Quality of Social Networks Among UK Chinese - Springer Link

Soc Indic Res (2013) 114:425–439 DOI 10.1007/s11205-012-0153-2

Quality of Social Networks Among UK Chinese Tina L. Rochelle • Steven M. Shardlow

Accepted: 20 September 2012 / Published online: 26 September 2012 Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2012

Abstract The present study examines factors affecting the quality of social networks of Chinese in the UK, in relation to network size and perceived respect gained from social network. The study further explores the role of social networks in relation to the social norms of helping and helping behaviour. Two hundred and eleven British Chinese participants recruited from Chinese health and community centres across the United Kingdom completed a quantitative questionnaire. The 38-item instrument consisted of four main domains: health and functioning; social functioning; volunteerism; and demographics. Findings revealed an association between social participation and social network size. High levels of trust in family members was found to be negatively associated with social network size, implying that strong family relations is a hindrance to social network size among British Chinese participants. More research is needed to further explore social networks of the British Chinese and the implications that this may have on use of services and social participation. Keywords Social networks Social participation Social identification Trust Hong Kong Chinese UK

1 Introduction The UK is known for its rich cultural diversity. Changing patterns of migration and increase in the numbers of refugees and asylum seekers makes for a very rich ethnic tapestry in the UK. How does this rich cultural diversity impact on the social networks of minority ethnic communities? The present study aims to explore the social networks of

T. L. Rochelle (&) Department of Applied Social Studies, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong e-mail: [email protected] S. M. Shardlow The University of Salford, Salford, UK

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T. L. Rochelle, S. M. Shardlow

Chinese in the UK, looking particularly at social participation, trust and social identification and how this is affected. The relationship between social cohesion in the community and ethnic diversity has been at the forefront of political debate in the UK, particularly following social unrest in the North of England in 2001 (BBC News 2001), and more recently the riots across the UK in the Summer of 2011 (Rogers et al. 2011). Prosocial behaviours among community members are thought to facilitate in the functioning of social groups and thus the community (Tong et al. 2011). 1.1 Factors Affecting the Quality of Social Networks Social resources are embedded in an individual’s social network and social ties that may be directly or indirectly linked to the individual (Lin et al. 1981). Recently, researchers have attempted to explore the theoretical significance of these resources in the context of social networks and social ties (Berkman 1979; Kawachi and Berkman 2001; Lin 1999). The theory of social resources is based on the assumption that resources embedded in social connections play important roles in the interaction between social structure and individuals, insofar as how individuals choose to access and use social resources to maintain or promote self-interests in a social structure (Lin 1982). Thus the quality of an individual’s social network is often used as an important indicator of the social resources at hand (Tong et al. 2011). Social network size is generally defined as the number of people an individual considers significant (Surra and Milardo 1991). If all network members contribute resources to the network, the availability of intangible resources embedded within the network should therefore be positively correlated with the size of the network: that is, the larger the network, the greater the resources available. Ethnic minorities are commonly known to establish their own communities within the host society. Ethnic groups may establish their own communities in order to have a stronger sense of identity in the host community and to protect from discrimination, thereby boosting the self-esteem of individuals. Lack of social connection among ethnic minorities has been shown to be damaging. Wang (2003) has identified both social and cultural boundaries between local-born Chinese and newly-arrived Chinese in South East Asia. Migration can be perceived as a detrimental uprooting of one’s social network. Migrants depend on social networks more heavily as they reorganise social relationships during migration and following settlement in the host country. Portes and Borocz (1989) argue that networks constructed by the movement and contact of individuals are central to the microstructures which sustain migration over time. 1.2 Social Networks and Social Participation Social networks have been shown to provide social support, self-esteem and identity (Cohen and Syme 1985; Brown and Harris 1978). Respect is considered an important factor in the maintenance of good group relations and interactions. Perceived respect in social interactions has been demonstrated to signify whether an individual is a valued or a marginal group member (Lind and Tyler 1988). Strengthening social ties among individuals will facilitate in the functioning of society. This is especially pertinent in a multicultural society, such as the UK, where the strengthening of social ties may enable the integration of new members, such as migrants, into mainstream society with greater ease.

