Young people's perceptions of the challenges and opportunities during the Mainland China-Hong Kong convergence.

Since the handover of the sovereignty of Hong Kong from Britain to China in 1997, convergence between Mainland China and Hong Kong has gradually emerged. During this process, young people have engaged in demonstrations to express their dissatisfaction with government policies and limited socio-economic progression. However, the underlying reasons for their dissatisfaction have not been fully investigated. This study investigates their perceived challenges and opportunities during the convergence, with the objective of identifying the factors affecting the Mainland China-Hong Kong convergence and examining young people's perceived challenges and opportunities during the convergence. Mixed research methods of focus groups and a survey were adopted. Ten focus groups with 83 participants were conducted to collect qualitative data on the factors relating to convergence. Based on the qualitative data, a questionnaire was constructed to investigate young people's perceived challenges and opportunities during the convergence, using a sample of 1253 young people. Ordinary least-squares regression was applied to analyse the relationships among identified factors. The study found that Hong Kong's youth tended to regard the Mainland China-Hong Kong convergence as an opportunity for socio-economic progression, and they identified three challenges during the convergence. It also revealed that young people's higher education, perceived housing challenges, and perceived socio-economic challenges are negatively related to the convergence, whereas their perceived challenges associated with entrepreneurship and innovation are positively related to the convergence. The development of more well-balanced and mutually beneficial policies that satisfy the needs of young people will lead to a higher acceptance of the convergence. As such, young people will be more willing to embrace the opportunities and face the challenges brought about by the convergence, resulting in a more harmonious society and socio-economic progression.

An Innovative Model of Positive Education with Traditional Chinese Moral Values: An Evaluation of Project Bridge.

Project Bridge, as a new, contextualized positive education program, is designed to enhance university students' character strengths and moral development, resulting in the promotion of their psychological wellbeing. Taking into account the differences between Western and Chinese cultures, the project integrated both Western and Asian concepts and values in the delivery of university education that would likely bring about optimal outcomes. In the evaluation, mixed methods were applied to demonstrate the outcomes of this newly developed positive education program. Pre- and post-test, as well as reflective writing, were adopted to measure the outcomes. Both quantitative and qualitative results demonstrated satisfying outcomes. Implications and future developments are discussed in the conclusion.

An Inquiry into the Relationship between Drug Users' Psychological Situations and Their Drug-Taking Behaviour.

In view of the research gap whereby few studies have investigated the inner psychological situations underlying continuous drug use, this study used the Soulmate Scale to investigate the relationship between soulmate experience and drug-taking behaviour. Overall, 276 participants took part in this study. Results showed that soulmate experience was negatively related to drug-taking behaviour, which means that being psychologically attached to drugs and receiving comfort from them encourages dependency and a higher level of difficulty in quitting drugs. In addition, soulmate experience significantly mediated the effect of meaning of life and social isolation on drugs, suggesting that when such psychological bonding and sustenance can be developed in interpersonal relationships instead of drugs, drug users are likely to develop the meaning of life and a lower sense of social isolation, and are more likely to quit drugs. The corresponding implications were discussed.

Social Capital and Social Networks of Hidden Drug Abuse in Hong Kong.

Owing to the increasing prevalence of hidden drug abuse in Hong Kong, yet scarce relevant current local research, this study seeks to carry out an in-depth investigation into the experience of hidden drug abusers, paying particular attention to their relevance to social capital and social networks. Seventy-three abusers attending drug treatment programs were interviewed, and a thematic analysis was performed. The results indicate hidden drug abuse is popular in Hong Kong. Apart from the decline of public, large-scale discos and the change of the types of drugs abused to date, one important contributing factor is the drug supply and transaction networks, which are extensive and multilocused, but secretive, with high closure levels. This kind of network is supported by bonding, bridging, and linking social capital as well as by providing convenient supply modes and offering drug abusers psychological comfort and safety. These factors encourage the hidden drug abuse to prevail and allow drug abusers to remain unidentifiable.

Hidden Drug Abuse in Hong Kong: From Social Acquaintance to Social Isolation.

The present paper examines the issue of hidden drug abuse in Hong Kong. Although official statistics show that the reported number of drug-abuse cases has been in decline in recent years, it has been reported that drug abusers tend to hide themselves at home to take drugs; thus, they are not discovered easily by the law enforcement and social control agents who report drug abuse cases to the Central Registry of Drug Abuse, resulting in the decrease in the reported number of drug-abuse cases. This "dark figure" phenomenon is a reflection of the official figure and reporting behavior, not the actual situation of drug abuse in Hong Kong. Through in-depth interviews of 30 ex-drug addicts, the majority of them started drug taking in early youth, the present paper identifies five stages of drug taking from social acquaintance to social isolation. It argues that although drug taking among abusers is a kind of social activity in their initial stage of drug use, they become socially isolated when their drug use is prolonged. Several reasons are identified, including users' easy accessibility to drugs and changes in the popularity of drugs and use of drug equipment. Most importantly, the hidden process is triggered and aggravated by numerous negative drug effects, such as decline in physical health, weak physical appearance leading to self-perceived discrimination, co-occurrence of psychiatric symptoms of increased anxiety and suspicion, and decline of trust among peers due to prolonged drug abuse. Possible solutions associated with clinical interventions, legislative policies, and law-enforcement operations are proposed.