Sex differences in cognitive abilities and sex-role stereotypes in Hong Kong Chinese adolescents

A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that sex differences in patterns of cognitive ability could be accounted for by variation in identification with sex-role stereotypes. Hong Kong Chinese adolescents from two different age groups served as subjects. Sex differences were discovered in patterns of performance on a battery of cognitive tests, with males performing better on tests of spatial ability and females performing better on tests of fluent production. Sex differences in sex-role identification were also discovered. There were, however, no significant relationships between sex-role identification and patterns of ability. Biological sex was found to be the best predictor of a male or female pattern of performance. A reformulation of a sex-role identification hypothesis appears to be warranted on the basis of these data. Suggestions for further research on the relationships among sex-role identification, cultural values, and personal adjustment are also presented.This report is based on a doctoral dissertation submitted to the faculty of Harvard University. The research was supported by a National Research Service Award, National Institutes of Health Grant 5-T32-MH14088, awarded to Beatrice Whiting and John Whiting to support graduate research in cross-cultural child development.     

Attitudes toward suicide among Chinese people in Hong Kong

Since suicide in Chinese people exhibits certain distinctive characteristics, it is important to develop indigenous measures to assess Chinese attitudes toward suicide that may be used to inform suicide reduction programs. Combining qualitative and quantitative methods, we developed a Hong Kong version of the Chinese Attitude toward Suicide Questionnaire (CASQ-HK) which assesses attitudes toward suicide, suicidal inclination under 12 hypothetical scenarios, and prior suicidal experience. A convenience sample of 1,226 people completed the self-report questionnaire. In keeping with Chinese tradition, respondents revealed both tolerant and condemning attitudes that varied with their sociodemographic characteristics. Generally, they were not strongly inclined to consider suicide in the presence of difficult scenarios. Female gender, older age, and the presence of suicidal ideation were associated with more contemplation of suicide.     

Intimacy and psychosocial adjustment in Hong Kong Chinese adolescents

This study examined the association between 8 aspects of friend intimacy and 3 measures of psychosocial adjustment (self-esteem, deviant behavior, and purpose in life) among Hong Kong Chinese adolescents. The respondents were 289 students between 16 and 19 years of age from a cross-sectional study in Hong Kong. Bivariate correlation and multiple regression analyses revealed (a) friend intimacy was positively associated with self-esteem and purpose in life, and (b) friend intimacy was negatively correlated with deviant behavior. Results indicated that friend intimacy is an important variable that affects some aspects of psychosocial adjustment. Moreover, results of multiple regression analyses indicated that different measures of friend intimacy are related to deviant behavior and purpose in life. Therefore, it is crucial to study the relationship between different aspects of friend intimacy and different aspects of psychosocial adjustment among adolescents.     

Attitudes toward male and female homosexuality and sex-role stereotypes in Israeli and American students

Although the legal and psychiatric status of homosexuals has drastically changed, public prejudice about homosexuality has not disappeared. Former studies have developed the idea that homophobia is closely related to conservatism in sex-role polarization. The present research investigated sex differences in attitudes toward male and female homosexuality and sex-role polarization in a cross-cultural perspective, comparing young, educated Israelis and Americans. One-hundred seventy students participated in the study, completing a sex-role survey, an attitude toward homosexuality questionnaire, and a social desirability scale. The results indicated that Israelis were more homophobic and more conservative in their sex-role polarization than Americans. Men were more homophobic and more generally conservative in sex-role orientation than women. A positive relationship was found between sex-role polarization and rejection of homosexuality within each of the samples. The results could not be attributed to social desirability. The significance of these findings is discussed in the context of sex differences and differences between Israeli and American cultures.The research reported here was conducted for an M.A. thesis of the second author under the supervision of the first author (in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master's degree in psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem).     

Sex, sex-role identification, and awareness of sex-role stereotypes

An experiment was run to determine if androgynous people have transcended traditional sex roles or merely incorporated both sex roles into their repertoire. Masculine sex-typed, feminine sex-typed, and androgynous people listed as many masculine and feminine stereotypes as they could think of in a time-limited task. Highly sex-typed individuals showed more awareness of their own sex's attributes than the other sex's stereotypes. Androgynous people showed greater awareness of both sexes' attributes as compared with sex-typed people, indicating support for the incorporation hypothesis rather than the transcendance hypothesis. However, the stereotypes androgynous people listed were somewhat less evaluative in tone compared with those of sex-typed people, Overall, subjects listed more stereotypes of females than males, and female stereotypes were more negative than male stereotypes.     

