Structural validation of The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) among Filipina and Indonesian female migrant domestic workers in Macao: STRUCTURAL VALIDATION OF PHQ-9.

Within diverse global populations, validated tools are needed to assess common mental disorders. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is one of the most commonly used depression screeners. However, the PHQ-9 has not been structurally validated among female migrant domestic workers (MDWs). Female MDWs constitute a population numbering 11.5 million, and commonly report depression. This study aimed to structurally validate the PHQ-9 among Filipina and Indonesian female MDWs in Macao Special Administrative Region of China. Participants were recruited using respondent driven sampling. Participants were adult female MDWs from The Philippines (N=1375) or Indonesia (N=367) and legally working in Macao. We used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test five structural models of depression using all PHQ-9 items with the Filipina and Indonesian samples. We applied multi-group CFA to test measurement invariance across samples. A two-factor (cognitive/affective, somatic) model yielded the best fit within both samples, and the multi-group CFA demonstrated invariance across samples. The two-factor model best represents the factor structure of the PHQ-9 among Filipina and Indonesian female MDWs.

Polyculturalism and Attitudes Toward the Continuing Presence of Former Colonizers in Four Postcolonial Asian Societies.

Polyculturalism is the lay belief that cultures are dynamically interconnected and mutually influencing each other historically and in contemporary times. Belief in polyculturalism is associated with various positive intergroup outcomes in intercultural social contexts, but it has never been studied in relation to intergroup attitudes in postcolonial societies. Two studies with participants from four postcolonial Asian societies (total N = 1,126) explore whether polyculturalism will also be associated with positive attitudes toward the continuing presence of former colonizers. The historical colonial experience may be socially represented positively or negatively in different societies, and in this context, the studies inquire into whether current attitudes toward former colonizers are positively associated with the belief in polyculturalism. In two studies (after controlling for belief in multiculturalism, genetic and social constructivist lay theories of race, and national identity) polyculturalism was positively associated with favorable attitudes toward continuing presence of former colonizers in Hong Kong, Macau, and Jakarta, but not in Johor Bahru, Malaysia and Wonosobo, Indonesia. The positive association with polyculturalism was found only in the three societies with a high degree of intercultural contact, where the core beliefs of polyculturalism may be more meaningful. The results are discussed in terms of how intergroup relations between former colonizers and colonized peoples are forms of between-society intercultural contact that are also influenced by intergroup lay theories.