Neighborhood as a place to foster generalized trust among young adults in Hong Kong.

AIMS: Generalized trust is a crucial determinant of individual and social well-being and is the fundamental element of a healthy society. However, a decline in generalized trust was observed among Hong Kong young adults, despite local neighborhoods, and placed-based experiences gaining popularity among Hong Kong young people. Hence, this paper examines the effect of neighborhood-level factors on promoting generalized trust. METHOD: Cross-sectional data were obtained from 1635 young adults aged 17-23 through mixed-mode surveys-a computer-assisted telephone interviewing CATI telephone survey, an online survey, and a mail survey. RESULTS: Logistic regression results showed that neighborhood cohesiveness, being an active member of a religious organization, being an active member of a local youth organization, acceptance of ethnic diversity, and having a good parental relationship were related to higher odds of reporting generalized trust. CONCLUSION: Research and practice implications and the international relevance of the findings are discussed.

The development of mentoring-relationship quality, future-planning style, and career goal setting among adolescents from a disadvantaged background.

Our behaviors are regulated by our perception of the future based on past experiences and knowledge. Children from a disadvantaged background might encounter obstacles more frequently when they plan their future. It is possible that a good relationship with an adult volunteer who provides assistance and guidance in the disadvantaged youth's development may facilitate their future-planning style and career goal setting. The present study investigated the role of a good mentoring relationship in promoting a disadvantaged youth's future-planning style and goal-setting ability. It focused on children from a disadvantaged background who participated in the Child Development Fund (CDF) in Hong Kong. In the study, 187 CDF participants (93 with high mentoring-relationship quality [MRQ] and 94 with low MRQ) and 208 comparison group participants were able to complete all four times of the survey. Repeated-measures analyses of covariance showed that Group main effects were observed for both future-planning style, F(2, 374) = 5.92, p < .01, and career goal-setting self-efficacy, F(2, 376) = 6.07, p < .01. Main Time effect was also found for the latter, F(3, 1128) = 7.99, p < .01. A significant Group × Time interaction effect was observed for future-planning style only, F(5.78, 1081.21) = 2.17, p < .05. Our results suggest that participants with high MRQ outperformed the comparison group in both future-planning style and career goal-setting self-efficacy. Multiple regression analyses revealed that mean MRQ score accounted for 3.9% (p < .01) of the variance in future-planning style and 4.1% (p < .01) of the variance in career goal-setting self-efficacy, supporting the role of a good mentoring relationship. Mentors have introduced new resources to the disadvantaged youths with high MRQ and have promoted the development of various skills through modeling.