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Properties of the temperament and character inventory in a Chinese sample

Parker G, Cheah YC, Parker K

Acta Psychiatr Scand, 2003 Nov;108(5):367-73.
PMID: 14531757

OBJECTIVE: To determine the influence of language and culture on the temperament and character (TCI) measure in a Chinese sample.
METHOD: We translated the TCI into Mandarin and had a non-psychiatric sample of Malaysian Chinese subjects complete the TCI at baseline and at a 1-month retest, with subsets completing English or Mandarin versions alternatively or on both occasions. Analyses examine the TCI factor structure and any impact of language and culture on TCI scoring.
RESULTS: We identified age, gender, occupation and language effects on TCI scale scores. Test-retest reliability was high and not compromised by language. Scale internal consistency was also high. Factor analyses of separate sets of TCI scales corresponded strongly to the structure identified in the TCI development studies.
CONCLUSION: The results indicate that TCI is likely to have applicability to Chinese subjects, and argue against properties being constrained by the English language or by western culture.
Evaluation and validation of a measure profiling needs and problems of psychiatric patients in the community: a Malaysian study

Cheah YC, Parker G, Roy K

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol, 2000 Apr;35(4):170-6.
PMID: 10868082

The Profile of Community Psychiatry Clients (PCPC) was developed in a Sydney-based sample of those with a mental illness as a 35-item measure of likely need for service recognition, review and possible assistance.
Do the Chinese somatize depression? A cross-cultural study

Parker G, Cheah YC, Roy K

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol, 2001 Jun;36(6):287-93.
PMID: 11583458

A large literature argues for the Chinese--whether in mainland China or elsewhere--being highly likely to express depression somatically, leading to predictable detection and diagnostic difficulties. If true, detection might be assisted if a set of somatic proxies of depression were identified, and this was the principal initial objective in mounting this study.
Development of a measure profiling problems and needs of psychiatric patients in the community

Cheah YC, Parker G, Hadzi-Pavlovic D, Gladstone G, Eyers K

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol, 1998 Jul;33(7):337-44.
PMID: 9689896

We argue the advantages of a measure profiling common problems faced by psychiatric patients in the community and indicating a likely need for service recognition, review and possible assistance. We describe the development of such a measure, the 35-item Profile of Community Psychiatry Clients (PCPC), and the identification of four relevant domains. Component scales assess coping limitations, behavioural problems, levels of social support and organic problems. High test-retest reliability was established, and a number of tests of the measure's validity were undertaken. Discriminant validity was established by demonstrating that those case managed by a community mental health service returned significantly higher scale scores than a comparison group who, while having a similar diagnostic profile, were not case managed. Additionally, scale scores were associated with a number of categorical and dimensional validators reflecting aspects of service need, and distinctly with service costs. We demonstrate that PCPC scores correspond with scores generated by the Life Skills Profile (LSP), a measure of disability, and examine the extent to which PCPC scales correspond to those contained in the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS). We argue for the scale's capacity to provide both a profile of central problems faced by patients and their likely need for community-based service assistance.
Tardive dyskinesia among Chinese and Malay patients with schizophrenia

Chong SA, Mahendran R, Machin D, Chua HC, Parker G, Kane J

J Clin Psychopharmacol, 2002 Feb;22(1):26-30.
PMID: 11799339

The prevalence of tardive dyskinesia (TD) was studied with the Abnormal Involuntary Movements Scale in Chinese and Malay patients with schizophrenia who were hospitalized in a Singapore state psychiatric institute. We also studied the relationship of neuroleptic-induced extrapyramidal side effects to TD. By using established criteria, the rates of TD were 40.6% for Chinese and 29.0% for Malays, higher than previously reported for Chinese subjects. Older age and lower current neuroleptic dose were significantly associated with TD. Multivariate analysis, after controlling for other salient risk variables, did not show a significant difference in TD prevalence rates between the two races. We conclude that suggested differences in interethnic rates of TD among Chinese, Malays, and Westerners are unlikely to exist and that any variation in prevalence is more likely to be determined by differences in duration of exposure and dose levels of neuroleptic drugs.
Temporal population variability in local forest communities has mixed effects on tree species richness across a latitudinal gradient

Fung T, Chisholm RA, Anderson-Teixeira K, Bourg N, Brockelman WY, Bunyavejchewin S, et al.

Ecol Lett, 2020 Jan;23(1):160-171.
PMID: 31698546 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13412

Among the local processes that determine species diversity in ecological communities, fluctuation-dependent mechanisms that are mediated by temporal variability in the abundances of species populations have received significant attention. Higher temporal variability in the abundances of species populations can increase the strength of temporal niche partitioning but can also increase the risk of species extinctions, such that the net effect on species coexistence is not clear. We quantified this temporal population variability for tree species in 21 large forest plots and found much greater variability for higher latitude plots with fewer tree species. A fitted mechanistic model showed that among the forest plots, the net effect of temporal population variability on tree species coexistence was usually negative, but sometimes positive or negligible. Therefore, our results suggest that temporal variability in the abundances of species populations has no clear negative or positive contribution to the latitudinal gradient in tree species richness.
Demographic composition, not demographic diversity, predicts biomass and turnover across temperate and tropical forests

Needham JF, Johnson DJ, Anderson-Teixeira KJ, Bourg N, Bunyavejchewin S, Butt N, et al.

Glob Chang Biol, 2022 Jan 25.
PMID: 35080088 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16100

The growth and survival of individual trees determine the physical structure of a forest with important consequences for forest function. However, given the diversity of tree species and forest biomes, quantifying the multitude of demographic strategies within and across forests and the way that they translate into forest structure and function remains a significant challenge. Here, we quantify the demographic rates of 1,961 tree species from temperate and tropical forests and evaluate how demographic diversity (DD) and demographic composition (DC) differ across forests, and how these differences in demography relate to species richness, aboveground biomass, and carbon residence time. We find wide variation in DD and DC across forest plots, patterns that are not explained by species richness or climate variables alone. There is no evidence that DD has an effect on either aboveground biomass or carbon residence time. Rather, the DC of forests, specifically the relative abundance of large statured species, predicted both biomass and carbon residence time. Our results demonstrate the distinct demographic compositions of globally distributed forests, reflecting biogeography, recent history, and current plot conditions. Linking the demographic composition of forests to resilience or vulnerability to climate change, will improve the precision and accuracy of predictions of future forest composition, structure and function.