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UK Chinese Social Networks

427

Social participation is defined as an individual’s participation in formal or informal social groups/entities. Social participation enhances the functions of social networks by enabling members to actively use and maintain social networks (Putnam 2000). Social participation has been shown to have a positive impact on individuals (Cattell 2001; Hyppa¨ et al. 2008; Poortinga 2006). Social participation may be viewed to be a useful tool for new migrants to help with integration into mainstream society. Social participation can be seen to assist individuals in giving individuals greater access to wider networks, which in turn give access to greater resources, not to mention helping new members become familiar with the functions of a new society. Social participation can thus be seen as helping new members of society to assimilate with greater ease into their new surroundings. Although new members of society, in the form of migrants, may not completely assimilate to the mainstream culture within the host country, research shows that segmented assimilation is common, where individuals retain what are perceived as important aspects of their own culture, while simultaneously adopting selected aspects of the host culture as deemed necessary and useful by new arrivals. 1.3 Trust Trust is a vital factor in society due to its role in the facilitation of social networks. According to Putnam (2007), norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness are prerequisites of social networking. It has also been argued that individuals who manifest trustworthiness will be able to accomplish significantly more than comparable individuals within groups lacking in trust (Coleman 1990). Individuals within communities usually have normative expectations regarding prosocial behaviours, such as honesty and respect (Fukuyama 1995). Thus, the existence of trust will facilitate the fulfilment of the norm of reciprocity (Portes 1998). Individuals with low levels of trust may develop fewer social ties and as a result the quality of the social network in terms of the availability of social resources will be compromised (Tong et al. 2011). On the other hand, individuals with high levels of trust may develop greater numbers of social ties which may therefore lead to the access of a greater numbers of resources from social networks. 1.4 Helping Behaviours and Social Networks It has been reported that helping behaviours may be more likely to reflect differences in social norms as opposed to individual dispositions (Levine et al. 2008). Social identity is the part of an individual’s self-concept derived from perceived membership in relevant social groups. As individuals, we derive our sense of identity from the social group in which we belong, and it is this that defines social identification (Tajfel 1984). According to the norm of reciprocity, we should return help to those who help us. The norm of reciprocity has been used to explain altruism by emphasising the expectation that helping others will increase the likelihood that others will return the favour. The underlying justification for this lies in our desire to reciprocate kindness and favours (Portes 1998). Thus, if the norm of reciprocity is important in social networks, in theory this should increase propensity for members of society to help one another. This propensity to help one another should be particularly salient among in-group members. For example, members of the UK Chinese community having a higher propensity to help out other members of the UK Chinese community when compared with the majority community or other non-Chinese minority ethnic individuals, who would traditionally be perceived to be out-group members. Guanxi is a Chinese expression, which can be described to a certain extent as being equivalent to the western concept of social network and social capital; a personal

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connection between two people in which an individual is able to depend upon the other for a favour or service, or be depended upon for the same. The concept can also be used to describe a network of contacts in which an individual can call upon the network when help is needed, and through which the individual can exert influence on behalf of another. Guanxi describes the basic dynamic in personalised networks of influence and is a prominent theme in traditional Chinese culture and remains an important concept in Chinese societies today. It could be argued that the concept may be perceived to be of even greater importance for those Chinese living abroad as minority communities, where social connections may be perceived to be of greater significance. One well known feature of Chinese culture is its collectivistic nature (Hofstede and Bond 1988). Chinese essentially believe that the basic unit of survival lies in the group rather than the individual, with the traditional assumption being that cooperation with others should be prioritised over the pursuit of individual interests, while efforts and contributions should be directed toward collective good rather than individual benefit (Wu et al. 2005). In view of the collectivistic nature of Chinese culture, how does this impact on a minority Chinese community in an ethnically and culturally diverse society, and how does this affect the social networks of minority communities in majority societies? 1.5 The British Chinese British Chinese are individuals living in the UK of Chinese ancestry. In the present study, the authors use the term British Chinese to encompass two groups: those individuals of Hong Kong Chinese descent born in the UK to first or second generation migrants, known locally in the UK as British-born Chinese (BBCs), and Hong Kong-born Chinese who have migrated to the UK. The British Chinese is one of the fastest growing ethnic minorities in the UK, with an annual growth of 9.9 % from 2001 to 2007, with more than 90 % of this growth due to net migration (Office for National Statistics 2009). The UK Chinese can be perceived to a certain extent to be living in two worlds: living and working in the UK, whilst socially retaining important ties with their home community, both by keeping in close contact with their home community, and also by means of extending their home community to the UK by maintaining a social circle of HK Chinese friends for socialising and for social support, and the upkeep of following and celebrating traditional festivals in the UK, such as Chinese New Year and mid-Autumn festival. The UK Chinese community is as renowned for its disparate nature as it is known for being a relatively invisible community, when compared to other minority ethnic groups in the UK (House of Commons 1985). The Chinese are more commonly viewed in British society as being ‘seen but not heard’, believed in part to be related to the perceived lack of participation in social and political circles (Yu 1991). The settlement patterns of the UK Chinese are dispersed and decentralised; added to this, is a minority community known to underutilise services (Green et al. 2002; Rochelle and Marks 2010, 2011). As an ethnic minority in the UK, the Chinese are potentially at risk of social exclusion. Does social network have implications for social exclusion for minority Chinese in the UK?

