Sylvia Y. C. L. Kwok

Hopelessness, Parent-Adolescent Communication, and Suicidal Ideation among Chinese Adolescents in Hong Kong.

Based on the responses of 5,557 Chinese secondary students in Hong Kong, the relationships among perceived hopelessness, family functioning, and suicidal ideation were examined. Results showed that suicidal ideation was positively related to hopelessness, but negatively related to parent-adolescent communication. Compared with father-adolescent communication, mother-adolescent communication generally had a stronger association with adolescent suicidal ideation. It was further found that the linkage between hopelessness and adolescent suicidal ideation was stronger under a low parent-adolescent communication condition, thus suggesting the moderating effect of parent-adolescent communication on the effect of hopelessness on suicidal ideation. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Development and evaluation of the positive psychology intervention for older adults

Although research suggests that positive psychology intervention can enhance subjective well-being and reduce depression, its effectiveness on older adults remains largely unknown. Therefore the present study aimed to develop and evaluate a custom-tailored positive psychology intervention program for older adults. The program offered nine-week group sessions to 74 older people recruited from district community centers and nursing homes in Hong Kong. The intervention program covers eight themes, including optimism, gratitude, savoring, happiness, curiosity, courage, altruism, and meaning of life. The participants consisted mostly of females aged between 63 and 105 years. One-group pre-test/post-test design was adopted to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention on depression, life satisfaction, gratitude, and happiness. Results revealed that the intervention reduced the number of depressive symptoms and increased the levels of life satisfaction, gratitude, and happiness. Effectiveness of the intervention is discussed in relation to self-awareness, education, self-reinforcement, and sensitivity to age and culture.

Socio-demographic correlates of suicidal ideation among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong.

Several socio-demographic correlates, including age of adolescents, family economic status, parental marital status, parental occupational status and parental educational level of adolescent suicidal ideation among Chinese adolescents (N = 5,557) were examined in this study. The results showed that older adolescents had a significantly higher level of suicidal ideation than did younger ones. Adolescents living in non-intact families had a significantly higher level of suicidal ideation than those in intact families. Adolescents with lower socioeconomic status (indexed by economic disadvantage, parental occupational status, and parental educational attainment) displayed higher levels of suicidal ideation than did adolescents with higher suicidal ideation. Although these socio-demographic correlates were significantly related to suicidal ideation, the practical significance was not high.

Family processes and suicidal ideation among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong

Based on the responses of 5,557 Chinese secondary students in Hong Kong, the relationships between perceived family functioning (systemic correlate), parent-adolescent communication (dyadic correlate), and suicidal ideation were examined in this study. Results showed that suicidal ideation was negatively related to global family functioning and parent-adolescent communication. Regression analyses indicated that the dyadic and systemic factors had similar importance in predicting suicidal ideation. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Positive Psychology Intervention to Alleviate Child Depression and Increase Life Satisfaction: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Purpose: The study aims to examine the effectiveness of a positive psychology group-based intervention program, incorporating elements of hope and gratitude, in decreasing depression and increasing life satisfaction among primary school students in Hong Kong. Method: A total of 68 children, with the Depression score of Chinese Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale from 9 to 11, were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups. An eight-session intervention group-based program was conducted in five primary schools. Results: Participants of the intervention groups showed a significant decrease in depression and significant increase in life satisfaction, partially mediated by hope and gratitude, after the intervention when compared with those of the control groups. Discussion: As positive psychology intervention teaches children ways to increase their positive cognition, emotions, and behaviors, it may help children cope with current emotional problems and enhance their capability to deal with future stress and adversities.

Hopelessness, Family Functioning and Suicidal Ideation Among Chinese Adolescents in Hong Kong

