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Grounded in the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this research investigates the role of cultural intelligence (CQ) on the level of burnout experienced by Chinese expatriates working in Thailand. In particular, in light of the collectivist characteristics of Thai culture, the study proposes that coworker support of host country nationals (HCN) is the mediator that explains the association between CQ and burnout. Moreover, given the feminine and power distance characteristics of Thai culture, this research explores whether the effect of CQ on HCN coworker support is moderated by gender and job position of Chinese expatriates. Survey data was gathered from 413 Chinese expatriates working for 15 Chinese subsidiaries in Thailand. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used for data analysis. The analysis supports the mediating effect of HCN coworker support on the link between CQ and burnout. Moreover, moderating effect analysis indicates that the positive association between CQ and HCN coworker support is stronger for male Chinese expatriates and those in lower job positions., Author(s): Liping Fu [sup.1] , Peerayuth Charoensukmongkol [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.443735.2, 0000 0004 0622 7150, International College, National Institute of Development Administration, , 118 Moo3, Serithai Road, Klong-Chan, Bangkapi, [...]

This study examined the relationships between hope and the emotional reactions of bereaved Chinese people in Hong Kong. Three groups--a clinical bereaved sample (n = 740), a general bereaved sample (n = 752), and a non-bereaved comparison sample (n = 144)--were included. Significant differences in 3 hope measures, hope (pathway), hope (agency) and hope (total), were found between the 3 groups. Moderately strong correlations were found between hope measures and emotional reactions. A mediating effect for hope (agency), but not for hope (pathway) and hope (total), was found in the relationship between bereavement. Possibilities for working with Chinese bereaved people and implications for research and training were discussed. DOI: 10.1080/07481181003613891

Abstract This introduction to the special issue of Bilingual and Multilingual First Language Acquisition (BAMFLA) of Chinese children outlines theoretical concerns and methodological issues, as well as future directions of [...]

The primary objective of this research was to validate the short version of the Perinatal Grief Scale (SVPGS) in the Chinese population. The Chinese SVPGS was administered to a sample of Chinese women who had experienced recent reproductive loss (N=3t4). The results of the confirmatory factor analysis rejected the original 3-factor model delineated by Potvin (1989). A follow-up exploratory factor analysis suggested an alternative 3-factor model, consisting of a 12-item Sense of Worthlessness subscale, a 7-item Social Detachment subscale, and a 7-item Painful Recollection subscale. Further analysis showed that both the original and Chinese SVPGS demonstrated good internal consistency. Cronbach's alpha equaled .86, .83, .90, and .95, respectively, for the three subscales of Active Grief Difficulty Coping, and Despair, and the total original SVPGS, and .85, .93, .91, and .95, respectively, for the new subscales of Sense of Worthlessness, Social Detachment, and Painful Recollection, and the total Chinese SVPGS. Both versions demonstrated satisfactory correlations with the participants' psychological distress and spousal emotional support. The authors suggest that both versions are useful in measuring the responses of Chinese women to reproductive loss; the original SVPGS should be used for cross-cultural studies, whereas the Chinese SVPGS should be used for local studies. DOI: 10.1080/07481180903492539

Rapid Westernization and modernization in most Chinese societies has triggered a process of acculturation to Western value orientations, which induced conflicts between Confucian-based collectivism and Western individualism at both the societal and individual levels. A review of research instruments indicated that a cultural conflict approach is often used when assessing the personality and psychological functioning of Chinese people within and outside the United States. In spite of the receptiveness toward Western influences, family and collectivistic orientation are Confucian virtues and remain dominant values that govern the interpersonal and normative relationships in Chinese societies. Within this cultural conflict context, the concept of collectivistic conflict is proposed to conceptualize the psychological adaptation and counseling concerns of the Chinese. The development of a compromising self and the reintegration of the indigenous coping mechanism of self-cultivation (i.e., striving to be a cultivated, cultured person) are postulated as therapeutic tasks when helping Chinese clients resolve collectivistic conflict. Keywords: collectivism, acculturation, filial piety, self-cultivation, compromising self

