THE 2008 ECONOMIC TSUNAMI IN HONG KONG: THE WAY YOUNG AND MIDDLE ADULTS COPE WITH STRESS, AND THE INFLUENCE OF

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1 THE 2008 ECONOMIC TSUNAMI IN HONG KONG: THE WAY YOUNG AND MIDDLE ADULTS COPE WITH STRESS, AND THE INFLUENCE OF DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS AND PERSONALITY TRAITS ON COPING AND WELL-BEING BY LEUNG MONG SZE, PATRICIA A Thesis Submitted to City University of Hong Kong In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master of Social Sciences in Applied Psychology in the Department of Applied Social Studies August, 2010

2 ii ABSTRACT Objectives: This study examined how Hong Kong adults coped with 2008 economic tsunami. It identified the types of coping strategies used by participants. It further revealed how demographic factors and personality traits would affect choice of coping strategies. Demographic factors used in this study were gender, age, occupation, years of financial investment and types of investors. Personality traits used in this study were self-efficacy, emotion regulation and resilience. Finally, this study examined the predictive power of personality traits and coping for personal well-being after the outbreak of economic tsunami. Methods: Participants were asked to complete questionnaires with five scales (1) General self-efficacy scale (2) Emotion regulation questionnaire (3) Ego-resiliency scale (4) Personal wellbeing index and (5) Brief COPE. Factor analysis, independent sample t-test and one-way ANOVA were conducted. Results: Overall speaking, participants used social support coping most frequently and avoidant coping least frequently. There were gender difference in social support coping and age difference in planning under problem-focused coping. Problem-focused coping was positively correlated with self-efficacy and resilience; social support coping was negatively correlated with suppression emotional regulation; and avoidant coping was negatively correlated with self-efficacy. Finally, self-efficacy was found to be the strong predictor for personal

3 iii well-being of participants. Conclusion: Under similar stressors of economic tsunami, participants were found to cope differently. This was explained by differences in gender, age, personality traits and other demographic variables. Further researches could be done to examine the ways to improve qualities of personality traits together with effective coping. Keywords: Coping, self-efficacy, emotion regulation, resilience, well-being

4 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I offer my enduring gratitude to the faculty, staff and my fellow students at the Department of Applied Social Studies, City University of Hong Kong, who have inspired me to continue my work in this field. I owe particular thanks to Dr. Joseph K.F. Wu, whose penetrating questions taught me to question more deeply. I thank Dr. Wu for enlarging my vision of psychology and providing coherent answers to my endless questions. Special thanks are owed to my parents, whose have supported me throughout my years of education, both morally and financially.

5 v Thesis Submission Declaration Form City University of Hong Kong Department of Applied Social Studies Thesis Submission Declaration Form Student Name: Leung Mong Sze, Patricia Student No.: Title of Thesis: The 2008 Economic Tsunami in Hong Kong: The way young and middle adults cope with stress, and the influence of demographic factors and personality traits on coping and well-being Course Code: SS5790 Programme: MSSAPSY Supervisor s Name: Dr. Joseph K.F. Wu I have read and understood the following Section 2.3 of the City University Code of Student Conduct ( Students must pursue their studies with academic honesty. Academic honesty is central to the conduct of academic work. Students are expected to present their own work, give proper acknowledgement of other's work, and honestly report findings obtained. Department s Statement on Plagiarism. The American Psychological Association (APA) Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct concerning research and publication Thesis/Dissertation Checklist (please tick): ( ) This paper is my own individual work. ( ) This paper has not been submitted to any other courses. ( ) All sources consulted have been acknowledged in the text and are listed in the reference list, with sufficient documentation to allow their accurate identification. ( ) All quotations are enclosed in quotation marks and that the source for each quotation has an accurate citation. Signature: Patricia Leung Date: 2 August, 2010.

6 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Acknowledgments.... iv Thesis Submission Declaration Form. v Table of Contents..vi List of Tables... vii List of Figures... viii 1. Introduction Literature review Aims of the present study Methodology Participants and procedures Instruments Results Descriptive statistics Statistical analysis Discussion and Conclusions Discussion Limitation and implications Conclusions References Appendix: Questionnaire

7 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Reliability estimates, means and standard deviations for 185 study participants on five scales.. 18 Table 2 Table 3 Socio-Demographic Characteristics of the Study Participants Factor loadings of Brief COPE subscales Table 4a Gender, age and occupation differences on coping styles.31 Table 4b Table 5 Impact of years of investment and types of investor on coping styles...32 Correlations between personality traits (self-efficacy, emotion regulation and resilience) and coping styles...38 Table 6 Regression of self-efficacy, emotion regulation, resilience and coping for personal well-being...38

8 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Theoretical model of the present study.. 15

