Social Work - Research Publications
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ItemNo Preview AvailableExtroversion Fosters Career Competence among Adolescents in Hong Kong(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2022-06)Adolescents often feel helpless about planning their career in highly competitive societies such as Hong Kong. Relatively limited research has been conducted to examine whether being extrovert can influence adolescents’ career-related knowledge and career decision self-efficacy (CDSE). Methods: This cross-sectional study explored the relationship between extroversion, career knowledge and CDSE among 535 Hong Kong high school students based on Social Cognitive Career Theory and Trait and Factor Theory. Descriptive data analysis, correlation tests and structural equation modelling were used. Results: Study respondents displayed a low level of career knowledge and CDSE. Extroversion had a directly positive effect on CDSE (β = 0.219, p < 0.001), while career knowledge significantly mediated the relationship between extroversion and CDSE (β = 0.185, p < 0.001). Conclusions: This study provided a model to understand high school adolescents’ career decision self-efficacy, and empirically supported career training interventions to enhance adolescents’ self-efficacy and confidence in being more outgoing.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableObjectification and ambiguity of body image in women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A mixed-method study.(Elsevier BV, 2022-08-01)BACKGROUND: The manifestations of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), including acne, hirsutism, obesity, uncertain fertility, etc., can make women anxious, worried, or even depressed with their appearance and body. However, little relevant research has been conducted in the Chinese context. This mixed-method study aimed to understand how women with PCOS in China perceive their bodies and to examine the association between body image and depression. METHODS: First, 101 PCOS patients participated in a survey using the Body Surveillance subscale of the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale, the Short-form Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale, the Appearance Anxiety Scale, and the Beck Depression Inventory-II, which measured participants' self-objectification, illness ambiguity, appearance anxiety, and depression, respectively. Second, fifteen women joined face-to-face semi-structured in-depth interviews, investigating their illness ambiguity, objectified experience, and behaviors to pursue beauty. RESULTS: Results indicated a high level of self-objectification, illness ambiguity, appearance anxiety, and depression among women with PCOS in China and supported the significant associations among the outcomes. Qualitative findings presented a body image of the precarious body, indiscernible identity, and distraught mind. LIMITATIONS: A convenient sampling method was used. The generalization of the study results needs further validation. Future longitudinal studies are necessary to clarify the causal relationships among outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: This study presented women's body image with PCOS and found the negative impact of body image on their depression levels. This study was of both theoretical and practical significance. Appropriate mind-body therapies were suggested for them.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableEfficacy of Integrative Body-Mind-Spirit Group Intervention for Parents of Children With Eczema: A Randomized, Wait-List Controlled Clinical Trial(SAGE Publications, 2020-09)Objectives: This randomized controlled trial evaluated the effects of a psychosocial intervention developed based on the Integrative Body-Mind-Spirit (IBMS) model that aimed to enhance the well-being of parents of children with eczema. Methods: Ninety-one families were randomly allocated to either the six-session intervention group (n = 48) or the wait-list control group (n = 43) and completed the randomized trial. For both groups, a range of psychosocial outcome measures were taken before the intervention (T0), postintervention (T1), and 6 weeks after the intervention (T2). Results: Relative to the control group, the intervention group was significantly improved over time in their levels of perceived stress, depression, and a number of holistic well-being measures, including nonattachment, afflictive ideation, and general vitality. Discussion: The results provided empirical support for an IBMS-informed psychosocial intervention in reducing stress and depression and enhancing well-being among parents of children with eczema.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableLongitudinal study on sexual function and quality of life in infertile couples undergoing intrauterine insemination(OXFORD UNIV PRESS, 2023-01-14)BACKGROUND: Cross-sectional studies have shown that sexual dysfunction and poor quality of life were prevalent among couples undergoing assisted reproduction at specific time points, but nothing is known about how these outcomes change over the course of their intrauterine insemination (IUI) journey. AIM: We investigated the longitudinal changes in sexual function and quality of life of infertile couples undergoing IUI. METHODS: Sixty-six infertile couples completed an anonymous questionnaire at 3 time points: after IUI counseling (T1), 1 day before IUI (T2), and 2 weeks after IUI (T3). The questionnaire consisted of demographic data, Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) or International Index of Erectile Function-5, and Fertility Quality of Life (FertiQoL). OUTCOMES: Descriptive statistics, significance testing with the Friedman test, and post hoc analysis with the Wilcoxon signed rank test were used to compare changes in sexual function and quality of life at different time points. RESULTS: Overall, 18 (26.1%), 16 (23.2%), and 12 (17.4%) women and 29 (42.0%), 37 (53.6%), and 31 (44.9%) men were at risk for sexual dysfunction at T1, T2, and T3, respectively. There were significant differences in mean FSFI scores in arousal (3.87, 4.06, 4.10) and orgasm (4.15, 4.24, 4.39) domains at T1, T2, and T3. After post hoc analysis, only the increase in mean orgasm FSFI scores between T1 and T3 was statistically significant. Men's FertiQoL scores remained high during IUI (74.33-75.63 out of 100). Men also scored significantly higher than women on all FertiQoL domains except environment at the 3 time points. Post hoc analysis showed significant improvement in women's FertiQoL domain scores between T1 and T2: mind-body, environment, treatment, and total. Women's FertiQoL score at T2 for the treatment domain was also significantly higher than that at T3. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Men should not be neglected during IUI as their erectile function got worse in the process, with half of the men being affected. Although women's quality of life showed some improvement during IUI, most of their scores were lower than men's. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS: The use of psychometrically validated questionnaires and a longitudinal approach are the major strengths; a small sample size and the lack of a dyadic approach are the major limitations. CONCLUSION: During IUI, women's sexual performance and quality of life improved. The proportion of men having erectile problems was high for this age group, but men's FertiQoL scores remained good and were better than their partners' throughout IUI.
