Siu-ming To

Searching for the meaning of parenthood: An existential approach to parent education in the Hong Kong-Chinese context

This article discusses how an existential approach contributes substantially by rethinking the ideas of parent education and enriching parent and child well-being. The goals and principles of this approach, namely eliciting the full spectrum of the meaning of parenthood, fostering constructive parent–child and family interactions, extending parents’ concerns from their own children to the welfare of future generations and addressing the issue of gender in parenting, are explicated. Parent education strategies, evaluation studies and their relevance to the Hong Kong-Chinese cultural context are also taken into account. Finally, it considers some practical suggestions for promoting this approach in Hong Kong.

An exploratory study on the effectiveness and experience of a parent enhancement group adopting a narrative approach

Summary Parent education has been gathering momentum in Hong Kong since its inception in the 1970s; however, much emphasis has been put on imparting childrearing knowledge and skills to parents rather than facilitating the reorganization of parents’ lived experiences and their identity development. Based on the results of an exploratory study conducted in Hong Kong, this article discusses the possible outcomes and experiences of a parent enhancement group adopting a narrative approach. The group comprised three, 5-hour sessions held weekly. The participants included 20 Hong Kong parents with at least one child in preschool. Through the adoption of a pretest–posttest design coupled with a 6-month follow-up survey and three post-intervention focus groups, the study attempted to examine the effects of the program and the subjective experiences of the participants. Findings The quantitative results showed that the group might have positive impacts on the enhancement of parental satisfaction, parental efficacy, and parent–child relationships. The qualitative findings indicated that the group might help develop the parent identity through strengthening the parent–child relational connection and integration of parents’ life stories. The participants also had a deeper understanding of the impact of parents’ personal growth on their parenting practice and children’s development. Applications The findings offer a knowledge base for evaluating this approach to parent enhancement programs. Of particular importance are its transformative effect, retention effect, ripple effect, and empowerment effect. The findings also provide reference materials for practitioners to rethink the direction of parent education.

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.

Interaction Effects Between Exposure to Sexually Explicit Online Materials and Individual, Family, and Extrafamilial Factors on Hong Kong High School Students’ Beliefs About Gender Role Equality and Body-Centered Sexuality

This study examined the interaction effects between Hong Kong adolescents’ exposure to sexually explicit online materials (SEOM) and individual, family, peer, and cultural factors on their beliefs about gender role equality and body-centered sexuality. Based on a survey design with a sample of 503 high school students in Hong Kong, the results indicated that adolescents’ frequency of accessing SEOM, their intrapersonal reactions to SEOM, their communication with parents about sexuality, their susceptibility to peer pressure, and their acceptance of cultural values regarding sex roles work jointly to affect their conceptions of gender and sexuality, although the main and interaction effects differ across variables. The results partially supported the hypotheses that individual responses to SEOM and relationships with parents and peers with regard to sexuality interact with SEOM exposure in affecting the outcomes. The study provided evidence for the adoption of an ecological perspective to guide the provision of sexuality education.

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.

Public Assistance Reception, Social Service Use, and Developmental Outcomes among Economically Disadvantaged Young People

ABSTRACT Much research has been conducted into the poor life course outcomes among economically disadvantaged young people; however, little attempt has been made to examine the factors that help them gain autonomy and achieve a prosperous future. Given this consideration, the present study surveys low- income youth in Hong Kong to investigate their paths of development. Of particular concern is the exploration of the ways in which two key factors, public assistance reception and social service use, interact to affect youth development in the areas of academic success, work achievement, 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 analyzed 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 public assistance reception and social service use work jointly in affecting youth development, although their individual effects differ. However, no support is found for the proposition that social service use moderates the effect of public assistance reception on youth development. The implications of the findings are discussed.

Supporting parents in late modernity through parent education: A mixed-methods study in Hong Kong

Summary While the increasing awareness of risk in late modernity has resulted in the proliferation and complication of parental roles and choices, few attempts have been made to explore how parent education can empower parents to reconstruct parenthood and transform parental lives. Based on the results of a mixed-methods study conducted in Hong Kong, this article discusses the possible outcomes and experiences of a parent education program that aimed to facilitate parents’ holistic growth in dealing with the prevailing culture of intensive parenting. The program was composed of 30 h of seminars and workshops. The participants included 387 Hong Kong Chinese parents recruited from seven primary schools and 27 nursery schools. A pretest–posttest assessment survey and postintervention focus groups were adopted for the evaluation methods. Findings The quantitative results showed that the participants experienced an enhancement in confidence, understanding, and trust in parenting. The qualitative findings indicated that the program helped the participants reflect upon the meaning of parenthood, underline the gains and accomplishments of parenting, and adjust parental expectations. They could also foster parent–child relationships in accordance with their children’s developmental needs, uniqueness, and emotions. As a result, these parents were more ready to face the challenges of the anxious parenting culture. Applications The findings support the reconceptualization of parent education as a reflexive practice. Such practice can unleash parents’ capacity to construct knowledge from their lived experiences and reconstitute their reflexive and emotional selves to negotiate life choices among the diversity of options in childrearing.

Presence of Meaning, Sources of Meaning, and Subjective Well-Being in Emerging Adulthood A Sample of Hong Kong Community College Students

In this study, we aimed to examine whether and how presence of meaning and sources of meaning interact and contribute to the subjective well-being of emerging adults. Results from a cross-sectional survey of 251 Chinese community college students in Hong Kong revealed that presence of meaning was positively associated with life satisfaction and positive affect. The findings also showed that ascriptions to self-preoccupating and individualistic sources of meaning were associated with positive affect, while ascriptions to individualistic and self-transcendent sources of meaning were associated with life satisfaction. Furthermore, ascription to the individualistic source of meaning amplified the strength of a positive relationship between presence of meaning and life satisfaction. These findings can provide a knowledge base for initiating further research on how different components of meaning in life cooperate to affect emerging adults’ subjective well-being.

Economic disadvantage and transitional outcomes: a study of young people from low-income families in Hong Kong.

This study draws on data from focus groups involving 50 young people from low-income families in Hong Kong to investigate their school-to-work experiences. In line with the ecological–developmental perspective, our results show that contextual influences, including lower levels of parental involvement and lack of opportunities for further education or skill development, constrain both the formulation and pursuit of educational and career goals. In contrast, service use and supportive interactions with parents and non-family adults were found to help young people find a career direction and foster more adaptive transition. Furthermore, our results indicate a striking difference in intrapersonal agency and coping styles between youths who were attending further education or engaged in jobs with career advancement opportunities and those who were not. We discuss the implications of our findings, both for future research and for policy development to enhance the school-to-work transition of economically disadvantaged young people.