9 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The outbreak of economic tsunami in mid-september 2008 was a global crisis. Its destructive force was much stronger and more widespread than the Asian financial turmoil in The economic tsunami was a traumatic event which has brought turbulences and tremendous stress to Hong Kong people. According to a survey carried out by the Chinese University of Hong Kong in November 2009, 64.8% of the respondents reported some or significant negative impact brought by the financial tsunami on their personal investment. 44.4% of the employed respondents reported concern on their employment stability. The economic tsunami has created significant impact not only on economic aspects of the lives of Hong Kong people but also on emotional aspects. According to the news issued by the Hong Kong Christian Service (E-news Issue 62, January 2009), the requests for Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provided by the Hong Kong Christian Service has surged up to 80% within two months since the outbreak of economic tsunami in September The no. of workshop on stress management, wellness promotion and counseling has also risen significantly. According to the news issued by Wen Wei Po on November 22, 2008, the happiness index of the middle class population (income ranged from HK$25,000 to HK$49,999) has dropped

10 2 by 0.8% to 11% as compared to Similar traumatic events, such as the SARS pandemic, had happened in Hong Kong. Many studies examined the impact of such events on well-being of Hong Kong people (Lau, Chi, Cummins, Lee, Chou and Chung, 2008). This study examined coping strategies adopted by Hong Kong adults in facing 2008 economic tsunami. It replicated previous studies conducted on age and gender differences on coping strategies in clinical or natural settings. Moreover, based on literature review, several personality traits were identified to have correlation with coping strategies. These variables included self-efficacy, emotion regulation and resilience. This study examined the correlation in the context of economic tsunami. Finally, they study was further extended to reveal how well the personality traits of self-efficacy, emotion regulation and resilience, together with coping, would predict personal well-being of participants in times of economic tsunami. 1.1 Literature review Coping Coping is an essential part of our daily lives. We employ coping in adapt to daily hassles and life stressful events. Stress and coping, as analyzed by Lazarus in 1996, consisted of three processes. The first one was primary appraisal which was

11 3 the process of perceiving a threat to oneself. The second one was secondary appraisal which a person came up with a potential response to the threat. The final process was coping which was the execution of such response (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). To study the coping process, Lazarus has developed two general types of coping: problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping. Problem-focused coping would be used when people aimed at altering the source of stress; while emotion-focused coping would be used when people aimed at reducing the distress generated by the stressful situation. It is generally believed that problem-focused coping would be adopted if something constructive could be done to the problems (Folkman & Lazarus, 1980). Based on Lazarus s concepts, several scales were developed to measure how people cope, for example, Way of Coping (Folkman & Lazarus, 1980), COPE (Carver, Scheier & Weintraub, 1989), and Brief COPE (Carver, 1997). Researchers have tried to group these scales into big domains of coping, such as problem-focused coping, active emotional coping and avoidant emotional coping (Schnider, Elhai and Gray, 2007). The latter two were generally considered adaptive and maladaptive sides of emotion-focused coping respectively. Active emotional coping was sometimes referred to as social support coping, in which people sought emotional or

12 4 instrumental support from others (Schottenbauer, Klimes-Dougan, Rodriguez, Arnkoff, Glass & Lasalle, 2006). Many studies have examined the impact of gender, age and personalities difference on selection of coping strategies (Ptacek, Smith & Dodge, 1994; Kelly, Tyrka, Price and Carpenter, 2008; Angst, Gamma, Gastpar, Lepine, Mendlewicz & Tylee, 2002 cited in Kelly, Sereika, Battista & Brown, 2007; Folkman, Lazarus, Pimley & Novacek, 1987; Watson & Blanchard-Fields, 1998; Blanchard-Fields, Jahnke & Camp, 1995; Bromley, 2005; Gross, 2002; Gross & John, 2003; Li & Yang, 2009). Gender difference in use of coping strategies In culture evolution, there is clear distinction in social roles between male and female. In general, men are expected to be independent, brave and aggressive. They are not encouraged to express their emotions, those who seek emotional support are considered coward. On the other hand, it is socially acceptable for women to express their emotions and seek for peer support (Ptacek et al, 1994). Such difference also applies in the way male and female cope with daily hassles or adversities (Ptacek et al, 1994). Studies generally supported that women tended to use emotion-focused coping strategies, aiming at altering their emotion responses; while men tended to use problem-focused or instrumental method to handle

13 5 difficulties (Kelly et al, 2008). Other studies found that men tended to use distraction methods such as playing games, using alcohol and drugs, and engaging hobbies; on the other hand, women used more emotion-focused strategies such as crying, seeking emotional support and rumination (Angst et al, 2002), and women were more likely to accept responsibility for adverse situation (Siu & Watkins, 1997). Other researches suggested that it was gender-role orientation (masculinity and femininity), instead of gender itself, which accounted for difference in coping strategies. One study showed that feminine-types adolescence used more emotion-focused coping than did undifferentiated-typed adolescence (Washburn-Ormachea, Hillman & Sawilowshy, 2004). Gender was used as a variable in this study because few studies researched into gender differences on coping during times of traumatic events in Hong Kong. It is also considered that the Hong Kong society is to a large extend influenced by cultural gender differences. Age difference in use of coping strategies A number of studies on coping and emotions have shown that, in general, older adults used more emotion-focused coping than younger adults (Folkman et al, 1987), and individuals preferred to use more emotion-regulating strategies in the latter half of