2 Research Aims Given the paucity of empirical research exploring the social networks of minority communities, the present study aims to explore the social networks of UK Chinese individuals. It is hypothesised that:

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H1 Level of social participation will be positively related to social network size and perceived respect from social network. H2 Trust in social network will be positively associated with the size of the network and perceived respect from social network. H3 Social identification of UK Chinese respondents will be positively related to size of social network and perceived respect from social network. H4 Social network size and perceived respect from network will be positively associated with intention to help neighbours, concern for those less fortunate and monthly involvement in voluntary work.

3 Methodology 3.1 Participants The study sample comprised 211 British Chinese respondents to a self-completion questionnaire. Respondents were recruited from a selection of Chinese community centres, health centres and other Chinese organisations across London and Manchester, UK. Many of these organisations were identified using the ‘Chinese Community Service Directory’. Organisations were invited to become involved in the study by becoming a recruitment site for participants. All organisations were contacted by letter, telephone, or email. Respondents received a participant information sheet with detailed information about the study before providing informed consent. The study received ethical approval from The University of Salford Ethics Committee (Ref: XXX). Participants were aged between 18 and 79 years; 47 % of respondents were male; and mean length of UK residency for respondents was 19.54 years (SD = 14.84) (see Table 1). 3.2 Questionnaire A 38-question self-completion questionnaire was developed by the research team. The measure comprised of four main domains: Health and Functioning; Societal Functioning; Voluntary Work; and Demographics. For the purpose of the present study, only three measure domains were utilised: (i) Societal Functioning This section contains 13 questions relating to societal functioning, such as social identification (‘‘I am part of UK society’’), trust (‘‘Most of my family/neighbours/friends/ colleagues are trustworthy’’), social network size (‘‘Neighbours considered intimate’’), perceived respect from network (‘‘Do you feel loved, cared for, and respected in your interactions’’), concern for society (‘‘I care about unfortunate individuals in society’’), and social norm of helping (‘‘If necessary, I would help my neighbours’’) amongst others. Some items were reverse coded (‘‘If there is a chance, I would leave the UK’’). All items are rated on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Disagree to 7 = Strongly Agree). (ii)

Voluntary Work

The second section consisted of the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) (Clary et al. 1998). The VFI is a 30-item measure of the six functions or constructs of volunteer

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430 Table 1 Respondent demographics


Variables

N

Gender Male

101

Female

110

Age (years) 15–39

122

40–59

56

60–79

33

Marital status Single Common-law Married

91 3 101

Separated/divorced

7

Widowed

9

Educational attainment BPrimary or below

32

High school

45

College

39

CBachelor degree

95

Employment Employed

72

Self-employed

31

Unemployed

11

Housewife

20

Student

49

Retired

28

Place of birth Hong Kong

82

Mainland China

51

UK

50

Malaysia

10

Vietnam

5

Macau

3

Other

9

Length of time in UK (years) B10

79

B20

30

B30

51

B40

30

B50

14

B60

5

motivation. The six constructs within the VFI include: Values: Altruistic and humanitarian concerns for others (‘‘Because of my humanitarian obligation to help others’’); Understanding: The opportunity to exercise knowledge, skills, and abilities that may otherwise

