Assessing the risk of intimate partner violence in the Chinese Population: The Chinese Risk Assessment Tool for Perpetrator (CRAT-P)

The study undertook the development and validation of a risk assessment tool for the evaluation of risk of intimate partner violence (IPV) among the Chinese population. A total of 2,225 men from a representative Chinese population in Hong Kong were assessed with their experience of IPV perpetration in the year preceding the interview. With the use of the split-half validation procedure, six factors that were associated with IPV perpetration were selected. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was 0.76. The Chinese Risk Assessment Tool for Perpetrators (CRAT-P) is a brief and easy to use assessment tool for evaluating IPV risk in the Chinese population.postprin

Correlates of wife assault in Hong Kong Chinese families

The objective of this study was the risk factors of wife assault in Hong Kong Chinese families. The sample included 107 battered women from a refuge for battered women. Factor analysis revealed risk factors like dominance, stress, poor anger management, aggressive personality, conflict, lack of empathy, masculine gender role stress, sense of insecurity, relationship distress, and violent socialization. Correlation analysis indicated that dominance, spousal conflict, and sense of insecurity increase the likelihood of carrying out minor physical assault and using psychological aggression, while aggressive personality predicts severe physical assault and injury. The risk factors were explained in terms of traditional Chinese concepts of gender role expectations of men and women and face orientations. The present study provides some evidence relating to the risk factors of wife assault in Chinese families.preprin

Protection of face and avoidance of responsibility: Chinese men's account of violence against women

This study of the accounts of Chinese male abusers identified three categories of narrative strategy: protection of face, avoidance of responsibility and the privatization of violence against women. The extent of the use of narrative strategies is a function of the interaction between the audience and the abuser, or the therapist and the client in the clinical context. Our findings underscore the need to obtain information on intervention, so that abusers might take full responsibility for halting their violence, unlearning their habitually violent behaviour, and moving toward finding previously unappreciated, constructive forms of conflict resolution.postprin

Chinese culture, social work education and research

In the development of indigenous social work knowledge in China, the power relationship between teacher and student can act as a barrier to the development of scientific knowledge and practice research. Social work education and practice research in Chinese societies should focus on the empowerment of social work students, methodological pluralism and the development of a culturally specific practice research model.preprin

Social Workers' conceptions of the relationship between theory and practice in an organizational context

The research studies the relationship between theory and practice in the context of an agency. Eight social workers from an agency were recruited for in-depth interviews. Results showed that the conception of theory and practice was influenced by the self, the client and the agency.preprin

Gallbladder resections: Demographic characteristics and surgical pathology in Hong Kong revisited

Objective: To study the demographic characteristics and surgical pathology of diseased gallbladders in Hong Kong. Design: Retrospective review of pathology records. Subjects: Surgically resected gallbladders submitted to the Department of Pathology of The University of Hong Kong at the Queen Mary Hospital from 1993 to 1996. Excluded were cases of essentially normal gallbladder resected for reasons other than diseases of the gallbladder Results: A total of 1,865 cases of cholecystectomies were selected. The mean age at cholecystectomy was 56.6 years (SD=15.5 years). Female outnumbered male patients in a ratio of 1.38:1. Age specific cholecystectomy rates among females were higher than those of the males in nearly all age groups. A steady rise in the age specific rates of cholecystectomy with age was observed. Patients in their sixties formed the largest group by age in decade and accounted for 24.2% of all cases. The estimated annual rate of cholecystectomy per 100,000 population in the 60 to 69-year age group was 247. Inflammatory diseases of the gallbladder accounted for 93.7% of all resections. There were 18 cases of primary carcinoma of the gallbladder. The estimated age standardized rate of primary cancers of gallbladder was 2.1 per 100,000 population. Adenoma, mucocele, infarction, schistosomiasis, and clanorchiasis were occasionally diagnosed on examination of the gallbladders. Conclusion: Cholecystectomies were most commonly performed for inflammatory gallbladder diseases. Females in almost every age group had a higher rate of gallbladder resections than males. Our earlier finding of a steady increase in cholecystectomy rate with advancing age was supported by the more recent data. The age specific cholecystectomy rates in the two studies were comparable.published_or_final_versio

Evaluating the risk of child abuse: the Child Abuse Risk Assessment Scale (CARAS)

The present study developed the Child Abuse Risk Assessment Scale (CARAS), an actuarial instrument for the assessment of the risk of physical child abuse. Data of 2,363 Chinese parents (47.7% male) living in Hong Kong were used in the analyses. Participants were individually interviewed with a questionnaire assessing their perpetration of child abuse and some theoretically or empirically tested factors associated with child abuse. Using the split-half validation procedure, the 5-factor, 64-item CARAS was created and validated. When applying to the second half of the split sample, the CARAS had a sensitivity of 81.9%, a specificity of 77.8%, and an overall accuracy of 78.1%. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was .91. Overall, our findings showed that the CARAS is a simple, systematic and validated instrument identifying at-risk population of child maltreatment in Chinese societies.postprin

The Chinese concept of face and violence against women

The study examines the Chinese face embedded in marital violence. Results from the analysis of male batterers showed that the stronger the face-orientation, the greater the masculine gender role stress and thus the greater the likelihood of using violence against a female partner.preprin

The Role of Chinese Face in the Perpetration of Dating Partner Violence

This study explored the associations between the perpetration of partner violence and two types of face orientation-protective and acquisitive-in Chinese societies. Data from a convenience sample of 3,388 university students from Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing were analyzed. The participants completed the Protective and Acquisitive Face Orientation (PAFO) Scale Short Form and the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2) to measure their face orientations and experience of perpetrating violence against their dating partner. Acquisitive face orientation (AFO) was positively associated with the self-reported perpetration of physical and psychological partner violence. No significant associations were found between protective face orientation (PFO) and partner violence perpetration. Gender differences were found across all types of dating violence. City of residence, age, and SES were also associated with partner violence in specific ways. The findings gave insights on the possible mechanisms between partner violence and the concept of face to be explored in future research. © The Author(s) 2012.postprin

Gender differences in self-reports of intimate partner violence: A review

Past studies on intimate partner violence (IPV) have revealed mixed findings about its prevalence across gender. Some support gender symmetry in IPV, such that men and women are equally likely to perpetrate IPV; others show evidence of gender asymmetry, such that men are far more likely to be perpetrators in a violent intimate relationship. This paper reviews the literature on gender symmetry in IPV. Explanations have been suggested for the discrepancy in past findings, including gender differences in reporting styles. Most studies have pointed to a possibility of under-reporting in both men's and women's self-reports of IPV, although the patterns of under-reporting vary. Factors affecting the reporting patterns across gender, the limitations of existing studies and suggestions for future research on gender differences in IPV reporting are also discussed. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.postprin