A Longitudinal Study of Compensated Dating and Juvenile Prostitution Behaviors Among Adolescents in Hong Kong.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine longitudinal changes in compensated dating (CD) and juvenile prostitution (JP) behaviors and related psychosocial correlates among Hong Kong adolescents. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: In this study, adolescent CD and JP behaviors were examined in 3 waves (namely wave 2, 3, and 4) of a longitudinal study. At wave 2 (2010-2011), 3638 secondary 2 students (grade 8) from 28 schools participated in the study (mean age, 13.60 years; SD = 0.72). In the following 2 academic years (2011-2012 and 2012-2013), they were invited to respond to the same questionnaire. A total of 2921 students completed the questionnaire in 3 waves and their results were analyzed. RESULTS: The number of CD cases was higher than JP cases. Although there was a decline in CD cases at wave 4, the number of JP cases increased at wave 4. Although there was some support for the influence of family intactness and positive youth development on CD and JP, the evidence was not strong. The effects of gender, economic disadvantage, and family functioning on CD and JP were not significant. CONCLUSION: There was a decrease in CD but an increase in JP in the 3 waves of data. However, there was a fluctuation of CD over the years which made it difficult to identify a stable pattern. Some possible explanations for such a fluctuation and the related nonsignificant findings are proposed.

Do Adolescent Sexual Behavior and Intention to Engage in Sexual Behavior Change in High School Years in Hong Kong?

STUDY OBJECTIVE: In this study we examined sexual behavior and intention to engage in sexual behavior among Chinese high school students in Hong Kong using 6 waves of data collected over 6 years. We also focused on the related sociodemographic and family correlates. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, INTERVENTIONS, AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A 6-year longitudinal study was conducted. At each wave, a questionnaire was used to collect data on sociodemographic characteristics, positive youth development, and family functioning in the respondents. RESULTS: Individual growth curve models showed that adolescent sexual behavior and intention increased over time. Adolescents with higher levels of positive youth development reported lower levels of past sexual behavior. Youths from better-off and higher functioning families increased their sexual behavior at slower rates than did youths from families with economic disadvantage and poor family functioning. Regarding intention to have sex, older adolescents reported higher levels of intention. Youngsters with higher levels of perceived family functioning and positive youth development reported lower levels of initial intention. Adolescent boys increased their intention at a faster rate than did girls. CONCLUSION: Findings from the study identified risk factors (ie, age, gender, and economic disadvantage) and protective factors (ie, healthy family functioning, positive youth development) that influence the levels and growth rates of adolescent sexual behavior and intention. Implications for future research and interventions are discussed.

The Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong: development, training, implementation, and evaluation.

We review, a multi-year positive youth development program entitled "P.A.T.H.S. to Adulthood: A Jockey Club Youth Enhancement Scheme" (Project P.A.T.H.S.), which was initiated and funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust with the involvement of 5 universities in Hong Kong, is described. The Research Team developed curricula-based positive youth development programs for junior secondary school students (20 hours per grade) and designed training programs for the potential program implementers (20 hours per grade). Roughly half of the secondary schools and more than 200,000 students in Hong Kong joined the program. Multiple evaluation strategies including objective outcome evaluation, subjective outcome evaluation, secondary data analyses, process evaluation, interim evaluation, qualitative evaluation based on focus groups, student weekly diaries, case studies, and repertory grid method were employed. Existing evaluation findings revealed that different stakeholders had positive perceptions of the program, workers, and benefits of the program. Results also showed that the program was effective in promoting holistic positive youth development and reducing risk behavior in Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong.