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go unused (‘‘I can explore my own strengths’’); Enhancement: Personal growth and development (‘‘Volunteering increases my self-esteem’’); Social: Motivations concerning relations with others (‘‘My friends volunteer’’); Career: Career-related benefits of voluntary work (‘‘Volunteering can help me get my foot in the door at a place where I would like to work’’); Protective: Protecting the ego from negative features of the self, reduce guilt or addressing personal problems (‘‘By volunteering I feel less lonely’’). Each construct is measured with five items using a 7-point Likert (1 = Not at All to 7 = Extremely). (iii)

Demographics

The final section contains 10 questions referring to demographic information, including items relating to: age, gender, marital status, religion, educational attainment, employment, monthly household income, place of birth, and length of UK residence. The measure demonstrated good internal consistency with Cronbach alphas (a) for each of the main components of the measure ranging from .74 to .91. The measure was presented in a bilingual format, in Traditional Chinese1 and English, with the two languages juxtaposed. This was to ensure consistency of meaning in both language versions. The questionnaire was translated by a bilingual academic, fluent in both Chinese and English, and was back translated by a second bilingual academic to ensure accuracy. Participants had the option to complete to the questionnaire in either Chinese or English. The translation of the measure from Traditional Chinese into English was a complex process that required a significant amount of discussion among the research team and piloting among the local UK Chinese community in order to ensure both the accuracy and authenticity of the translation. The measure was initially pilot tested prior to the main study. The pilot test was conducted on 30 British Chinese individuals resident in Manchester to check for the accuracy and appropriateness of the language and terms used in the translated measure. The validation of the measure was also tested and deemed to be satisfactory before the research team proceeded with the conduct of the main study. 3.3 Analysis Analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 19. Correlational analysis was initially conducted to investigate items of significance (see Table 2). Hierarchical regression was then carried out to explore predictors of both involvement in voluntary work and social participation by British Chinese respondents. Five two-block hierarchical regression models were conducted. These models were concerned with predictors of social network size (see Table 3), respect received from social network (see Table 4), helping behaviour in relation to helping neighbours (see Table 5), concern for those less fortunate (see Table 6), and finally predictors of involvement in voluntary work among UK Chinese respondents (see Table 7). This blocked hierarchical regression technique was used to allow for the determination of the dependent variables and to provide an overall measure of the variance predicted by the full model. Variance inflation factor (VIF) ranges from 1.01 to 1.69 in value in the five regression models.

1

Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese are two standard sets of Chinese characters of the contemporary written form of the Chinese language. While Traditional Chinese is used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, Simplified Chinese is officially used in Mainland China, Singapore and Malaysia.

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123

4.85

3.33

20.61

3. Social network trust

1.21

* p \ .05; ** p \ .01

5.59

10. Help neighbour

2.16

2.42

5.43

8. Voluntary work

2.97

9. Concern for less fortunate

.78

10.56

6. Social norm of helping

7. Respect

1.44

1.47

2.47

3.20

8.04

10.55

4. Social network size

5. Social identification

1.56

1.24

5.88

SD

1. Social participation

M

2. Family trust

Variables

-.14

-.06

-.11

-.15*

-.17*

-.25**

.16*

-.18**

-.15*

–

1

.55**

.44**

.003

-.27

-.58

-.47

-.12

.55**

–

-.15*

2

Table 2 Means, standard deviations and correlation of all variables

.55**

.50**

-.07

.36**

.54**

.53**

-.02

–

.55**

-.18**

3 .16

.02

.07

-.10

.06

-.05

.04

–

-.02

-.12

4

.65**

.48**

.08

.33**

.44**

–

.04

.53**

.47**

-.25

5

.64**

.57**

.05

.35**

–

.44**

-.05

.54**

.58**

-.17

6

.27**

.26**

.04

–

.35**

.33**

.06

.36**

.27**

-.15

7

.11 .003

– .13

–.08

.04

.05

.08

-.10

-.07

8

.63**

-.08

.26**

.58**

.48**

.07

.50**

.44**

-.06

9

–

.63**

.13

.27**

.64**

.65**

.02

.55**

.55**

-.14

10

432 T. L. Rochelle, S. M. Shardlow

UK Chinese Social Networks Table 3 Hierarchical regression model of social participation, trust and social identification on size of social network

b: Standardised coefficient

433

Variables

Block 1 b

Block 2 b

Gender

.10

.09

Age

.01

.004

Social participation

.17*

Family trust

-.19*

Social network trust

.03

Social identification

.15

R2 change

.01

.05

df

2/206

4/202

F change

1.12

2.87*

Variables

Block 1 b

Block 2 b

Gender

.12

.10

Age

-.22**

-.22***

* p \ .05 Table 4 Hierarchical regression model of social participation, trust and social identification on perceived respect from social network