The boundary paradigm (K. Rayner, 1975) was used to determine the extent to which Chinese readers obtain information from the right of fixation during reading. As characters are the basic visual unit in written Chinese, they were used as targets in Experiment 1 to examine whether readers obtain preview information from character n + 1 and character n + 2. The results from Experiment 1 suggest they do. In Experiment 2, 2-character target words were used to determine whether readers obtain preview information from word n + 2 as well as word n + 1. Robust preview effects were obtained for word n + 1. There was also evidence from gaze duration (but not first fixation duration), suggesting preview effects for word n + 2. Moreover, there was evidence for parafoveal-on-foveal effects in Chinese reading in both experiments. Implications of these results for models of eye movement control are discussed. Keywords: parafoveal preview benefit, Chinese reading, eye movements

Background: Bipolar disorder is a widespread and severe brain disorder that is strongly affected by genetic factors. The PDZ and LIM domain 5 (PDLIM5) gene encodes a protein as an Enigma homologue LIM domain protein, which has been widely reported as being expressed in various brain regions. The analysis of DNA microarrays in the frontal lobes of patients with bipolar disorder has indicated changes in the expression level of PDLIM5, and subsequent studies have suggested that PDLIM5 might play a role in susceptibility to bipolar disorder. We sought to examine the association between PDLIM5and bipolar disorder. Methods: We recruited 502 patients with bipolar disorder and 507 controls from Anhui Province, China. We conducted a case-control study of 4 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of PDLIM5that have been reported to be significantly associated with bipolar disorder in the Japanese and Chinese population: rs10008257, rs2433320, rs2433322 and rs2438146. Results: We found that rs2433322 showed significantly different frequencies between patients and controls (p = 0.002). Three of the SNPs, rs10008257, rs2433320 and rs2438146, showed no statistical association with bipolar disorder; however, haplotypes constructed from 3 SNPs, rs2433320, rs2433322 and rs2438146, were significantly associated with bipolar disorder (global p = 0.004 after Bonferroni correction). Limitations: Our genetic association study only offered evidence for susceptibility of PDLIM5 to bipolar disorder, but the positive SNP rs2433322 could not indicate a direct cause of this complicated brain disorder. In addition, the 4 tagged SNPs that we selected could not cover the whole region of PDLIM5, thus additional reproducible studies of more SNPS in large non-Asian populations are needed. Conclusion: Our results suggest that PDLIM5 might play a role in susceptibility to bipolar disorder among the Chinese Han population. Contexte: Le trouble bipolaire est un trouble mental repandu et grave dont la composante genetique est importante. Le gene 5 des domaines PDZet LIM5 (PDLIM5) encode une proteine sous forme de proteine homologue enigmatique du domaine LIM qui, selon de nombreux rapports, est exprimee dans diverses regions du cerveau. L'analyse de microreseaux d'ADN provenant du lobe frontal de patients atteints de trouble bipolaire a revele la presence de variations du taux d'expression du PDLIM5et selon des analyses subsequentes, ce dernier pourrait jouer un role dans la predisposition au trouble bipolaire. Nous avons voulu etudier le lien entre le PDLIM5et le trouble bipolaire. Methodes: Nous avons recrute 502 patients atteints de trouble bipolaire et 507 participants temoins dans la province d'Anhui en Chine. Nous avons procede a une etude cas-temoins sur 4 polymorphismes de nucleotides simples (PNS) du PDLIM5qui seraient significativement associes au trouble bipolaire dans les populations japonaises et chinoises, soit les PNS rs10008257, rs2433320, rs2433322 et rs2438146. Resultats : Nous avons decouvert que le rs2433322 se manifestait a des frequences significativement differentes entre les patients et les temoins (p = 0,002). Trois des PNS, le rs10008257, le rs2433320 et le rs2438146, n'ont presente aucun lien statistique avec le trouble bipolaire. Toutefois, les haplotypes elabores a partir de 3 PNS, soit le rs2433320, le rs2433322 et le rs2438146, ont ete significativement associes au trouble bipolaire (p global = 0,004 apres correction de Bonferroni). Limites : Notre etude sur ce lien genetique n'a fourni des preuves qu'en regard de la predisposition des participants porteurs du PDLIM5 au trouble bipolaire, mais un PNS rs2433322 positif n'a pas pu etre considere comme une cause directe de ce trouble mental complexe. De plus, les 4 PNS marques qui ont ete selectionnes ne couvrant pas toute la region du PDLIM5, il faudra proceder a d'autres etudes de reproductibilite avec un plus grand nombre de PNS aupres d'importantes cohortes non asiatiques. Conclusion : Selon nos resultats, le PDLIM5pourrait jouer un role dans la predisposition au trouble bipolaire dans la population chinoise d'ascendance Han., Introduction Bipolar disorder, or manic-depressive illness, is a frequent, severe brain disorder characterized by dramatic recurrent episodes of mania and depression that affect mood, energy and ability to function. The [...]

