Humor Styles, Dispositional Optimism, and Mental Health among Undergraduates in Hong Kong and China

This study examines the relationship among humor styles, dispositional optimism, and mental health among a sample of 800 undergraduates in Hong Kong and Mainland China. The Chinese Humor Styles Questionnaire, the Life Orientation Test–Revised, and the Symptom Checklist-90–Revised were used. Hong Kong students used significantly more aggressive and self-defeating humor than did Mainland students, while Mainland students used significantly more affiliative and self-enhancing humor. Optimism was positively correlated with affiliative and self-enhancing humor but was negatively correlated with aggressive humor and self-defeating humor. The correlation was stronger for Mainland students than for Hong Kong students. Affiliative humor, self-enhancing humor, and optimism were significantly and negatively correlated with each of the nine primary psychological distress symptoms. In contrast, aggressive humor and self-defeating humor were significantly and positively correlated with each of the nine distress symptoms. These results highlight the relevance of differentiating adaptive humor styles from maladaptive humor styles.