Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 67-69).

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 90-94).

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 90-94). Also available in print.

Zhu, Yuhong. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-142). / Abstracts in English and Chinese; appendix 2-3 in Chinese. / ABSTRACT --- p.i / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.iii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iv / LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES --- p.vi / Chapter CHAPTER ONE: --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Physical child abuse outside China --- p.2 / The situation in mainland China --- p.4 / Definition of terms --- p.10 / Statement of purpose --- p.11 / Research questions --- p.13 / Chapter CHAPTER TWO: --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.14 / Physical child abuse and help-seeking in the West --- p.14 / Physical child abuse and help-seeking in China --- p.26 / Limitations of existing literature --- p.32 / Summary --- p.33 / Chapter CHAPTER THREE: --- CONCEPTUAL FRAMWORK --- p.34 / Conceptual framework of this study --- p.34 / Summary --- p.40 / Chapter CHAPTER FOUR: --- METHODOLOGY --- p.41 / The choice of qualitative research --- p.41 / Data collection --- p.43 / Data analysis --- p.46 / Credibility --- p.47 / Ethical concerns --- p.49 / Chapter CHAPTER FIVE: --- PROFILES OF PARTICIPANTS --- p.51 / Chapter CHAPTER SIX: --- THE NINE STORIES --- p.57 / Jia Jia --- p.57 / Xiao Wen --- p.60 / A' Jian --- p.63 / Qin Qin --- p.67 / Le Le --- p.70 / Xiao Jie --- p.73 / Xiao Ming --- p.77 / Xiao Lei --- p.80 / Liang Liang --- p.84 / Chapter CHAPTER SEVEN: --- FIVE THEMES OF PERCEPTIONS --- p.88 / Common themes of perceptions of parental physical abuse --- p.88 / Summary --- p.100 / Chapter CHAPTER EIGHT: --- IMPEDIENTS TO HELP-SEEKING --- p.102 / Reasons for not seeking help --- p.103 / Summary --- p.110 / Chapter CHAPTER NINE: --- DISCUSSION --- p.112 / Parental physical abuse as ´بloving punishment' --- p.112 / Salient barriers to seeking help --- p.115 / Possible strengths and contributions --- p.120 / Limitations of this study --- p.122 / Implications of findings --- p.123 / REFERENCES --- p.129 / APPENDIX --- p.143 / Appendix 1: Interview Guidelines (English Version) --- p.143 / Appendix 2: Interview Guidelines (Chinese Version) --- p.144 / Appendix 3: Letter to school (Chinese Version) --- p.145

Doctor of Philosophy / School of Family Studies and Human Services / Briana S. Goff / Human sex trafficking is a complex and unique phenomenon involving the commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) of persons by means of force, fraud, or coercion. The purpose of this study was to investigate unique patterns of trauma exposure and biopsychosocial health among a sample of CSE survivors. Results from a latent profile analysis with 135 adults trafficked in the United States yielded three distinct survivor sub-groups: mildly distressed, moderately distressed, and severely distressed. The mildly distressed class (18.5%) was characterized by the lowest reports of trauma exposure and an absence of clinically significant psycho-social stress symptoms. The moderately distressed class (48.89%) endorsed comparatively medial levels of trauma exposure, as well as clinically significant disturbance in six domains of psycho-social health. The severely distressed class (32.59%) reported the highest degree of trauma exposure and exhibited clinically significant symptoms of pervasive psycho-social stress across all domains assessed. To better understand variation in CSE survivors’ engagement with formal support services, this study also examined differences in help-seeking attitudes and intentions between latent classes. Results indicated that compared to those in the mildly and moderately distressed classes, severely distressed survivors endorsed significantly more unfavorable attitudes toward seeking professional help, along with no intention to seek help from any source when facing a personal or emotional crisis. Findings from this study provide a snapshot of significant heterogeneity in trauma exposure and biopsychosocial health among CSE survivors, as well as associated differences in help-seeking attitudes and intentions. The identification of distinct survivor sub-groups in these and future analyses mark an important intermediate step toward developing empirically-testable support services that are specifically designed to meet the unique needs of CSE survivors.

