Taiwanese Youth Research Articles

Economic Implications Under Cross-Strait Exchanges -Take Taiwanese College Students as an Example

In the current development of cross-strait relations, Taiwanese college students are undoubtedly the most important ethnic group. In October 2015, at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, the CPC proposed to deepen Cross-Strait economic cooperation in a mutually beneficial and win-win way and benefit more ordinary Taiwanese young people as well as the small and medium-sized enterprises. In 2017, Yu Zheng Sheng, chairman of the Mainland Political Consultative Conference, mentioned at the CPPCC National Committee meeting: we will strengthen exchanges with Taiwan's grassroots people and young generations and build a solid foundation for the peaceful development of Cross-Strait relations. We can see that the fight for the goodwill and recognition of young people toward Mainland will remain the top priority of Mainland China s work on Taiwan. To win the recognition of Taiwanese youth for the Mainland has actually been implemented for years. In the past, Taiwanese students were invited to visit and explore Mainland China in summer and winter vocations, expected to enhance their feelings towards Chinese people and promote their recognition of the Mainland China. With the gradual opening up of Cross-Strait policies and the wide-and-deep exchange of views, the concrete result has become the focus of common concern across the Taiwan Strait. The empirical results from the questionnaire survey in this study explain the specific impact of Cross-Strait exchange on Taiwanese students. In particular, the study has indeed demonstrated its significant impact on many aspects of the college students' career and entrepreneurial awareness and willingness propositions.

Coresidence in the Transition to Adulthood: The Case of the United States, Germany, Taiwan, and Mainland China

This paper compares the prevalence and age-specific changes of coresidence patterns, by means of a classification of 12 coresidence types, for the age range from 16 to 30 in the United States (US), Germany (GE), Taiwan (TW), and mainland China (CN). Panel data were used in separate nested logistic regression models to estimate transitions in coresidence for individuals in each society in the transition to adulthood. On the first level, decisions to move from different types of family-of-origin-households were modeled, depending on intergenerational solidarity and parental resources. On the second level, target household types were modeled, depending on others’ trajectory events and their interaction with gender. The analysis used the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY97) from the United States, the German Family Panel (pairfam), the Taiwanese Youth Project (TYP), and the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS). Age-specific coresidence patterns were pooled and transitions probabilities were estimated for a two-year period. The systematic comparative approach makes it possible to correct misinterpretations based on analyses from single societies. Our results demonstrated that differences in coresidence patterns within the patrilineal, collectivistic societies (CN and TW), and within the bilineal, individualistic societies (US and GE) were as important as the differences between these two groups of societies.

Effects of childhood adversity and resilience on Taiwanese youth health behaviors

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can leave negative impacts on one's health behaviors or social functioning later in life. Resilient characteristics have been shown to mitigate effects against risk behaviors in developing adolescents. However, clinical and research attention has rarely been given to jointly consider the effects of ACEs and resilient characteristics on health behaviors in Taiwanese youth. A total of 200 individuals aged 15-22 years were recruited from primary care settings, communities, and schools. Participants completed questionnaires assessing their ACEs, resilient characteristics, and health behaviors. Univariate analysis was firstly used to describe the correlates of ACEs and resilient characteristics. Further multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association of both factors with health behaviors. More than half (61.5%) of those surveyed had been exposed to at least one category of ACE. Verbal (37%) and physical (21%) abuses were the most common types of ACEs. The counts in the ACE categories were associated with being involved in physical fights (odds ratio 1.28 [confidence interval 1.01-1.63]), property damage (1.29 [1.03-1.61]), running away from home (1.30 [1.05-1.60]), bullying victimization (1.37 [1.16-1.61]), and sleep problems/tiredness (1.25 [1.03-1.52]). Meanwhile, resilience scores were associated with decreased odds of infrequent seatbelt use (0.47 [0.23-0.97]), low fruit and vegetable intake (0.42 [0.21-0.86]) unsatisfied body image (0.46 [0.22-0.97]), and sleep problems/tiredness (0.37 [0.18-0.79]). ACEs and resilience characteristics play a significant role in shaping youth health behaviors. Further research should be undertaken to identify ways to build resilience against health risks in youth with prior ACE exposure.