Self-harm and suicide attempts among young Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong: prevalence, correlates, and changes.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the prevalence of and changes in self-harm and suicide attempts and to predict these behaviors in relation to family functioning and positive youth development. DESIGN: We used quantitative data based on a large sample of adolescent participants. Participants had joined this study in a previous year when they were in Grade 7 (Wave 1). The present study focused on Wave 2 data and the comparison with Wave 1 data. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: The participants consisted of 2,579 Grade 8 students from 28 secondary schools in Hong Kong. A multi-stage cluster random sampling was adopted. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Self-harm behavior, suicide attempt, the Chinese Family Assessment Instrument, the Chinese Positive Youth Development Scale. RESULTS: Approximately 23.5% of Grade 8 students had engaged in self-harm behavior in the preceding 12 months. Girls showed more self-harm behavior compared with the boys. Nearly 4.0% of adolescents attempted suicide in the preceding 12 months. Perceived family functioning and positive youth development predicted self-harm and suicidal ideation. Among the 4 second-order positive youth development qualities, the construct "general positive youth development qualities" was the strongest predictor of self-harm and suicide attempts. Compared with the Wave 1 data, more suicidal symptoms were observed in Wave 2, although the prevalence of self-harm behavior was similar across time. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of self-harm behavior among Chinese adolescents was high, but the level of suicidal behavior was low. Perceived family functioning and positive youth development can be regarded as protective factors for adolescents against self-harm and suicidal behaviors. General positive youth development quality is most important among the 4 second-order positive youth development qualities.

Compensated dating in Hong Kong: prevalence, psychosocial correlates, and relationships with other risky behaviors.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: We sought to study the prevalence of the compensated dating (CD) phenomenon among early adolescents in Hong Kong and to identify psychosocial correlates of CD, particularly basic demographic factors, positive youth development (PYD) qualities, and perceived family functioning. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: In 2010, during the Wave 2 data collection of a 6-year longitudinal study on PYD in Hong Kong, 3,638 Grade 8 students were surveyed. RESULTS: (a) For prevalence rate of CD, less than 3% of the respondents had ever engaged in CD; (b) Males reported a higher percentage of CD than females did; (c) Different measures of PYD and perceived family functioning were negatively related to adolescents' CD behavior; (d) Higher levels of PYD and better mutual support, love, and concern among family members were related to a lower level of CD; and (e) A mild relationship was found between CD and substance abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Although the prevalence rate of CD was not high, it was alarming. CD was related to other forms of risky behavior. Higher levels of PYD and better family functioning were negatively related to CD.

Sexual behavior and intention to engage in sexual behavior in junior secondary school students in Hong Kong.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: The present study examined the prevalence, changes, and demographic as well as psychosocial correlates of sexual behavior and intention to engage in sexual behavior in early adolescents in Hong Kong, with sexual behavior indexed by sexual intercourse. DESIGN: Three waves of longitudinal data on sexual intercourse, intention to engage in sexual intercourse, family functioning, and positive youth development were collected from 28 secondary schools in Hong Kong. RESULTS: There were significant influences of grade and gender on adolescent sexual behavior or intention to engage in sexual behavior. Significant main effects of immigration status on sexual behavior were also found. While no effect of family economic background was found, effect of family intactness existed for sexual behavior. Family functioning and positive youth development at Grade 7 were negatively associated with students' sexual behavior and intention to engage in sexual behavior at Grade 9. CONCLUSION: Grade, gender, immigration status, and family intactness were related to sexual behavior and/or intention to engage in sexual behavior in junior secondary school students. Promoting positive youth development and family functioning could serve as protective factors to reduce sexual behavior and intention to engage in sexual behavior in Chinese early adolescents in Hong Kong.

Psychological well-being and the dyadic relationship of Chinese menopausal women (and their spouses) attending hormone replacement clinics.

This survey examined the general health and the marital relationship of 122 Chinese menopausal women and their spouses attending hormone replacement clinics. Climacteric symptoms of the participants were assessed by the modified Greene Climacteric Scale (GCS). The psychological well-being of the participants and their spouses was assessed by the 12-item Chinese General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), and their marital quality was assessed by the Chinese Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS). The GCS scores of our cohort were significantly higher than that of a community-based sample of menopausal Chinese women. About one-third of the participants and one-fifth of their spouses suffered from reduced psychological well-being. Although the DAS total scores of the participants and their spouses were comparable to those of the adjusted couples in a younger population, the affectional DAS subscores were significantly lower. The GCS scores of the menopausal women were significantly positively correlated with their GHQ scores but negatively correlated with their DAS scores. In summary, the menopausal women attending the hormonal replacement clinics, especially those with more dimacteric symptoms, suffered from significant psychiatric morbidity and marital maladjustment. The psychological dimension of the menopause should never be neglected.

