Social support and clinical depression in China

Introduction It has been recognised for many years that in Western contexts social support is associated with depression. However, relatively few studies have investigated this association in non-Western countries, and few, if any, in a clinical population. The present study aimed to establish how the perceived quality of social support provided by their spouse, their family and their friends to people in China who have a clinical diagnosis of depression is associated with aspects of their illness.

Methods The sample comprised 50 males and 50 females ranging in age from 19 to 62 years. All participants had a clinical diagnosis of depression. They completed the Beck Depression Inventory and a scale assessing perceived social support.

Results Contrary to predictions and previous research findings, no significant association was found between perceived quality of social support and level of depression, length of depression, and number of episodes of depression.

Discussion A variety of cultural factors may be associated with the quality of social support provided to patients with depression. Further research is required to investigate if these findings generalise across other non-Western populations, and also, to explore other factors that may influence the onset and continuation of depression among people in China.

The Copenhagen school on your in Kyrgyzstan : is securitization theory useable outside Europe?

The article argues that the theoretical framework presented by the Copenhagen School is currently unsuited to empirical studies outside the West owing to two factors. First, the presence of the ‘Westphalian straitjacket’ has prevented explicit interrogation of the normative concepts underlying the framework: there is a presumption that European understandings of society and the state are universal. Second, the centrality of the speech-act for securitization to the exclusion of other forms of expression, such as physical action, results in the theoretical framework producing a Westernized description of a given situation. The extent to which these factors limit the utility of the concepts of securitization and societal security in a non-Western setting is illustrated through the case of the overthrow of the government in Kyrgyzstan in March 2005. This example forms an empirical critique to highlight how theoretical shortcomings result in a simplified and Westernized description of the situation that does not take into account the specific local socio-political context. The article concludes that if the Copenhagen School’s theoretical framework is to be considered suitable for universal application, future theoretical developments must explicitly address the issues discussed to enable progress in escaping International Relations’ Westphalian straitjacket.

The role of cultural values and religion on views of body size and eating practices among adolescents from Fiji, Tonga and Australia

Objectives This study investigated cultural values related to body image and eating practices in Western and non-Western societies.

Design and Methods In total, 628 Fijian, 463 Indo-Fijian, 598 Tongan, and 534 Australian adolescents completed measures of cultural values and religious influences in relation to the ideal body and eating practices.

Results Fijian and Tongan adolescents were more likely to value a large body. Religious influences were most strongly associated with eating practices for Fijians, Indo-Fijians, and Tongans.

Conclusions The findings support the role of religion in transmitting cultural values regarding eating practices in Pacific Island communities.

Statement of contribution
What is already known on this subject? Previous research has demonstrated that sociocultural factors shape body image and eating behaviours. Most of this research has been conducted in Western countries.

What does this study add? The current study identifies the role of cultural values and religious influences on body image and eating behaviours in a number of different cultural groups. This is the first study to use the same methodology to explore these relationships across Western and Pacific Island communities.

Tribes as civil society organisations: the case of Iraq

The socio-political discourse about civil society inclines to use Western models in coneptualising civil society both in Western and non-Western societies. Iraq is one of those countries where civil society is mostly discussed the formally organised type. This paper critiques the disengagement of literature and empirical studies with exploring social structures like tribe within the civil society arena. It contends that civil society organisations should be understood based on their functions rather than forms. This paper argues that studying civil society should be comprehensive by studying other non-Western theories like 14th century Ibn Khaldun’s Muslim/Arab theories in its indigenous Arab and Muslim societies. On the premise of two factors: the Khaldunian asabiya or olidarity concept and the function of tribes in peace-building, policy formulation and democratisation, this paper uncovers how tribes in Iraq can be regarded civil society organisations.