14 6 the lifespan (Watson & Blanchard-Fields, 1998). On the other hand, problem-focused coping was found to be more commonly used among younger adults (Blanchard-Fields et al, 1995). Among the different types of emotion focused coping strategies, middle and older-aged adults, when compared to young adults, were found to prefer strategies which abated emotional arousal, such as managing reaction through suppression and acceptance of responsibility. More interestingly, when middle age adults (31 to 64 years of age) were examined as a stand-alone group, it was found that they used more avoidant emotion coping than their younger and older counterparts (Watson & Blanchard-Fields, 1998). Such findings was interpreted by the observation that middle aged adults were in their most complicated times of the lifespan, whereas many of them had to face with major life challenges such as marriages, changes in job positions and take care of old parents. This made them tend to choose strategies that keep them away from their problems. Self-efficacy and coping Self-efficacy, a personal trait as conceptualized by Albert Bandura, was defined as an individual s beliefs in their capabilities to mobilize the motivation, cognitive resources, and agency to exert control over a given event. It was the individual s

15 7 belief in his/her ability to succeed in obtaining desired goals (Bandura, 1977; Bandura & Schunk, 1981). Self-efficacy was closely related to coping, because a self-efficacious person has stronger incentive to face with adversities. Efficacious beliefs helped individuals to develop sense of self-worth and sense of control, which in turn gave them confidence and influenced their ability to cope (Bromley, 2005). Emotionally speaking, self-efficacious people would be more able to turn away from negative emotion and thoughts. Self-efficacious people invested more effort and persist longer than those who were low in self-efficacy. They tended to select active coping strategies and use fewer passive strategies such as avoidant emotion coping. They would not focus on negative emotion (Luszczynska & Schwarzer, 2005). Self-efficacy was found to have both direct and indirect influence on problem-focused coping strategies (Li & Yang, 2009). Emotion regulation and coping Emotion regulation was another construct closely related to coping. It was defined as the processes by which individuals influenced which emotions they had, when they had them, and how they experienced or expressed these emotions (Gross,

16 8 1998). Based on timing of emotion regulation, emotion regulation strategies could be conceptualized as antecedent-focused regulation and response-focused regulation (Gross, 2001). Antecedent-focused regulation, such as cognitive reappraisal, took place earlier in the emotional process and was focused on altering the effect of emotion-generating cues. Response-focused regulation, such as expressive suppression, took place in the later emotional process and was focused on altering emotional output (Gross, 2001). Reappraisers tended to generate more positive emotions than suppressors. Such positive emotions in turn helped reappraisers to cope more efficiently. This was explained in the context of broaden-and-build theory of positive emotion (Fredrickson, 2001). According to this theory, positive emotions (such as joy, contentment and interest) broadened one s thoughts and actions, allowed for flexible attention, and expanded an individual s physical, intellectual and social resources in coping with problems; on the other hand, negative emotions narrowed one s focus and prepared one to behave only in a specific way (Tugade & Fredrickson, 2004). When people learned that they can benefit from positive emotion, they sought to maintain such affective states, and savoring could be considered a form of emotion regulation to maintain positive emotion experience (Tugade & Fredrickson, 2007).

17 9 It was found that reappraisers and suppressors used different coping strategies. As suppressors tended to decrease both negative and positive emotion-expressive behavior (Gross, 2001), they used less active emotion coping or social support coping when compared to reappraisers (Gross, 2002; Gross & John, 2003). Resilience and coping Resilience had a direct relationship with stress and coping. While we may observe some people dealing with stress and uncertainties better than other, we used the term resilience to conceptualize such differences. Resilience measured the ability to bounce back from negative emotional experiences and the flexibility to adapt to the changing demands of stressful experience. It was defined as resourceful adaption to changing circumstances and environmental contingencies, analysis of the goodness of fit between situational demands and behavioral possibility, and flexible invocation of the available repertoire of problem-solving strategies (Block & Block, 1980, p. 48). Resilience was related to coping in a way that high resilience is linked to effective coping (Yi, Smith & Vitaliano, 2005). While resilient samples were found to use both problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping more frequently (Caltabiano & Caltabiano, 2006), other studies have demonstrated that resilience was

18 10 positively correlated with problem-focused coping and is negatively correlated with avoidant emotion coping (Li & Yang, 2009). Correlate Self-efficacy, Emotion regulation, Resilience and Coping with Personal Well-being In studies of personal well-being during stressful events and life adversities, self-efficacious and resilient individuals were found to handle stress better and have achieved higher level of well-being. Also, in terms of emotion regulation and coping, those who used reappraisal and problem-focused coping reported higher level of well-being. For examples, in a research on well-being of elderly samples, it was found that self-efficacy and resilience were protective factors in times of adversities and were directly related to well-being during transitional changes in old ages (Caltabiano & Caltabiano, 2006). In a research which investigated the influence of trait resilience on affective recovery from threats, resilient participants exhibited more complete affective recovery as compared to non-resilient participants (Waugh, Fredrickson & Taylor, 2008). This implied that resilient people are more readily recover from negative emotions and maintain their well-being.