A comparison of the trusting relationships of Chinese and American managers finds that the effect of economic exchange on affect-based trust is more positive for Chinese versus Americans while the effect of friendship is more positive for Americans than Chinese. These are consistent with Chinese familial collectivism.

This article introduces the primary beliefs about ancestor worship, Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism and traditional Chinese medicine that have influenced Chinese people for thousands of years, particularly in relation to death and dying. These cultures and traditions remain important for Chinese people wherever they live. Over a long period, Chinese people have integrated these philosophies and religions to form the basis of their culture and traditions. Although they agree that death is a natural part of the life span, a unique belief about death and dying has emerged among the Chinese from this integration. From this, the people find a significant definition of death and dying.

To explore the cultural mechanisms underlying the distress experience among Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese, Chinese Americans, and European Americans, this investigation examined the role of face concern in psychological distress through a series of studies in both college students and community samples. Face concern refers to one's concern over maintaining or enhancing one's social position and worth that are earned through the fulfillment of specific social roles. Study 1 confirmed the single-factor structure of face concern among Chinese Americans and European Americans. Face concern was significantly and positively related to distress above and beyond age, gender, and ethnicity. Study 2 deconstructed face concern into a two-factor model among Hong Kong Chinese and Mainland Chinese university students (self-face and other-face) with discriminant predictive power. In Study 3, the two-factor model of face concern was further supported in the community samples of Hong Kong Chinese and Mainland Chinese. Self-face was found to be positively associated with distress. These findings highlighted the importance of attending to specific cultural dynamic of face concern in counseling services.

Chinese people are consistently reported to be less likely to commit to posthumous organ donation than the Westerners. This study aims at investigating how death anxiety may hinder them from expressing their willingness to donate organs. Among 290 Hong Kong Chinese adults (age [greater than or equal to] 25 years), a higher level of death anxiety was associated with a greater expectation of medical neglect and a lower level of self-efficacy. Moreover, a higher level of death anxiety was also correlated with a lower likelihood of donor card signing and discussion of organ donation. The results of regression analyses suggested a mediating role of self-efficacy on the relationship between death anxiety and these behaviors. That is, death anxiety, by lowering one's perceived self-efficacy, reduces his/her likelihood to sign the donor card or to tell his/her donation decision. Findings suggest that death education program should be included in promotion campaigns for Chinese adults.

One explanation for the lower self-esteem of East Asians is that they have dialectical, or inconsistent, self-esteem in that they endorse both the positively and the negatively keyed items of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, relative to Euro-Americans. The following research extended this effect to implicit self-esteem. In two studies, Chinese, Euro-Americans (Studies 1 and 2), and Chinese Americans (Study 2) completed explicit and implicit measures of self-esteem. On both types of measures, Chinese scored most highly on various indices of dialectical self-esteem. In Study 2, the explicit self-esteem of Chinese Americans was similar to that of Chinese, but their implicit self-esteem was identical to that of Euro-Americans. In the discussion, we focus on how East Asians come to possess inconsistent self-esteem and pose questions for future research. Keywords: cross-cultural differences; East Asians; self-esteem; Implicit Association Test; Go/No-Go Association Task

This study reports the development and validation of a culturally sensitive, domain-specific measure of life satisfaction for Chinese Elders--The Life Satisfaction Scale--Chinese (LSS-C). The LSS-C was administered to 1,502 randomly-selected older Chinese persons in three newly developed towns in Mainland China. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a conceptually meaningful two-factor model--one of instrumental needs of daily life and one of social and relational needs. Criterion-related validity was satisfactory when positively correlated with a single-item global life satisfaction measure and the Life Satisfaction Index A, and negatively correlated with the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. The reliability of the eight-item scale was satisfactory, with the internal consistency coefficient equal to .78 and the split half coefficient equal to .81. LSS-C was direct and easy to administer, and it is recommended for use on Chinese elders.