The adaptation of Chinese adolescents in two societies: a comparison of Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong and Australia

This study aimed to compare the adaptation of two groups of migrant Chinese adolescents with their nonmigrant peers. The migrant adolescents included 55 Chinese migrant adolescents who migrated to Australia (Chinese‐Australian) and 111 China‐born adolescents who migrated to Hong Kong (Chinese‐Hong Kong). The nonmigrant adolescents included 157 Anglo‐Australian adolescents residing in Australia and 456 Hong Kong‐born Chinese adolescents residing in Hong Kong. There were three research questions in this study. First, would there be any differences in the adaptation of Chinese migrant adolescents in different societies of settlement? Second, would migrant adolescents experience more adaptation problems than nonmigrant adolescents? Third, would there be any differences in the adaptation of adolescents in the two societies, Australia and Hong Kong? It was hypothesized that: (1) mainland Chinese migrant adolescents in Hong Kong would experience more adaptation problems than Chinese migrant adolescents in Australia; (2) migrant adolescents would report better adaptation than nonmigrant adolescents; (3) adolescents in Hong Kong would report poorer adaptation than adolescents in Australia. The participants were requested to complete a questionnaire on various adaptation outcome measures including life satisfaction, self‐esteem, psychological symptoms, academic satisfaction, and behaviour problems. The results indicated that Chinese‐Australian adolescents reported better psychological adaptation but Chinese‐Hong Kong adolescents reported better sociocultural adaptation. Adolescents resident in Australia reported higher psychological adaptation but lower sociocultural adaptation than those in Hong Kong. Migrant adolescents reported better psychological and sociocultural adaptation than their nonmigrant counterparts. The results were discussed in relation to the social and educational systems of the two societies.     

Television viewing and the learning of sex-role stereotypes

This study was designed to determine the relationship between the amount of time children spend watching television and their knowledge of adult sex-role stereotypes. Males and females in grades 1, 3, 5, and 7 who were classified as heavy television viewers (25 or more hours per week) or light viewers (10 or less hours per week) both at the time of the study and 15 months previously were administered the Sex Stereotype Measure, an instrument designed to determine children's awareness of stereotyped sex-role perceptions held by adults. Heavy viewers were found to have more stereotyped perceptions than light viewers. A significant interaction effect indicated that among low viewers the perception of male stereotypes steadily declines with increasing age; among heavy viewers, stereotypic responses to male items are maintained with increasing age. No comparable interaction effect was obtained for perception of female stereotypes. The role of interaction with live models in breaking down stereotypic perceptions of males is discussed.A modified version of this paper was presented at the meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Denver, April 1975.     

The development of occupational sex-role stereotypes: The effects of gender stability and age

This study investigated occupational sex-role stereotypes of nursery school, kindergarten, third-grade, and sixth-grade children, and the effects of their acquiring gender constancy, specifically the concept of gender stability. Two types of occupational attitudes were assessed: (1) personal aspirations (PA) and (2) ideas about jobs men and women do. The latter were determined using the Occupations Survey (OS). Children chose stereotyped occupations for themselves even before they had a concept of gender stability. Boys' personal aspiration responses were more stereotyped than girls'. On the Occupations Survey, gender-stable nursery schoolers' responses were more stereotyped than those of the nonstable children; and a significant effect for age was found, with stereotyping decreasing among third graders and sixth graders. No sex differences were found on the OS. Differences in the two areas of occupational attitudes suggested two processes of learning sex roles. Social learning more readily accounts for the early stereotyped answers on the PA. Cognitive developmental theory is congruent with the OS scores of the nursery school children.     

Psychometric properties of the Chinese Family Assessment Instrument in Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong

This paper reports evidence on the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Chinese Family Assessment Instrument (C-FAI), an instrument developed to assess family functioning in Chinese populations. A convenience sample of 1,462 adolescents from junior secondary schools completed the C-FAI and measures of parent-adolescent conflict. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed that five factors were abstracted from the scale, a finding which was similar to those reported in previous validation studies. Results also showed that the C-FAI was internally consistent and its scores were moderately correlated with measures of conflict with parents, providing support for the convergent validity of the measure. Finally, females perceived family functioning to be better than did males and age was linearly related to perceived family dysfunction. In conjunction with the previous findings, the present study suggests that the C-FAI can be used to objectively assess family functioning in Chinese adolescents.     

