Employers’ concern does not help female foreign domestic workers sustain quality of life in Hong Kong

Cheung, Chau‐kiu; Chung, Siu; Ho, Wing-Chung; Fung, Elijah

doi:10.1080/02185385.2017.1406820

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Other factors may also contribute to the psychological well-being among those foreign domestic workers. For example, demographic characteristics of the employers, FDH’s level of acculturation, and perceived discrimination have been found to be associated with migrant workers’ well-being (Cheung, Chung, Ho, & Fung, 2017; Hall, Pangan, Chan, & Huang, 2019; Zelman et al, 2019). Taking these variables into consideration may more comprehensively capture the impact of foreign domestic workers’ psychosocial contexts, which in turn may increase the explanatory power of model.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-stigma, resilience, perceived quality of social relationships, and psychological distress among Filipina domestic helpers in Hong Kong: A mediation model.

et al. 2021

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Filipina domestic helpers (FDH) make up nearly 3% of the Hong Kong population. Research suggests that FDH are at risk for self-stigmatization and poor mental health. However, little is known about how FDH’s self-perceptions and individual characteristics are associated with their perceived quality of social relationships and mental health. This study examined how self-stigma and resilience might be associated with psychological distress among FDH in Hong Kong and how perceived quality of social relationships (loneliness and perceived social support) might mediate such associations. FDH in Hong Kong (N = 346) were recruited to complete a cross-sectional survey measuring their levels of self-stigma, resilience, loneliness, perceived social support, and psychological distress. Controlling for covariates, path analyses results supported the proposed mediation model with a satisfactory model fit. The indirect effects from self-stigma to distress via increased loneliness and reduced social support, plus those from resilience to distress via reduced loneliness and increased social support, were significant, supporting that perceived quality of social relationships mediated between self-stigma/resilience and psychological distress. Moreover, the direct effect from self-stigma (but not resilience) on distress remained significant after considering the mediators. Self-stigma and resilience could contribute to psychological distress among FDH through changing their perceptions of social relationship quality. Our findings implied that interventions that target reducing self-stigma, cultivating resilience, and enhancing perceptions about quality of social relationships might alleviate psychological distress among FDH in Hong Kong.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-stigma, resilience, perceived quality of social relationships, and psychological distress among Filipina domestic helpers in Hong Kong: A mediation model.

et al. 2021

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“…A recent survey indicated that many FDHs have reported increased workload during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong (e.g., unreasonable amounts of cleaning work, household chores, and queuing for a long time to buy daily essentials for the employers' household) [20,21]. Even outside of pandemic situations, work has been identified as the primary source of stress among FDHs in Singapore [22]; higher working hours were associated with lower quality of life among FDHs in Hong Kong [23]. Furthermore, anecdotal evidence suggests that many FDHs cannot obtain protective equipment for themselves, such as masks from the pharmacy, as their employers fail to provide them with adequate equipment [10].…”

Section: Working Household Environment and Job Arrangements Might Contribute To Fdhs' Anxiety Symptoms During Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeling Anxious amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Psychosocial Correlates of Anxiety Symptoms among Filipina Domestic Helpers in Hong Kong

Yeung

Huang

Lau

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacts psychological well-being (e.g., anxiety symptoms) among the general population of Hong Kong and migrant Filipina domestic helpers (FDHs). Having to live with the employers by law, FDHs’ working environment might affect their well-being during COVID-19 (e.g., household crowdedness/size, insufficiency of protective equipment against COVID-19, increased workload). Research has suggested that coping resources (e.g., social support, COVID-19-related information literacy) and COVID-19-specific worries are associated with people’s well-being during COVID-19. This study examined the psychosocial correlates of probable anxiety among FDHs in Hong Kong amid the COVID-19 pandemic. By purposive sampling, FDHs (n = 295) were recruited and invited to complete a cross-sectional survey. Participants’ working environment (crowdedness, household size), COVID-19 job arrangements (workload, provision of protective equipment), coping resources (social support, COVID-19 information literacy), COVID-19-specific worries (contracting COVID-19, getting fired if contracting COVID-19), and anxiety symptoms were measured. Multivariate regression results showed that the insufficiency of protective equipment (OR = 1.58, 95%CI: 1.18, 2.11), increased workload (OR = 1.51, 95%CI: 1.02, 2.25), and worries about being fired if getting COVID-19 (OR = 1.32, 95%CI: 1.04, 1.68) were significantly associated with probable anxiety. This was one of the earliest studies to indicate that job arrangements and COVID-19-specific worries significantly contributed to FDHs’ anxiety symptoms. Our findings shed light on the importance of addressing employment-related rights and pandemic-specific worries through interventions among FDHs in Hong Kong during pandemic situations.

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“…These gatherings provide opportunities for researchers to approach the domestic workers for data collection (Chan, 2005; Constable, 2009; Lai, 2010; Yu, 2009). Such a sampling method has the advantage of wide coverage of maids in Hong Kong (Cheung et al, 2017). The first author distributed the questionnaires mainly around the Central Station of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) in Hong Kong, an area that offers many public places (e.g., parks, squares, and footbridges) for social gatherings.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobile phone paradox: A two-path model connecting mobile phone use and feeling of loneliness for Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong

Zhong

Huang

Guo

2022

Mobile Media & Communication

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Due to separation from their families and friends in their home countries and constrained living conditions in the host countries, migrant workers usually are found to experience loneliness. Compared with male migrant workers, female migrant workers are more vulnerable and likely to experience higher levels of psychological problems. The ubiquity of mobile phones enables migrant workers to access resources and social support to help to alleviate loneliness. However, research also suggests that mobile phone use may lead to a higher level of loneliness because problematic or excessive use displaces meaningful social interactions. This study investigates this mobile phone paradox among Filipino domestic workers (FDWs) in Hong Kong. Specifically, it explores the relationships between mobile phone use and two types of loneliness, namely social and emotional loneliness. Further, informed by the augmentation hypothesis and the displacement hypothesis, this research advances a two-path model to illustrate how mobile phone use connects with loneliness through social support and problematic mobile phone use. Findings from a survey of 492 FDWs reveal disjunctive effects. There is no direct correlation between mobile phone use and the two types of loneliness. Both problematic mobile phone use and social support are found to mediate the negative association between mobile phone use and social loneliness, while only problematic mobile phone use mediates the positive association between mobile phone use and emotional loneliness. Implications of the research on migrant workers’ mobile phone use and practical implications for social work and government efforts in helping FDWs dealing with loneliness are discussed.

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Employers’ concern does not help female foreign domestic workers sustain quality of life in Hong Kong

Cited by 6 publications

References 40 publications

Self-stigma, resilience, perceived quality of social relationships, and psychological distress among Filipina domestic helpers in Hong Kong: A mediation model.

Self-stigma, resilience, perceived quality of social relationships, and psychological distress among Filipina domestic helpers in Hong Kong: A mediation model.

Feeling Anxious amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Psychosocial Correlates of Anxiety Symptoms among Filipina Domestic Helpers in Hong Kong

Mobile phone paradox: A two-path model connecting mobile phone use and feeling of loneliness for Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong

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