Connecting Asians in global perspective: Special Issue on past contributions, current status and future prospects for Asian social psychology

This Special Issue (SI), which marks the 10th anniversary of the Asian Journal of Social Psychology , carries the triple roles of taking stock of the past, scouting the present, and envisioning the future. In so doing, it connects with the 6th biennial conference of the Asian Association of Social Psychology held in 2005, in which several keynote speakers (Atsumi, Hofstede, Leung, and Ward) addressed the same troika of concerns. Together with invited commentary from Chiu and Matsumoto they form the substance of this SI. As SI Editors, we read the papers several times, for what they were and, just as enlightening, for what they were not. In the process, we reflected on what is social about Asian social psychology and, equally intriguing, on what is Asian about it. The (tentative) conclusion that we have reached is that a practical and creative social psychology that is in, of, and for Asia, and defines itself as a network of like-minded collaborators gathered around a central purpose rather than as a geographic or genetic entity will have the best chance of realizing the potential of Asian social psychology.     

Suicide and Its Association with Individual,Family, Peer,and School Factors in an Adolescent Population in Southern Taiwan

A representative sample of 10,233 adolescent students was recruited to examine the rate of suicidal attempt and its correlates in the adolescents living in southern Taiwan. Five questions from the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (Kiddie‐SADS‐E) were used to inquire about the participants' suicidality. The associations between suicidal attempt and multidimensional factors were examined by using logistic regression analysis: 9.1% of the participants reported a suicidal attempt in the preceding year. Female gender, low self‐esteem, weekly alcohol use, illicit drugs use, depression, high family conflict, low maternal education level, poor family function, low connectedness to school, low rank, poor feeling in peer group, and drop out from school were associated with adolescent suicidal attempt. The rate of suicidal attempt was found to be high in Taiwanese adolescents, and multidimensional factors were correlated to adolescent suicidal attempt.     

Motivation as Mediator Between National Identity and Intention to Volunteer

Although there is a large volume of research on the relationship between social identity and volunteerism, little attention was given to national identity in volunteerism research. This study examined the role of national identity in motivating people to volunteer in the Chinese culture and its role in differentiating those who showed no interest in voluntary work (i.e. non‐volunteers) from those who wanted to volunteer but did not (i.e. potential volunteers). Two hundred ninety‐nine participants (age, M = 34.14 years) filled out a questionnaire on their demographics, experience of volunteering, intention to volunteer, volunteer motivations, and national identity. Results showed that a stronger national identity was associated with greater volunteer motivations. Mediation analyses further supported the positive indirect effect of national identity on intention to volunteer through strengthening volunteer motivations. Marital status was the only significant factor that differentiated current volunteers from potential volunteers. We concluded that citizens’ volunteer motivation increases with national identity, yet concrete measures to bring potential volunteers to actual volunteering need to be further explored. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adult Children’s Caregiver Burden and Depression: The Moderating Roles of Parent–Child Relationship Satisfaction and Feedback from Others

The issue of elderly care has generated great interest because today, most of us live in an aging society. It has been found that caring for one’s elderly parents is a stressful experience that is related to negative outcomes. In addition, accompanied with the decline in fertility may make adult children feel heavier caregiver’s burden. Therefore, the current study investigates moderators that may help reduce the caregiver burden. Following the conservation of resources theory (COR), we hypothesized that feedback from others and a good parent–child relationship serve as resources that may help the individual manage the stress associated with caring for his or her elderly parents. To examine our hypotheses, we collected data from 502 adult children who were primary caregivers for their elderly parents. All participants completed the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS), the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the Feedback from Others Scale, and the Parent–Child Relationship Satisfaction Scale. Supporting our prediction, we found a positive correlation between the caregiver’s burden and the caregiver’s levels of depression. Furthermore, both moderation effects were significant. Consistent with our hypotheses, the relationship between caregiver burden and his or her level of depression was weaker when participants had high feedback from others or had a better parent–child relationship. Our findings highlight the view that possessing more resources may help the individual manage the stress associated with caring for elderly parents. Implications for issues related to elderly care are discussed.     

The immediate and sustained effects of acute exercise on planning aspect of executive function

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to clarify the immediate and sustained effects of an acute bout of exercise on the planning aspects of executive function.DesignThis study used a 2 × 4 true experimental design.MethodForty participants were randomly assigned to either the exercise or control groups and completed the Tower of London task prior to, immediately following, 30 min after, and 60 min after cessation of a 30 min, moderate intensity cycling exercise.ResultsAcute exercise positively impacted the total move score, which reflects planning efficiency, immediately after the cessation of exercise. Acute exercise also led to longer total initiation times, which were linked to better response inhibition of planning at 30 and 60 min after the cessation of exercise.ConclusionAcute exercise benefits planning, and the types of planning and the time points at which they were assessed modulate the relationship between acute exercise and executive function. Exercise-induced physiological and biological fluctuations have been proposed to explain the effects present immediately after exercise, and the mechanisms of such effects warrant further exploration.     

The classifier problem in Chinese aphasia

In recent years, research on the relationship between brain organization and language processing has benefited tremendously from cross-linguistic comparisons of language disorders among different types of aphasic patients. Results from these cross-linguistic studies have shown that the same aphasic syndromes often look very different from one language to another, suggesting that language-specific knowledge is largely preserved in Broca's and Wernicke's aphasics. In this paper, Chinese aphasic patients were examined with respect to their (in)ability to use classifiers in a noun phrase. The Chinese language, in addition to its lack of verb conjugation and an absence of noun declension, is exceptional in yet another respect: articles, numerals, and other such modifiers cannot directly precede their associated nouns, there has to be an intervening morpheme called a classifier. The appropriate usage of nominal classifiers is considered to be one of the most difficult aspects of Chinese grammar. Our examination of Chinese aphasic patients revealed two essential points. First, Chinese aphasic patients experience difficulty in the production of nominal classifiers, committing a significant number of errors of omission and/or substitution. Second, two different kinds of substitution errors are observed in Broca's and Wernicke's patients, and the detailed analysis of the difference demands a rethinking of the distinction between agrammatism and paragrammatism. The result adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that grammar is impaired in fluent as well as nonfluent aphasia.     

Filial Obligations and Expectations in China: Current Views from Young and Old People in Beijing

This study examines how 90 university students and 77 old people in Beijing view filial piety in Chinese society now. The results show that old people continue to hold high filial expectations for young people and that young people still endorse strongly filial obligations for old people. Obedience received the lowest rating while respect received the highest rating. "Looking after the aged parents" and "assisting them financially" are the top filial concerns for young males whereas "retaining contact with the elders" is the top filial concern for young females. "Respecting elders but necessarily obeying them" appears to be a new cultural protocol for fulfilling filial obligations in Chinese societies now.     

Relationships between being traditional and sense of gratitude among Taiwanese high school athletes

This study examined the association of scores on measures of traditionality and gratitude. Briefly defined, traditionality refers to how strongly one endorses the traditional value of submission to authority for harmony and benefits in a collective group. Traditional Taiwanese culture is linked with collectivism, and the society tends to encourage members to respect authority and harmony. As people of a collectivistic view seek to maintain harmony within the group, gratitude and reciprocity of good is expected from members. Nevertheless, traditionality of values differs among group members, as is also true for gratitude. It is not known how scores on traditionality might relate to feelings of gratitude among athletes in the competitive sports setting. 289 Taiwanese high school athletes were administered the Sport-domain Gratitude Questionnaire by Chen and Kee and the Traditionality Scale by Kao and Lu. Data, subjected to structural equation modeling, show that traditionality scores were related to those on gratitude. Implications and limitations were discussed.