19 11 The use of reappraisal emotion regulation, as compared to suppression, was considered to be positively related to psychological health, and was more effective in alleviating stress conditions. In a study with undergraduate and trauma-exposed community samples in the United States, the use of suppression emotion regulation was found to be associated with more severe self-reported psychopathology symptoms, especially in the trauma-exposed samples (Moore et al, 2008). Research also revealed an association between enhanced use of reappraisal and less depressed mood (Dennis, 2007). Other studies found that reappraisal was associated with better interpersonal functioning and improved well-being. Reappraisers were more ready and wiling to share their emotional experience with others, this facilitated closer relationship with their friends which in turn led reappraisers to be liked better (Gross and John, 2003). The choice of coping strategies has, to a large extent, influenced personal well-being in stressful events (Zeidner & Saklofske, 1996). Problem-focused coping strategies, such as active coping and planning, were usually considered as adaptive; emotion-focused coping strategies may be adaptive or maladaptive, depending on the nature : active emotion-focused strategies, such as social support, were considered adaptive; avoidant emotion-focused strategies, such as denial and behavioral disengagement, were considered maladaptive (Glass et al, 2009).

20 12 Reliance on use of avoidant emotion-focused coping strategies was considered to cause mental or health problems in long run. On the other hand, too much reliance on problem-focused coping strategies without active emotion-focused coping strategies may also be problematic (Schnider et al, 2007). While some argued that the effectiveness of coping strategies was to a large extent depended on the nature of the stressors, there were lots of findings examined relation between coping styles and well-being. In the United States, the relationship between coping style and well-being of parents of disable children was examined. It was found that these parents used more problem-focused coping strategies than emotion-focused coping strategies. Problem-focused strategies were found to be positively correlated with parents subject well-being; and maladaptive emotion-focused coping strategies, such as avoidance, were found to be negatively correlated with well-being (Glidden, Billings and Jobe, 2006). Similar studies conducted with student samples in both Western and Chinese societies generated consistent results. In a study conducted in the United States with samples of college students reporting traumatic losses, avoidant emotional coping was found to predict posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. No significant correlation was found between problem-focused coping and PTSD symptoms

21 13 (Schnider et al, 2007). In China, research with samples from normal college students yielded similar results. Problem solving and social support coping were positively correlated with resilience, which in turn linked to well-being; while escaping and avoidant coping produced negatively correlated results (Zhang & Guo, 2005). 1.2 Amis of the present study This study examined coping towards 2008 global economic tsunami among young and middle adults in Hong Kong. The theoretical framework was shown in Figure 1. According to Figure 1, it was hypothesized that both demographic and personality traits influenced the selection of coping strategies by participants in times of 2008 economic tsunami. The framework could be interpreted as three parts. The first part focused on the influence of five demographic variables on selection of coping strategies in facing stress brought by the tsunami. The five demographic variables included gender, age, occupation, years of financial investment and types of investors. Based on literature review, it was hypothesized that gender difference existed in the selection of coping strategies, with female used more emotion-focused coping relative to male. It further hypothesized that age difference existed in the selection of coping strategies, with middle adults used more emotion-focused coping

22 14 relative to young adults. Due to the unique characteristics of economic tsunami regarding its impact on labor and securities markets, this study has also included occupation, years of financial investment and types of investors as demographic variables. Explorative approach was used in respect of these variables to examine whether they would influence selection of coping strategies. The second part focused on the influence of three personality traits on selection of coping strategies. The three personality traits were self-efficacy, emotion regulation and resilience. They were identified as independent variables and coping was identified as dependent variable. It was hypothesized that problem-focused coping was positively correlated with self-efficacy and resilience; social support coping (an adaptive emotion-focused coping) was positively correlated with reappraisal emotion regulation and negatively correlated with suppression emotion regulation; and avoidant coping (a maladaptive emotion-focused coping) was negatively correlated with self-efficacy and resilience. The last part of this study examined the predictive power of the three personality traits and coping for personal well-being level in times of economic tsunami.

