Employing the Hong Kong Teenage Nonviolence Test, this study investigated 120 Hong Kong adolescents’ endorsement of various conflict resolution strategies as a function of gender and type of aggression. Results revealed all participants endorsed a moderately high level of using Empathy and Satyagraha (insistence on the truth) when faced with conflict. Moreover, the reactive-proactive aggressive youth reported a moderate degree of utilizing Physical-Psychological Violence to resolve conflict, while reactive aggressors and non-aggressors revealed a minimal amount of using this strategy. Additional studies are needed to further explore the relationship between aggression and various conflict resolution strategies. The findings can inform mental health professionals interested in designing programs to promote or reinforce protective or buffering factors (e.g., conflict resolution strategies) linked with proactive and reactive aggression.

The Teenage Nonviolence Test (TNT) appears to be a useful tool when assessing nonviolent strategies employed by adolescents. While research has established the TNT’s psychometric properties in the United States, no studies have explored these properties elsewhere. This study, therefore, investigated the initial validity of the TNT’s factor structure and items among Hong Kong youth to determine its cross-cultural validity. Responses to the TNT were gathered from three samples of Hong Kong youth (ages 11 to 18) and subjected to principal components and confirmatory factor analyses. Results revealed the three-factor TNT solution (i.e., Physical and Psychological Violence; Empathy; Satyagraha) reported in the United States was supported, along with two additional but non-interpretable dimensions unique to Hong Kong. In general, the findings suggest preliminary evidence for the TNT’s cross-cultural validity with Hong Kong adolescents. Implications for research and psycho-educational programs to teach Hong Kong youth conflict resolution strategies are offered.

An analogue study in which 311 Asian international students were randomly assigned to read one of four vignettes was conducted to examine the impact of psychologists' level of international competency and the type of psychological service (outreach vs. individual therapy) they provided on participants' attitudes toward psychologists and their services. Two MANCOVAs were performed to test the hypotheses that high psychologist international competency (as compared to low competency) and outreach (as compared to individual therapy) would result in more favorable perceptions of psychologists and psychological services. Findings suggested that demonstrating high international competency resulted in more positive perceptions of psychologists' expertness, although it was not related to Asian international students' attitudes toward specific psychological services. Results further revealed that while Asian international students as a whole perceived individual counseling and outreach similarly, regional differences emerged with respect to stigma tolerance for services. Research and training implications for psychologists are discussed in light of the findings.

Research on the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy to reduce aggressive behaviors failed to take into account the potential importance of including content targeting types of aggression. This study addressed this gap by evaluating the effectiveness of such an intervention for Hong Kong secondary students that engage in proactive aggressive behavior or bullying. Using screening procedures, 63 high-risk proactive aggressors (bullies) were identified from 5,025 students and randomly assigned to treatment groups. A significant MANOVA was discovered when 46 participants' proactive, reactive, verbal, and physical aggression scores were compared before treatment and at four follow-up assessments after treatment. Proactive, reactive, and physical aggression decreased from pretest to one-year follow-up suggesting the cognitive-behavioral program was effective. Based on a second MANOVA, however, it was found the program did not lead to increased levels of empathy for the participants. Implications for research on aggression, and programs to reduce aggression such as bullying of secondary school students in Hong Kong and elsewhere are presented.

This study examined the connection between parental perceptions about their children’s reactive and proactive aggression, parenting styles, parent–child communication, and parental distress. A total of 1,485 Hong Kong parents and guardians with children 8 to 17 years old completed the Reactive and Proactive Aggression Questionnaire, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, Adjective Checklist, and Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire. When reactive and proactive aggression responses were used to predict parental distress, a significant regression model was obtained with both predictors making a contribution. A significant model also was discovered when parenting styles and parent–child communication were used to predict parental distress. Authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive parenting contributed significantly to this model. One final regression was performed with the significant predictors from the two previous equations. This model was significant, with reactive and proactive aggression, and authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive parenting styles making significant contributions. Practice and research implications are briefly discussed.

In the United States, a distinction between proactive (deliberate aggressive behavior aimed at influencing others) and reactive (defensive response to provocation) aggression has been documented. Further, investigators have discovered an association between cognitive, social, and emotional variables and these two types of aggression. This study investigated this relationship with 251 (males = 170; females = 81) proactive and reactive aggressive Hong Kong secondary students (M age = 13.07; SD = 1.38). Canonical analyses revealed proactive aggression was negatively related to transposing oneself into feelings and actions of fictional characters, feeling warmth and concern for others, and feeling discomfort in reaction to others' emotions. Reactive aggression, in contrast, was positively associated with experiencing and expressing anger without specific provocation, expressing anger when provoked, suppressing anger, expressing anger towards others or objects, and feeling anxiety-depression. Implications to address the aggression of students in Hong Kong and elsewhere are discussed.