Ngan-pun Ngai

Predictors of the Likelihood of Delinquency: A Study of Marginal Youth in Hong Kong, China.

Different theories offer different factors, each of which partially explain delinquency in young people. An integrated framework incorporating these theories would provide a more complete explanation. Theories that need to be built into such a framework include social control, social learning, strain, and cognitive development theories. Data were collected from 229 marginal youth recruited through outreaching social work teams in Hong Kong. The results indicate that theories of cognitive development, social control, and social learning are important in predicting the likelihood of delinquency among marginal youth. They highlight the influences of the young people’s own theorizing about social problems, attachment to work, moral belief, and friends’ approval of delinquency. Moreover, their frustration and perceived social inequality were predictive of a lower likelihood of delinquency. The findings carry implications for the prevention of crime and delinquency.

China's youth policy formulation and youth participation

Abstract In response to changing needs and problems of young people, China, as well as other countries, has a need to invite youths participation in the formulation of youth policy. Contemporary Chinas youth policy is primarily ideological and penetrating to develop young people as faithful and moral patriots. However, the two decades of economic reforms and opening policy have driven the new generation of young people to seek for greater participation in policy-making which can both serve the purposes of absorbing the opinions of the policy recipients and providing an outlet of youth grievance. In line with such new development, a research of 53 Chinese youth policy makers, youth work theorists, youth workers, working youth, university undergraduates, and secondary school students in Beijing and Guangzhou indicates youths desire for policy participation and the perceived insufficiency of channels for youths participation in formulation of youth policy.

Family Stress on Adolescents in Hong Kong and the Mainland of China

ABSTRACT Assessing the significance of the family, a notion of the family emerges as a system that provides important resources for its members, but also creates stress upon them. Despite the importance of family effects, no study has examined large samples of Chinese adolescents in both the mainland of China and Hong Kong. To fill the empirical void and extend the research focus on individual family stressors, the present study surveyed 2,142 Chinese secondary school students in Hong Kong and the mainland of China. Results from random-effect regression analysis show that environmental strain, parental expectation for the adolescents academic study, quarrels, worry over finances in the family, family support, and parental and sibling hassles were significantly related to the adolescents distress. The significant relationships among the family stressors support theses of personal relevance and contagion. Furthermore, the relationships equally apply to adolescents in the mainland of China and Hong Kong. Family support did not significantly moderate relationships between family stress and the adolescents distress.

Youth leadership training in Hong Kong: current developments and the way ahead

This study explicates the intervention goals, domains and strategies of youth leadership training programmes in Hong Kong using data collected on the Internet. The results show that youth leadership training programmes in Hong Kong are designed and organised to achieve five goals: (1) helping young people to achieve positive development and cultivate their leadership potential, (2) enhancing the ability of young people to form interpersonal relationships and engage in team-building, (3) encouraging young people to participate in community affairs and social services, (4) fostering a national identity and a deeper understanding of the mother country and (5) equipping young people with an international outlook. These goals are achieved through five inter-related training domains, including the personal, interpersonal, community, national and international domains. The intervention strategies currently used in these programmes comprise experiential learning, adventure-based training, service learning, non-local exposure and project-based competition strategies. The characteristics of the leadership training programmes and their implications for the future development of policy and practice in Hong Kong are also discussed.

Mutual Aid among Young People with Emotional and Behavioral Problems: A Proposed Theoretical Framework

ABSTRACT Among young people with emotional and behavioral problems, mutual aid is likely to be of valuable assistance in their rehabilitation, and be deserving of social work support. The benefits of mutual aid stem from the possibility that it prolongs the effect of the contribution of social work services. Given the potential benefits of mutual aid, it is imperative to clarify ways for social work services to maximize these benefits. This paper reviews the existing literature on mutual aid among young people with emotional and behavioral problems. In so doing, we seek to develop a theoretical framework that encompasses key factors conducive to the mutual aid and rehabilitation of this population. These factors include the type of aid, specificity of aid, and balanced coordination in social work input to young peoples mutual aid. In particular, balanced coordination requires the social worker not to make excessive intervention in the mutual aid group and thus encourages an optimal use of resources.

