Romantic Relationships,Relationship Styles,Coping Strategies,and Psychological Distress among Chinese and Australian Young Adults

This study examined the association between relationship styles, coping strategies, and psychological distress among 144 Anglo‐Australian and 250 Hong Kong Chinese undergraduate students. The results indicated that relationship styles (secure, clingy, and fickle) influenced psychological distress through their association with coping strategies (avoidance and self‐punishment). Society of residence was a moderating factor for the association between clingy relationship style and psychological distress. Females also reported higher levels of psychological distress than males. Among participants who had experienced a romantic relationship break up, participants endorsing clingy relationship style and those whose partners initiated the break up expressed more hurt in comparison, whereas those who endorsed avoidance strategy reported less hurt. The results of the present study also suggested that psychosocial variables (relationship styles, coping strategies) were generally more important than demographic factors (e.g., age) in predicting mental health outcomes. However, relationship styles and coping strategies may operate differently under different contexts.     

Bioinformatics: new science–new statistics?

The new research field of bioinformatics is concerned with the collection, maintenance and processing of genomic information. Like statistical genetics, it provides computational techniques for unravelling the complex machinery of the genome, but it is distinct in emphasis and approach. As a relative newcomer to bioinformatics, statistician Wally Gilks sets out to convey his excitement about the subject and to explain the opportunities it presents to professional statisticians.     

Forging Treaty Hope: the application and relevance of narrative ideas and practices in developing Treaty-based policy and practice

The Treaty of Waitangi is widely recognized as the foundingdocument of New Zealand. While the Treaty has constitutionaland legal status, its meaning and application in contemporaryNew Zealand society is the source of great debate. This paperunmasks the increasingly dominant and problem-saturated narrativeof Treaty Fatigue circulating in public discourses in New Zealandand proposes an alternate inspiring narrative of Treaty Hope.In so doing, the paper examines the application and relevanceof narrative ideas and practices in forging a preference forTreaty Hope and in fostering Treaty-based policies and practicesin the work of government, and considers how community developmentpractitioners in post-colonial settings may engage with NewZealand's experience.