Chinese Culture and Mental Health

Wen-Shing Tseng, David Y. H. Wu, Wen-Shing Tseng, David Y. H. Wu

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781483276274
• Topic: Politik & Internationale Beziehungen
• Subtopic: Sozialpolitik

Chinese Culture and Mental Health presents an in-depth study of the culture and mental health of the Chinese people in varying settings, geographic areas, and times. The book focuses on the study of the relationships between mental health and customs, beliefs, and philosophies in the Chinese cultural setting. The text reviews traditional and contemporary Chinese culture; characteristic relations and psychological problems common in the Chinese family; adjustment of the Chinese in different socio-geographical circumstances; and general review of mental health problems. Ethnologists, sinologists, psychologists, anthropologists, and sociologists will find the book interesting.

PART I

CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND PERSONALITY

INTRODUCTION TO CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND PERSONALITY

In order to understand fully the cultural aspect of mental health, it is essential to have adequate knowledge about the society, culture, and people we are concerned with. It is the aim of this introduction to address the Chinese background.

In the first chapter, Wu and Tseng begin by pointing out that there are different courses of sociocultural change undertaken in different Chinese communities. Then they describe common characteristics of Chinese culture shared by all ethnic Chinese, whether in the homeland or other settings.

Chu (Chapter 2) analyzes the emergence of a new culture in mainland China, which was brought about by the process of social reform and indoctrination and was influenced by cultural revolution. As a result of the emergence of this new culture, varying elements of Chinese culture are discerned in different generations: Both tradition and change shape the future of culture in China.

In Chapter 3, the concept of Chinese personality is elaborated by King and Bond, both sociologists. Most scholars view Confucianism as a social theory that tends to mold the Chinese into group-oriented, socially interdependent beings. However, King and Bond point out that the Confucian paradigm of man has the theoretical thrust, as well as a built-in structural imperative, to develop humans into relation-oriented individuals who are not only socially responsive and interdependent, but also capable of assuming self-directed roles in constructing their social world.

In Chapter 4, Song describes her psychometric study of the character traits of the Chinese people. Using the Chinese version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), she found that the Chinese character profile contrasts with its American counterpart in several aspects. The Chinese are emotionally more reserved, introverted, fond of tranquility, overly considerate, socially overly cautious, and habituated to self-restraint. These traits are not only manifested in the test results, but also are corroborated in the daily lives of the Chinese people.

Following this discussion of personality, is Y. Y. Li’s (Chapter 5) review of social change and religious movements and their relation to personality adjustment. From the anthropological point of view, he describes and categorizes the religious cults prevailing in the rapidly changing society of Taiwan. Li then correlates the various types of cults with the personal adjustments to social change of their members and with shifting patterns of the society itself.

Part I concludes with T’ien’s study of traditional views on mental illness in Chapter 6. From ancient records and medical books, he draws the basis for formulating the ancient Chinese concept of mental disorder. He also uses descriptions of emotional disturbance in the popular literature of pre-modern times to present insights into the psychic unity of the Chinese people.

CHAPTER 1

Introduction: The Characteristics of Chinese Culture

David Y.H. Wu and Wen-Shing Tseng

Publisher Summary

The chapter discusses the contemporary situations in Chinese culture that relate to social structure, sociocultural change, and the relationship of these factors to the current state of mental health of the Chinese people. The chapter focuses on the issues of mind, body, and behavior. The cultural framework is of central concern to Chinese participants, whether they are social scientists, humanists, or clinical psychiatrists. Chinese culture appears to affect the state of body and health, parent–child interaction, social relationships, individual and group aspirations, models of health care services, and the patterns of disorders and methods of coping under the impact of migration, industrialization, and urbanization. The chapter focuses on the importance of the impact of cultural tradition upon perception, behavioral orientation, pathology, coping, and help-seeking. The mental health concerns that are relevant to the population of mainland China are related to the recent dramatic socialist revolution and particularly to the 10-year period of the Cultural Revolution.

BACKGROUND

Whether it is published in Chinese or English, the literature relevant to Chinese culture and mental health is scarce. Thus, the essays in this volume, which focus upon contemporary situations in Chinese culture and which relate to social structure, sociocultural change, and the relationship of these factors to the current state of mental health of the Chinese people, afford valuable scholarly insights unlikely to be otherwise encountered. This volume records a unique meeting of Chinese minds, a congress of scholars who dealt with the issues of mind, body, and behavior.