Social participation

-.08

Family trust

.05

Social network trust

.19*

Social identification

.19*

R2 change

.06

.16


df

2/205

4/201

* p \ .05; ** p \ .01; *** p \ .001

F change

6.88***

10.26***

Variables

Block 1 b

Block 2 b

Helping norm

.64***

.63***

Table 5 Hierarchical regression model of social norm of helping, network size and perceived respect from social network on intention to help one’s neighbour

Social network size

.06

Perceived respect


.05

R2 change

.41

.01

df

1/206

2/204

F change

144.15***

.90

*** p \ .001

4 Results 4.1 Correlational Analyses A correlation matrix of predictor variables for social participation, trust in family members, trust in social network, social identification, perceived size of social network, perceived respect, intention to help one’s neighbour, concern for those less fortunate, hours of voluntary work and the social norm of helping are summarised in Table 2, which also includes the means and standard deviations of all analysed variables. Correlation analyses revealed that respondents’ involvement in social participation was negatively associated with levels of trust, either in family (r(211) = -.15, p \ .05) or in

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434 Table 6 Hierarchical regression model of social norm of helping, network size and perceived respect from social network on concern for those less fortunate than oneself



Variables

Block 1 b

Block 2 b

Helping norm

.58***

.56***

Social network size

.10

Perceived respect

.06

R2 change

.33

.01

df

1/206

2/204

F change

101.90***

2.14

Variables

Block 1 b

Block 2 b

Helping norm

.05

.03

*** p \ .001

Table 7 Hierarchical regression model of social norm of helping, network size and perceived respect from social network on hours of voluntary work in the past month

Social network size

-.10

Perceived respect R2 change

.03 .002

.01

df

1/113

2/111

F change

.25

.54


their wider social network (r(211) = -.18, p \ .01). Respondents’ identification with local UK events and culture also demonstrated a negative correlation (r(211) = -.25, p \ .01), implying that even if individuals professed little social identification this had no bearing on their involvement in social participation. Helping behaviour was also negatively correlated with social participation (r(211) = -.17, p \ .05) suggesting that intention to help others also had no bearing on respondents’ social participation. A negative correlation was also found between respect and social participation (r(211) = -.15, p \ .05), which suggests that despite perceiving little respect from their social network, respondents were still willing to participate socially. A positive correlation was found between social participation and respondents’ network size (r(211) = .16, p \ .05), suggesting that those with larger social networks were more likely to be involved in social participation. Familial trust demonstrated positive correlations with trust in one’s wider social network (r(211) = .55, p \ .01), concern for those less fortunate (r(211) = .44, p \ .01), and intention to help one’s neighbour. This suggests that trust in one’s family, as well as instilling more of a sense of trust in one’s network, means those individuals are likely to exert more caring behaviour. Results also revealed a positive association between trust in social network and social identification (r(211) = .53, p \ .01) suggesting that trust in one’s wider social network is associated with greater identification with the local community and local UK events. Trust in social network was also associated with respect (r(211) = .36, p \ .01), concern for those less fortunate (r(211) = .50, p \ .01), and intention to help one’s neighbour (r(211) = .55, p \ .01). Social identification was linked to helping behaviour (r(211) = .44, p \ .01), perceived respect from social network (r(211) = .33, p \ .01), concern for those less fortunate (r(211) = .48, p \ .01), and intention to help one’s neighbour (r(211) = .65, p \ .01). Social norm of helping was associated with perceived respect from social network (r(211) = .35, p \ .01), concern for those less fortunate (r(211) = .57, p \ .01), and intention to help one’s neighbour (r(211) = .64, p \ .01). Respondents who demonstrated concern for those less fortunate were more likely to perceive respect from their social

