Kelvin Chi-Kin Cheung

Major depressive disorder in vulnerable groups of older adults, their course and treatment, and psychiatric comorbidity

Although a number of epidemiology studies of major depressive disorder (MDD) in older adults have been reported, most of them suffer four limitations: (1) the sample was not nationally representative; (2) the sample was relatively small or only one or two sociodemographic correlates of MDD were examined; (3) psychiatric comorbidity was not examined; and (4) the clinical characteristics of MDD were not reported. This study (1) examines the prevalence of DSM‐IV MDD across different demographics, especially the vulnerable ones; (2) identifies clinical characteristics of DSM‐IV MDD, such as onset, course, and treatment; and (3) evaluates the comorbidity of DSM‐IV MDD with anxiety disorder, substance‐use disorder, and personality disorder.

Correlates of eating disorder in middle-aged and older adults: evidence from 2007 British National Psychiatric Morbidity Survey.

Objective: This study aims to investigate: (a) the association of eating disorders with childhood sexual abuse and recent stressful life events; (b) the coexistence of eating disorders and other common psychiatric disorders; and (c) the impact of eating disorders on obesity, medical conditions, and health service utilization. Method: We conducted secondary data analyses based on population-based study, which consists of a nationally representative sample of 2,870 community-dwelling adults aged 50 and above, interviewed in 2006 to 2007. Results and conclusion: The 12-month prevalence of eating disorders was 2.61%. Multivariate analyses revealed that eating disorders were more common among younger age groups, women, and those who reported stressful life events. In addition, eating disorders were significantly related to anxiety disorders, agoraphobia, panic disorder, obesity, and cancer. Discussion: This study supports the notion that eating disorders in older adults are associated with a number of psychosocial, psychiatric, and medical conditions.

Family-friendly policies in the workplace and their effect on work–life conflicts in Hong Kong

As in many other big cities, employees in Hong Kong face competing demands from their work and family and are under a tremendous conflict between work and life. Recently, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has put a lot of effort into promoting family-friendly policies, but the availability and effectiveness of these policies are largely unknown. The social distribution of work–life conflicts across social status and the dimensions of stratification in Hong Kong have already been documented. This paper examines these issues by way of a telephone survey of over 1000 employees in Hong Kong. We argue that certain groups of workers are particularly vulnerable to work–life conflicts, and target interventions must be devised to address their needs. Moreover, we also suggest that a regulatory approach to implementing family-friendly policies must be undertaken once implementation on a voluntary basis has failed, owing to the low availability of family-friendly policies in the Hong Kong workplace. Lastly, we show the effectiveness of three measures – namely flexible work time, a five-day work week and career breaks – in reducing both work–life conflicts and their negative consequences. We argue that more rigorous randomized intervention must be undertaken to provide more conclusive evidence so as to convince employers to implement these policies in their enterprises.

Away from socialism, towards Chinese characteristics: Confucianism and the futures of Chinese nationalism

Following the success of China’s economic reform in the past few decades, Chinese nationalism has entered a new stage. The sentiment born of ‘the century of national humiliation’ is insufficient to explain the phenomenon of Chinese new nationalism. In this new era, China no longer regards the West as the benchmark against which it defines its success, but is becoming more assertive about its own values and perspectives. This emphasis on a Chinese perspective is related to the cultural shift in China’s post-socialist transition, where the source of legitimacy in China’s development has moved from an ideological dimension of socialism to a cultural dimension of ‘Chinese characteristics’. Following this transition, growing importance is being placed on an indigenous voice in many aspects of China’s development, including the recent efforts to reinvent traditional Chinese culture as a source of China’s soft power. In particular, with strong state sponsorship, Confucianism is being revived as a new nationalist discourse, which not only provides new discursive resources for continuing authoritarianism in mainland China, but also redefines governance and nation-building with respect to Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Appropriating Confucianism: Soft Power, Primordial Sentiment, and Authoritarianism

The centennial celebrations of the Republican Revolution led by Sun Yat-Sen in October 1911 provided a moment of reflection on modern China (China Information, 2011: 213–282). Over the last century, China transformed itself from a dynastic empire threatened by Western imperialism into a rising power. It recently overtook Japan to become the second largest economy in terms of gross domestic production (GDP) and it is believed that it will surpass the United States in a decade. Not all aspirations envisioned by Sun Yat-Sen, however, have been fulfilled. For instance, Mainland Chinese have yet to gain full citizenship rights under Communist rule. Far more concerned with stability and control, the Communist Party is reluctant to liberalize the political system. In addition, the complicated relationship between tradition and modernity is still an issue of discussion among policymakers and intellectuals. In the late nineteenth century, the ti-yong (essence-utilization) debate prompted government officials to embrace modernization by preserving Chinese learning as the essence (zhongxue weiti) and appropriating Western learning for application (xixue weiyong). This debate resurfaces in a paradigmatic shift from a strong belief in Westernization during the 1980s to the adherence to Confucianism in the early twenty-first century.

Poverty, deprivation and life satisfaction among Hong Kong older persons

ABSTRACT This investigation examines the association of four measures of poverty (income-based, expenditure-based and asset-based poverty, and material deprivation) with life satisfaction. Perceived life satisfaction was measured among 1,410 older Chinese persons aged 65 and over. Besides life satisfaction and measures of poverty, the study assessed socio-demographic variables, financial strain, health indicators, and social and community resources. Those who faced expenditure-based poverty, material deprivation and asset-based poverty reported a significantly lower level of perceived life satisfaction, while the association between expenditure-based poverty and life satisfaction was found to be the strongest. Other factors that had an impact on life satisfaction included gender, education and marital status; financial strain; social support; the number of close family members and friends; self-rated health; functional capacity; perceived memory; pain; sleep quality; neighbourhood collective efficacy; and engagement in cultural and entertainment activities. From the theoretical perspective, the findings have strong implications for the understanding of the factors that shape the perception of quality of life in old age. Our results also have important policy implications for the official measurement of poverty, monitoring of the poverty situation and the development of anti-poverty measures to help older persons living in poverty to improve the quality of their lives.

Bridging the Cultural Gap across the Taiwan Strait — Lung Ying-tai and the Case of the Magazine Freezing Point

The signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) in 2010 between mainland China and Taiwan marks an important step in institutionalizing the economic cooperation across the Taiwan Strait. With deepened economic integration, speculation is now focused on whether economic interdependence will lead to integration in the political realm. While political integration involves negotiating the political recognition of the governments on both sides of the Strait, equally important in the process is the bridging of the cultural and identity gap between mainland China and Taiwan. As recent conflicts between mainland Chinese and citizens of Hong Kong- suggest, bridging this gap is vital for the stability and sustainability of any future political union in the Greater China region.1