Mental health issues most often deal with the normal and abnormal states of the mind (see Kleinman and Lin, 1981), with culture being seen as the arbiter of rules of conduct in the minds of individuals in a particular culture (Geertz, 1973; Keesing, 1974). In this overview of Chinese culture and mental health, we present case after case showing that the cultural framework is of central concern to this group of Chinese participants, whether they be social scientists, humanists, or clinical psychiatrists. Chinese culture as a way of thinking appears to affect the state of body and health, parent–child interaction, social relationships, individual and group aspirations, models of health care services, and above all, as emphasized in several parts of this volume, the patterns of disorders as well as methods of coping under the impact of migration, industrialization, and urbanization. It is striking to see here the convergence of scholarly views from experts in Chinese communities that are physically distant from each other as well as disparate in social systems. It also appears that the sociobehavioral scientists and psychiatrists represented in this volume more often than not agree on the importance of the impact of cultural tradition upon perception, behavioral orientation, pathology, coping, and help-seeking. Throughout this volume, common concerns addressed by our authors can be summarized in the following questions:

1. What are the characteristics of the Chinese culture? What are some of the recent changes in different Chinese communities? How are these changes related to mental health issues?

2. Are these mental health or psychological problems peculiar to the Chinese? What are common factors of mental illness that are evident in Chinese society?

3. What kinds of coping methods in response to environmental and cultural change are distinctively culturally related?

4. What are some of the popular ways of delivering mental health services in the Chinese society?

DIFFERENT COURSES OF SOCIOCULTURAL CHANGE

Before we attempt to answer these questions, it is appropriate for us to know whether the various Chinese societies represented in the present volume are comparable units for comparison. In other words, do they all reflect the same Chinese culture on the basis of which an investigation of the behavioral and mental health issues can be conducted? We cannot deny the fact that all the societies under discussion share certain common features in their cultural backgrounds, but we cannot ignore the separation in time and space of these societies, in addition to the effects of recent socioeconomic changes. If indeed we could document a variety of patterns of changes occurring in these societies and if we could note the persistence of common cultural characteristics, we could then discuss those mental health issues pertinent to a contemporary Chinese culture.

A quick review of the recent history of the Chinese societies represented here leads us to see three kinds of sociocultural change: One can be observed in mainland China; one is characteristic of Hong Kong and Taiwan; and another is found in immigrant Chinese communities overseas, such as those in Australia, Singapore, and the United States. These three categories of change have given rise to dissimilar social as well as individual problems that warrant the attention of mental health professionals and researchers.

In mainland China, dramatic change has taken place in both the socio-political system as well as in social ideology. However, it is uncertain to what degree these changes have affected the cultural behavior, or rules of conduct, of the population. Until recently, little research information in this area has been available. Given the fact that 75% of the population remains involved in agricultural production, with little change noticeable in the agrarian way of life, we might not anticipate the kind of change occurring elsewhere due to forces of industrialization, Westernization, and urbanization. This is why the term Chinese model of development has been used in the literature. The mental health concerns that are relevant to the population of mainland China, as indicated in several chapters by resident specialists contributing to this volume, are related to the recent dramatic socialist revolution and particularly to the 10-year period of the Cultural Revolution. While the legacy of the Cultural Revolution has not been specifically dealt with by the mental health professionals from China, cer-tain legacies of such a drastic sociopolitical movement—explicit societal concern for the general moral order and education for the young—have been quite revealing in our discussions. In short, a concern for constructing (or reconstructing) society for the future generation of Chinese has become the central issue with regard to maintaining good mental health.

In the decades after World War II, Hong Kong and Taiwan shared a similar course of socioeconomic development. Both underwent rapid growth in light industry and expanded export-oriented international trade. The two societies also share the demographical feature of a large, dislocated migrant population. While mental health problems are often associated with migration in Western literature, they did not surface as serious issues for the Chinese society in Hong Kong or in Taiwan. The more salient issue is the impact of economic development and population growth on the urban centers, where the change of life-styles due to economic affluence may have caused many of the mental disorders and social ills that are new to the society. One important issue that requires further research is the macropolitical situation in the society. How does individual concern with continuing political instability and uncertainty affect the mental health of the entire society? Investigation relevant to this question may well yield clues to the more profound problems of group and individual well-being. (If the concepts health, adjusted, and well can be linked to the improving economic situation and rising standard of living, the people in Hong Kong and Taiwan could be said to be coping quite well.)

Among the immigrant Chinese in Australia, Singapore, and the United States, cultural adjustment and cultural identity have deep meaning even after the passing of several generations. The successful, socioculturally adjusted, elite Chinese in Hawaii (...