Career and life development intervention for non-engaged youth: Evaluating the Hong Kong Benchmarks (Community) Pilot Program.

In our study, aimed at examining the effectiveness and impact of the Hong Kong Benchmarks (Community) Pilot Program, a career and life development (CLD) intervention program targeting non-engaged youth (NEY) in Hong Kong, we employed a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design to compare changes in career-related competencies between a pilot group (N = 289) and a comparison group (N = 160). We also conducted five focus group interviews with the leaders of nongovernmental organizations, social workers, NEY, parents, and employers to explore the program's impacts on the CLD service provisions. Our quantitative results indicate that the piloting group showed greater improvement in two career-related competencies-youth career development competency and career and life development hope-than the comparison group. Meanwhile, our qualitative results suggest both the benefits and difficulties experienced by stakeholders in the program. The findings thus provide preliminary evidence of the Hong Kong Benchmarks (Community) Pilot Program's positive impacts on NEY and other important stakeholders. The implications of expanding the existing program and theorizing the community-based benchmark approach are also discussed.

Validating the evaluation capacity scale among practitioners in non-governmental organizations.

The growing emphasis on demonstrating the effectiveness of social services through evaluation has heightened demand for nongovernmental organization (NGO) practitioners to enhance evaluation capacity. However, a lack of validated instruments in the NGO context has hampered efforts to assess NGO practitioners' current evaluation capacity and understand how capacity-building activities could be tailored to meet NGO practitioners' actual needs and enhance their evaluation capacity. Hence, this study aims to develop the Evaluation Capacity Scale (ECS), a self-reporting instrument of NGO practitioners' capacity to conduct an effective evaluation of their service programs. Validation data was derived from 439 NGO practitioners who attended the Jockey Club MEL Institute Project in Hong Kong, China. Exploratory factor analysis of the ECS revealed three factors-evaluation mindset, evaluation implementation, and evaluation communication-and confirmatory factor analysis further validated this three-factor structure. Moreover, MANCOVA analysis demonstrated the ECS's predictive validity. Overall, the ECS demonstrated satisfactory convergent validity, high internal consistency reliability, and predictive validity, and its factor structure was supported in subgroups based on gender, age, and level of education. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Measuring Development of Self-Help Organizations for Patients with Chronic Health Conditions in Hong Kong: Development and Validation of the Self-Help Organization Development Scale (SHODS).

Self-help organizations (SHOs) enable patients with chronic health conditions (PCHCs) to overcome common difficulties through the exchange of knowledge and mutual assistance, which serves as the basis for promoting the self-reliance and well-being of PCHCs. Nevertheless, practical challenges persist because little is known about what and how to evaluate for the developmental outcomes of SHOs. To address this knowledge gap, the present study seeks to develop and validate the Self-Help Organization Development Scale (SHODS). A total of 232 core members from 54 SHOs in Hong Kong participated in our study. The SHODS structure was validated by confirmatory factor analysis. This analysis derived five factors: citizen support, business support, member recovery and mutual aid, organizational health, and functional sustainability. The five-factor structure demonstrated stability across various types of SHOs, as validated by the subgroup analysis based on two criteria: duration of SHO establishment and organization affiliation. Good concurrent validity was supported by significant correlations between the SHODS factors and organizational variables, including staff supervision, staff understanding, networking, advocating, and educating the public and patients. The SHODS also showed excellent internal consistency. In conclusion, the SHODS is a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring the developmental outcomes of SHOs.

Time Effects of Supportive Interaction and Facilitator Input Variety on Treatment Adherence of Young People with Chronic Health Conditions: A Dynamic Mechanism in Mutual Aid Groups.

This study aims to examine the mechanism of how supportive interaction and facilitator input variety in mutual aid groups impact treatment adherence of young people with chronic health conditions, with consideration of time effects, which have been rarely studied in the existing literature. A stratified random sample of 391 individuals aged 12-45 years with chronic health conditions were recruited from mutual aid groups in Hong Kong and completed both the baseline and 12-month follow-up surveys. The results of the structural equation modeling indicated that supportive interaction and facilitator input variety positively predicted treatment adherence in a delayed condition, whereas members' treatment adherence in the baseline survey had reversed effects on members' supportive interaction in the follow-up survey. The findings of this study shed light on the dynamic mechanism of the mutual aid groups and provide important implications to promote better rehabilitation outcomes of young people with chronic health conditions.

Mediating Effects of Emotional Support Reception and Provision on the Relationship between Group Interaction and Psychological Well-Being: A Study of Young Patients.

While it is well-established that mutual aid groups are effective in the psychological rehabilitation of vulnerable individuals, few studies have thoroughly investigated the dynamic mechanism of how psychological well-being improves through mutual aid groups of young patients with chronic health conditions. In connection with several existing theories (i.e., the helper therapy principle, equity theory, the norm of reciprocity, and the concept of communal relationships), this study aims to: (1) evaluate whether emotional support exchanges (i.e., emotional support reception and provision) mediate the relationship between group interaction and psychological well-being; and (2) compare three potential underlying mechanisms-the mediating role of emotional support provision, equitable reciprocity (i.e., a balance of receiving and providing emotional support, where no party over-benefits or under-benefits), and sequential reciprocity (i.e., repaying the helper or a third party in the future after receiving help)-through a path analysis model. A stratified random sampling procedure with chronic health conditions as the stratifying criterion was used to recruit 391 individuals aged 12-45 years from mutual aid groups in Hong Kong, who completed both the baseline and follow-up surveys over a 12-month interval. The results of the path model revealed significant mediating roles of emotional support provision and sequential reciprocity, not equitable reciprocity. The present study offers theoretical and practical implications for promoting the psychological well-being of young patients with chronic health conditions.