Kee-Lee Chou

Assessing Chinese adolescents’ social support: the multidimensional scale of perceived social support

Abstract The psychometric and factor-analytic properties of the Chinese version of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS-C) were investigated in a Hong Kong Chinese adolescent sample. Two factors were extracted from this sample and they are Friend and Family subscales. The reliability, concurrent validity, and construct validity of the MSPSS-C were also established. The MSPSS-C demonstrated excellent internal consistency including the two subscales. In terms of construct validity, the MSPSS-C correlated negatively with depression and anxiety assessed by the General Health Questionnaire. The concurrent validity of the MSPSS-C was demonstrated by the positive association between the MSPSS-C and the Lubben Social Network Scale.

Social support and depression among elderly Chinese people in Hong Kong.

This study examines the association between social support and depressive symptomatology in a representative community sample of 1106 Chinese people in Hong Kong aged sixty years or older. Significant bivariate relationships were found between depression and all dimensions of social support including social network size, network composition, social contact frequency, satisfaction of social support, instrumental/emotional support, and helping others. Using multiple regression models, the authors found that at least one measure of these six dimensions of social support was associated with depressive symptomatology, even after controlling for socio-demographic, and functional disability. We found that social support from family is important for elderly Chinese people in Hong Kong, and satisfaction with support is a more important predictor of depression levels than other objective measures of network relationships. Lastly, it was found that material aid and instrumental support is more important in preventing depression for elderly individuals in Hong Kong than emotional support.

Separation of low-level and high-level factors in complex tasks: Visual search

A method for assessing the role of low-level factors in complex tasks is described. The method, which involves comparing simple-discrimination performance and complex-task performance for the same stimuli, was used to assess the role of low-level factors in multiple-fixation visual search. In one experiment, the target and background were composed of line segments that differed in color, orientation, or both; in another, target and background were composed of filtered-noise textures that differed in spatial frequency, orientation, or both. Most of the variance in search time was found to be predictable from the discrimination data, suggesting that low-level factors often play a dominant role in limiting search performance. A signal-detection model is presented that demonstrates how current psychophysical models of visual discrimination might be generalized to obtain a theory that can predict search performance for a wide range of stimulus conditions.

Prevalence of Depression and Its Correlates in Hong Kong's Chinese Older Adults

OBJECTIVE Because of the rapid aging of the population and inconsistent findings of previous epidemiological studies in Hong Kong, a prevalence study of depression among older adults was timely. The authors assessed the prevalence of depression among older adults and identified factors associated with it. METHODS The authors interviewed a random representative sample of 917 community-dwelling Chinese adults age 60 and over. The 15-item Chinese Geriatric Depression Scale with a cutoff of > or = 8 was used to identify clinically significant depression in the older adults. RESULTS The authors found that 11.0% and 14.5% of older Chinese men and women, respectively, scored above the cutoff, a prevalence rate similar to those found in other countries, including the United States, England, and Finland. Factors that were associated with an increased likelihood of depression among older adults included poor self-rated health, long-term pain, vision problems, higher level of impairment in activities of daily living, residing in Hong Kong less than 20 years, financial strain, and having less social support. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence rate of depression among older Chinese adults in Hong Kong is more or less similar to rates found in Western countries. The data suggest that older adults who receive less social support are more likely to be depressed.

Successful Aging among the Young-Old, Old-Old, and Oldest-Old Chinese

In this study, successful aging was defined by four dimensions including functional status, affective status, cognitive status, and productive involvement status. This study examined successful aging among Hong Kong Chinese old people in three different age cohorts: young-old, old-old, and oldest-old. The respondents were 1106 people aged 60 years or older from a cross-sectional study of a representative community sample of the elderly population in Hong Kong. We found modest associations between four dimensions of successful aging, indicating the relative independence of these four criteria for successful aging. Using multiple regression models, we found that age, gender, years of education, number of close relatives, frequency of contact with friends, financial strain, number of chronic illnesses, self-rated health, hearing impairment, and life satisfaction were associated with the successful aging indicator.

