A comparison of humor styles, coping humor, and mental health between Chinese and Canadian university students

Abstract

This research compares the structure and correlates of the Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ) and Coping Humor Scale (CHS) in the Chinese context with those of Canadian samples. Chinese translations of the HSQ, CHS, and Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) were administered to 354 Chinese university students (M = 23.4 years of age, SD = 3.6). As in the original Canadian samples, four humor factors were found in the HSQ: Affliative, Self-enhancing, Aggressive, and Self-defeating humor, and one factor was found in the CHS. The HSQ and CHS scale reliabilities in the Chinese sample were generally acceptable. Chinese participants, as compared to Canadian norms, reported significantly lower scores on the HSQ subscales and CHS, particularly on Aggressive humor. No significant gender differences were found on the four HSQ subscales in the Chinese sample, whereas Canadian males reported more use of Aggressive and Self-defeating humor than did females. Although no gender difference was found on Coping humor in the Canadian samples, Chinese males had significantly higher scores on this scale than did females. In both the Chinese and Canadian samples, younger participants reported more use of Affliative and Aggressive humor than did older ones. Affliative, Self-enhancing, and Coping humor were negatively correlated, while Aggressive and Selfdefeating humor were positively correlated with the subscales and General Symptomatic Index of the SCL-90. Regression results indicated that mental health is more strongly related to Self-enhancing, Self-defeating, and Coping humor than Affliative and Aggressive humor. Overall, the findings support the theoretical structure and usefulness of the HSQ and CHS in the Chinese context.

Sense of Humor in China: The Role of Individualism, Collectivism, and Facework

“…Females reported more use of affiliative humor and less use of aggressive humor than males, which is consistent with previous findings with Chinese samples (Chen & Martin, 2007). Females also reported lower levels of saving self-face compared to males.…”

“…with previous findings (Chen & Martin, 2007;Martin et al, 2003). The intercorrelations among the four scales of the individualism and collectivism measure were all positive and significant, as was the correlation between the two facework scales.…”

“…Chen and Martin (2007) found the four humor factors in the HSQ (Martin et al, 2003) with a sample of Chinese students, as in the original Canadian samples: affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and selfdefeating humor. They also found several items in the HSQ did not fit into Chinese culture due to cultural differences.…”

“…The Chinese Humor Styles Questionnaire (CHSQ; Chen, 2007, in submission;Chen & Martin, 2007). Chen and Martin (2007) found the four humor factors in the HSQ (Martin et al, 2003) with a sample of Chinese students, as in the original Canadian samples: affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and selfdefeating humor.…”

Humor Styles in Indian University Students

“…For example, Chinese and Taiwanese university students valued humor less than their counterparts in the West [14,15]. So individual and cultural differences exist in humor appreciation as well as in humor use as a coping mechanism [11].…”