Psychometric properties of the Chinese Family Assessment Instrument: evidence from mainland China.

Regarding the assessment of family functioning in Chinese people, there are several research gaps. First, although there are some instruments in the field, there are very few validated instruments. Second, while some translated measures have been developed, there are very few assessment tools based on indigenous Chinese concepts. Third, compared to Hong Kong, research on family assessment is relatively inactive in mainland China. Fourth, there are very few family assessment tools to assess perceived family functioning in older children and early adolescents. Fifth, few studies used large samples to validate family assessment tools. Sixth, researchers seldom utilized longitudinal data to examine the psychometric properties of family assessment tools. Finally, few studies have examined factorial validity across samples and time to demonstrate the stability of Chinese family assessment measures. In Hong Kong, based on focus group data (i.e., indigenous concepts of family functioning) and an integration with the family science literature, we have developed the Chinese Family Assessment Instrument (C-FAI) to assess perceived family functioning according to the perception of adolescents. Results showed that the C-FAI possessed good reliability and validity. Specifically, five dimensions of the measure (mutuality, communication, conflict, parental concern and parental control) were supported via exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Convergent validity and reliability of the C-FAI were illustrated. To understand the psychometric properties of the C-FAI in mainland China, we collected three waves of data from students in the period of preadolescence and early adolescence in mainland China (N = 3,732). Based on the data, we examined the psychometric properties of the measure, particularly factor invariance in different samples and at different times. Confirmatory factor analysis provided support for the five dimensions in C-FAI, including factorial invariance in terms of configuration, factor loading, intercepts, and over time. There was evidence for convergent validity and discriminant validity of the measure. Finally, reliability analyses showed that the total C-FAI scale and its subscales are internally consistent. The present findings suggest that family researchers and practitioners can use the C-FAI to objectively assess perceived family functioning in preadolescence and early adolescence in different Chinese communities.

Maternal Distress and Adolescent Mental Health in Poor Chinese Single-Mother Families: Filial Responsibilities-Risks or Buffers?

Single motherhood and poverty have a significant, negative impact on mothers and their children. When their mothers experience maternal distress, adolescent children have to take up more instrumental and emotional filial responsibilities to comfort their mother and adapt to related changes. Based on 325 mother-child dyads of Chinese single-mother families experiencing economic disadvantage, this study examined the relationship between maternal distress and adolescent mental health problems (indexed by anxiety and depression) and the moderating roles of instrumental and emotional filial responsibilities. Results indicated that maternal distress was positively associated with anxiety and depression in adolescent children. In addition, instrumental filial responsibility intensified the associations of maternal distress with adolescent anxiety and depression. Moreover, the moderating role of emotional filial responsibility in the predictive relationship between maternal distress and adolescent anxiety was different in boys and girls. Adolescent girls with more emotional filial responsibility reported higher adolescent anxiety than did those who shouldered less emotional filial responsibility when their mother exhibited more distress, whereas the relationship between maternal distress and adolescent anxiety was stable in boys, regardless of emotional filial responsibility. In short, the present study showed that parentification was likely to occur in poor Chinese single-mother families, and adolescent children who took up a more caregiving role in the family exhibited poorer mental health. Family counselling and tangible support for single-mother families experiencing economic disadvantage are urged.

The Relationship between Social Participation and Subjective Well-Being among Older People in the Chinese Culture Context: The Mediating Effect of Reciprocity Beliefs.

It is demonstrated that the subjective well-being (SWB) of older people greatly relies on their social participation. However, there are few studies on reciprocity beliefs as a mediating mechanism between social participation and SWB. In this study, 297 participants aged 60 and over in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, completed a questionnaire of social participation, reciprocity beliefs, and SWB. We used multiple linear regression and mediation analyses to verify the mediating effect of reciprocity beliefs. Results showed that social participation was positively relative to SWB and reciprocity beliefs, and reciprocity beliefs played an intermediary role in social participation and SWB. These findings suggest the importance of social participation for SWB, with reciprocity beliefs (behaviors) playing a positive mediating role, particularly in China. In conclusion, analysis of the mediating effect of reciprocity beliefs provides us with knowledge that could help in achieving a healthy old age. Additionally, this study opens up new perspectives of research.

After-School Extracurricular Activities Participation and Depressive Symptoms in Chinese Early Adolescents: Moderating Effect of Gender and Family Economic Status.