Compared with the many studies in western countries, research on the prevalence of and risk factors for loneliness amongst older people in China is sparse. This paper reviews the current cross-national literature on loneliness and, using data from two national surveys undertaken in 1992 and 2000, assesses the prevalence of loneliness amongst older people in China and explores the factors that raise their vulnerability to the negative feeling. The reported prevalence of loneliness was 15.6 per cent in 1992 and 29.6 per cent in 2000. We suggest that part of the differential is accounted for by the differences in the methodologies of the two surveys and in the questions used to assess loneliness. The evidence from both surveys suggests that loneliness was relatively prevalent among those aged 65 or more years, females and those living in rural areas, and that these variations had greater amplitude in 2000. As in western countries, increased age, being widowed or divorced, and poor self-rated health were significantly associated with old-age loneliness in China at the two dates. Two factors positively related to loneliness were found that are specific to the Chinese context, however: living in a rural (as opposed to urban) area, and thinking that one's children are not filial. To develop our understanding of loneliness among older people in China and other non-western countries, it will be necessary to construct more rigorous and comparable measurements of loneliness and to undertake longitudinal studies of social relationships. KEY WORDS--loneliness, old age, China, survey methods, widowhood, filial concern.

The present study examined the role of verbal working memory (memory span, tongue twister), 2-character Chinese pseudoword reading, rapid automatized naming (letters, numbers), and phonological segmentation (deletion of rimes and onsets) in inferential text comprehension in Chinese in 518 Chinese children in Hong Kong in Grades 3 to 5. It was hypothesized that verbal working memory, together with a small contribution from the other constructs, would explain individual variation in the children's text comprehension. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical multiple regression analyses generally upheld the hypotheses. Though Chinese pseudoword reading did not play an important mediating role in the effect of verbal working memory on text comprehension, verbal working memory had strong effects on pseudoword reading and text comprehension. The findings on the Chinese language support current Western literature as well as display the differential role of the constructs in Chinese reading comprehension. Keywords: Chinese text comprehension, verbal working memory, pseudoword reading

The present study examined whether maladaptive perfectionism (i.e., discrepancy between expectations and performance) and length of time in the United States moderated the association between acculturative stress and depression. Data were collected through online surveys from 189 Chinese international students from China and Taiwan attending a midwestern university. Results from a hierarchical regression showed that there were significant main effects of acculturative stress and maladaptive perfectionism on depression, no significant two-way interactions, and a significant three-way interaction, indicating that acculturative stress, maladaptive perfectionism, and length of time in the United States interacted to predict depression. Low maladaptive perfectionism buffered the effect of acculturative stress on depression only for those who had been in the United States for a relatively longer period of time. Implications for counseling and future research directions are discussed. Keywords: acculturative stress, maladaptive perfectionism, depression, Chinese international students, three-way interaction

This study was to assess whether the Chinese version of the Aging Males' Symptoms scale could measure aging men's symptoms as effectively as the English version. 176 psychiatric outpatient men were assessed to analyze internal consistency reliability and construct validity, and 45 male school staff were interviewed in estimating retest reliability. Cronbach R was .90, and the 3-wk. retest reliability was .72. Factor analysis yielded a two-factor structure. Construct validity was indicated by significant correlation between the two factors and the criterion variables. This scale is a validated and sensitive test for measuring symptoms in aging men in the Taiwanese Chinese-speaking population. It is suggested that the scale could be used to measure and compare health-related quality of life in groups of men over 40 years old.

Contrary to the belief that the Chinese do not share emotionally intense experiences, findings from a cross-sectional study of 292 respondents who lost either a spouse or a parent in the previous 2 years in Hong Kong indicated that only 10% did not share their bereavement experiences with another person. The physical health and emotional state of non-sharers was found to be no different to those who shared. In addition, the Chinese are believed to limit their social sharing of personal experiences to family members only. In our study, we found that for those who shared, the persons they shared most with were their best friends, siblings, and professionals. Non-family members are clearly eligible 'sharees' for Chinese people. Differences in the reactions of sharees in good and bad sharing experiences were identified. Based on these findings, implications for bereavement care for Chinese are delineated.