Cultural issues in understanding and treating obsessive compulsive and spectrum disorders

This chapter discusses the cross-cultural understanding of the obsessive compulsive and spectrum disorders. Epidemiological studies suggest a reasonably consistent prevalence of OCD around the world. The role of other culturally influenced factors in the presentation of OCD is also considered (i.e., religiosity, superstition, and beliefs), with religion considered particularly important in the presentation of OCD, although not in its prevalence per se. Treatment effect sizes across countries and within minority cultures from Western countries are outlined. The influence of cultural factors on help-seeking behaviors, assessment, misdiagnosis, and treatment are considered. Limitations of the literature base are discussed, particularly the lack of non-Western studies of treatment effects, and the low evidence base for the spectrum disorders.

Trauma-related symptoms in Sri Lankan adult survivors after the tsunami: pretraumatic and peritraumatic factors

Limited research has addressed factors associated with psychological distress following disasters among non-Western populations. The 2004 tsunami affected 1.7 million people across South Asia and Africa, with considerable variations in trauma-related outcomes. Pretraumatic and peritraumatic conditions associated with trauma-related symptoms in 305 Sri Lankan adult survivors (28% male, aged 18-83 years; mean = 39.9 years; standard deviation = 15.3), clinically assessed 1 month posttsunami, were evaluated retrospectively. Outcome measures were total scores on 11 trauma-related symptoms. Multivariate linear regression analyses tested for associations between pretraumatic and peritraumatic conditions and symptom scores, with peritraumatic conditions adjusted for pretraumatic variables. Pretraumatic conditions of female gender, employment, prior health and social issues, and substance use and peritraumatic conditions of loss of family, witnessing the tsunami, or suffering an injury were associated with trauma-related symptoms. The findings facilitate understanding cultural contexts that define risk factors associated with trauma-related symptoms in Sri Lankans, which are critical for developing culturally appropriate interventions.

Islam and globalization

Globalization has opened up non-Western societies to forces of economic, political and cultural liberalism for the first time, and this process has had a profound effect upon Islamic societies, causing unease and concern among many Muslims. Moreover, this apprehension has been exacerbated by the fact that globalization as a concept and as a process seems to originate from the West, and because many Muslims equate globalization with colonization. The conflict between Islam and globalization and the West is perhaps the most pressing issue in the post-September 11th era, and this set seeks to represent the shape of international relations - conciliatory and otherwise - between the two ‘civilizations’ in the late-twentieth and twenty-first centuries. With a general introduction by the editor, the volumes include articles by leading scholars that will initially examine the various ways in which Islam has tried to protect itself against the encroachment of the West, before investigating a more outward-looking Islam that encourages religious reformism and evolution in order to contend with the new challenges and priorities of a global community.

The relationship between perceived interparental conflict and Malaysian young adults' attitudes toward divorce

In the context of an upward trend in divorce rates in Malaysia, this article explores the relationship between Malaysian young adults' perceptions of interparental conflict and their own attitudes toward divorce. Two questionnaires were administered to 160 young adults between 18 and 30 years old: the Attitude Towards Divorce Scale and the Perceptions of Interparental Conflict−Intensity/Frequency Scale. A positive relationship was found between perceived intensity and frequency of interparent conflict and attitudes toward divorce in males and females, respectively; however, the associations were weak. Future investigations of divorce need to take into consideration both the cultural factors that are influential within a society and how they shape gender norms within that population to gain a greater understanding of this relationship. Such investigations will increase the understanding of non-Western culture's unique interaction between attitudes and divorce, thus potentially aiding future efforts to strengthen marriages and families.

Iranian women's sports fandom : gender, resistance, and identity in the football movie offside

As sport enters new global territories, attending to questions of cultural difference is increasingly important to studies of women’s sports fanship. This article draws on theories of transnational feminism and feminist sports scholarship to contemplate the cinematic portrayal of the non-Western female football supporter. Women sports fans rarely appear as film protagonists, with the notable exception of the 2006 movie Offside, which tells the story of Iranian women soccer fans attending a World Cup qualifying match. By focusing on the ways that women fans negotiate their marginal status in the sporting arena, I argue that the film unsettles cultural associations between masculinity and football in Iran, and confounds the oppositional construction of the “other” woman as a passive victim of, or freedom fighter against, Islam. 