Although Western studies showed that participation in extracurricular activities was intimately linked to adolescents' psychological adjustment, very few studies have addressed this issue among early adolescents in China. Based on a nationally representative sample of 9672 Chinese junior high school students (Mage = 14.54 years, SD = 0.70 years), this study investigated the relationship between participation in different extracurricular activities and depressive symptoms among Chinese early adolescents, and the moderating role of gender and family economic status. Results indicated that time spent completing homework, attending extracurricular tutoring, and playing online games after school was positively related to students' depressive symptoms, whereas time spent on participating in physical exercise was negatively associated with students' depressive symptoms. Besides, the relationships between after-school activities participation and student depressive symptoms were moderated by gender and family economic status. The theoretical and practical implications for the arrangement of after-school activities for Chinese early adolescents are discussed.

COVID-19 and Quality of Life: Twelve Reflections.

COVID-19 has severely affected the world since December 2020. Because of its sudden onset and highly contagious nature, the world has responded in a "crisis management" manner. With effective vaccines almost available, it is appropriate at this time to have some reflections about COVID-19 in relation to the quality of life issues. In this paper, we highlight twelve issues for reflection, which can help us better prepared for future pandemics. These include: digital divide, health inequality, gender inequality, economic disadvantage, family well-being, impact on holistic well-being, economic development versus saving lives, consumption versus environmental protection, individual rights versus collective rights, international collaboration versus conflict, prevention of negative well-being, and promotion of positive well-being.

Development and Validation of a Pioneer Scale on Service Leadership Behavior in the Service Economies.

In response to the severe lack of leadership assessment tools in the Chinese context, the Service Leadership Behavior Scale was developed based on the Service Leadership Model proposed by Po Chung, the co-founder of DHL International. Utilizing responses from 4,486 Hong Kong undergraduates, this paper reports the findings of a validation study on the Short-Form Service Leadership Behavior Scale (SLB-SF-65). Previous findings based on exploratory factor analysis supported a six-factor 48-item solution (SLB-SF-48). With the removal of ten items, confirmatory factor analysis showed that the final 38-item scale (SLB-SF-38) possessed excellent internal consistency, concurrent validity, and factorial validity based on multigroup invariance analyses. Overall speaking, the present study underscores the utility of the SLB-SF-38 as an objective assessment instrument of service leadership behavior in the education, research and personnel training contexts.

Qualitative evaluation of general university requirements in a new 4-year university curriculum: findings based on experiences of students.

Following the North American model, the length of undergraduate program in Hong Kong has been extended from 3 to 4 years since 2012. To maximize the impact of the additional year, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has implemented a new general education framework entitled "General University Requirements (GUR)" aiming to cultivate students in a holistic manner. This study explored students' impressions of the GUR subjects using a survey collecting primarily qualitative data. Results from 163 students of eight faculties showed that students perceived the GUR subjects favorably. Having opportunities to make new friends from other departments and the teaching and learning methods, particularly experiential learning stimulated students' interest and enriched their learning experiences which were reportedly are unforgettable. Some of the obstacles encountered by students in several subjects were identified. The beneficial effects of the GUR subjects in different domains were voiced by the students.

An evaluation study on a university general education subject in Hong Kong.

This study evaluated a university general education subject on leadership and intrapersonal development ("Tomorrow's Leaders", TL) offered at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) based on an online survey using the Student Feedback Questionnaire (SFQ). At the end of the first semester of the 2013/2014 academic year, 725 Year-1 students completed the online questionnaire. Results showed that the students generally had positive ratings on both the subject attributes and the qualities of teachers. The majority of the participants perceived the subject as beneficial to their holistic development and leadership competencies. Students from the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences (FHSS) and the Faculty of Applied Science and Textiles (FAST) had more favorable evaluation of the subject than students from the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE). Students' perceived benefit of the subject was significantly predicted by the subject attributes and teacher attributes. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Mother-Child Discrepancy in Perceived Family Functioning and Adolescent Developmental Outcomes in Families Experiencing Economic Disadvantage in Hong Kong.