Childhood obesity is increasingly prevalent in Western and non-Western societies. The authors related multiple dimensions of physical self-concept to body composition for 763 Chinese children aged 8 to 15 and compared the results with Western research. Compared with Western research, gender differences favoring boys were generally much smaller for physical self-concept and body image. Objective and subjective indexes of body fat were negatively related to many components of physical self-concept, but--in contrast to Western research--were unrelated to global self-esteem and slightly positively related to health self-concept. In support of discrepancy theory, actual--ideal discrepancies in body image were related to physical self-concept. However, consistent with the Chinese cultural value of moderation, and in contrast to Western results, being too thin relative to personal ideals was almost as detrimental as being too fat. The results reflect stronger Chinese cultural values of moderation and acceptance of obesity than in Western culture and have implications for social and educational policy in China. Keywords: childhood obesity, body image, physical self-concept, actual--ideal discrepancy models, doctrine of the mean

Objective: Low monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity and the neurotransmitter dopamine are 2 important factors in the development of alcohol dependence. MAO is an important enzyme associated with the metabolism of [...]

This article discusses the emotional dimension of identity development among Chinese immigrant women: their emergent needs for attention, validation, and support from their spouses. Using this author's private practice experience with this population, the article illuminates the sociocultural reality of a group of Chinese immigrant women, and the therapeutic approaches that supported them in creating new meanings and options in their seemingly unsolvable dilemmas. KEYWORDS. Emotional identity development, Chinese immigrant women

Thirty morphed emotional faces were developed along a happiness-surprise-fear-sadness-disgust-anger-happiness continuum, and 71 Chinese participants were asked to label each of them in a forced-choice task. The frequency curves for correctly labeling each emotion across the morphed photographs showed six discrete peaks. The labeling results are consistent with categorical perception of basic emotions, although morphed photographs were used, and with the hypothesis of universal facial expressions of emotions, although disgust is not included in the Chinese idiom of seven emotions. Keywords: emotion; facial expression; recognition; fear; disgust; surprise; happiness; anger; sadness; Chinese

The under-utilisation of mental health services amongst Chinese people is a well-known fact. This article describes a case study using a Western therapy model, cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), with a Chinese [...]

Objectives. The migration of working-age adults from rural to urban China has altered traditional patterns of living arrangements and intergenerational support among elderly persons who remain in rural regions. This investigation examined how household composition and support exchanges with adult children influenced the psychological well-being of older parents in rural China. Methods. Data derived from a 2001 survey of 1,561 parents aged 60 and older living in rural Anhui Province, China. We used multiple regression in order to estimate the effects of multigenerational living arrangements and intergenerational transfers of financial, instrumental, and emotional support on depression and life satisfaction in older parents. Results. Older parents living in three-generation households or with grandchildren in skipped-generation households had better psychological well-being than those living in single-generation households. Receiving greater remittances from adult children increased well-being and explained why living with grandchildren was beneficial. Stronger emotional cohesion with children also improved well-being. Discussion. These results suggest that traditional family arrangements are beneficial in rural Chinese society as they represent the fulfillment of a cultural ideal. We discuss implications in the context of the corporate Chinese family, characterized by mutual aid and interdependence across generations, and its adaption to social change.

Chinese older persons (N = 164) recruited from social centers responded to a survey instrument tapping the perceived filial behaviors of children (close vs not close), and the degree to which these behaviors matched personal expectations (filial discrepancy). Across all kinds of filial behaviors, providing attention when the parent was ill or distressed was perceived to be the least performed and was most discrepant with expectations. Whether the children were paying respect and whether they were providing care in times of illness or distress were most important in determining a sense of filial discrepancy in the parent. However, after functional limitations and financial strain were controlled for, only respect emerged as a consistent predictor of psychological well-being. These findings were similar whether the target was the closest child(ren) or less close children. There was no evidence that a child's overdoing his or her filial role was detrimental to the parents' well-being among the Chinese individuals in this study.