Sexual assault: Myths and stereotypes among Australian adolescents

Myths and stereotypes about sexual assault reflect a society which excuses perpetrators of assault and blames victims for failing to control men's sexuality. Such views are well-established by early adulthood, but there is little research with adolescents. This study surveyed two hundred forty-four 14–16 year old Australian high school students (105 male, 139 female), of Anglo-European descent. Males were significantly more likely to endorse sexual assault myths, to agree that forced sex was acceptable in some situations, and to hold false stereotypes about sexual assault. Males also held more restrictive attitudes toward women's roles and endorsed a greater level of sexism in dating relationships. This suggests that male and female adolescents have differing expectations of dating relationships, which may underlie sexual assault within relationships. Assault-supportive attitudes are apparent at a young age, supporting the need for educational and social interventions targeting young people.     

Personal versus interpersonal contributions to depressive symptoms among Hong Kong adolescents

Cross‐cultural theory proposes that an essential distinction between cultures lies in the extent to which individual members see themselves as either independent agents preferentially valuing agency and efficacy, or as embedded within a social context preferentially valuing interpersonal relationships. A nonreferred sample of 605 boys and 503 girls from Hong Kong provided information regarding: (1) perceptions of their personal self‐efficacy or beliefs regarding their own ability to master challenges they face; (2) the degree of harmony in their interpersonal (peer and family) relationships; and (3) depressive symptoms as an assessment of their mood. Cognitive theories of emotions propose that both the individual's assessment of his/her self‐efficacy and of his/her relationships influence mood. Hypotheses, based on cross‐cultural theory, were that in this collective culture, interpersonal evaluations would predict more of the variance in mood than would personal self‐efficacy. Contrary to Western sex‐differences literature, it was predicted that the effect of interpersonal harmony on mood would be equally pronounced for girls and for boys. Structural equation modelling was used to test causal models. Consistent with findings from the West, evaluations of personal self‐efficacy as well as interpersonal relationship harmony were significantly associated with depressed mood. Consistent with cultural theory, interpersonal relationship harmony was more strongly associated with mood than was personal self‐efficacy for the entire sample of adolescents. In contrast to findings of sex differences in the salience of relationships in the West, the prediction of interpersonal relationships to mood was equal for boys and girls in Hong Kong. This preliminary study extends models of cognitive concomitants of mood disruption to a non‐Western culture, and provides a framework to understand relative contnbutors to mood in adolescence. The findings tentatively suggest that treatment for depressive mood in Chinese populations should prioritize enhancement of the perceived quality of interpersonal relationships over increasing a sense of mastery.     

Optimism and Coping with Unemployment among Hong Kong Chinese Women

The effects of dispositional optimism and coping on the link between unemployment and psychological health were studied among 79 employed and 104 unemployed Hong Kong Chinese women. Results indicated that optimism, indexed by the Chinese version of the Revised Life Orientation Test (C-RLOT), moderated the effect of unemployment on psychological health. The less optimistic women were more psychologically impaired by losing their jobs. Among the unemployed women, the more optimistic ones and those who were more able to distance themselves from job loss fared better. Nevertheless, coping did not mediate the connection between optimism and psychological outcomes. These findings suggest that optimism is an important personal resource for coping with unemployment in Hong Kong Chinese, but whether coping mediates the effects of optimism on psychological health or not depends on other contextual factors. Ways to ensure more reliable prediction regarding the connections between optimism, coping and psychological health in future research were discussed.     

Risk factors associated with suicide attempts and other self-injury among Hong Kong adolescents

This study examined 1,361 Chinese adolescents who reported self-injurious behaviors. Groups A and B both acknowledged deliberate self-injury, but only Group A had made a suicide attempt. Group C reported accidental self-injury. Deliberate self-injurers (Groups A and B) were more frequently girls, older, and with more suicidal ideation. Group A had more psychopathology, environmental and suicide-related risk factors than group B and C. Group C had higher depressive symptoms than noninjured controls. The study clarifies differences among self-injurious behavior groups based on expressed deliberate self-injury and self-reported suicide attempt. These three groups appear to present a continuum of risk.     

Suicidal ideation,parenting style,and family climate among Hong Kong adolescents

The prevalence of suicidal ideation and its relations with perceived parenting treatment and family climate was examined in 120 Hong Kong students aged 15–19 years. Fifty‐two per cent of the participants reported suicide ideation. Suicide ideation was found to be significantly associated with perceived authoritarian parenting, low parental warmth, high maternal over‐control, negative child‐rearing practices, and a negative family climate. A positive family climate may act as a buffer against developing suicide ideation in adolescents.     

