Perceived Family Functioning and Family Resources of Hong Kong Families: Implications for Social Work Practice

This article reports the results of a telephone survey (n = 1,015 respondents) that aims to identify the perceived general family functioning and family resources of Hong Kong Chinese families and their linkage to each other in a rapidly transforming society. The perceived general family functioning of the respondents was average, and the five types of family resources—time, income, human capital, psychological capital, and social capital—of the respondents ranged from average to good. The following family resource domains, in descending order, have accounted for significant variance in perceived general family functioning: income, time spent with family, stress coping efficacy, religion, and satisfaction with the living environment. Our findings provide empirical support for policy formulation and social work practice.     

Factors Associated with Adolescents’ Disclosure of Sexual Abuse Experiences in Hong Kong

This research project is the first study conducted in Hong Kong using adolescent subjects to explore predictors of child sexual abuse disclosure. Eight-hundred male and female adolescents aged 13 to 16 years were recruited from the community while another 30 adolescents joined the study from a clinical setting. One hundred and seventy-seven adolescents acknowledged having a child sexual abuse experience. Results showed that the severity of sexual abuse activities and parent attachment were associated with disclosure in the clinical setting, while abuser’s gender and the adolescents’ disclosure tendency were associated with disclosure among participants in the community setting. Among the 104 participants who had disclosed their childhood sexual abuse, 70% of them had disclosed it within one month and 63% of them had disclosed to 2 to 5 people. The majority of the disclosers (81%) shared their child sexual abuse experience(s) with their friends. Participants from the clinical setting tended to reveal the experience more to adults than those from the community. The study suggested that when choosing a potential confidant, adolescents paid more attention to confidant characteristics than to anticipated confidant responses to their disclosure. Limitations and practical implications for increasing child sexual abuse disclosure rates are discussed.     

Midlife and Older Gay Men Living with HIV/AIDS: The Influence of Resiliency and Psychosocial Stress Factors on Health Needs

HIV/AIDS research has mostly focused on younger gay men. This cross-sectional study originated from a larger study of 316 respondents to include a subsample of 38 midlife and older gay men living with HIV/AIDS. The study explores physical and mental health utilization rates, including physical and mental health status. Resiliency, internal health locus of control beliefs, and psychosocial stressors of age and sexual orientation discrimination, stigma, and internalized homophobia were also examined. A total of 65.8% of the HIV/AIDS participants received no mental health services the past year, despite reporting higher mental health distress. Of those reporting an HIV status, 10.5% indicated having no health visits in the preceding year and more delays in seeking care when needed and unmet health needs for which services were not sought. Participants reporting higher resiliency indicated less mental health distress and better health access indicators. Stigma and internalized homophobia negatively affected resiliency. Implications for practitioners working with midlife and older gay men are provided.     

Bodily Offerings of Belonging: Chinese-Australians in Perth

Under the auspices of a prominent Chinese association, a group of young Chinese girls diligently practise, produce and perform what they understand to be Chinese cultural dance in Perth, Western Australia. The public performance of this cultural dance form has been a common sight since the implementation of multiculturalism in the Australian landscape in the 1970s. This paper explores how a uniquely Chinese-Australian belonging is enabled for a migrant community in one of Australia's key cities by focusing on the processes through which Chinese cultural dance is postured, practised and produced. It underlines the dynamic reflexivity and resilience demonstrated by the community in seeking to define their belonging within a state-imposed framework.     

A taxonomy of gambling and casino games via social media and online technologies

The increased popularity of casino games on social media platforms has prompted international jurisdictions to consider the extent to which these games may be similar to Internet gambling activities and therefore subject to regulatory action. Gambling themes are popular in video and computer games, and simulated-gambling activities are commonly offered by gambling operators as a way of enticing users to gamble online with money. However, little research has evaluated the impact of the digital convergence of gambling and gaming. The lack of a clear definition of online gambling-themed activities to guide such research undertakings represents a significant hurdle to the fields of gambling and gaming. Based on a review of the extant literature, this article proposes a taxonomy to distinguish between many types of online activities with gambling-themed content. This taxonomy suggests that the principal features that differentiate online gambling games include the requirement for payment, the role of skill, the type of platform and the centrality of the gambling theme. The proposed hierarchical framework aims to promote clear and consistent discussion to guide ongoing investigation of new and emerging Internet gambling and gaming technologies.     