Preservice music students explore African music in an Australian tertiary context

Subjective well-being of Beijing taxi drivers

This study investigates subjective well-being among a sample of Beijing taxi drivers in the lead up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games using the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI). The specific aims of this study are (a) investigate the psychometric properties of the PWI in this unique population; (b) ascertain whether Beijing taxi drivers are satisfied with their lives; and (c) examine whether the responses to the PWI from participants falls within the narrow range predicted by the 'Theory of Subjective Wellbeing Homeostasis'. The PWI demonstrated good psychometric properties and was consistent with previous studies for Western and non-Western samples. The data revealed a moderate level of subjective well-being (PWI score = 61.1). While Beijing taxi drivers work long hours for low wages, the PWI was nonetheless within the normative range predicted for Chinese societies by the 'Theory of Subjective Wellbeing Homeostasis'. The results suggest that the homeostatic mechanism is fairly resilient, even when the individual leads relatively a hard life based on objective indicators. Specifically, for Beijing taxi drivers, it appears that external, buffers such as personal relationships and feeling part of the community, act to assist the homeostatic system. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Disenchantments of secularism: the West and India

This Chapter is an exercise in comparative secularism. In this chapter I will be concerned basically with a critique of Western conceptions of secularism, beginning with Hegel’s invention of a particular reading of secularism that, through imperialist literature, gave a preeminent direction to the ideology of the less-religiously orientated Indian nationalists during their drawn-out independence struggle. My main concern will be to contrast the Western debates on ‘the secular’, particularly in its recent permutations or attempted revisions as a response to the crisis of modernity, with the current Indian debates—where ‘ the secular; has all but been hijacked by the Hindu Right—and to show—reversing Hegel’s trajectory—what impact the latter could have on the former. There is some evidence of this already occurring, particularly in Charles Taylor’s work and travels wherein he does make some gestures towards looking at non-Western experiences of secularism (which is taken more or less to be synonymous with secularization). There are severe limitations to this overture however, and the chapter hopes to sound a word of caution on the kind of excitement over which Taylor seems to have become something of a celebrity in the academe. Even more disappointingly, one does not find a similar emphatic approach or opening to non-Western experiences and rethinking of the secular in the works of other modernists; and I point to Habermas and Žižek as my examples, who I touch on, albeit very briefly. This lack or lacuna makes both the discourse of modernity and the supplementary critique of secularism much the poorer for it.

Parental practices encouraging and discouraging physical activity in Hong Kong Chinese preschoolers

Background: Regular participation in physical activity (PA) can help reduce the risk of overweight/obesity. Parental practices related to PA are modifiable determinants of preschoolers' PA that are still not well understood, especially in non-Western cultures. This qualitative explorative study aimed to identify parental practices encouraging or discouraging PA in Hong Kong preschoolers. Methods: Nominal Group Technique (NGT) sessions (n = 45; 6 to 9/group), complemented by a focus group (n = 6) and individual interviews (n = 12), were conducted with primary caregivers (mainly parents) of Hong Kong preschoolers to investigate what parents do to encourage (4 groups) and discourage (2 groups) PA in children. The groups were stratified by low and high neighborhood socioeconomic status. Results: Participants generated 21 and 16 items describing practices encouraging and discouraging preschoolers' PA, respectively. Parental provision of instrumental, motivational, and conditional support were thought to encourage child's PA, while parental safety concerns, focus on academic achievement, lack of time and resources, and promotion of sedentary behaviors were thought to discourage child's PA. Conclusions: Several parental practices that were deemed to encourage or discourage Hong Kong preschoolers' PA were identified. These can assist with development of a culturally sensitive scale of PA parenting practices and inform future quantitative research.