Timing of Family Adversity During Adolescence and its Impact on Alcohol and Tobacco Initiation: A Longitudinal Study Among Taiwanese Adolescents.

We examined the impact of time-varying exposure to family adversity, including parental conflict, parental absence from home, divorce, and parental death, on the timing of drinking and smoking initiation among Taiwanese youth between ages 14 and 22years. We used six waves of data from a longitudinal panel study conducted in northern Taiwan between 2001 and 2009, and included 5446 students. The analysis demonstrated that exposure to parental conflict, divorce, and parental death increased the risk of drinking and smoking initiation. The odds ratios (OR) for smoking and drinking initiation among youth experiencing conflict between parents were 1.33 (95% CI 1.10-1.73) for smoking and 2.00 (1.26-3.20) for drinking. The OR for parental death were 2.96 (1.69-5.18) for smoking and 8.07 (1.79-36.49) for drinking. The association becomes more pronounced at age 18 (i.e., the legal age for drinking and smoking in Taiwan), and lasts until early adulthood.

Longitudinal impacts of pubertal timing and weight status on adolescent Internet use: Analysis from a cohort study of Taiwanese youths.

AimTo investigate the longitudinal impacts of pubertal timing and weight status on Internet use in adolescents.MethodsThree waves of data on a longitudinal cohort of 7th grade students (N = 2430) were retrieved from the Taiwan Youth Project. Univariate and multivariate regression models were applied using crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) to examine the concomitant impacts of pubertal timing and weight status on adolescent Internet use.ResultsThe dataset identified 210 (8.7%) students using the Internet for more than 20 hours/week, and 81 (3.3%) were viewing pornographic material online. Early maturing and thin-weight adolescents were at 35% and 46% increased risks of spending long hours on Internet use, respectively. While early puberty was associated with online pornography viewing among males (adjusted OR 1.84, 95% CI 1.04–3.28), early puberty was contrarily a protective factor against online gaming in females (adjusted OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.36–0.96).ConclusionEarly puberty was found to be positively related to adolescent Internet use. Appropriate health education and guidance regarding Internet use should be provided to those with different developing needs.

EQ-5D-Y for the assessment of health-related quality of life among Taiwanese youth with mild-to-moderate chronic kidney disease.

To assess if health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and different comorbid conditions can be identified based on the EQ-5D child-friendly version (EQ-5D-Y). Prospective cross-sectional study. A tertiary care medical center in Taiwan. All CKD patients aged 7-18 years treated at the center between May 2014 and December 2016. HRQOL assessment was done using EQ-5D-Y. Spearman correlation tests were used for construct validity of the traditional Chinese version of EQ-5D-Y. Test-retest reliability was determined through Cohen's kappa values and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Laboratory results and CKD-related morbid conditions were ascertained and assessed their associations with HRQOL score using multivariate linear regression. Of 68 participants, 53 of them completed two HRQOL assessments of HRQOL at least 6-month. Cross-sectional analysis revealed fair to moderate correlations between EQ visual analogue score and patient characteristics. Older children at assessment (P < 0.01), girls (P = 0.03) and presence of mineral bone disorders had a significantly negative impact on HRQOL. Children self-reported EQ-5D-Y dimensions were found to be fairly to highly reliable (kappa = 0.2 to 0.8), except for 'pain/discomfort' and 'anxiety/depression'. The EQ-5D-Y discriminated among children with different level of CKD-related clinical burden, but the psychometric properties may be limited in some HRQOL dimensions. Further research will need to address factors that may threaten validity and reliability data provided by children and adolescents.

An Empirical Study Regarding the Satisfaction Level of Taiwanese Youth Tourists to Japan

The objective of this research is to analyze quantitatively the evaluation and background factors for tourist sites in Japan by the younger age group of Taiwanese visitors to Japan, and to consider a future subject. The questionnaire was designed based on consumer-behavior theory, service marketing, etc. as a theory relevant to sightseeing. It turned out that the factors that constitute especially quality of service and experience value are closely related to a revisit intention etc. In addition, as compared with other countries, the factors by which tourist sites in Japan were evaluated highly, and not highly, became clear among those factors.