23 15 Figure 1 Theoretical model of the current study Demographic variables Gender Age Occupation Years of Investor investment types Situational coping style Well-being Selfefficacy Emotion regulation Resilience Personality traits

24 16 CHAPTER 2 METHODOLOGY 2.1 Participants and procedures Convenience sampling method was used to recruit participants. As the study focused on the impact of 2008 financial tsunami on Hong Kong adult population, all Hong Kong residents with over 18 years of age were qualified to participate. The study was conducted in form of questionnaire on anonymous basis. The distribution of questionnaire took place during last quarter of 2009, one year after the outbreak of 2008 economic tsunami. Participants were invited to complete the questionnaire in school, at workplace or at home. They were asked to return their completed questionnaire by mail (to increase incentive to response envelopes and stamps are provided) or to drop the completed questionnaire in a designated, secured collection box at their workplace. The questionnaire included five scales, with demographic information being asked in the last part. The questionnaire was conducted in Chinese. Before the distribution of questionnaire, a pilot study was carried out. Four qualified participants were invited to complete and to give comments on the questionnaire. Minor amendment on wordings was made on the questionnaire after the pilot study, for examples, more localized wordings were used in introduction part of the

25 17 questionnaire, and typos were identified in the questionnaire. In order to understand the impact of 2008 financial tsunami on the participants, they were asked to answer several questions about their investment history and habits. The study was carried out just one year after the outbreak of 2008 economic tsunami. It was assumed that Hong Kong society was still under the traumatic stress brought by the tsunami. Participants were specifically asked to indicate how they coped with the stress brought by the tsunami. To cater for this, modification was made on wordings in the selected coping scale. 2.2 Instruments Five scales were used in the questionnaire. A summary of their reliability estimates, range of scores, means and standard deviations was presented in Table 1.

26 18 Table 1 Reliability estimates, means and standard deviations for 185 study participants on five scales Scale Subscale No of items Alpha Range (1) M (S.D.) General Self-efficacy (4.46) Personal Well-being - 8 (2) (12.2) Emotion regulation Reappraisal (0.81) Suppression (1.1) Ego Resiliency (6.68) Brief COPE Active Coping (0.61) Planning (0.62) Positive Reframing (0.65) Acceptance (0.58) Humor (0.71) Religion (0.99) Use of emotional support (0.83) Use of instrumental support (0.80) Self distraction (0.66) Denial (0.64) Venting (0.62) Substance use (0.63) Behavioral disengagement (0.72) Self blame (0.76) Factor 1 (3) (0.50) Factor 2 (4) (0.76) Factor 3 (5) (0.50) (1) The range represented range of scores obtained from participants in the present study. (2) According to the manual of Personal Wellbeing Index, items 2 to 9 were used to calculate well-being score. (3) Factor 1 was named Problem-focused coping. It included subscales of active coping, planning, positive reframe and humor. (4) Factor 2 was named Social support coping. It included subscales of use of emotional support and use of instrumental support. (5) Factor 3 was named Avoidant coping. It included subscales of denial, substance use, behavioral disengagement and self-blame.

27 19 General Self-Efficacy Scale (Jerusalem, Schwarzer & Zhang, 1994) The General Self-efficacy Scale (GSE) assessed a general sense of perceived self-efficacy and predicted coping with daily hassles as well as adaptation after experiencing stressful life events. Participants were asked to respond to the 10-items scale, with statements such as I am confident that I could deal efficiently with unexpected events, to indicate whether these statements apply to them on a range of 1 (not at all true) to 4 (exactly true). Perceived self-efficacy was measured by summed scores of the 10 items. The Chinese version of GSE was developed by Jerusalem, Schwarzer & Zhang in The internal reliability of GSE in this study was.86, fell within the range of.76 to.90 obtained from a sample of studies in twenty three nations (Jerusalem & Schwarzer). Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Gross & John, 2003) The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) was a 10-items self-report measure of an individual s tendency to use reappraisal or suppression to regulate emotions. Participants were asked to indicate the degree to which they agreed with the 10 statements, such as reappraisal statement of I control my emotions by changing the way I think about the situation I am in, and suppression statement of I

28 20 control my emotions by not expressing them. Each item consisted of a 7-point likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The ERQ consists of six reappraisal statements and four suppression statements. Proclivity to use reappraisal or suppression strategies was measured by the mean score of subscales. Chinese version of ERQ was adopted in this study (Chu, Wang, Liu & Mauss). The internal reliability for reappraisal and suppression subscales in this study were.83 and.76 respectively, similar to English version used in another study (Waugh et al. 2008). Ego-Resiliency Scale (J. Block & Kremen, 1996) The Ego-resiliency scale (ER89) was used to assess variations in trait psychological resilience. It was considered an accurate and simple way of measuring the pure qualities of resilience (Al-Naser & Sandman, 2000). Participants were asked to indicate the degree to which they agree with the 14 items, such as I enjoy dealing with new and usual situation. Each item consisted of a likert scale from 1 (does not apply at all) to 4 (apply very strongly). Resilience was measured by summation of scores from the 14 items. Translation of scale

29 21 No Chinese version of ER89 was available for adoption. The original version was in English and it was translated into Chinese using the back translation method. Back translation was considered a preferred method as it allowed researchers to examine the original and the back translated versions (Weeks, Swerissen & Belfrage, 2007). The translation was undertaken by bilingual translators. Two postgraduate psychology students from the City University of Hong Kong were invited to do the translation. One student worked out the Chinese version and another student did the back translation. The back translated version was compared with the original version. The use of psychology students as translators has reduced the problem brought by translators being unfamiliar with the scale content area. The internal reliability for the Chinese translated version in this study was.84, comparable to similar researches using English version of ER89 (Waugh et al, 2008) and French Version of ER89 (Philippe, Lecours & Bearulieu-Pelletier, 2009). Brief COPE (Carver, 1997) The Brief COPE measured an individual s coping strategies in response to stressful life events. The brief COPE was an abbreviated version of the long COPE (Carver, 1997). The Brief COPE consisted of 28 items comprising 14 distinct subscales with 2 items per subscale. The subscales were active coping, planning,