Utilizing the theory of planned behavior, I examined the variables that affect Chinese individuals' help-seeking intention. A total of 251 Chinese individuals participated in this study. Results showed that the variables in the theory of planned behavior accounted for 16% of the variance in help-seeking intention. Specifically, attitude (r = .22, p < .001) and perceived behavioral control (r = .22, p < .001) were found to be significant predictors of help-seeking intention. Based on these results, mental health professionals can design outreach interventions, such as psychoeducational programs, to improve Chinese individuals' help-seeking attitude and perceived behavioral control in an attempt to increase mental health service utilization. Additionally, counselors can discuss with clients' their attitude and perceived behavioral control regarding seeking counseling in an attempt to assist clients in being committed to the counseling process.

No description available.

The principal aim of this thesis was to further understanding of the factors influencing decisions to seek treatment for Major Depressive Disorder. A review of the literature (Chapter 2) revealed a number of factors associated with help-seeking for mental health disorders. However, there was no existing theoretical model of decisions to seek treatment for MDD, and there was limited understanding of the psychological and emotional processes involved in seeking treatment for depressive symptoms. In Study 1 (Chapter 3), a qualitative study explored participants’ accounts of seeking treatment for MDD, which resulted in the development of a theoretical model of help-seeking. This model highlighted the role of identity and goals in decisions to seek treatment for MDD. Subsequent studies in this thesis sought to test predictions made by this model. Study 2 (Chapter 4) explored the relationship between identity and goal conflict and depressed individuals’ acknowledgement of depressive symptoms and perceived need for treatment. Findings of this study suggested that greater identity conflict, but not goal, conflict was associated with reduced acknowledgement of depressive symptoms and less perceived need for treatment. Study 3 (Chapter 5) sought to replicate this relationship, and also tested the extent to which identity as a depressed person and socio-cognitive models of health behaviour could predict (i) intentions to seek treatment for depression and (ii) current treatment seeking. This study found that identity conflict was associated with reduced acknowledgement of depressive symptoms, but failed to replicate the relationship between identity conflict and perceived need for treatment for depression. However, greater identity as a depressed person was associated with both current treatment seeking and greater intentions to seek help. Analyses demonstrated that the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Health Belief Model predicted current help-seeking and help-seeking intentions, but identity as a depressed person explained an additional significant proportion of the variance. A unified model, drawing on these two theories and incorporating identity was found to be the best fit in accounting for intentions to seek help for depression. The findings of Study 4 (Chapter 6) demonstrated that identity as a depressed person was also a significant predictor of prospective help-seeking behaviour for MDD. In this study, the majority of factors from the Theory of Planned Behaviour and Health Belief Model, extended to include identity, predicted help-seeking behaviour indirectly via intentions to seek help. However, intentions to seek help only predicted a small proportion of the variance in help-seeking behaviour, and the findings revealed that a subsample of factors, including identity, directly predicted help-seeking behaviour. The final study sought to use an online focus group to develop a measure of symptom avoidance in depressed individuals. This study faced methodological difficulties, and Chapter 7 reflects on the use of online focus groups to explore patient experiences of illness. The findings of this study highlighted participant experiences of using an online focus group method to discuss personal experiences of MDD, and this chapter provides specific guidance for other researchers planning to use this method in the context of health research. The implications of the findings of this thesis are discussed in Chapter 8, alongside recommendations for future help-seeking research.

In any year, one in four British adults will experience a mental disorder (Singleton, Bumpstead, O’Brien, Lee, & Meltzer, 2001), but barriers to accessing treatment remain, one being fear of stigmatization. In this study perceptions of the stigma associated with mental illness were experimentally manipulated and perceived public stigma of help-seeking, attitudes to mental illness, self-stigma, and attitudes to help-seeking were measured. Results indicated that lowering perceived social stigma of mental illness reduced perceived public stigma attached to help-seeking, but also resulted in less positive attitudes to help-seeking, when compared to a neutral condition. The relationship between perceived societal stigma of mental illness and attitudes to help-seeking was mediated by perceived public stigma of seeking psychological help. This research raises questions about the effect of anti-stigma campaigns, which aim to change perceptions about stigma but may have a negative effect on attitudes to help-seeking.

published_or_final_version / Gerontology / Master / Master of Social Sciences