Examining the Effects of Art Therapy on Reoccurring Tobacco Use in a Taiwanese Youth Population: A Mixed-Method Study

ABSTRACTBackground: Cigarette smoking is a primary risk factor affecting mental and physical health worldwide. Many chronic diseases are closely related to smoking. Adolescents in Taiwan are increasingly using tobacco, especially in rural areas. Objectives: This research project used a mixed-method study to examine the effects of art therapy on smoking cessation in rural Taiwanese youth smokers. Methods: Participants from years 10–11, were drawn from three senior high schools in Taiwan. The experimental group participated in a six-week smoking cessation intervention using art therapy. The comparison group participated in typical courses on smoking cessation. Quantitative measures included need for smoking, nicotine dependence, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and smoking cessation status. Qualitative analysis was based on phenomenology. Results: A total of 66 students (n = 40 experimental group; n = 26 comparison group) were the subjects of quantitative analysis. No differences were noted in baseline characteristics of groups. Generalized estimating equation analyses suggested significant between-group differences in change from pre- to follow-up test scores in the “social domain” (B = −5.12, p < 0.05). Qualitative data (n = 17 experimental group; n = 10 control group) suggested three domains: effects of art therapy on smoking prevention, benefits of art therapy on other outcome measures, and comparison between art therapy and traditional smoking cessation programs. Conclusions/importance: The findings of this study can potentially contribute significantly to existing knowledge regarding the perceptions of art therapy on reoccurring tobacco use in Taiwanese youth.

Developing Depressive Symptoms over the Adolescent Years: The Influence of Affiliated Cultural Values among Taiwanese Youth

The purpose of this study was (a) to identify latent subgroups of Taiwanese adolescents who vary in their cultural value affiliations and (b) to examine how latent-subgroup membership in early adolescence predicted depressive symptoms for 6 years throughout adolescence into young adulthood. Participants consisted of 2458 youth from the longitudinal Taiwan Youth Project (TYP). Latent profile analysis indicated five classes (patterns) of cultural value affiliation. A zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) analysis followed, which identified the estimated (a) probability of experiencing depressive symptoms and (b) number of depressive symptoms experienced by individuals who reported depressive symptoms across the five observational time points. Results showed that among the five classes of value affiliation, two classes had a greater likelihood of experiencing depressive symptoms at the beginning of the assessment (age 15). Youth who were least likely to embrace societally prescribed culture values were at the greatest risk for manifesting subsequent depressive symptoms. These findings support the idea that the way adolescents identify with their cultural values predicts subsequent depressive symptoms.

‘The future that belongs to us’: Affective politics, neoliberalism and the Sunflower Movement

The Sunflower Movement that took place in Taiwan in spring 2014 has been an epochal event for Taiwan, China, and East Asia. Many critics identified China as the most important factor for triggering the movement, while others emphasized the internal contradictions of economy, politics, and culture within Taiwan as reasons for its outburst. Although the Sunflower Movement has been treated as Taiwanese resistance to political and economic integration with China under the framework of free trade and the World Trade Organization, few have considered the discourses of neoliberalism surrounding and instigating it as the conditions of subjectivity in which Taiwanese youth apprehend their place and future. In the Sunflower Movement, neoliberalism is prominently associated with worries about the future, where college students on the verge of entering the job market feel ambivalent about their career prospects and life choices. These young people feel a sharp sense of deprivation and a strong anxiety about Chinese competition. How do we theorize such anxieties about the future in relation to neoliberalism as a structure of feeling, and such anxious subjects, in relation to Taiwan’s status? This article addresses these issues by conceptualizing the Sunflower Movement as an affective-political outburst of discontents that sits uncomfortably with the future of neoliberal globalization as the ontology of being.