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ItemTime to take action on filicides in Hong Kong(Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, 2023-02)
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ItemImpact of comorbid allergic diseases on health-related quality of life of Hong Kong schoolchildren(WILEY, 2023-05)BACKGROUND: Studies on the relationship between childhood allergic disease and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) have mostly been confined to a single allergic condition. Therefore, a composite allergic score (CAS) was derived to assess the accumulated effect of eczema, asthma, and allergic rhinitis on HRQOL in Hong Kong schoolchildren. METHODS: Parents of grade one/two or grade eight/nine schoolchildren completed a questionnaire assessing the prevalence and severity of eczema (POEM), asthma (C-ACT/ACT), and allergic rhinitis (VAS) and schoolchildren's HRQOL (PedsQL). Three rounds of recruitment were conducted. A total of 19 primary and 25 secondary schools agreed to participate. RESULTS: Data from 1140 caregivers of grade one/two schoolchildren and 1048 grade eight/nine schoolchildren were imputed and analyzed. The proportion of female respondents were lower in grade one/two (37.7%) but higher in grade eight/nine (57.3%). 63.8% of grade one/two and 58.1% of grade eight/nine schoolchildren reported having at least one allergic disease. In general, greater disease severity was significantly associated with lower HRQOL. After controlling for age, gender, and allergic comorbidity in hierarchical regressions, CAS significantly predicted all HRQOL outcomes in both grade one/two and grade eight/nine schoolchildren. Female grade eight/nine schoolchildren reported lower HRQOL outcomes. CONCLUSION: Composite allergic score may be a practical tool to evaluate allergic comorbidity and the effectiveness of treatments targeting common pathological mechanisms of allergic diseases. Non-pharmaceutical approaches should be considered, especially for patients with more than one allergic disease and greater severity.
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ItemNo Preview AvailablePhysical and Psychosocial Impacts of Parental Incarceration on Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review Differentiating Age of Exposure(SPRINGER INT PUBL AG, 2023-06)The externalizing and internalizing behavioral impacts of parental incarceration on their children has been widely examined. However, understanding the breadth and depth of possible negative impacts on children at different developmental stages, and whether protective factors can be identified to offset such impacts, has been limited. This review systematically reviewed 57 articles and extended the developmental outcome to six key impact themes, with some articles identifying more themes than others: behavioral (n = 34), mental health (n = 26), social relationships (n = 17), academic performance (n = 17), substance use (n = 10), and short-term and long-term physical health (n = 6). To provide a global review, this study examined research across nations from Western to Eastern countries, consisting of 126,690 children and adolescents with incarcerated parents against 577,445 peers with no parents of such histories. Most children and adolescents exposed to parental incarceration are vulnerable to mental health impacts including anxiety, behavioral issues and school performance. The earlier the exposure to parental incarceration, the greater the risk of marijuana use, sexually transmitted infection and multiple partnerships in adolescence. These challenges often continue into emerging adulthood. This review found that the well-being of parents, positive family relationships and successful co-parenting can offset some adverse impacts. Future research lines and implications for preventive support to such children, adolescents and families are discussed.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableEfficacy of a brief decisional support intervention on the decision conflict and psychosocial aspects among women with IVF failure: a randomized controlled trial(Oxford University Press (OUP), 2023-06-22)Study question: Is decisional support intervention (DSI) efficacious in reducing decisional conflict and improving mental health for women experiencing unsuccessful IVF treatment? Summary answer: Compared to controls, DSI statistically significantly increased informed decision but not depression symptoms. What is known already: Failure of IVF treatment could be an unavoidable event and a situation of low control for infertile women. The decisional conflict following unsuccessful IVF treatment could be extremely intense considering the critical issues such as the life goal of childbearing, relationships, finance, etc. Meanwhile, with great importance placed on childbearing, many patients are indulged in the treatment cycles while hesitant to consider ending the treatment or the alternatives, leading to a series of psychosocial problems. Therefore, a decisional support intervention should be considered to facilitate the decision-making and adjustment after unsuccessful IVF treatment. Study design, size, duration: A multi-centers, two-armed, randomized controlled trial, to assess the efficacy of a decisional support intervention on decisional conflict and psychosocial aspects among women who experienced failure of IVF treatment. Between May 2022 to January 2022, a total of 80 participants were randomly allocated to the DSI group or waitlist control group. Participants/materials, setting, methods: Eligible participants were women who have undergone at least one cycle of IVF treatment and failed to achieve clinical pregnancy into treatment. DSI participants received a one-hour decisional support counseling, which focused on the discussion about the pros and cons in relation to continuation and termination of treatment, family