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network (r(211) = .26, p \ .01), and demonstrated intention to help their neighbour when needed (r(211) = .27, p \ .01). Concern for those less fortunate was also positively associated with intention to help one’s neighbour (r(211) = .63, p \ .01). 4.2 Social Participation, Trust, Social Identity and Social Networks The first two-block regression model examines size of social networks among UK Chinese (see Table 3). Age and gender were entered into block one, the predictor variables, which consisted of social participation, family trust, social network trust and identification with society, were entered into block two. The addition of predictor variables related to social participation, trust, and identification with society in block two significantly added 5 % predictive power to the model (F(4/202) = 2.87, p \ .05). A significant positive relationship was identified between social participation and social network size (p \ .05), indicating that social network size is associated with social participation. A negative relationship was found between social network size and trust in family members (p \ .05), indicating that greater trust in family members is associated with smaller network size among British Chinese participants. The second two-block regression model examines perceived respect from social networks among UK Chinese (see Table 4). Age and gender were again entered into block one, while the predictor variables (social participation, family trust, social network trust and identification with society), were entered into block two. Block one significantly added 6 % predictive power to the model (F(2/205) = 6.88, p \ .001), while the addition of predictor variables added an additional 16 % predictive power to the model (F(4/ 201) = 10.26, p \ .001). Age remained significant throughout blocks one and two, demonstrating a negative association between age and perceived respect from social networks. This implies a reduction in perceived respect from social networks as individuals age among British Chinese respondents. There was a positive association between social network trust and perceived respect from social network (p \ .05). A positive association was also identified between identification with society and perceived respect from social network (p \ .05), implying that individuals who identified with society were individuals who perceived to receive respect from the respective social networks. 4.3 Helping Behaviour and Social Networks A third two-block regression model examines intention to help one’s neighbour (see Table 5). The social norm of helping was entered into block one, followed by the addition of social network size and perceived respect from social network into block two. The social norm of helping remained significant throughout blocks one and two, which suggests that individuals believe people in society should help one another were more likely to report the intention to helping neighbours (p \ .001). The addition of the social norm of helping to block one significantly added 41 % predictive power to the model (F(1/206) = 144.15, p \ .001). The addition of social network size and perceived respect from social network to block two failed to add any significance to the model. The fourth two-block regression model examines concern for those less fortunate (see Table 6). The social norm of helping was entered into block one, followed by the addition of social network size and perceived respect from social network into block two. The social norm of helping remained significant throughout blocks one and two, which suggests that individuals who believe people in society should help one another are significantly more likely to have concern for those less fortunate than themselves (p \ .001). The addition of

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the social norm of helping to block one significantly added 33 % predictive power to the model (F(1/206) = 101.90, p \ .001). The addition of social network size and perceived respect from social network to block two failed to add any significance to the model. The fifth and final two-block regression model examines monthly involvement in voluntary work (see Table 7). The social norm of helping was entered into block one, followed by the addition of social network size and perceived respect from social network into block two. No significant associations were found between any of the variables entered into the model.

5 Discussion The present study sought to explore the social networks of a minority community in the UK: the British Chinese. Although known to be a successful example of a minority ethnic community in the UK, in terms of educational attainment and employment (Archer and Francis 2005), the British Chinese are also known for their underutilisation of services (Green et al. 2002), in addition to the reluctance to ask for help and reported issues of social exclusion (House of Commons 1985). Findings revealed that social participation, trust and social identification are all positively associated with social network size and perceived respect from social networks. Social participation enables individuals to utilise and maintain social networks (Putnam 2000). The present study hypothesised that social participation would be positively associated with network size and perceived respect from social network. This hypothesis was partially supported. Although social participation was found to be predictive of social network size among British Chinese respondents, in line with previous research (Cattell 2001), no association was found between perceived respect from social network and social network size. Trust in family members was found to be negatively predictive of social network size in the current study. This makes sense within the context of traditional Chinese values and the importance of family. One prominent and highly upheld Confucian value: the obligation to bond with family members; can be viewed from the perspective that family members are one’s social network. As such, individuals may feel no need to socialise much further than their immediate family network, should all of their needs be met and satisfied by this network. Trust in social networks was shown to be associated with perceived respect from social networks. This is in line with previous research findings associating trust with increased social network size and perceived respect (Fukuyama 1995; Tong et al. 2011). The importance of trust in social networks can also be perceived to be linked in some ways to Guanxi: if an individual is to depend upon others for favours or have others depend on them, then there of course needs to be a certain level of trust involved. Social networks, as explained earlier, are often seen as a form of Guanxi among the Chinese, and so the high importance of trust in social networks among respondents makes sense. Social identification was found to be positively associated with perceived respect from social network, but was not associated with social network size, as predicted. Individuals with strong identification with society are thought to have larger social networks and are more likely to be treated with respect. This is consistent with theory of social identification in terms of in-group bias: if an individual is not identified with a social entity, the individual is less likely to be treated as an in-group member. Thus it can be assumed that the individual may have a smaller social network. Individuals who do not identify with society may also be perceived to be individuals who do not identify with fellow members of