Though growing attention has been devoted to examining informant discrepancies of family attributes in social science research, studies that examine how interactions between mother-reported and adolescent-reported family functioning predict adolescent developmental outcomes in underprivileged families are severely lacking. The current study investigated the difference between mothers and adolescents in their reports of family functioning, as well as the relationships between mother-reported and adolescent-reported family functioning and adolescent developmental outcomes in a sample of 432 Chinese single-mother families (mean age of adolescents = 13.7 years, 51.2 % girls, mean age of mothers = 43.5 years, 69.9 % divorced) experiencing economic disadvantage in Hong Kong. Polynomial regression analyses were conducted to assess whether discrepancy in family functioning between mother reports and adolescent reports predicted resilience, beliefs in the future, cognitive competence, self-efficacy and self-determination of adolescents. The results indicated that adolescents reported family functioning more negatively than did their mothers. Polynomial regression analyses showed that the interaction term between mothers' reports and adolescents' reports of family functioning predicted adolescent developmental outcomes in Chinese single-mother families living in poverty. Basically, under poor adolescent-reported family functioning, adolescent development would be relatively better if their mothers reported more positive family functioning. In contrast, under good adolescent-reported family functioning, adolescents expressed better developmental outcomes when mothers reported lower levels of family functioning than those mothers who reported higher levels of family functioning. The findings provide insights on how congruency and discrepancy between informant reports of family functioning would influence adolescent development. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Delinquent Behavior in High School Students in Hong Kong: Sociodemographic, Personal, and Family Determinants.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: On the basis of longitudinal data collected over 6 years, the changes in delinquent behavior and the related sociodemographic, personal, and family determinants were examined in this study. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, INTERVENTIONS, AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A 6-year longitudinal research design was used. Students responded to a questionnaire containing sociodemographic questions and validated measures of positive youth development, family functioning, and delinquent behavior. RESULTS: There was an increasing trend of delinquent behavior with the growth rate slowing down over the high school years. Male adolescents reported higher levels of delinquent behavior and showed a greater increase of delinquent behavior relative to female adolescents. Although positive youth development and family functioning were negatively associated with the initial level of delinquent behavior, they were positively associated with the growth rate of delinquent behavior over time. CONCLUSION: Delinquent behavior could be described by a quadratic growth curve during high school years. Gender, positive youth development, and family functioning influence the level and developmental trajectory of delinquent behavior in adolescence.

Positive youth development programs for adolescents with greater psychosocial needs: subjective outcome evaluation over 3 years.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: This study examined the views of 153,761 students participating in a positive youth development program designed for participants with greater psychosocial needs (the Tier 2 Program) in the context of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong. The program was implemented in the extension phase of the project from 2009/10 to 2011/12 school years. DESIGN: A validated subjective outcome evaluation scale was used to assess the views of the program participants toward the program qualities, implementer qualities, and program effectiveness after completion of the program. Nine datasets were used which were derived from the aggregated reports submitted by social service providers designing the Tier 2 Program. RESULTS: Participants generally held favorable views of program qualities, implementer qualities, as well as program effectiveness of the Tier 2 Program. Some small grade and program differences on subjective outcome evaluation were also found. Both program qualities and implementer qualities were significant predictors of program effectiveness in different grades. CONCLUSION: Consistent with the findings of the initial phase of the Project P.A.T.H.S., the present study suggests that the Tier 2 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong is perceived favorably by program participants and its perceived effectiveness was high. Significant but small grade and program approach differences on subjective outcome evaluation were found. Both program and implementer qualities were predictive of perceived program effectiveness in different grades.

Validation of a subjective outcome evaluation tool for participants in a positive youth development program in Hong Kong.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Using confirmatory factor analyses, this study examined the factor structure and reliability of a subjective outcome evaluation tool for students with greater psychosocial needs within the context of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong. DESIGN: To assess the views of program participants on the program content, implementer qualities, and program effectiveness of the Tier 2 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S., the Subjective Outcome Evaluation Form for Participants (Form C) was used. Data were collected from 8,893 Grade 7 participants after they had completed the Tier 2 Program. RESULTS: The findings based on confirmatory factor analyses are generally consistent with the original hypotheses, providing support for the 3-factor model and the higher-order factor model containing 3 primary factors. Support for different types of factorial invariance based on 2 randomly split subsamples was also found. High coefficient alphas were found for the total scale and the 3 subscales. CONCLUSION: Confirmatory factor analyses support the conceptual model underlying the Form C. Reliability analyses showed that the total scale and subscales possess excellent internal consistency.

Factorial validity of a subjective outcome evaluation tool for implementers of a positive youth development program.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: This study examined the dimensionality of the subjective outcome evaluation tool assessing the views of program implementers in the context of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong. For illustration purpose, both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to examine the factor structure of the instrument. DESIGN: Subjective outcome evaluation findings were collected from 1,170 program implementers who implemented the Grade 7 level program. A validated subjective outcome evaluation scale was used to assess the views of the program implementers. Conceptually, the scale was designed to assess program implementers' perceptions about program content, implementer qualities, and program effectiveness after completion of the program. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analyses showed that 3 factors were abstracted from the scale and they were stable across 2 random subsamples. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that there was support for a higher-order factor model containing 3 primary factors and 1 second-order factor, and that evidence supporting factorial invariance was found. The 3 subscales were also shown to be reliable with acceptable internal consistency. CONCLUSION: Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses provided support for the factorial validity of the subjective outcome evaluation tool designed for program implementers in the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong.