Background: The concept of Expressed Emotion (EE; Brown et al., 1972), a measure of criticism, over-involvement and hostility in families, has been shown to be a robust predictor of relapse in schizophrenia (Parker & Hadzi-Pavlovic, 1990). Recent criticism of using Western instruments in Asian countries has led to more stringent procedures for validation of scales. Aims: The first aim was to establish that the concept of Expressed Emotion exists in Singapore. The second aim was to examine the Level of Expressed Emotion (LEE; Cole & Kazarian, 1988, Gerlsma & Hale, 1997) scale to ascertain the conceptual and construct operationalisation of this instrument in this culture. Methods: This was a qualitative study. The concept of EE was examined using a Singaporean population; 10 patient--caregiver pairs were recruited and interviewed using a semi-structured interview format. Regarding the LEE, small focus-group interviews were conducted with a cross-section of Singaporeans to gain their views on the concepts in the scale and the relevance of the items in this culture. Results: The interviews were analysed in light of attitudes found to discriminate between high and low EE families (Left & Vaughn, 1985). A clear distinction between high and low EE groups was found. With regard to the LEE, the data from the focus groups, for the most part, supported the cross-cultural conceptual and operational equivalence of the scale and suggestions for additional items were made. Conclusion: There is support for the existence of EE among families in Singapore, and the LEE was found, for the most part, to be applicable in Singapore, with the addition of several emic items.

INTRODUCTION As Chinese families are becoming more prominent in the US population (Ferguson, 1995), there is an increasing need for research on Chinese and North American experiences of marriage. Previous […]

Although research indicates that competitiveness, defined as the desire to win in interpersonal situations, is an important individual difference that influences a range of social interactions, little research has focused on competitiveness in cultures outside the United States. This study investigated competitiveness in three cultures by comparing Chinese (n = 61), Japanese (n = 232), and American (n = 161) undergraduate college students. Nationality and sex were compared on two scales of the revised Competitiveness Index. Analysis indicated that American students scored higher on Enjoyment of Competitiveness than Chinese and Japanese students, but no difference was found on Contentiousness. Men scored higher than women on Enjoyment of Competition but not on Contentiousness. The findings indicate that sex and cultural patterns influence some but not all aspects of competitiveness.

This study investigated factors associated with intention to screen for colorectal cancer among Chinese people age 40 yr. and older. In-depth individual interviews were conducted. Participants were recruited from urban middle-class communities in Taichung, Taiwan through homogeneous, criterion, and snowball sampling strategies (N = 32). Immersion and crystallization techniques were used in data analysis. Member check was used to ensure data quality. Analysis showed that factors related to intentions to have fecal occult blood tests were influenced by the inconvenience (61%) and the unpleasant screening procedure (29%), while participants' gastrointestinal symptoms or family history (32%) and physicians' recommendation or patients' self-health conditions (25%) were more important to intentions for a flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy screening. This study suggests tailoring strategies and messages to encourage use of various screening. Unique cultural issues, such as avoidance of facing problems (28%), embarrassment (23%), or lack of acceptance of preventive behaviors (16%), were also discussed with recommendations provided.

This study aimed to establish preliminary estimates and related risk factors for elder abuse among Hong Kong Chinese families. A total of 276 elder Chinese participated in the study, among which 27.5% reported having experienced at least one abusive behavior committed against them by their caregivers during the surveyed year. The most common form of abuse was verbal abuse (26.8%), whereas physical abuse (2.5%) and violation of personal rights (5.1%) were relatively less common. There was no gender difference in the prevalence of elder abuse. Overall and verbal abuse were best predicted by participants' poor visual and memory abilities, dependence on the caregivers, and caregivers' nondependence on them. Physical abuse was best predicted by caregivers' nondependence on the participants as well as participants' dependence on the caregivers. Participants' age was the only significant predictor for violation of personal rights. Results, limitations, and implications of the study were also discussed. KEY WORDS: chinese elder abuse; risk factors; prevalence., INTRODUCTION Domestic violence has long attracted considerable attention from researchers and remains a topic of international concern. Although early research focused on the abuse of women and children, there is [...]

This article reports on a sample of 147 women under age 35 living in rural areas in China who had attempted suicide and were treated in the emergency room of hospitals in four different locations. The interview instrument took 2 to 3 hours to complete and included audiotaped in-depth interviews with the patient and family members (separately); detailed evaluation of the circumstances surrounding the attempt, life events, and the family environment; and a formal psychiatric evaluation by an attending-level psychiatrist. Overwhelmingly, the method used by the at-tempters was poisoning with highly lethal pesticides and organic fertilizers. The women's suicidal behavior was characterized by high levels of impulsivity; little effort to seclude themselves before and after ingesting poison; and low rates of mental illness, including depression. Detailed suggestions are made about ways to implement suicide prevention strategies within the particular social and economic context of China.