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society, which in turn may mean the individual is at risk of social isolation and/or exclusion. Issues with social identification have been shown to be associated with social integration (Duberstein et al. 2004). Migrants and ethnic minorities are examples of groups within any given society who may be less able to develop social networks and thus benefit from the resources of a social network, when compared to mainstream members of society. Ironically, new members of society such as migrants and minority ethnic groups are two groups who, it could be argued, have a greater need for the resources of social networks than mainstream members of society. In the present study no association was found between social network size and intention to help one’s neighbour, concern for those less fortunate than oneself, and involvement in voluntary work. One explanation for this could be again by referring back to traditional Chinese values, where having concern for those less fortunate could be perceived as related to values, which have no bearing or relation to social networks. Meaning that, whether one is concerned for those less fortunate individuals should have no relation to the size of one’s social network, rather it should be more a demonstration of an individual’s values. In terms of intention to help one’s neighbour, from a traditional Chinese perspective, harmony with others is viewed as being central to the Chinese self-concept (Chinese Culture Connection 1987). Thus it can be assumed that in keeping with a traditional Chinese perspective, the intention to help one’s neighbour would be a natural extension of the maintenance of harmonious relationships, a value again that may have no bearing on social network size from the perspective of a British Chinese individual. The lack of association between social network size and involvement in voluntary work can be seen as supporting previous literature, which points to the lack of social participation in official networks among the British Chinese (Chau and Yu 2001; Cheng 1996). Traditionally, UK Chinese have worked within the catering industry in restaurants and takeaway. Although this is certainly not necessarily the case now, there are still a number of UK Chinese who continue to work within this profession. The catering trade is associated with long, unsociable hours, which means that even if individuals would like to become involved in voluntary work, their unsociable working hours means that this is an impossibility.

6 Limitations One of the limitations of the present study, which must be noted, is the nature of the sample used. The utilisation of convenience sampling, such as the one used in the present study, means that the findings do not readily allow for a generalisation of effects. Whether differences identified in the present associations of social networks would be found in a representative sample of British Chinese remains to be tested. As the present study used a convenience sample of British Chinese individuals recruited via British Chinese organisations in large cities in the UK, like Manchester and London, it could be argued that these individuals may be more predisposed to participate socially, as evidenced by involvement in the local ethnic community by virtue of their association with British Chinese organisations. These individuals may also be assimilated with their local community in addition to their local British Chinese community, which may have implications on levels of trust, respect and social network size. More research is needed using different methods to validate the approach used in the present study and to replicate current findings. Another area for future research concerns longitudinal studies on how the relationship among social networks changes over time. Although British Chinese have a long history of migration and settlement to the UK, many individuals are short-term migrants, coming to

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the UK for a number of years to study at university and perhaps spend a few years working before heading back to their home country. What implications does this have on the social networks, and levels of trust among those individuals who remain in the UK? 7 Conclusions Using a sample of British Chinese respondents, the present study reinforces the significance of social networks, trust and social identification in the understanding of social networks among a minority ethnic group, the British Chinese. High trust in family members was negatively associated with social network size, implicating the high importance of family as a significant form of social network among Chinese individuals. This may go some way to explain the perceived lack of visibility and social participation among members of the British Chinese community in the UK. The present study used a convenience sample of service users from British Chinese NGOs across the UK. This may be viewed as a limitation. Nonetheless, the findings of the present study should be seen as a valuable contribution to the awareness of social networks of British Chinese considering the perceived invisibility of the community. More research is needed to further explore social networks of the British Chinese and the implications that this may have on use of services and social participation.

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