Loneliness and life satisfaction amongst three cultural groups

Abstract Studies into loneliness and life satisfaction have rarely assessed the role of culture in moderating the relationship between these variables. The present study examined the relationship between loneliness and life satisfaction using data from three nonstudent samples collected from Italian, Anglo-Canadian and Chinese-Canadian populations. A total of 206 respondents completed the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, Peplau, & Cutrona, 1980) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985). Two contrasting hypotheses were compared: one, a “postmodern” hypothesis, predicting that the relationship between life satisfaction and loneliness would be stronger in our individualist sample of Anglo-Canadians, and a second, “relational” hypothesis predicting this association to be strongest in our collectivist, Chinese-Canadian sample. Our findings demonstrated that culture has a small but significant impact on the relationship between loneliness and life satisfaction, and, consistent with the relational hypothesis, the relationship between the two concepts was strongest among our Chinese-Canadian respondents and weakest among our Anglo-Canadian participants This finding is discussed in the context of the strong expectations of social cohesion in collectivist societies

Cultural differences in intimacy: The influence of gender-role ideology and individualism-collectivism

Two studies examined emotional intimacy in European Canadian and Chinese Canadian dating relationships. Cultural differences in gender-role ideology and individualism–collectivism were hypothesized to differentially contribute to selfdisclosure and responsiveness, and in turn, intimacy. Study 1 revealed that Chinese Canadians’ lower intimacy relative to European Canadians was mediated by their greater gender-role traditionalism but not by their individualism or collectivism. Study 2 further linked greater gender-role traditionalism to lower self-disclosure, and in turn, lower intimacy. Results also revealed that Chinese Canadians’ lower intimacy mediated their lower relationship satisfaction and higher rate of relationship termination in Study 1, but that Chinese Canadians were not any more likely to terminate their relationships in Study 2

Love at the cultural crossroads: Intimacy and commitment in Chinese Canadian relationships

This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2010 Wiley-BlackwellThe role of culture in romantic relationships has largely been investigated by examining variation between groups, rather than within groups. This study took a within-group approach to examine the influence of Canadian and Chinese cultural identification on gender role egalitarianism, intimacy, and commitment in 60 Chinese Canadian dating couples. Results revealed that men's identification with mainstream Canadian culture was associated with their own and with their partner's greater intimacy, at least in part because of their greater egalitarianism. Conversely, women's identification with mainstream Canadian culture was associated with their partners' lower intimacy. Finally, women's identification with Chinese heritage culture was associated with their greater commitment, and some evidence suggested that this was because of their greater gender role traditionalism

Ethnic Differences in Health: Does Immigration Status Matter?

This study examines health differences between first-generation immigrant and Canadian-born persons who share the same the ethnocultural origin, and the extent to which such differences reflect social structural and health-related behavioural contexts. Data from the 2000/2001 Canadian Community Health Survey show that first generation immigrants of Black and French race/ethnicity tend to have better health than their Canadian-born counterparts, while the opposite is true for those of South Asian, Chinese, and south and east European and Jewish origins. West Asians and Arabs and other Asian groups are advantaged in health regardless of country of birth. Health differences between ethnic foreign- and Canadian-born persons generally converge after adjusting for socio-demographic, SES, and lifestyle factors. Implications for health care policy and program development are discussed.self-rated health; functional health; ethnicity; race; immigration

Living Alone and Living with Children: The Living Arrangements of Canadian and Chinese-Canadian Seniors

Living arrangements have the potential to tell us far more than simply who lives with whom. Whether a senior lives alone, with a spouse, or with children will provide potentially distinct social support possibilities. From a policy perspective, the particular mix of these living arrangements also provides clues to the need for formal services. While work has been done on how income, gender and age shape the living arrangements of Canadian seniors, relatively little research has explored how ethnicity, language skill and immigration status further mediate living arrangements. Given the future combination of population aging and continued shifts in the source and type of immigration to Canada, additional research on how ethnicity and factors associated with immigration affect living arrangements is also warranted. In this paper I explore the relationship between characteristics of Canadian seniors and their living arrangements. Ethnicity and immigration are further explored by focussing on the living arrangements of Chinese-Canadian seniors. Data for Canadians aged 55 and older from the 1996 individual census Public Use Microdata File (PUMF) (n=159,361), General Social Survey Cycle 11 (GSS11) (n=12,756) and National Population Health Survey (NPHS) (n=13,363) were used in this analysis. Logistic regressions using the PUMF and GSS11 data suggest that while personal income and characteristics of immigrants play important roles in encouraging living alone among older Canadians, their effects do not nullify the role of culture among Chinese- Canadian seniors. Importantly, these effects vary substantially by gender and age. These findings underscore the heterogeneity of Canadian seniors, which is often overlooked in the design and delivery of services to this segment of the population.seniors; living arrangements; PUMF; GSS; NPHS