30 22 positive reframing, acceptance, humor, religion, use of emotional support, use of instrumental support, self-distraction, denial, venting, substance use, behavioral disengagement and self-blame. Each item of the Brief COPE was scored on a 4-points likert scale from 0 ( I haven t been doing this at all ) to 3 ( I ve been doing this a lot ). The score of each subscale was calculated by mean of the 2 subscale items. The Brief COPE could be used to measure dispositional or situational coping. In this study, situational coping was measured. Participants were asked to indicate which coping strategies they have been employed specifically to deal with 2008 financial tsunami. No Chinese version of Brief COPE was available for adoption. Translation was done with the same method for ER89 which was discussed in the above. The internal reliability of the fourteen subscales of Brief COPE ranged from.13 to.88 in this study. Except acceptance (.47), self-distraction (.47) and venting (.13), all other subscales met alpha reliabilities of.5 which was considered minimally acceptable (Nunnally, 1978). Compared to the reliabilities generated from Carver s studies in 1997 which ranged from.54 to.90, the alphas in this study were lower but still acceptable. Many studies have generated higher-order factors for the Brief COPE. Though

31 23 the results of grouping of subscales into higher-order factors varied, it was common that the 14 subscales were further re-analyzed into three factors, such as problem-focused coping, active emotional coping and avoidant emotional coping (Schnider et al, 2007); or problem engagement, social support and avoidant coping (Schottenbauer et al, 2006). In this study, a second-order factor analysis of subscales was conducted. It will be discussed in the Results part. Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) The PWI was a generic and cross-cultural measure for subjective well-being and quality of life. It was widely used with adult populations of all ages (Lau, Chi, Cummins, Lee, Chou & Chung, 2008). It was a 9-items scale starting with the first-level deconstruction of satisfaction with life as a whole (item 1 of the scale) and eight domains including standard of living, health, achievement in life, relationships, safety, community-connectedness, future security and spiritual / religious well-being (items 2 to 9 of the scale). These eight domains constituted the minimum set of domains that represented satisfaction with life as a whole. Each item consisted of a likert scale ranged from 0 (extremely dissatisfied) to 10 (extremely satisfied), with a mid-point of 5 (neither satisfied or dissatisfied). Subjective well-being score was calculated as the mean of items 2 to 9 and then multiplied by 10.

32 24 The use of items 2 to 9 for scoring (but not all items) was well explained in the manual of PWI (International Wellbeing Group, 2006), and the scoring method was consistent with those used in similar studies (Lau et al, 2008). According to the manual of PWI (International Wellbeing Group, 2006), PWI has been translated into different languages and its psychometric properties were tested in different countries (The International Wellbeing Group, 2006). In this study, the Chinese version translated by Xing Zhanjun was used. The reliability of PWI in this study was 0.88, similar to another study performed in Hong Kong on subjective well-being of elderly and younger people during SARS pandemic (Lau et al, 2008).

33 25 CHAPTER 3 RESULTS 3.1 Descriptive statistics A total of 240 sets of questionnaire were sent out and 185 sets were completed and returned, with a response rate of 77%. The demographic information was summarized in Table 2. The 185 participants were between 18 and 60 years of age, with a majority were female (60.1%) and a majority were single (74.5%). All of them have completed secondary education, with 44.2% obtained degree qualification or above. 26.4% of the participants were business students in a vocational training centre and the remaining 73.6% were in full time employment. Out of the employed participants, a majority (50.4%) were at clerical level, 29.8% were professionals including accountants, surveyors, medical professionals or teachers, and 19.8% were managers or executives. Among the participants, 67.8% had investment experience and out of them, 50% had three years of investment experience or above. When asked about the seriousness of impact of 2008 financial tsunami, 61.9% of the participants responsed that there was at least some impact on them and 9.4% responsed serious or very serious impact. When further asked the impact of tsunami on their lives, 63.5% of the

34 26 participants responsed that the tsunami has impacted them on at least one of the following aspects in their lives: health condition, economic condition, family relationship, standard of living, working position, human relationship and personal emotion. Finally, participants were asked whether they expected 2008 financial tsunami would affect them in the coming future (two years from 2010 to 2011), 81.9% of them responsed at least some impact and 25.3% of them responsed serious or very serious impact.