Over the past decade, great concern has been expressed about the high suicide rates in China, especially among women and young women in particular. However, most of the information that has been presented has considered macro-level data, and speculated on why women are so vulnerable to self-harm. This article presents the detailed story of one village woman who killed herself and suggests that motives and behavior are more complex than the cultural script and statistics suggest. Although depression is said to be commonly present in people who kill themselves in Western countries, this may not be the case in China.

An attempt was made to tailor the Chinese version of the Marital Comparison Level Index to the Hong Kong Chinese context by adding 11 items. Analysis showed that the amended version is a reasonably reliable and culture-appropriate measure for research.

In 1995 Chan and Hui examined the responses of a sample of Chinese teachers on the Maslach Burnout Inventory and recommended a possible 2-factor rather than the original 3-factor model for the assessment of burnout among Chinese teachers. In the present study, the factor structure of responses to the Chinese version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory in a sample of 1,398 Chinese secondary school guidance teachers was examined using the EQS approach to confirmatory factor analysis. The results showed that a 3-factor model (Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Accomplishment) provided the best fit, with the first two factors highly correlated (r = .80). Internal consistencies for the subscales ranged from .80 to .88.

Parents' child-rearing behaviors have been identified as major sources of influence on the self-esteem of adolescents from Western societies and Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. The pattern of relationships found in samples of Hong Kong adolescents has been similar to the pattern found among samples of U.S. adolescents, but contrary to what might be expected in collectivistic societies such as mainland China. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to test specific dimensions of parenting behaviors as possible predictors of adolescents' self-esteem in mainland China. Self-report data were acquired for this study from 480 adolescents who attended secondary schools located in Beijing. Results indicated that patterns of socialization between parents and adolescents in mainland China were similar to those found in the United States, although explanations for these results may differ from those characteristic of the United States and other Western societies. Reasoning, monitoring, and autonomy-granting behavior by Chinese parents were positive predictors, whereas `punitiveness was a negative predictor of Chinese adolescents' self-esteem (both males and females). Contrasting with patterns commonly found in the United States was the finding that parental support was not a predictor of Chinese adolescents' self-esteem.

The authors examined cultural preferences for formal versus intuitive reasoning among East Asian (Chinese and Korean), Asian American, and European American university students. We investigated categorization (Studies 1 and 2), conceptual structure (Study 3), and deductive reasoning (Studies 3 and 4). In each study a cognitive conflict was activated between formal and intuitive strategies of reasoning. European Americans, more than Chinese and Koreans, set aside intuition in favor of formal reasoning. Conversely, Chinese and Koreans relied on intuitive strategies more than European Americans. Asian Americans' reasoning was either identical to that of European Americans, or intermediate. Differences emerged against a background of similar reasoning tendencies across cultures in the absence of conflict between formal and intuitive strategies. Keywords: Cross-cultural analysis; Epistemology; Reasoning; Concepts

A sample of 90 rural Chinese women were interviewed and tested to assess a theoretical model that assumes suicide ideation is a function of four broad theoretical variables: 1) psychological aspects such as self-esteem and personal adjustment; 2) coping aspects; 3) environmental aspects, specifically the degree of support found in the family and in the community; and 4) attitudes toward suicide. The data were analyzed first for reliability, which was found to be adequate, and then from a covariance structure modeling approach--i.e., LISREL. The results are complex, but do suggest a relative fit between theoretical model and observed data, though the fit is limited by a number of necessary assumptions in covariance structural modeling that may not reflect psychological and psychometric reality.

The purpose of this study was to investigate qualitative and quantitative differences in Chinese children's concepts of death, as reflected in their drawings, and to analyze this conceptual development as it related to background variables (such as gender, age, religious belief, and heath status). Participants were 239 children in 6 grade groups recruited from primary and junior high school. The children were asked to draw their impression of the word 'death' and to give a verbal commentary of what they had drawn. The drawings were analyzed according to a phenomenographic method and assigned to one of 3 superordinate and 12 subordinate qualitative categories, adapted from M. E. Tamm and A. Granqvist (1995). Metaphysical and biological death concepts dominated, while psychological death concepts were depicted least. Consistent with previous studies of the development of concepts of death in children, biological death concepts were most common for the younger age groups, and metaphysical death concepts were found predominately in the older age groups. Chi-square analysis revealed no significant differences among death concept categories as a function of the participants' gender, health status, religious belief, funeral attendance, or prior death of relatives or pets. The results are interpreted as providing a unique window on death concepts among Chinese children.