A study of factor analysis related to the consideration of Judo -In the case of Taiwanese youth Judo players.

A study of factor analysis related to the consideration of Judo -In the case of Taiwanese youth Judo players.

Application of the Extended Theory of Planned Behavior to Intention to Travel to Japan Among Taiwanese Youth: Investigating the Moderating Effect of Past Visit Experience

ABSTRACTThis study examines the extended Theory of Planned Behavior in the context of young Taiwanese' travel intentions to Japan. Analyses indicate that perceived risks negatively impact attitudes, while attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control positively impact behavioral intentions. Contrary to the hypothesized direct effect, attitudes fully mediate the perceived risks and behavioral intentions relationship. A novel contribution of this study is the examination of the moderating effect of past visit experience, revealing significant moderation of the paths from attitudes to behavioral intentions, and from perceived behavioral control to behavioral intentions, with stronger effects for experienced visitors over novices.

The influences of perceived social support and personality on trajectories of subsequent depressive symptoms in Taiwanese youth

Little is known about the combined effect of personality and social support on trajectories of depressive symptoms among youth. This study aims to investigate the influence of social support in different contexts on the development of depressive symptoms during adolescence and whether the association is moderated by adolescents' personality. The data using in this study is selected from the Taiwan Educational Panel Survey (TEPS), a longitudinal panel study since the year 2000 (at age 13) and three more waves (at ages 15, 17, and 18). A total of four waves of students' data (N = 4163) are analyzed using the latent growth models. The results indicate that the depressive symptom trajectory of Taiwan adolescents gradually grows in a quadratic curve. Social support in family context rather than school context was associated with depressive symptoms, while only a positive association is found between maternal support and depressive symptoms at the start. Meanwhile, increased extroversion personality is associated with the decreased initial level, increased linear changes, and decreased non-linear quadratic changes of adolescents' depressive symptoms. Further analyses show that a significant interaction between maternal support and extroversion personality is associated with increased non-linear quadratic growth curve of adolescents' depressive symptoms. In conclusion, adolescents' extroversion personality might moderate the effect of maternal support on developmental trajectory of depressive symptoms. Intervention that improves social support should take account for adolescent's personality, which may alter trajectory of psychological distress during adolescence.

Correlates of Psychosocial Development for Taiwanese Youth

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of parenting behavior, friendship support, collective value affiliation, and gender on psychosocial development with a sample of youth from urban and rural areas from Taiwan ( N = 787). We first applied latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify patterns of psychosocial outcomes. Next, a series of pairwise equality tests and logistic regression revealed the individual and unique effect of each predictor. We identified two patterns of psychosocial outcomes and observed significant associations between predictors and psychosocial development based on class membership. These results suggest that among all predictors, parenting satisfaction and friendship support were particularly predictive in an enhanced psychosocial development status.

Does Men's Body Satisfaction with Specific Parts Differentially Affect Body-image-related Mental Distress by Sexual Orientation? a Comparison of Gay, Bisexual, and Heterosexual Men in Taiwan

Introduction Prior research on body-image-related issues has mainly focused on the relationship between overall body satisfaction and health-related outcomes, particularly among Western women. However, there is still a paucity of information on whether body satisfaction with specific body parts is differentially associated with body-image-related mental distress, especially across gay, bisexual, and heterosexual men in Taiwan. Objectives To Identify the differences by sexual orientation regarding the relationship between satisfaction with specific body parts and body-image-related mental distress among Taiwanese men. Aims To develop effective interventions to reduce mental distress related to body dissatisfaction in men. Methods A total of 665 male participants were recruited via a popular electronic bulletin board system frequented by Taiwanese youth. Results Increased levels of satisfaction with weight were significantly associated with lower odds of body-image-related mental distress across gay, bisexual, and heterosexual men (AOR=0.38, 0.31, and 0.56, respectively). Gay men who were more satisfied with their height (AOR=0.57) and body fat (AOR=0.28), as well as heterosexual men who were more satisfied with their facial features (AOR=0.51), muscle (AOR=0.53), and body fat (AOR=0.55), were significantly less likely to have body-image-related mental distress than their counterparts. Conclusions Higher levels of satisfaction with various specific body parts were associated with reduced risk of body-image-related mental distress. Further, these associations varied differentially across gay, bisexual, and heterosexual men. Future research may explore the possible mechanisms through which satisfaction with specific body parts influences men's body-image-related mental distress. Accordingly, interventions could be tailored for men of different sexual orientations.