The General Functioning Scale of the Family Assessment Device: does it work with Chinese adolescents?

The reliability and validity of the General Functioning (GF) Scale of the Chinese version of the McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD) were examined in three studies. In Study 1, data based on 361 adolescents showed that the GF scale was temporally stable and internally consistent, and there was support for its concurrent and construct validities. In Study 2, data analyzed from a clinical group and a nonclinical group (N = 281 and 451, respectively) showed that the GF scores were able to discriminate these two groups. With data pertaining to 3649 secondary-school students, Study 3 gives support for the internal consistency, concurrent validity, and construct validity of the GF scale in different adolescent samples. These studies strongly suggest that the GF scale of the FAD possesses good psychometric properties in different Chinese adolescent samples.

Meaning in life and sense of mastery in Chinese adolescents with economic disadvantage.

Data from 229 Hong Kong Chinese adolescents with economic disadvantage showed that there was a positive relationship between reported meaning in life and sense of mastery.

Paternal and maternal influences on family functioning among Hong Kong Chinese families.

The linkages between dyadic relationships in the family and family functioning were examined in 378 Chinese families on two occasions. The following dyadic relationships were investigated: (a) parent-child relationship qualities reported by adolescent children (questionnaire and interview measures of parenting style, parent-adolescent conflict, parent-adolescent communication, and parent-adolescent relationship) and by their parents (questionnaire measures of parent-child relationship quality and demand); and (b) marital quality reported by the parents via questionnaire measures. Results showed that parents' and children's views of family functioning were longitudinally related to dyadic relationships in the family. Relative to mother-adolescent relationship and mothers' report of marital quality, father-adolescent relationship and fathers' report of marital quality were generally found to have a stronger association with perception of family functioning and its change over time.

Reliability and factor structure of the Chinese version of the Self-report Family Inventory in Chinese adolescents.

The Chinese version (C-SFI) of the Self-Report Family Inventory (SFI) was administered to 3,649 Chinese adolescents. Results showed that the C-SFI is internally consistent. Factor analyses revealed that two factors were abstracted from the scale (positive family behavior and negative family behavior), and they could reliably be reproduced in different adolescent subsamples based on gender and grade. Contrary to the previous findings that there are five to six dimensions of the SFI, the present findings show that the C-SFI has two dimensions. This study suggests that clinical practitioners should be cautious in using the subscales in the SFI, particularly for the Chinese.

Parent-adolescent conflict and adolescent antisocial and prosocial behavior: a longitudinal study in a Chinese context.

This longitudinal study examined the relationships between parent-adolescent conflict and antisocial and prosocial behavior in Chinese adolescents. Results showed that father-adolescent conflict and mother-adolescent conflict were concurrently related to adolescent antisocial and prosocial behavior. Longitudinal analyses showed that parent-adolescent conflict predicted antisocial behavior but not prosocial behavior. Adolescent antisocial and prosocial behavior was also found to be related to father-adolescent conflict across time. The findings suggest that the linkage between father-adolescent conflict and adolescent social behavior is stronger than that between mother-adolescent conflict and adolescent social behavior.

Prevalence of anxiety and depression in Australian adolescents: comparisons with worldwide data.

Data from two Australian studies were combined so that the prevalence of anxiety and depression in a large, normative sample of Australian adolescents could be investigated. The combined sample comprised 1,299 adolescents randomly selected from metropolitan and country schools in Melbourne, a large Australian city. The data were examined in order to ascertain the percentages of adolescents who scored above the clinical cut-off on two self-report instruments--the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (C. R. Reynolds & B. O. Richmond, 1985) and the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (W. M. Reynolds, 1986). The results of these analyses were then compared with previously reported prevalence rates from studies worldwide. This comparison revealed striking differences in the prevalence of anxiety and depression across different countries and cultures. Limitations attributable to different self-report measures and imposed-etic approaches are discussed. Issues pertaining to social and political climate are also raised.

Differences between fathers and mothers in the treatment of, and relationship with, their teenage children: perceptions of Chinese adolescents.

