chinese culture will create a different pattern of child abuse in Hong Kong when compared to Western societies. METHOD A telephone survey of 1,019 households randomly selected from the local residential telephone directory was completed. Three hundred and fifty-nine fathers and 660 mothers of a child at or under the age of 16 participated in the study. The occurrence of child abuse was assessed by the Chinese version of the Conflict Tactics Scale (Straus, 1979). RESULTS The base rate of physical child abuse was 526 per 1,000 children for minor violence and 461 per 1,000 children for severe violence. Minor violence was most likely directed at children aged 3-6 years or children without siblings in the family; and committed by mothers, parents aged 19-37 years, or housewives/unemployed fathers. The highest rate of severe violence occurred among boys or children aged 3-6 years; and was committed by mothers, parents aged 19-37 years, or housewives/unemployed fathers. Common risk factors of child abuse were identified for Chinese and US families. CONCLUSIONS When compared to US families, Chinese families showed slightly lower rates of minor violence but higher rates of severe violence toward children. Children aged 3-6 years were the most vulnerable victims and female caregivers the most likely abusers in both US and Chinese families. Our findings also suggested that it cannot be assumed that results based on local official statistics and clinical samples regarding the extent of child abuse and characteristics of the victims and abusers can be accurately extended to community samples.

Teacher Burnout in Hong Kong and Germany: A Cross-Cultural Validation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory

Teacher burnout is a world-wide phenomenon that draws the attention of educational psychologists and stimulates efforts in construct elaboration and measurement. Emotional exhaustion, depersonalization (cynicism), and lack of personal accomplishments are three dimensions that constitute the burnout syndrome. Levels of this burnout syndrome were compared among 542 German and Chinese teachers. It turned out that there were only minor differences between the Germans and the Chinese, but major differences between those two groups and the U.S. American normative data. Moreover, stress resource factors were measured, namely perceived self-efficacy and proactive attitude. Their negative intercorrelations with burnout supported the validity of the burnout measure, although the associations were much closer in the German subsample. An attempt to replicate the American three-factorial structure of the burnout construct failed in both subsamples, which is in line with previous evidence and calls for a revision of the original measure.

Continued work employment and volunteerism and mental well-being of older adults: Singapore longitudinal ageing studies

OBJECTIVE to examine the effect of late life engagement in continued work involvement or volunteer activities during retirement on mental well-being. METHODS two waves of data from the Singapore Longitudinal Ageing Studies were analyzed for 2,716 Singaporeans aged 55 or above at baseline and 1,754 at 2-year follow-up. Trained research nurses interviewed participants (non-volunteering retiree, volunteering retiree, and working seniors) on mental health status (geriatric depression scale, Mini Mental State Examination, positive mental wellbeing and life satisfaction). RESULTS about 88% of seniors were retired (78% non-volunteering, 10% volunteering) and 12% were still working in paid employment or business. At baseline and 2 year follow up, and regardless of physical health status, volunteering retirees and working seniors gave significantly better MMSE cognitive performance scores, fewer depressive symptoms, and better mental well-being and life satisfaction than non-volunteering retirees. CONCLUSION the results of this study suggest that continued work involvement or volunteerism provides opportunities for social interaction and engagement and may be associated with enhanced mental well-being. Future research should clarify which specific aspects of volunteerism are related to long-term mental well-being.

Marital Power and Aggression in a Community Sample of Hong Kong Chinese Families

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. Womens demographic characteristics, but not mens, 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.

Self-efficacy, health locus of control, and psychological distress in elderly Chinese women with chronic illnesses

This study examined the associations among self-efficacy, health locus of control, and psychological distress in 159 elderly Chinese women who had chronic physical illnesses. The present findings did not support the dual health control hypothesis that specifies the balance between internal and external health control beliefs is related to a low level of psychological distress. Correlation results showed that internal health locus of control was linked to general self-efficacy. Results from hierarchical regression analysis indicated that health control beliefs did not interact with general self-efficacy; instead, these two variables each exerted their main effects on participants’ negative mental health status. It was found that psychological distress was best predicted by a low level of general self-efficacy as well as a high level of external health locus of control. Internal health control beliefs did not contribute to the prediction of distress. Implications and limitations of this study were also discussed.

An Outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome: Predictors of Health Behaviors and Effect of Community Prevention Measures in Hong Kong, China

The current global outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) poses an international public health threat.1 Hong Kong, China, remains one of the most severely affected areas. We aimed to identify psychosocial factors associated with SARS preventive health behaviors and to assess whether preventive health behaviors increased after launching SARS community prevention activities.

Prevalence of spouse aggression in Hong Kong

The present study explored the extent of spouse aggression in Chinese families in Hong Kong. Subjects were 246 female and 136 male undergraduate students who reported on the various forms of interparental aggression and violence. About 75% of the subjects reported interparental verbal or symbolic aggression and 14% indicated the use of physical violence between parents. In general, compared to mothers, fathers engaged in more verbal aggression against their spouses. Mothers were as likely as fathers to use actual physical force toward their spouses. Interparental responses to family conflicts did not vary with childrens gender except that female subjects observed that fathers reasoned less but engaged in more insulting, throwing, smashing, hitting, or kicking things than mothers.