ObjectiveThe impact of pain and depression on health-related quality of life (QoL) is widely investigated, yet the pain-depression interactions on QoL remain unclear. This study aims to examine the pain-depression-QoL mediation link.MethodsPain severity were assessed in a sample of Chinese professional teachers (n = 385). The subjects were also assessed on depressive symptoms and QoL. Regression models were fitted to evaluate the pain-depression-QoL relationships.ResultsAbout 44% of the sample had 3-5 painful areas in the past 3 months. Shoulder pain (60%) and headache (53%) were common painful areas. The results of regression analyses showed that pain mediated the effects of depression on the mental aspect of QoL (standardized β = -0.111; Sobel test: z = -3.124, p < 0.005) whereas depression mediated the effects of pain on the physical aspect of QoL (standardized β = -0.026; Sobel test: z = -4.045, p < 0.001).ConclusionsOur study offered tentative evidence that pain and depression impacted differently on the mental and physical aspect of QoL. As these findings were based on a Chinese teacher sample, future studies should employ more representative samples across cultures to verify the present data.

In Asian societies, the sexual abuse experiences of male victims are rarely studied due to social gender role stereotype, which enforces the discourse that men are supposed to be tough and impossible to be hurt, and not to report sexual abuse. This research examines the life journey of 12 sexually abused male survivors in Hong Kong to explore their struggles. Results show: firstly, male survivors are caught in shame and excitement when talking about their abusive incidents. Shamefulness leads some of them to have negative self-esteem while excitement makes some of them addicted to sexual activities or even become homosexual; secondly, they feel insecure to tell others about it after being abused, because of masculinity identity; thirdly, relationship building is always hard for them since they do not know how to maintain distance with the others.

Our data offered preliminary evidence that comorbid chronic pain and sleep disturbances occurred among about one-fifth in the present sample of Chinese community adolescents. Future studies should examine whether the two symptoms interact with each other in affecting the physical, mental, and cognitive development of adolescents.

Although there is growing consideration of the negative impacts that are instigated by the booming gaming industry on the physical health and job satisfaction of casino employees in Macau, a critical research gap exists in the understanding of the perceived impacts of casino employment on the family life of the dealers. By drawing on evidence from a qualitative study carried out in Macau, the specifics of the changes in the family lives among dealer families and how family relationships have been affected by casino employment will be explored and analyzed in this paper. With a focus-group-interview design, 113 casino dealers have been interviewed in terms of the impacts of casino employment on their family relationships. The findings suggest that while there has been undeniably a positive change in terms of the financial situation of the family, this has neither improved family bonding, nor led to a large-scale transformation of family relations in the direction of greater harmony and functionality. Yet even though there are conflicting views on the perceived impacts of casino employment on their spousal, parental and overall family relationships, the study participants generally agree that the fatigue and incompatibility of schedules that are resultant of casino work impose significant challenges in their parental role. The paper concludes with recommendations to address the issues found in this study.

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