Psychological Wellbeing of the Helpers: Filipina Domestic Workers in Hong Kong.

摘要

Objective. Filipina domestic workers come from a strong cultural background and have been hailed as heroes by the Philippine government, yet they face the stress of leaving loved ones and social ties behind to make a living in the home of someone from another culture. Although Filipinas make up one of the largest minority groups in Hong Kong, there are very few studies on their psychological wellbeing. Method. A background questionnaire, the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) were, therefore, given to 148 Filipina domestic workers in Hong Kong to quantify levels of distress and mental health issues. The mean age of participants was 39.83 years (SD = 8.32) and they had been working in Hong Kong for an average of 9.09 years (SD = 6.94). Results. Average scores on the BSI Global Severity Index and BSI Positive Symptom Total were two and a half times higher than the BSI adult non-patient norms, and those on the DASS-21 Depression and Anxiety scales were significantly higher than a sample of the Hong Kong population. DASS-21 Stress scale scores were similar to those of the Hong Kong population sample. Additionally, there was no difference found for the BSI Positive Symptom Distress Index with BSI adult non-patient norms or for BSI Global Severity Index and BSI Positive Symptom Total with a U.S. Filipino immigrant sample; scores on the BSI Positive Symptom Distress Index were lower than for the U.S. Filipino immigrant sample. Conclusions.your words It is proposed that the Hong Kong Filipina sample may be using repression or acceptance as means of coping and that adherence to cultural norms and expectations may further explain these results. Hypothesized related psychosocial variables taken together did not predict measures of distress, though further examination of variables such as problems at home, issues with money, and church attendance may prove informative. Areas for further investigation are suggested to broaden the understanding of the Filipina in Hong Kong so more can be done to increase the wellbeing of this important group.