Association between microstructural integrity of frontostriatal tracts and school functioning: ADHD symptoms and executive function as mediators.

Deficits in executive function (EF), impaired school functioning and altered white matter integrity in frontostriatal networks have been associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, relationships between impairments in these areas are unclear. Using a sample of youths with and without ADHD, this study examined the association between microstructural integrity of frontostriatal tracts and school dysfunction and the mediating roles of EF and ADHD symptoms in this association. The sample included 32 Taiwanese youths with ADHD and 32 age-, sex-, handedness- and IQ-matched typically-developing (TD) youths. Participants were assessed using psychiatric interviews, parent reports on ADHD symptoms and school functioning, and EF measures from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB). The frontostriatal tracts were reconstructed by diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) tractography and were subdivided into four functionally distinct segments: caudate-dorsolateral, caudate-medial prefrontal, caudate-orbitofrontal and caudate-ventrolateral tracts. Youths with ADHD, relative to TD youths, showed altered white matter integrity in all four bilateral pairs of frontostriatal tracts (decreased general fractional anisotropy, GFA), had poor attention, vigilance and response inhibition, and showed impaired school functioning. Altered microstructural integrity in frontostriatal tracts was significantly associated with school dysfunction, which was mediated by EF measures of attention/vigilance and response inhibition in addition to inattention and hyperactivity symptoms. Our findings demonstrate an association between white matter integrity in the frontostriatal networks and school functioning and suggest that EF deficits and ADHD symptoms may be the mediating mechanisms for this association. Future research is needed to test the directionality and specificity of this finding.

THE UNCIVIC POP CULTURE?

Based on a discourse analysis of the fan-audience discussions found in the National Taiwan University and Soochow University Bulletin Board Systems, this case study discovers that the Taiwanese youth in fact draw on Japanese TV dramas as a springboard for reflexive discussions of their own social and political conditions in post-authoritarian Taiwan. The Japanomania fan discourse played a crucial role in Taiwan's democratization and nationhood-building in the 1990s. This paper argues that fan discussion networks are ‘pre-political’ because they create social conditions and alternative discourses that could prepare media users for potential social changes. I contend that foreign media are not necessarily the most immediate oppressors and could become the source of subversive symbols and new meanings for local resistance. Further research is called for to illuminate the shaping of identity by the global media in non-Western contexts.

Associations between health-related physical fitness and obesity in Taiwanese youth

This study examined associations between four health-related physical fitness measures and obesity in Taiwanese youth aged 10–18 years. Data from 13,500 school-aged youth were randomly selected from the “School Physical Fitness Database” of Taiwan by sex and age. Variables examined were height, body mass and performance on modified sit-and-reach (flexibility), bent-leg sit-up (abdominal muscular strength/endurance), standing long jump (lower body explosive strength) and distance run/walk (cardiorespiratory endurance). Adjusted logistic regression analyses were performed. Increased odds of being obese with decreased fitness levels were observed for lower body explosive strength and cardiorespiratory endurance in both sexes. The highest odds of being obese was found in the least fit quintile of cardiorespiratory endurance compared with the most fit quintile both in boys (Odds ratio, OR = 10.44; 95% confidence interval (CI), 7.94–13.73) and girls (OR = 5.40; 95% CI, 3.90–7.47). These findings suggest that in addition to cardiorespiratory fitness, lower body explosive strength is also associated with childhood and adolescent obesity.

