Sex Differences in Perceived Family Functioning and Family Resources in Hong Kong Families: Implications for Social Work Practice

Abstract

Although enhancing family functioning has become a rising concern of social workers in Chinese contexts such as Hong Kong, little has been known on perceived family functioning and family resources. To fill in this knowledge gap, this article reports part of the results of a telephone survey conducted in Hong Kong, aiming to identify the sex differences in these two areas. The results of the study have shown that Chinese women perceived better affective involvement, one of the crucial indicators of family functioning, than Chinese men. However, among the different family resources, men rated better physical and mental well-being whereas women's social connection was stronger than men's. Further analysis have shown that the linkage of three family resources (namely stress coping efficacy, time spent with family and income) to perceived family functioning was statistically significant irrespective of genders. Implications of this study for social work practice are discussed at the end of the article.

Parenting Stress and Perceived Family Functioning of Chinese Parents in Hong Kong: Implications for Social Work Practice

“…Contrary to the research team's prediction, the perceived family functioning did not become less satisfactory after the global financial crisis in 2008 and is similar to that obtained in our past study (Ma et al, 2009a). Parent's gender had no significant effect on the overall perceived family functioning or on any item of the positive or negative statements, which is different from the result of a similar study (Ma et al, 2009b). The inconsistent results obtained may be attributable to different sample characteristics of the two studies.…”

“…The cutoff between ''healthy'' and ''unhealthy'' functioning is 2.0 for the full scale for the Canadian sample (n = 60 items; Miller, Epstein, Bishop, & Keitner, 1985). The modified scale was reliable in our previous study (Cronbach's alpha = 0.75) (Ma et al, 2009b) and in this study (Cronbach's alpha = 0.75).…”

“…The inconsistent results obtained may be attributable to different sample characteristics of the two studies. The respondents of this study are Chinese parents with a child aged 17 or below while the respondents of the previous study (Ma et al, 2009b) are adults aged 18 or above, who may not be parents.…”

“…Modernization and westernization have transformed the influence of the traditional Chinese cultural values and beliefs on people's behaviors and attitudes in contemporary Chinese societies such as Hong Kong. Hong Kong women now have more opportunities for higher education and for active working lives and careers (Ma, Wong, & Lau, 2009b), so the traditional perception of parenthood and associated stresses between fathers and mothers might change. Past studies (e.g.…”

The Effect of Socioeconomic Status and Family Structure on Parental Warmth and Parental Control in aChinese Context: Implications for Social Work Practice

“…Children in Hong Kong have become increasingly valued due to the decline in birth rate and smaller family size. With better financial resources, Hong Kong parents are willing to invest more time and effort in child care compared with earlier generations (Ma, Wong & Lau, ; Ma, Wong, Lau & Pun, ).…”