Managing intergroup attitudes among Hong Kong adolescents: Effects of social category inclusiveness and time pressure

Previous research has shown a widespread bias among Hong Kong adolescents against Chinese Mainlanders. Based on social identity and social cognitive theories, we examined the effects of identity frame switching (situational induction of social category inclusiveness) and time pressure (environmental constraints on social information processing) on Hong Kong adolescents' attitudes toward Chinese Mainlanders. Results indicated that Hong Kong adolescents had acquired a habitual tendency to make social comparisons within an exclusive regional framework of reference. This habitual tendency might lead to negative judgment biases toward Chinese Mainlanders, particularly when the adolescents made social judgments under time pressure. In addition, switching to an inclusive national frame of reference for social comparison attenuated negative intergroup attitudes. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Reward allocation among Chinese high school students in Hong Kong

The present study examined the effects of personality and performance on reward allocation. The subjects were 89 Chinese senior high school students in Hong Kong. The results showed that the subjects would take into consideration the recipient's personality when they allocated reward to a relatively low performer. Personality factors were irrelevant, however, in the allocation of reward to a relatively high performer. Moreover, the subjects judged an allocation decision as more unfair when the allocation was intended to be a punishment for a worker with relatively low performance and a desirable personality than when the allocation was intended to be a reward for a relatively high performer.     

Responses to Injustice in Popular Chinese Sayings and among Hong Kong Chinese Students

Abstract

Three studies were conducted in an investigation of how people in Chinese societies react to injustice. In Study 1, 293 Chinese sayings concerning injustice coping were subject to content analysis. In Study 2, 10 male and 10 female Hong Kong Chinese high school students indicated whether they had heard of the sayings in Study 1 and whether they agreed with them. In Study 3, 342 Hong Kong Chinese college students reported how they felt and what they did to reduce the injustice feeling they recently came across concerning an injustice. In Study 1, responses to injustices suggested by the Chinese sayings were dominated by cognitive reappraisal and alignment with external, metaphysical forces to maintain the perception of a just world; confrontation was generally discouraged. In Study 2 and Study 3, even among the highly Westernized Hong Kong Chinese students, the pattern of justice coping revealed in the popular sayings still prevailed.     

Associated factors of post-stroke depression among Hong Kong Chinese: a longitudinal study

The aim of this study was to explore associated factors of post-stroke depression (PSD) among Chinese first-time stroke patients. A 6-month prospective design was adopted with data collected by face-to-face interviews and physical assessment at two observation time points: T1, within 48 h of admission to the rehabilitation hospitals and T2, 6 months after the first interview in the subject's current place of residence. The prevalence of PSD at T1 and T2 was found to be 69% and 48% respectively. Backward linear regression showed that five variables explained 55% of the variance of PSD at T2. Participants who had a higher level of depression at T2 tended to have a higher level of functional disability, less social companionship and poorer informational support. Those who had been homemaker at pre-morbid state and those who exhibited a higher level of depressive symptoms at T1 showed a higher level of depression at T2. The results of this study suggest that PSD could be a psychological condition arising from the disabling consequences and altered family roles caused by a stroke.     

Factorial structure of the kidcope in Hong Kong adolescents

The Kidcope (A. Spirito, L. J. Stark, & C. Williams, 1988), a brief screening measure of coping strategies for children and adolescents, was subjected to exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses in a sample of adolescents in Hong Kong. A 2-factor model was found to fit the data when only the 2 emotional regulation items were treated separately and were allowed to load on the 2 different factors. Further analyses showed that factor loadings, factor variances, and factor covariance were invariant across age and gender. On the basis of the factor analyses, the authors created 2 composite scores, representing control-oriented and escape-oriented coping strategies. Implications for the use of the Kidcope in research and preventive intervention are discussed.     

Concepts of Creativity: Similarities and Differences among Mainland,Hong Kong and Taiwanese Chinese

Aspects of creativity concepts across different Chinese populations were examined. A Likert style questionnaire consisting of 60 adjectives was administered to 451 undergraduates from Beijing, Guangzhou, Taipei and Hong Kong. The results show that: (a) the core characteristics of creativity identical in all the samples are: “originality”, “innovativeness”, “thinking” and “observational skills”, “flexibility”, “willingness to try”, “self confidence”, and “imagination”; (b) the Taipei sample, unlike the other three samples, does not associate “wisdom”, “assertiveness”, and “individualism” with creativity; (c) in all Chinese populations the three factors labeled innovative, dynamic, and intellectual were distinguishable in the concept of creativity; (d) “artistic” and “humorous” were missing in the Chinese perception of creativity; (e) creativity characteristics received relatively low ratings on the desirability scale.