Youth Baseball and Colonial Identity in Taiwan, 1920–1968

In 1968, the Hongye team walked off the baseball diamond as victors and national heroes. Their victory came at the expense of a Japanese team widely reported in the Taiwanese press as champions of the world. The athletes were children, middle-school-aged boys, representing a school in the rural southeast of the island. Their opponents hailed from the same region of Japan, Wakayama, that had produced the Little League World Series champions of the year before. The Taizhong Gold Dragons entered the Little League World Series the following year as Taiwan's first representatives at the competition. They won the championship. As if from nowhere, youth baseball was a major event in Taiwanese public life.' Despite the continuing popularity of baseball in Taiwan--including a domestic professional league, participation in the Olympic games, and high-profile players arriving in the US major leagues--the Hongye team remains the most well-known sports team in Taiwanese history and one of the most fascinating sports teams to study for academics drawn to modern sport in East Asia. The team's signature victory was more than an opportunity for Cold War propaganda grasped by the Republic of China (ROC) government: it signaled a transition in the role of baseball in Taiwanese popular culture from that of a remaining vestige of Japanese colonial influence to a representation of Chinese nationalism. It is interesting that this transition did not occur earlier, with Taiwan's return to the auspices of the ROC in 1945 following Japan's defeat in World War II. Academics frequently discuss sport in terms of its value in promoting political ideologies from the top down in colonial and postcolonial societies. Taiwan is no exception.' Other approaches make the convincing argument that popular sport offered local communities an avenue of resistance within the dominant current of the colonizing nation's cultural assault.' This understanding of sport in colonial and postcolonial contexts can also be limiting. Indeed, Taiwanese youth baseball offers us an alternative model: that of a sporting community directly representing the colonial culture of Japanese seeking to live as members of the extended imperial Japanese cultural demesne. This cultural enclave must be understood separately from binary interpretations of ideological indoctrination and subtle resistance. Popular sport, baseball in this case, gives us insight into the relationship between the core and periphery of the colonial world and the detritus that remains following their severance. (4) A BRIEF HISTORY OF TAIWAN AS COLONY AND REFUGE Japan successfully colonized Taiwan in 1895 following a comprehensive victory in the Sino-Japanese War of that year. Taiwanese colonial life settled into a relatively comfortable pattern of compromise between a landed Japanese elite group and ethnic Chinese locals after an initial period of bloody conflict, though aboriginal communities on the island continued to offer significant violent resistance. (5) The colonial Japanese settled mostly around the newly formed colonial government in the northern city of Taipei. Further south, ethnic Chinese communities predominated alongside vestiges of the pacified aboriginal society. Taiwan was not bereft of opposition to colonial rule, but relations between the Japanese colonial government and local Taiwanese remained remarkably conciliatory in comparison with Japanese experience in Korea following the colonization of that country in 1910. Improvements in the local infrastructure and limited political concessions contributed to a relatively placid political environment in colonial Taiwan. (6) Japanese approaches to integrating the local Taiwanese population into a wider imperial Japanese identity oscillated between assimilation and coexistence. This latter policy prevailed during the early decades of colonization, but Tokyo's growing interest in assimilating the local population accelerated from the 19205 onwards. …

The Development of Adolescent and Young Adult Participation Sort – Taiwanese Version

The purpose of this pilot research was to translate the Adolescent and Young Adult Participation Sort into Taiwanese (AYAPS-T), an assessment tool measuring the activity participation and the self-identified barriers of youth transitioning into adulthood. The study included five phases: translation, cultural adaptation, taking photographs, field testing for content validity and pilot testing of test-retest reliability. A literature review, expert review and translation with back-translation were conducted for the initial activities. The activities were then edited on the basis of the feedback of 23 Taiwanese youth for content validity. Test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.91) of the AYAPS-T reported by 22 Taiwanese youth was high. With the activities designed to meet the developmental needs of young adults, the methodology of sorting photographs, the barrier list to identify possible obstacles and some psychometric properties established, the AYAPS-T serves as a reliable and valid tool to identify engagement of young adults in their occupations. Because of the nature of a pilot study, results are limited by a small sample size and limited evidence of psychometric properties. Psychometric properties such as interrater reliability and internal consistency as well as construct validity and concurrent validity need to be tested on a larger sample size.