35 27 Table 2 Socio-Demographic Characteristics of the Study Participants Socio-Demographic Characteristics Percent Gender (N = 183) Male 39.9 Female 60.1 Age (N = 176) 18 to to to to Education background (N = 183) Secondary 20.8 Diploma or associate degree 35.0 Degree 32.2 Postgraduate 12.0 Occupation (N = 178) Manager or Executive 14.6 Professional 21.9 Clerical 37.1 Student 26.4 Marital status (N = 184) Single 74.5 Married 25.5 Religion (N = 183) No religion 67.2 Christianity or Catholic 24.6 Others 8.2 Year of investment (N = 183) No experience 32.2 Less than 3 years to 7 years 16.4 More than 7 years 17.5 Perceived life impact of 2008 Economic tsunami (N = 181) No impact 38.1 Some impact 52.5 Serious impact 8.3 Very serious impact 1.1 Impact of tsunami on number of life aspects* (N = 178) No impact life aspect life aspects 19.7 More than 3 life aspects 13.5 Perceived future life impact of 2008 economic tsunami (N = 183) No impact 18.1 Some impact 56.6 Serious impact 22.0 Very serious impact 3.3 * The life aspects included health condition, economic condition, family relationship, standard of living, working position, human relationship and personal emotion.

36 Statistical analysis Statistical Package for Social Scientists 12.0 for Window was used to conduct analysis of data. A second-order factor analysis of Brief COPE was first conducted to identify second-order factors for further analysis. Independent sample t-test and one way ANOVA were conducted to reveal demographic differences on coping strategies. Correlation testing was used to identify statistical correlation between coping and personality variables of self-efficacy, emotion regulation and resilience. Finally, linear regression was conducted to test for predictive power of self-efficacy, emotion regulation, resilience and coping for personal well-being. Factor analysis A second-order factor analysis was conducted for 11 out of 14 subscales of the Brief COPE. The subscales of acceptance, self-distraction and venting were excluded from the analysis due to their low reliability estimates. The analysis was presented in Table 3. The analysis resulted in three factors: the first factor included subscales of active coping, planning, positive reframe and humor; the second factor included use of emotional support and use of instrumental support; the third factor included denial, substance use, behavior disengagement and self-blame.

37 29 Table 3 Factor loadings of Brief COPE subscales Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Active coping.748 Planning.857 Positive reframe.727 Humor.686 Use of emotional support Use of instrumental support Denial.761 Substance use.690 Behavioral disengagement.760 Self-blame.560 Remarks: 1. Principal component extraction with oblimin rotation, loadings below.35 were omitted. 2. Acceptance, Self-distraction and Venting were dropped in the analysis due to their low reliability estimates. 3. Religion was suppressed in the analysis. Religion subscale was dropped out from the social support coping factor in the view that such subscale was not as applicable as that in the western societies. According to the religion statistics from the Central Intelligence Agency, 90% of Hong Kong population are having eclectic mixture of local religion (The World Factbook, 2010) which are blended with localized characteristics. As the Brief COPE was originated in western societies, it would be more appropriate to exclude religion subscale when apply to Chinese society. It was also statistically justified in this study to exclude religion subscale as the alpha for the second coping factor has

38 30 improved from 0.70 to 0.83 when religion subscale was excluded. Based on literature review which generated similar results, the three factors were named problem-focused, social support and avoidant coping accordingly (Schottenbauer, et al, 2006). Reliability test was conducted for these three second-order factors. It generated alphas of.79,.83 and.69 for problem-focused, social support and avoidant coping respectively. Demographic factor differences in coping According to Table 4a and 4b, in general, highest scores were found in social support coping among all participants and lowest scores were found in avoidant coping. Individual demographic factor differences are summarized in the below sections.

39 31 Table 4a Gender, age and occupation differences on coping styles Gender Age Occupation Male Female Total Young adult Middle adult Total Employed Students Total (n=73) (n=110) (N=183) (n=82) (n=94) (N=176) (n=131) (n=47) (N=178) Problem-focused coping Active coping * Planning * Positive reframe Humor Social support coping Use of emotional support * Use of instrumental support * * Avoidant coping Denial Substance use Behavioral disengagement Self-blame * Correlation is significant at.05 level (2-tailed)

40 32 Table 4b Impact of years of investment and types of investor on coping styles Years of investment Type of investors Nil <3 years >3 years Total Conservative Balanced Adventurous Total (n=59) (n=62) (n=62) (N=183) (n=56) (n=52) (n=29) (N=137) Problem-focused coping Active coping Planning * Positive reframe Humor Social support coping Use of emotional support Use of instrumental support Avoidant coping Denial Substance use Behavioral disengagement Self-blame * * Correlation is significant at.05 level (2-tailed)

