A comprehensive review of quality of life (QOL) research in Hong Kong.

Published quality of life (QOL) studies in Hong Kong indexed in the major databases were reviewed. Several observations are highlighted from this review. First, most of the published studies were empirical studies involving data collection. Second, there are more micro studies utilizing individual QOL indices than macro studies using societal indicators. Third, most studies addressed personal well-being, followed by studies on family well-being and societal well-being. Fourth, the studies were predominantly quantitative in nature. Fifth, most of the studies were based on adults and comparatively fewer studies were based on children and adolescents. Sixth, most studies were based on populations with special needs, followed by studies based on the general population, helping professionals, and caregivers. Seventh, most studies used measures of QOL rather than developed QOL measures. Finally, QOL data in Hong Kong were seldom compared with those in other places. The gaps on QOL studies in Hong Kong and future research directions are discussed.

Perceived parental control and psychological well-being in Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong.

Chinese secondary school students (N=2,758) responded to measures of perceived parental behavioral control (parental knowledge, expectation, monitoring, discipline and demandingness), parental psychological control, and adolescent psychological well-being (hopelessness, mastery, life satisfaction and self-esteem). Results showed that composite parental behavioral control was weakly related to parental psychological control, whereas discrete aspects of parental behavioral control were differentially related to parental psychological control. Although parental psychological control was negatively related to adolescent psychological well-being, parental behavioral control was positively related to adolescent adjustment. The present findings underscore the role of parental control in the psychological well-being of Chinese adolescents at Secondary 2 level in Hong Kong. The implications of the findings for the development of positive youth development programs in Hong Kong are discussed.

Frequency, satisfaction and quality dimensions of perceived parent-adolescent communication among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong.

Chinese adolescents (N=88) responded to instruments measuring three dimensions of parent-adolescent communication (frequency of parent-adolescent communication, satisfaction with parent-adolescent communication and quality of parent-adolescent communication) and adolescent psychological well-being (mastery and life satisfaction). Results showed that Chinese adolescents perceived sharp distinction between fathers and mothers in terms of these three dimensions: fathers were perceived to have less communication with adolescents than did the mothers; the satisfaction and quality ratings for father-adolescent communication were lower than those based on mother-adolescent communication. Results also showed that relative to the frequency of parent-adolescent communication, satisfaction with and quality of parent-adolescent communication were more strongly related to adolescent psychological well-being. Although global quality of father-adolescent communication and mother-adolescent communication were related to adolescent life satisfaction, global quality of father-adolescent communication appeared to have a stronger relationship with adolescent mastery than did mother-adolescent communication.

Development of a positive youth development program: helping parents to improve their parenting skills.

The Project PATHS (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programs) is a positive youth development program that attempts to promote holistic development in adolescents in Hong Kong. In the Tier 2 Program of this project, social workers are expected to develop positive youth development programs for adolescents having greater psychosocial needs. They are required to submit proposals that will be evaluated in terms of whether the proposals are evidence based, and appropriate evaluation mechanisms are included. With reference to the literature on parental control processes that Chinese parents may be loose in their behavioral control and they tend to overemphasize academic excellence, it is argued that improvement of the parenting skills of parents of Chinese adolescents is an important area to be addressed. To facilitate social workers to prepare the related proposals, a sample proposal on how to improve the parenting skills of Chinese parents is described, including its conceptual framework, proposed program, and evaluation plan. It is argued that this supportive approach (i.e., preparation of a sample proposal) can help social workers to develop quality proposals on positive youth development programs in Hong Kong.

Trends in adolescent suicide in Hong Kong for the period 1980 to 2003.

This paper utilizes existing statistics on adolescent suicide to examine adolescent suicide trends and patterns in Hong Kong for the period 1980 to 2003. Several trends and patterns could be revealed from the analyses. First, there was a gradual rising trend where adolescent suicide rates in the 1990s and the early 2000s were higher than those in the 1980s. Second, suicide rates for adolescents aged 10-24 years were lower than those of other adult age groups. Third, although adolescent suicide rates in Hong Kong were lower than those reported in some English-speaking countries and Mainland China, the figures were higher than those reported in Taiwan. Fourth, suicide rates among teenagers in early adolescence were lower than those among adolescents in late adolescence. Fifth, although male adolescent suicide rates were in general higher than female adolescent suicide rates (10-24 age group), gender differences in suicide rates appeared to be moderated by age. Sixth, there was a gradual rising trend in adolescent proportional mortality rates for suicide since the 1990s. Seventh, proportional mortality rates for suicide among teenagers in early adolescence were lower than those among adolescents in late adolescence. Finally, although jumping from a height was a common method of adolescent suicide, there was a rising trend of using other methods, such as taking drugs, hanging and charcoal burning. The observed adolescent suicide phenomena are discussed in this study with reference to the socio-cultural context of Hong Kong.

"Non-engaged" young people in Hong Kong: key statistics and observations.

This paper reports the key statistics and observations regarding "non-engaged" adolescents in Hong Kong, where "non-engaged" adolescents refer to unemployed young people and adolescents who do not pursue any further studies in the 15-24 year age bracket. Several phenomena could be highlighted from the available statistics on non-engaged young people in Hong Kong. First, there was a rise in adolescent unemployment figures, particularly in the 1990s. Second, youth unemployment rates for adolescents aged 15-24 years were higher than the overall unemployment rates for the general population. Third, while youth unemployment rates in Hong Kong were lower than those reported in some English-speaking countries, the figures were higher than those reported in Mainland China. Fourth, some demographic correlates of youth non-engagement were found: a) unemployment rates were relatively higher in younger adolescents than in older adolescents; b) the sex ratios (number of males per 1,000 females) in non-engaged young people were higher than those of young people in the general population; c) the educational attainment of non-engaged young people was lower than that of the same age group in the general population; d) new arrival status was not related to youth non-engagement. Fifth, some family correlates were also observed: a) compared with adolescents who were not non-engaged youths, there was higher proportion of non-engaged youths living with one parent; b) the educational attainment of parents of non-engaged youths and the family income of their families were lower than those of households without non-engaged youths.