The role of culture and diversity in the prevention of falls among older Chinese people

Original article can be found at : http://journals.cambridge.org/ Copyright Canadian Association on GerontologyThis grounded-theory study explored the perceptions of Chinese older people, living in England, on falls and fear of falling, and identified facilitators and barriers to fall prevention interventions. With a sample of 30 Chinese older people, we conducted two focus groups and 10 in-depth interviews in Mandarin or Cantonese. Interview transcripts, back translated, were analyzed using N6. Constant comparative analysis highlighted a range of health-seeking behaviors after a fall: Chinese older people were reluctant to use formal health services; talking about falls was avoided; older people hid falls from their adult children to avoid worrying them; and fatalistic views about falls and poor knowledge about availability and content of interventions were prevalent. Cost of interventions was important. Chinese older adults valued their independence, and cultural intergenerational relations had an impact on taking action to prevent falls. Cultural diversity affects older adults’ acceptance of fall prevention interventions.Peer reviewe

Recipe for Victory: The Fight for Hill 677 during the Battle of the Kap’yong River, 24-25 April 1951

During the night of 24–25 April 1951, the Second Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry fought what became the most famous Canadian battle of the Korean War. Outnumbered and isolated, the Princess Pats repulsed wave after wave of attacking Chinese infantry from their positions atop Hill 677 overlooking the Kap’yong River Valley. Although a comparatively minor episode in the broader context of the Korean War, Canadian retention of Hill 677 made an important contribution to the Commonwealth victory at Kap’yong. More significantly, the fight for Hill 677 was clearly the most successful set-piece engagement fought by the Canadians in Korea. In recognition of their achievement, the Princess Pats were awarded the United States Presidential Unit Citation—the only Canadian unit ever to earn this distinction. Although clearly an important event for the Canadians, the fight for Hill 677 has received little scholarly attention in Canada. Commonwealth historians, in contrast, have been busy. Examining the action from the perspective of the New Zealand gunners who supported the Canadians, Ian MacGibbon suggested that artillery fire was the key to victory, and saved the beleaguered Patricias from certain defeat. Although supporting fire, including that from the Canadians themselves, was the single most important factor in the successful defence of Hill 677, it was by no means the only one. An operational analysis of the battle reveals that the Second World War experiences of the Patricias’ senior officers, the specialized nature of the battalion’s pre-battle training program, high morale, and the failure of the enemy to coordinate and press his attack also helped to make the Canadian stand possible

The Canadian Armed Forces Advisory Training Team Tanzania 1965–1970

At the beginning of the 1960s Canada embarked on an increasingly interventionist policy in Southern Africa that included a significant number of peacekeeping, military, and technical assistance programmes1. In addition to peacekeeping efforts in the Congo (1960–64), Canada provided military assistance to Ghana (1961–68), Zambia (1965), Tanzania (1965–70) and Nigeria (1963/1968–70). While the Zambia and Nigeria missions were essentially responses to emergencies, the Ghana and Tanzania missions were more calculated affairs. To help foster democratic governments Canada agreed to assist in the establishment and training of professional armies and air forces which, when combined with governmental assistance and other infrastructure building, would firmly support a pro–Western rather than communist regime in the two countries. While the mission for Ghana began in 1961, the Canadian Armed Forces Advisory and Training Team Tanzania (CAFATTT) was officially authorized on December 8th, 1964, after Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson made the announcement in the House of Commons. Over the next five years the Canadian contingent built the Tanzanian People’s Defence Force (TPDF) from the ground up, creating everything from Tanzania’s National Defence Act to the instructional pamphlets used for teaching weapons classes. Throughout the CAFATTT mission both Russian and Chinese advisory teams who were also competing for Tanzania continuously challenged the Canadians, initiating a game of Cold War chess with all of Southern Africa as the prize. In the end, the Canadians were unable to sway Tanzania towards the west and were forced to leave only five years after they had first arrived

Fighting the Defensive Battle on the Jamestown Line: The Canadians in Korea, November 1951

Barbed wire. Artillery duels. Patrolling in “no-man’s land.” Static warfare from fixed defensive positions. This description could easily fit the western front in 1916. In fact, however, it also depicts the Jamestown Line in central Korea from the beginning of the static phase of the Korean war in late October 1951 to the cease-fire of July 1953. The apparent similarity of this static war to the Western Front from late 1914 to early 1918 has obscured the importance and uniqueness of the Korean experience to recent military history. For while stalemate on the Western Front derived from fundamental military problems, the stalemate in Korea was profoundly political in nature