Service Participation, Hardiness and Developmental Outcomes among Low-Income Young People in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT This study examines the ways in which service participation and hardiness interact to affect youth development in such areas as academic success, work achievement, mental health, behavioral adjustment and overall accomplishment. The basic premise is that these two factors may have main effects and an interaction effect on the outcomes. To test this, the present study employed survey data collected from 405 low-income young people recruited from 13 secondary schools and 18 community-based youth-service centers in Hong Kong. The results support the hypothesis that service participation and hardiness work jointly in affecting outcomes, although the individual effects differ across variables. On the other hand, no support is found for the possibility that hardiness might moderate the effect of services participation on the outcomes. Implications of the findings for further research and servicer provision are discussed.

Work commitment among unemployed youth in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tianjin

Work commitment is a way for unemployed youth to engage in employment. In turn, factors leading to work commitment are unclear, particularly in view of the possible variability of the factors across cities. Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tianjin are three Chinese cities for the present study to address the variability. Surveys of 676 unemployed youths in the three cities supplied data for the study. Results unfolded that although the experience of powerlessness and persistent unemployment seemed to discourage work commitment generally, they were less detrimental in Shanghai. Similarly, while education and work skill appeared to contribute to work commitment generally, they were significant only in Tianjin. The results imply that promotion of unemployed youths work commitment needs to be adaptive to the conditions of the city. For one, human capital development would be an effective means to promote work commitment in Tianjin but not in Shanghai. For the other, reducing social exclusion against the unemployed youths underclass status would be helpful particularly in Hong Kong.

Effects of service use, family social capital and school social capital on psychosocial development among economically disadvantaged secondary school students in Hong Kong

This study investigates factors conducive to the success of young people growing up with economic disadvantage. Previous studies often focused on the risks and difficulties experienced by this cohort of young people; however, little attempt has been made to examine factors that help them thrive or escape from adversity. It is with this consideration in mind that this study examines the ways in which service use, family social capital and school social capital affect psychosocial development in such areas as mental health, positive identity, behavioural adjustment, resilience, academic success and overall accomplishment. The basic premise is that these three factors may have differential effects on youth outcomes. To test this conjecture, the study employs survey data collected from a territory-wide sample of 862 students from low-income families recruited from 14 secondary schools located in different districts of Hong Kong. The results support our hypotheses that service use, family social capital and school social capital have significantly positive effects on psychosocial development, although their individual effects differ across indicators of development. In addition, the two background characteristics of gender and public assistance reception have significant effects on developmental outcomes. The implications of the findings for further research and service provision are discussed.

Social Work Inputs, Change-Inducing Group Mechanisms, and Mutual Aid among Young People with Emotional and Behavioral Problems

ABSTRACT Current research shows that emotional and behavioral problems (EBP) are amenable to social work support, notably through group work that promotes mutual aid. This kind of intervention has become increasingly crucial in maximizing the contribution of social work and minimizing its cost. Nevertheless, research on youth involvement in such groups remains scarce and the extant findings are mostly drawn from instances of mutual help among adults and older people. They do not give much insight into mutual aid among EBP youth, suggesting there is still a need for research on mutual aid groups among this population. In view of this need, the study reported in this paper examined factors that are conducive to the mutual aid and rehabilitation of young people with EBP in Hong Kong. Of particular concern were the relationships between EBP alleviation and the key factors of social work inputs, change-inducing group mechanisms, and mutual aid. To investigate these issues, the study employed survey data collected from 433 youth participants (aged 12–24) recruited from 60 mutual aid groups in secondary schools, community-based youth service centers, and residential homes located in different districts of Hong Kong. The results support the hypothesis that change-inducing group mechanisms and mutual aid affect EBP. Nonetheless, the results do not support the hypothesized negative relationship between social work inputs and EBP. The implications of the findings for further research and the promotion of mutual aid and rehabilitation among EBP youth are discussed.

Building Reciprocal Partnerships for Service-Learning: The Experiences of Hong Kong Secondary School Teachers.

With the maturation of the service-learning field in recent years, school–community partnerships have emerged as an important area for studying the effectiveness of this type of experiential education. However, the paucity of studies of school–community partnerships indicates that they are only beginning to be understood and thus require further investigation. Drawing upon 5 focus group interviews with 22 secondary school teachers in Hong Kong, this study gives examples of the diversity of service-learning partnerships and provides strategies for developing and maintaining effective partnerships. The research and practice implications of the present findings for promoting reciprocal school–community partnerships are discussed.