Representations of Mental Health Among Middle‐Aged Urban Chinese Men

Abstract

Little is understood by the ideas that urban Chinese population holds about mental health. Insufficient research and recognition of mental illnesses, and a dearth of social resources for mental health support and promotion limit understandings of how daily life stresses restrict the quality of life of China's urban population. Drawing on in‐depth interviews with 15 middle‐age urban men, we map out men's accounts of how they battle to cope with the demands of everyday social, political, and familial pressures. The study reveals that the representations of mental health are shaped by notions of control over emotions, adherence to Confucian philosophy, familial obligations, and the need to demonstrate social obedience and conformity. Data also suggest that the participants represent stable family support along with healthy social interactions as important enabling factors of positive mental health, whereas pressures of modernity are regarded as significant disruptive factors in mental health. The theory of social representations guides the process as well as analytic interpretations of this research. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Cross-cultural adaptation, validity and reliability of the Chinese Version of Miller Behavioral Style Scale

“…Item 1 ‘I would ask the dentist exactly what work was going to be done.’ might not suit Chinese health care background. The Confucian principle of hierarchy and obedience emphasize power and social ranking in the organizations of Chinese society [ 40 , 41 ], which means the inferiors are used to be appraised by their superiors instead of by themselves, hence item 18 ‘I would review the list of duties for my present job and try to figure out if I had fulfilled them all.’ seems inappropriate for Chinese population. In the face of being laid off, the loyal Chinese subordinates show their loyalty and dedication to the supervisors [ 40 ] and they will continue doing their work whatever happened; therefore, for item 24: ‘I would continue doing my work as if nothing special was happening.’, most of the people might choose to do so no matter what type of information-seeking styles they belong.…”

Validation and Reliability of the Chinese Version of the Miller Behavioral Style Scale

“…might not suit Chinese health care background. The Confucian principle of hierarchy and obedience emphasize power and social ranking in the organizations of Chinese society [48,49], which means the inferiors are used to be appraised by their superiors instead of by themselves, hence item 18 'I would review the list of duties for my present job and try to gure out if I had ful lled them all.' seems inappropriate for Chinese population.…”

“…', most of the people might choose to do so no matter what type of information-seeking style they belong. From childhood, Chinese people are trained not to disobey [48], so both monitoring and blunting type person might choose to read the safety notice card as required by the crew man, and the item 25 'I would carefully read the information provided about safety features in the plane and make sure I knew where the emergency exits were' might not identify the different information-seeking style. The collectivist culture emphasis on people instead of task.…”

Cross-Cultural Adaptation, Validity and Reliability of The Chinese Version of Miller Behavioral Style Scale

“…', most of the people might choose to do so no matter what type of information-seeking style they belong. From childhood, Chinese people are trained not to disobey (41),so both monitoring and blunting type person might choose to read the safety notice card as required by the crewman, and the item 25 'I would carefully read the information provided about safety features in the plane and make sure I knew where the emergency exits were' might not identify the different information-seeking style. The collectivist culture emphasis on people instead of task.…”