Self-rated economic condition and the health of elderly persons in Hong Kong

Studies have documented that health and income are important variables affecting the quality of life in old age. However, there is little knowledge about whether perceived financial sufficiency affects the health of elderly persons. Recent research has documented that in addition to material and behavioural determinants, psychosocial pathways also have an influence on health inequalities. This is the first paper to examine the relation between self-rated economic condition (measured with a single item question) and reported health conditions (i.e., somatic complaints, diagnosed physical diseases, functional health (Activities of Daily Living), self-rated health, and mental health status (General Health Questionnaire-30 [GHQ-30]) among elderly persons in Hong Kong. The respondents of the study were persons aged 65 and over residing in public housing estates in the Southern District of Hong Kong Island. Four hundred and fifty respondents were interviewed in 1995 by means of a structured questionnaire. The study found that although it did not record the actual income levels of the respondents, the subjective measure vividly demonstrated the health differentials among the elderly respondents. Multiple regression analyses suggested that self-rated economic condition was a significant predictor of the number of somatic complaints and physical illnesses reported, as well as of functional health, self-rated health, and mental health status (controlling for socio-demographic variables). However, the measure explained a higher proportion of variance in models related to psychological health than those related to physical health. The findings substantiated the role of psychosocial processes in understanding perceived health and illness and health inequalities in particular.

Stressful Life Events and Depressive Symptoms: Social Support and Sense of Control as Mediators or Moderators?.

Depression is quite common among the elderly members of the Hong Kong Chinese society. This study examined the impact of a series of common stressful life events (SLEs) on change in depressive symptoms among the older people. The respondents were 411 people aged sixty years or older from a survey of a representative community sample of the elderly population in Hong Kong. Using multiple regression models, the authors found that sense of control acted as a mediator in the linkage between the number of SLEs and depressive symptoms, even after controlling sociodemographic, and physical health status were applied. In addition, the social support measured by Lubben Social Network Scale moderated the influence of the exposure to SLEs on depression. Findings suggest that sense of control and social support play distinguished and important roles in the stress-outcome relationship. Service implications were discussed based on these findings.

Does mood state change risk taking tendency in older adults

No study has been conducted to evaluate the influences of age differences on specific moods for risk taking tendencies. This study examined the patterns of risk taking tendencies among younger and older persons in 3 transient affective states: positive, neutral, and negative moods. By means of viewing happy, neutral, or sad movie clips, participants were induced to the respective mood. Risk taking tendencies were measured with decision tasks modified from the Choice Dilemmas Questionnaire (N. Kogan & M. A. Wallach, 1964). Consistent with the affect infusion model (J. P. Forgas, 1995), risk taking tendency was greater for those individuals who were in a happy mood than for those who were in a sad mood, for both young and older participants. However, an asymmetrical effect of positive and negative mood on risk taking tendency was identified among both the young and older participants, but in opposite directions. These results are consistent with the predictions of the negativity bias and the positivity effect found in young and older adults, respectively, and are interpreted via information processing and motivation effects of mood on the decision maker.

Living alone and depression in Chinese older adults

Western literature has repeatedly indicated a strong relationship between living alone and depression among the aged population, however, studies among the Chinese population are scarce. In this paper, we examine whether the association between living alone and depression is independent of health status, social support and financial strain among Chinese older adults, and subsequently assess whether such association persists after adjusting these variables. Cross-sectional data drawn from the Hong Kong Population Census consisting of 2,003 Chinese elderly people aged 60 or over were analyzed. Chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses revealed that living alone results in higher levels of depressive symptoms for older women but not for older men. This relationship remained significant even when socio-demographic variables, health indicators, social support, and financial strains were adjusted; yet, the impact of living alone with depression disappeared when all variables were controlled. In summary, this paper is the first to report that living alone is an independent risk factor contributing to depression among Chinese older women, as well as identifying certain significant factors including social support and health indicators that can affect and explain the link between living alone and depression. Preventive measures and related issues were discussed.

The association between social isolation and DSM-IV mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders: Wave 2 of the national epidemiologic survey on alcohol and related conditions

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to document the prevalence of social isolation from close friends and religious group members and to test the association of having infrequently contacted close friends and members of religious groups with the current DSM-IV mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders. METHOD We conducted a secondary data analysis based on a cross-sectional, population-based study conducted in 2004-2005 that consists of a nationally representative sample of 34,653 American community-dwelling adults aged 18 years and older. Mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders were assessed using the Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule-DSM-IV version. Due to missing values for social network characteristics, we focused on 33,368 subjects in this study. RESULTS We found that many Americans lacked frequently contacted close friends (10.1%; 95% CI, 9.6%-10.6%) or religious group members (58.7%; 95% CI, 57.5%-59.9%) in their social network. After adjusting for sociodemographic variables, lifetime diagnosis of the disorder in question, and social isolation in terms of 10 other social ties, we found that the absence of close friends was associated (P < .01) with an increased risk of major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, social phobia, and generalized anxiety disorder; the absence of frequently contacted religious group members in a network was positively related (P < .01) to alcohol abuse and dependence, drug abuse, and nicotine dependence. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that social isolation is common in the United States and is associated with a higher risk of mental health problems. Results provide valuable information for prevention and treatment.