building alternatives as well as their implications. The participants completed questionnaires before treatment (T0), and after the treatment (T1). Analyses included paired sample t-tests and ANOVA. Main results and the role of chance: 40 subjects in the intervention group and 38 subjects in the control group were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. The between-group effect analysis showed a significant time x group interaction in informed decision (p < 0.05), meaning that informed decision increased in the intervention group but decreased in the control group over time. There was also a marginally significant increase in perceived behavioral control (p = 0.06), as well as a decrease in decisional conflict of uncertainty (p = 0.08) and anxiety symptoms (p = 0.08). Limitations, reasons for caution: Considering the decision might be navigated by the treatment outcome, this study only measured the short-term effect after the intervention. Secondly, this study only enrolled women, who were more vulnerable to the risk of treatment failures and take a more active role in decision-making, compared to men. Wider implications of the findings: Instead of putting efforts on psychosocial intervention aiming at improving the chance of pregnancy, this study provides an efficacious brief counseling approach, tapping on patients’ existing cultural values and beliefs, to help patients ‘find the way out’ following the IVF treatment failures. Trial registration number: ChiCTR2200060238
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ItemNo Preview AvailableComparing dyadic cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with dyadic integrative body-mind-spirit intervention (I-BMS) for Chinese family caregivers of lung cancer patients: a randomized controlled trial(SPRINGER, 2020-03)PURPOSE: The study adopted a randomized controlled trial to compare the effect of culturally compatible psychosocial interventions on multiple aspects of quality of life (QoL) for family caregivers of lung cancer patients. METHODS: 157 Chinese informal caregivers of lung cancer patients were recruited together with the family members for whom they were providing care, and randomly assigned to either integrative body-mind-spirit intervention (I-BMS) or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Patient-caregiver dyads attended the same arm of intervention in separate groups for 8 weeks. Assessments of generic QoL, anxiety, depression, perceived stress, insomnia, and caregiving burden were measured before intervention (T0), within 1-week (T1), 8-week (T2), and 16-week (T3) post-intervention. RESULTS: Adopting the intention-to-treat analysis, family caregivers in receipt of both I-BMS and CBT exhibited a statistically significant improvement in generic QoL immediately following intervention and at follow-up assessments, with moderate effect size. Improvement of insomnia was found at T1 for both modes, which deteriorated at follow-up; both modes reduced anxiety and perceived stress at follow-up. No intervention effect was observed in depression and domains of caregiving burden. There was no significant interaction effect between intervention type and time. No main or interaction effect between sample background variables and intervention type was found to predict symptomatic changes at T1 and T3. CONCLUSIONS: Culturally attuned I-BMS and CBT exhibited equivalent effectiveness in improving psychological distress and generic QoL for family caregivers of lung cancer patients. To improve the evaluation of outcomes, future study could benefit from incorporating a usual care control.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableComparing the efficacy of integrative body-mind-spirit intervention with cognitive behavioral therapy in patient-caregiver parallel groups for lung cancer patients using a randomized controlled trial(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2020-07-03)Purposes/objectives: This paper reports the comparative efficacies of integrative body-mind-spirit intervention (I-BMS) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in patient-caregiver parallel groups for Chinese patients with lung cancer.Design: Randomized controlled trial (RCT).Methods: One hundred and fifty-seven patient-caregiver dyads with no marked functional impairment were randomized into one of the two interventions with eight weekly patient-caregiver parallel groups. Assessments were conducted at baseline, within one, eight- and sixteen-weeks post-intervention. Effects of treatment group across time were analyzed by multilevel modeling.Findings: CBT led to greater reduction in emotional vulnerability than I-BMS. I-BMS resulted in greater increase in overall QoL and spiritual self-care, and more reduction in depression than CBT. Patients in both interventions experienced improvement in physical, emotional and spiritual, except social, domains of QoL.Conclusion: I-BMS was more efficacious for diverse domains of QoL, and CBT was more effective for emotional well-being, despite the relatively small between-group effect sizes.Implications for psychosocial providers/policy: (1) With the expanding repertoire of psychosocial interventions for families facing lung cancer, it has become imperative to investigate the comparative efficacies of empirically supported and culturally adapted interventions. (2) Our findings show that I-BMS was more effective for diverse domains of QoL, while CBT was more efficacious with emotional well-being, although both interventions led to significant improvements in physical, emotional and spiritual domains of patient QoL. (3) Patient-caregiver parallel groups have been shown to be effective for enhancing QoL of Chinese lung cancer patients. (4) Care professionals are encouraged to dispense interventions based on the idiosyncratic needs and preferences of the patients to maximize the treatment effects.