The reliability and validity of the General Functioning (GF) Scale of the Chinese version of the McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD) were examined in three studies. In Study 1, data based on 361 adolescents showed that the GF scale was temporally stable and internally consistent, and there was support for its concurrent and construct validities. In Study 2, data analyzed from a clinical group and a nonclinical group (N = 281 and 451, respectively) showed that the GF scores were able to discriminate these two groups. With data pertaining to 3649 secondary-school students, Study 3 gives support for the internal consistency, concurrent validity, and construct validity of the GF scale in different adolescent samples. These studies strongly suggest that the GF scale of the FAD possesses good psychometric properties in different Chinese adolescent samples. Keywords: family assessment; Family Assessment Device; reliability; validity; Chinese adolescents

This study examined cross-cultural differences in Chinese and Canadian adults' concepts and moral evaluations of lying and truth-telling about prosocial and antisocial behaviors. Although Canadian adults categorized lies concealing one's prosocial deeds as lies, their Chinese counterparts did not. Also, Chinese adults rated deception in such situations positively while rating truth-telling in the same situations negatively. These cross-cultural differences appear to reflect differential emphases on the virtue of modesty in the two cultures.

This article examines the reading skills of normal and low achieving readers in Hong Kong. The authors, testing 94 Chinese children in grades first through sixth, maintain younger normal and poor readers made more semantic and visual errors, whereas older and normal achieving readers made more phonological errors, concluding phonological processing plays a significant role in Chinese reading skills.

This article examines the relationship between parenting styles and measures of mental health among young adults in China. Findings indicate that reduced mental health and increased psychosomatic symptoms were associated with elevated levels of parental overprotection, rejection, denial, punishing, and overinvolvement and lower levels of warmth and acceptance.

Critical illness and subsequent hospitalization are stressful for patients and their family members. The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify the family members' perceptions of their immediate needs within 48 to 96 hours following admission of a relative to a critical care unit in Hong Kong and to compare their perceptions with the critical care nurses' perceptions of the family needs. A convenience sample of 37 Chinese family members and 45 registered nurses completed a self-report Chinese version of the Critical Care Family Need Inventory. The 10 most important and 10 least important family needs were identified by family members and by nurses and the results were compared. Conclusions were drawn about the implications for nurses in planning and implementing quality family-centered care for critically ill patients.

Comprehensive measures of the personality sphere have been developed in the West and widely used in other cultural settings. Such importation has advantages for economizing resources but short circuits the development of local personality theory. This article describes work on indigenous personality measurement in Chinese cultural settings using the lexical and questionnaire approaches of trait theory. In both cases, locally developed measures define the personality sphere differently and reveal a dimension of personality variation not detected by imported and purportedly comprehensive instruments. The additional dimension revealed from the questionnaire approach has been labeled Chinese Tradition. Facets from this dimension have been shown to add power to the imported measures in predicting social outcomes. It may thus be prudent to encourage the development of measures derived from local cultural traditions to ensure a truly comprehensive and effective coverage of the personality sphere.

The author contends that a unique form of capitalism has evolved in Southeast Asia since the end of the Cold War, combining the cultural foundations of ethnic Chinese business networks with economic globalization.

Precompetition anxiety and self-confidence were investigated in a sample of 132 male and 103 female Shanghai college athletes. The participants were administered the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 of Martens, et al. 30 to 40 min. before competing in important track and field events or basketball games. Analysis by independent t tests showed that there were no sex differences in scores on the Cognitive Anxiety, Somatic Anxiety, or Self-confidence subscales; however, compared to those in team sports (basketball), athletes competing individually (track and field) scored significantly higher on the Somatic Anxiety subscale and significantly lower on the Self-confidence subscale. Comparisons with data from comparable North American samples indicated that Chinese athletes reported lower scores on Cognitive Anxiety and Somatic Anxiety but similar scores on Self-confidence.