Volume 23, Issue 2 - SPECIAL ISSUE on “Advances in adolescent research in the Chinese culture” edited by Daniel T.L. Shek, Rachel C.F. Sun and Joav Merrick

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No abstract available

Elder lifelong learning has been promoted worldwide under different modes for upgrading quality of life of elders and actualizing successful aging. With multiple objectives, some modes of the elder lifelong learning program attempt to simultaneously address the social issues of age-segregation and negative perceptions of older people by adopting an intergenerational approach. Such an approach links the two non-biological generations – the young and the old – together purposefully for nurturing intergenerational solidarity and integration. Although program evaluation studies demonstrate the positive impacts and effects of an intergenerational approach on older people, its impact on young people is not well-researched. This paper explores intergenerational solidarity generated from the intergenerational-mode elder lifelong learning program in Hong Kong and argues how it contributes to positive youth development.

This paper attempts to examine methodological issues pertinent to parenting research in Hong Kong. Using 90 studies indexed in the PsycINFO database, eight methodological limitations of parenting research in Hong Kong are highlighted. The limitations include over-reliance on non-locally validated translated measurements, lack of longitudinal studies, infrequent utilization of perspectives based on multiple informants, lack of usage of multiple indicators of different parenting processes, infrequent use of advanced statistical data analysis methods, underuse of linear mixed method analyses, predominance of convenience sampling, and lack of qualitative studies. Future research directions with reference to these methodological limitations are discussed.

Parenting processes have been investigated for over 30 years in Hong Kong. Three conceptual limitations are identified, based on 90 studies selected from the PsycINFO database: lack of investigation of indigenous parenting concepts; lack of investigation of causes, concomitants and consequences of the parenting process; and lack of alternative explanations for results. Suggestions for improvement are also made in each area. Limitations of the present study are discussed.

This paper reviews the impact of poverty on adolescent developmental outcomes. Based on a review of the literature, the impact of poverty on the psychological development of adolescents, the pathways through which poverty operates, and the protective factors of adolescents from the impact of poverty are outlined. The review showed conceptual problems in the literature, including the neglect of attention paid to cultural diversity and intervening processes between poverty and child developmental outcomes. This review also highlights methodological challenges, including the lack of longitudinal and qualitative studies in the field and the problems of using single informant perspective to study dynamic family processes. Recommendations for directions of future research are offered.

This paper examines the use of quantitative and qualitative approaches to study the impact of economic disadvantage on family processes and adolescent development. Quantitative research has the merits of objectivity, good predictive and explanatory power, parsimony, precision and sophistication of analysis. Qualitative research, in contrast, provides a detailed, holistic, in-depth understanding of social reality and allows illumination of new insights. With the pragmatic considerations of methodological appropriateness, design flexibility, and situational responsiveness in responding to the research inquiry, a mixed methods approach could be a possibility of integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches and offers an alternative strategy to study the impact of economic disadvantage on family processes and adolescent development.

Ageism against older people exists worldwide almost among all age groups and adolescents are of no exception. Numerous studies with specific reference to adolescents of different age, gender, educational level, socioeconomic background, knowledge about aging and experiences with older people showed that they had different perceptions of and attitudes toward older people, but such findings are not entirely conclusive. The situation of Hong Kong is even more confused as there are few studies examining this topic. It is argued that the conflicting findings are largely due to conceptual and methodological problems in the studies. This paper examines the conceptual and methodological issues in this area and outlines suggestions for future research.

This paper attempts to give a brief introduction to interpretivism, constructionism and constructivism. Similarities and differences between interpretivism and constructionism in terms of their histories and branches, ontological and epistemological stances, as well as research applications are highlighted. This review shows that whereas interpretivism can be viewed as a relatively mature orientation that contains various traditions, constructionism is a looser trend in adolescent research, and in the narrow sense denotes the “pure” relativist position, which refers to a discursive approach of theory and research. Both positions call for the importance of clearly identifying what type of knowledge and knowledge process the researcher is going to create, and correctly choosing methodology matching with the epistemological stance. Examples of adolescent research adopting interpretivist and constructionist orientations are presented.

This study examined fears about drug treatment among 300 young male heroin abusers in Hong Kong (172 newcomers and 128 repeaters) recruited from non-government treatment agencies. An indigenous 35-item Fears about Treatment Scale (Fears Scale) was developed to measure fears about treatment among the participants. Results showed that four factors (fear of failure, fear of labeling or disclosure, fear of maladaptation and fear of withdrawal) were abstracted from the scale. Reliability analyses showed that subscales based on these four factors and the total scale were internally consistent. The findings showed that treatment failure was the major fear in the respondents. The present findings suggest that drug treatment and rehabilitation services should help clients, particularly young substance abusers, mitigate their treatment fears.

Drawing upon interview data from a study investigating the experiences of 20 unwed mothers in Hong Kong, this article explores the narratives of the participants, especially their decisions in keeping their babies and to taking up the responsibilities of lone motherhood. Specific focus is given to the importance of their narratives so that their voices are heard – how they positioned themselves in relation to dominant cultural scripts surrounding lone motherhood. Their voices have relevance for helping professionals working with young people who play a useful role in facilitating and supporting unwed mothers within their locality, as well as for the general public who play an important role in “breaking” the labels and isolations of unwed mothers.