Validation of a subjective outcome evaluation tool for participants in a positive youth development program in Hong Kong.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Utilizing primary-factor and hierarchical confirmatory factor analyses, this study examined the factor structure of a subjective outcome evaluation tool for the program participants for the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: A subjective outcome evaluation scale was used to assess the views of program participants on the program, implementer, and program effectiveness of the Project P.A.T.H.S. A total of 28,431 Secondary 2 students responded to this measure after they had completed the program. RESULTS: Consistent with the conceptual model, findings based on confirmatory factor analyses provided support for the primary factor model and the higher-order factor model containing 3 primary factors. By randomly splitting the total sample into 2 subsamples, support for different forms of factorial invariance was found. There was also support for the internal consistency of the total scale and the 3 subscales. CONCLUSION: Confirmatory factor analyses provided support for the factorial validity of the subjective outcome evaluation instrument designed for program participants in the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong.

Evaluation of the Project P.A.T.H.S. (extension phase) based on the perspective of the program participants.

Subjective outcome evaluation data were collected from 236 schools (n=87,943 students) after students had participated in the Tier 1 Program in the second year of the Extension Phase of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong. Using schools as the units of analysis, results showed that the program and implementers were perceived in a positive manner and approximately four-fifths of the participants regarded the program as helpful to them. There were some significant grade differences in the subjective outcome evaluation findings with small effect size. Multiple regression analyses showed that whereas perceived qualities of the program positively predicted perceived effectiveness of the program, perceived qualities of implementers negatively predicted program effectiveness. The present study suggests that irrespective of cohorts at different times, junior secondary school students perceived the program to be beneficial to them. The theoretical and practical implications of the present findings are discussed.

Helping adolescents with greater psychosocial needs: the extension phase of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong.

Subjective outcome evaluation data were collected from 24,198 students of 236 schools after completion of the Tier 2 Program in the second year of the Extension Phase of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong. Using schools as units of analysis, results showed that the program, implementers, and effectiveness were perceived in a positive manner. Although subjective outcome evaluation findings differed across participant types, grades, and program types did not show significant differences on the outcome measures. Consistent with previous reports, perceived effectiveness of the program was significantly predicted by student perceptions about the program and program instructor. These findings provide support for the claim that the Tier 2 Program is effective in promoting positive development among adolescents with greater psychosocial needs in the extension phase of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong.

Evaluation of Project P.A.T.H.S. by the program implementers: findings based on the extension phase.

A total of 236 schools participated in the Project P.A.T.H.S. in the 2010/2011 school year. After completion of the Tier 1 Program, subjective outcome evaluation data were collected from 3275 program implementers. Based on the consolidated findings based on schools as units, results showed that participants had positive perceptions of the program, implementers, and benefits of the program. More than four-fifths of the implementers regarded the program as helpful to the program participants. Multiple regression analysis revealed that perceived qualities of the program and the program implementers predicted perceived effectiveness of the program. Grade differences were not significant. The present study provides additional support for the effectiveness of the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong.

Transforming potential program implementers in professional development: the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong.

High quality pre-implementation professional training is the cornerstone for successful implementation of positive youth development programs. A qualitative evaluation study was conducted to understand the experiences of the potential program implementers of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong. The findings showed that participants highly valued the learning experiences acquired from the training program, particularly in the areas of knowledge acquisition and personal growth. Participants who benefited from these dimensions developed attitudes and skills that are desirable for the implementation of the Project P.A.T.H.S. Implications about the conditions that are conducive to the P.A.T.H.S. training program in promoting knowledge, skills acquisition, retention, application, and generalization are discussed.

Developmental outcomes of economically disadvantaged adolescents in Hong Kong: a replication.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between economic disadvantage and adolescent and developmental outcomes as well as perceived family qualities in 3580 Secondary 2 students in Hong Kong. Developmental outcomes include positive youth development constructs, problem behavior and drug taking behavior, whereas perceived family qualities include perceived family interaction and parental parenting. Generally speaking, poor and non-poor adolescents differ in terms of overall positive youth development and family life quality. Although adolescents experiencing poverty do not display significant differences from non-poor adolescents in terms of risk behavior and psychosocial competencies, adolescents with economic disadvantage show lower levels of positive identity, family interaction, and perceived paternal parenting than do those without economic disadvantage.

Quantitative evaluation of the revised training program Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong.

In the extension phase of Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes) in Hong Kong, potential implementers received 20 h of training (7 h of e-learning and 13 h of interactive training). Subjective outcome evaluation was conducted to evaluate the training workshops conducted in the first year of the extension phase based on the responses of 812 participants. The subjective outcome evaluation form was found to be internally consistent. Percentage findings showed that the respondents had favorable perceptions of the training program including its content, trainers, participants themselves and arrangements. The participants also felt that they had acquired knowledge, positive attitudes and skills related to the implementation of the program. The findings showed that the revised training program was effective in helping the participants to acquire the necessary knowledge, attitudes, and skills in the implementation of the program.