Differentiation of self, implicit motivation, and psychological wellbeing in Chinese samples from Hong Kong and mainland China

The current study was conducted to determine if differentiation of self has a significant correlation with psychological health in a sample of Chinese people in Hong Kong and mainland China. The mediating and moderating roles of cognitive schemas and coping factors were also examined. Test instruments were given to Chinese subjects from Hong Kong and mainland China yielding a total of 417 participants. Results showed that differentiation of self exhibited a cross-cultural application to the Chinese samples, with all the scales of the Chinese Differentiation of Self Inventory (C-DSI) significantly correlated with psychological health. On all other scales, except for Fusion with Family, no significant difference was found between participants of both locations. Gender differences appeared with men being better differentiated than women with respect to I-Position and Emotional Reactivity in both geographical areas. Men in Hong Kong were also significantly more differentiated than their female counterparts; the same phenomenon was not observed in mainland Chinese participants. Also, early maladaptive schemas were shown to mediate between all scales of C-DSI and psychological health variables. Vulnerability to Harm was a common mediator between Anxiety and all C-DSI scales. Similarly, common mediators between Depression and C-DSI scales were found to be Emotional Deprivation, Social Isolation, and Failure to Achieve. Likewise, Vulnerability to Harm and Failure to Achieve mediated between Stress and most of the C-DSI scales. Specific cognitive schemas were identified to predict psychological distress and wellbeing in participants in both locations (e.g., Vulnerability to Harm and Failure to Achieve), as well as between male and female participants (e.g., Insufficient Self-Control and Defectiveness). Coping factors of Seeking Support and Ventilation, Passive Wishful Thinking, and Problem Solving were found to influence certain C-DSI scales and psychological health variables. Scores of certain variables in C-DSI, coping strategies, psychological health, and cognitive schemas were shown to have significant differences across various age groups. No significant difference was noted in mental health variables in participants of the two locations except for Stress, which was found to be significantly higher in mainland Chinese than those in Hong Kong. Gender differences on mental health variables were not observed.