Acculturation Gap,Intergenerational Conflict,Parenting Style,and Youth Distress in Immigrant Chinese American Families

This study examined mother–child acculturation gaps in relationship to youth distress and the possible mediating role of parent–child conflict and parenting style in a sample of 81 Chinese American families. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses provided partial support for a relationship between acculturation gaps and youth distress. No mediators of this relationship were found; however, post-hoc analyses indicated that intergenerational conflict and parenting style were associated with youth distress above and beyond acculturation gaps. These results suggest that interventions developed to reduce parent–child conflict and increase parental bonding (increase parental warmth and decrease parental overprotection) may be valuable for Chinese American adolescents, regardless of acculturation gap status.     

Being Known in Undergraduate Social Work Education: The Role of Instructors in Fostering Student Engagement and Motivation

Most undergraduate students pursue a social work major because of their desire to help others. Students tend to be more interested in doing than in understanding the research and knowledge of the profession and the complexities of social work practice. Instructors are often faced with the challenge of enhancing student motivation to learn challenging course material. This study explored student perceptions of instructor influences on their motivation and engagement in learning. Through online surveys, students described their experiences of being known and how those experiences affected their participation in practice, research, and human behavior in the social environment courses. Results showed that instructor caring (providing recognition, expressing relational qualities, and responding to students) positively influences student motivation and affective learning by increasing comfort, willingness to ask questions, take risks, and overall participation. Conversely, of those who reported mixed experiences or who felt unknown, most reported a negative impact on their motivation and participation. These findings suggest that social work faculty can influence student motivation and engagement with essential social work curriculum by expressing care and helping students feel known in the classroom.     

A Single Man and a Tragic Woman

Depicting the fraught relationship between a gay man and his straight female best friend, Tom Ford's A Single Man (2009) offers a complex, and often contradictory, depiction of its leading female character, Charley. At once glamorous and troubled, stunning and damaged, Charley reproduces a number of problematic stereotypes regarding women, in general, and fag hags, in particular. At the center of these problems is the film's insinuation that Charley has a melancholic attachment to George, her gay male companion. At first glance, A Single Man reproduces Freudian constructs of melancholy as a pathological response to traumatic loss; this essay argues, however, that the film's many ambivalences also offer opportunities for critical consideration of melancholy as a tactical response to heteronormativity.     

In Their Own Words: Participants' Perceptions of the Impact of Adult Day Services

Despite the growth in the number of adult day services programs providing long-term care in the United States, researchers have struggled to consistently identify the benefits of the services to older adult participants. Instead of identifying participant outcomes driven by administrative databases, funding requirements or accreditation expectations, this study attempted to identify outcomes through the lived experiences of the older adult participants through one-on-one interviews after 3 months of attendance. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain an understanding of the experiences of older adult participants and to build theoretical understandings that connect experiences with outcomes. Twenty-eight semistructured interviews were conducted with older adults attending 4 day health programs administered by 1 organization in a large mid-west City. Three main program experiences were identified: social connections with participants, empowering relationships with staff, and participation and enjoyment of activities and services. These experiences seemed to be associated with perceived improvements in psychosocial well-being and a perceived decrease in burden or dependence on the caregiver. The findings provide theoretical connections that are helpful for exploring the impact of adult day services based on participant perspectives. Results suggest a need for further examination of the role social workers play in supporting psychosocial services within adult day programs.     

Refugees as perceived threat: College students' attitudes towards refugees in South Korea

In 2018, the influx of Yemeni asylum seekers generated the unprecedented politicization of the refugee issue in South Korea. This paper explored South Korean attitudes towards refugees by collecting data from Korean college students. In doing so, we looked into what led to negative attitudes towards refugees and the role perceived threats play as a mediator. Following previous studies on intergroup threat theory, we noted that threat perception was a useful tool in understanding intergroup prejudice and anxiety as perceived threats and their antecedents were found to explain a significant amount of the attitudes towards refugees. We also found strong interconnections between prejudices towards different minority groups, including Islamophobia, homophobia and anti-refugee attitudes. This finding supported the idea that such prejudices are part of a larger intolerant belief system towards minority groups in general.