Chinese adolescents' perceptions of differences between mothers and fathers in parenting styles, parent-adolescent communication (frequency and related feelings), and quality of the parent-adolescent relationship were assessed via questionnaires and individual interviews. Fathers, as compared with mothers, were perceived to be less responsive, less demanding, to demonstrate less concern, but to be more harsh, and paternal parenting was less liked. There was less communication with fathers, and adolescents reported more negative feelings when communicating with fathers than with mothers. They evaluated the father-adolescent relationship more negatively than they did the mother-adolescent relationship. Adolescent females, as compared with males, perceived their parents to be more demanding but less harsh. Parenting characteristics were rated less favorably across time.

Parental, peer, and teacher influences on the social behavior of Hong Kong Chinese adolescents.

Intensive interviews and self-report questionnaires were used to investigate parental, peer, and teacher influences on the prosocial and antisocial behaviors of Hong Kong Chinese adolescents. Students came from 5 academically different high schools. Results indicated that perceived parental influence was positively associated with frequency of prosocial behavior and negatively associated with frequency of delinquent behavior. Students with good relationships with their parents and peers showed lower frequencies of antisocial behaviors than did students with bad relationships. Adolescents in different identity statuses (achievement, moratorium, foreclosure, diffusion; E. H. Erikson, 1968) showed different patterns of prosocial and antisocial behaviors. For example, adolescents in the identity achievement group exhibited high frequencies of prosocial behaviors and low frequencies of antisocial behaviors, but those in the identity moratorium group exhibited quite high frequencies of both prosocial and antisocial behaviors.

Paternal and maternal influences on the psychological well-being of Chinese adolescents.

Adolescents' (N = 378) perceptions of and satisfaction with parenting styles, perceived parent-adolescent conflict, perceived frequency of parent-adolescent communication and related feelings, perceived parent-adolescent relationship, and mental health were assessed with rating scales and structured interviews on 2 occasions separated by 1 year. Results showed that the questionnaire and interview measures at each time could be grouped into 2 stable factors: Paternal Parenthood Qualities (PPQ) and Maternal Parenthood Qualities (MPQ). Although both factors generally had significant concurrent and longitudinal correlations with adolescents' mental health, PPQ at Time 1-predicted changes in adolescent life satisfaction, hopelessness, self-esteem, purpose in life, and general psychiatric morbidity at Time 2, whereas MPQ at Time 1 did not predict those changes. Adolescents' mental health at Time 1 was found to predict changes in MPQ but not PPQ at Time 2. Relative to maternal qualities, paternal qualities were generally found to exert a stronger impact on adolescent psychological well-being.

Parenting characteristics and adolescent psychological well-being: a longitudinal study in a Chinese context.

In this longitudinal study, the relationships between perceived parenting characteristics and adolescent psychological well-being were examined in a sample of Hong Kong Chinese adolescents (N = 378). The results indicated that global parenting styles and specific parenting behaviors are concurrently related to hopelessness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, purpose in life, and general psychiatric morbidity at Time 1 and Time 2. Longitudinal and prospective analyses (Time 1 predictors of Time 2 criterion variables) suggested that the relations between parenting characteristics and adolescent psychological well-being are bidirectional in nature. The results indicated that the strengths of association between perceived parenting characteristics and adolescent psychological well-being are stronger in female than in male adolescents. Relative to maternal parenting characteristics, paternal parenting was found to exert a stronger influence on adolescent psychological well-being.

A longitudinal study of Hong Kong adolescents' and parents' perceptions of family functioning and well-being.

In this longitudinal study, the relationships between Hong Kong Chinese adolescents' and parents' discrepancies in their perceptions of family functioning and adolescents' psychological well-being were investigated via adolescents' and parents' reports of family functioning (N = 378 families). Results showed that discrepancies in perceptions of family functioning between adolescents and parents were related to adolescents' feelings of hopelessness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, purpose in life, and general psychiatric morbidity at Time 1 and Time 2. Longitudinal and prospective analyses (Time 1 predictors predicting Time 2 criterion variables) suggested that the relationship between discrepancies in perceptions of family functioning and adolescents' psychological well-being are bidirectional. Adolescent-father and adolescent-mother discrepancies had similar effects on adolescents' psychological well-being. The negative impact of discrepancies among family members in perceptions of family functioning on adolescents' psychological well-being was greater for adolescent girls than for adolescent boys.