41 33 Gender difference in coping An independent sample t-test was conducted to test for gender differences in coping strategies towards 2008 economic tsunami. The test was conducted for the three second-order factors problem-focused coping, social support coping and avoidant coping, and the ten subscales under these factors. The results were summarized in Table 4a. According to Table 4a, significant gender difference was found in social support coping, t(177)=3.18, p<0.05. Female adults used more social support coping (M=1.95, SD=0.71) than male adults (M=1.59, SD=0.79). Such significant difference was found in both subscales of use of emotional support and use of instrumental support under social support coping. Female adults used more emotional support (M=1.83, SD=0.77) than male adults (M=1.41, SD=0.87). The difference was significant at t(179)=3.44, p<0.05. Female adults also used more instrumental support (M=2.08, SD=0.74) than male adults (M=1.78, SD=0.86). The difference was significant at t(179)=2.45, p<0.05. Age difference in coping The analysis was conducted for participants between 18 to 50 years of age. They were grouped into two groups: young adult group with 82 participants between 18 to 29 years of age; middle adult group with 94 participants between 30 to 50 years

42 34 of age. Independent samples t-test was conducted for age difference on coping. According to Table 4a, significant difference was found in Planning under problem-focused coping, t(174)=2.61, p<0.05. Middle adults used more planning (M=2.05, SD=0.64) than young adults (M=1.80, SD=0.59). Occupation, years of investment and types of investors and coping 2008 economic tsunami was an economic crisis which has brought direct and negative impact on global labor and stock markets. Due to these unique characteristics of the crisis, this study has further examined whether participants occupation, years of investment and types of investor would affect the selection of coping strategies. Participants were grouped into employed group and student group. The tsunami has created more direct and severe impact on labor market, this study has examined whether the two groups will response differently in coping with stress. Independent samples t-test was conducted with the same scope for gender and age difference analysis. According to Table 4a, significant difference was found for active coping under problem-focused coping, t(181)=2.00, p<0.05. Employed adults used more active coping (M=1.89, SD=0.59) than student adults (M=1.68, SD=0.66).

43 35 Participants were further re-grouped based on their years of financial investment and their perceived types of investors. Based on years of investment experience, participants were re-grouped into three groups: nil experience group which participants had no investment experience; less than 3 years experience group which participants had less than three years investment experience; and more than 3 years experience group which participants had more than three years investment experience. One-way ANOVA was conducted to examine differences in coping among the three groups. According to Table 4b, significant difference was found for planning under problem-focused coping, F(2,180)=5.60, p<0.05. Post-hoc Tukey analysis (α =0.05) revealed that participants with more than three years investment experience (M=2.09, SD=0.55) reported greater use of planning than those with no investment experience (M=1.73, SD=0.61). Based on types of investors, participants were re-grouped into three types: conservative, balanced and adventurous. The types of investors were referenced from investment profiles provided by a major bank in Hong Kong. One-way ANOVA was conducted to examine differences in coping among the three groups. According to Table 4b, significant difference was found for self-blame under avoidant coping, F(2,134)=3.99, p<0.05. Post-hoc Tukey analysis ( α =0.05)

44 36 revealed that participants who considered themselves adventurous (M=1.67, SD=0.72) reported greater use of self-blame than those who considered themselves conservative in their investment profiles (M=1.22, SD=0.69). Correlation between personality traits and coping Correlation analysis was conducted for personality traits (self-efficacy, reappraisal emotion regulation, suppression emotion regulation and resilience) and coping strategies (problem-focused, social support and avoidant). The results were presented in Table 5. Positive significant correlation was found between problem-focused coping and these personality traits: self-efficacy (r =.21, p <.01); reappraisal emotion regulation (r =.42, p <.01) and resilience (r =.42, p <.01). Negative significant correlation was found between social support coping and suppression emotion regulation (r = -.22, p <.01). Negative significant correlation was found between avoidant coping and self-efficacy (r = -.24, p <.01). Regression analysis for personal well-being Linear regression was conducted to test for predictive power of self-efficacy, emotion regulation, resilience and coping for personal well-being. The results were presented in Table 6. The predictors explained 24.2% variance, R 2 =.242, F(7,156)

45 37 =7.11, p<0.01). Self-efficacy, suppression emotion regulation and avoidant coping were significant predictors of personal well-being. Self-efficacy was the strongest predictor (β=.28), followed by avoidant coping (β=-.22) and suppression emotion regulation (β=-.19). Self-efficacy has positively predicted well-being; suppression emotion regulation and avoidant coping have negatively predicted well-being.

46 38 Table 5 and coping styles Correlations between personality traits (self-efficacy, emotion regulation and resilience) Self-efficacy 1 2. Emotion regulation (reappraisal). 22* 1 3. Emotion regulation (suppression) * 1 4. Resilience.51*.23* Personal well-being.36* * Factor 1 Problem-focused coping.21*.42*.16.42* Factor 2 Social support coping * * 1 8. Factor 3 Avoidant coping -.24* *.26*.31* 1 * Correlation is significant at.01 level (2-tailed) Table 6 Regression of self-efficacy, emotion regulation, resilience and coping for personal well-being Predictors R 2 Raw Beta Standardized β Self-efficacy.77**.28** Emotion regulation reappraisal Emotion regulation suppression -2.08** -.19** Resilience Factor 1 problem-focused coping Factor 2 social support coping Factor 3 avoidant coping -5.35** -.22** R 2.24** Adjusted R 2.21** ** p <.01