Based on the responses of 5,557 Chinese secondary students in Hong Kong, the relationship among hopeless- ness, perceived family functioning and suicidal ideation was examined in this study. Results showed that while hopeless- ness had a positive relationship with suicidal ideation, perceived global family functioning had a negative relationship with Chinese adolescent suicidal ideation. Different dimensions of family functioning were differentially related to suici- dal ideation, with conflict and harmony, parental concern and parental control showing stronger prediction of adolescent suicidal ideation than did mutuality and communication. It was further found that family functioning moderated the rela- tionship between hopelessness and adolescent suicidal ideation. The present study underscores the importance of family functioning in the psychological well-being of Chinese adolescents. The theoretical and practical implications of the find- ings are discussed. Previous research has shown that hopelessness was re- lated to adolescent suicidal ideation. Several studies found that there was a significant relationship between hopeless- ness and suicidality (1-3) and hopelessness was found to be the strongest of cognitive variables in concurrent association with suicidal ideation (4). Researchers also reported that hopelessness was the best predictor of suicidal ideation in students and adolescents experiencing bipolar disorder (5-7). However, the existing studies are predominantly Western studies and there are no related systematic studies in the Chinese contexts.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Mental Health First Aid Program for Chinese People in Hong Kong

Purpose: Chinese people generally lack knowledge of mental illness. Such phenomenon may lead to a delay in seeking psychiatric treatments. This study evaluated the effectiveness of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) program in improving mental health knowledge of the general public in Hong Kong. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was adopted whereby 138 participants received MHFA training and 139 partook in seminars on general health, respectively. All participants filled out a standardized questionnaire before, at the end, and 6-month after the training. Results: Findings demonstrated that MHFA training might be effective in enhancing participants’ knowledge of mental disorders, reducing stigma, and improving perceived confidence in providing help to people with mental illness. Effect size statistics revealed mostly modest to moderate improvements in major variables in the experimental group. Conclusion: It is recommended that culturally attuned MHFA program can be used as prevention strategy to promote good mental health in Chinese communities.

The Moderating Role of Perceived Social Support on the Relationship between Physical Functional Impairment and Depressive Symptoms among Chinese Nursing Home Elderly in Hong Kong

With reference to the stress-buffering model, this study aimed to examine the moderating role of perceived social support (including institutional peer support and family support) on the relationship between physical functional impairment, as a source of stress, and depressive symptoms among Chinese nursing home elderly in Hong Kong. The study used a cross-sectional survey method and convenience sampling. The subjects were recruited from two private nursing homes. A total of 187 elderly (54 males and 133 females) participated in the survey. Interviews were conducted by experienced research assistants. The Geriatric Depression Scale was used to assess depressive symptoms of each participant. Pearson correlational analyses showed that females reported more depressive symptoms than their male counterparts, and a positive relationship was found between education level and depressive symptoms. Perceived institutional peer support was negatively correlated, while physical functional impairment was positively correlated with depressive symptoms. However, there was no significant correlation between perceived family support and depressive symptoms. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that physical functional impairment and perceived institutional peer support were significant predictors of elderly depressive symptoms, while perceived family support was not a significant predictor, after statistically controlling for the influence of gender and education level. Perceived institutional peer support, but not perceived family support, was found to moderate the negative impact of physical functional impairment on elderly depressive symptoms. The theoretical and practical implications of this study were then discussed.

An Integrated Model of Suicidal Ideation in Transcultural Populations of Chinese Adolescents

Abstract This study tested the model of suicidal ideation, incorporating family and personal factors to predict suicidal ideation with hopelessness as a mediating factor in the Hong Kong sample, to a sample in Shanghai. Using MGSEM, the study aims to investigate the personal correlates and the family correlates of suicidal ideation in Hong Kong and Shanghai adolescents. We integrated the family ecological and diathesis-stress-hopelessness models of suicidal ideation in connecting the correlates. A cross-sectional design was used. The full model achieved metric invariance and partial path-loading invariance. Family functioning and social problem solving negatively predicted hopelessness or suicidal ideation in both the Hong Kong and Shanghai adolescents. The results supported an integrative approach in facilitating parent-adolescent communication and strengthening family functioning, and reducing the use of negative social problem-solving styles in adolescent suicide prevention.

Integrating Positive Psychology and Elements of Music Therapy to Alleviate Adolescent Anxiety

Purpose: Incorporating the resource-oriented music therapy framework, the present study aims to examine the effectiveness of a designed protocol, integrating positive psychology, and elements of music therapy, in increasing the sense of hope and enhancing emotional competence, hence decreasing anxiety and increasing subjective happiness of the adolescents with anxiety symptoms. Method: Adopting a two-arm randomized controlled trial, 106 Grade 8 to Grade 9 students were recruited from three secondary schools in Hong Kong and randomized into experimental groups and no-treatment control groups. Results: Students in the experimental groups had significant increases in scores of hope, emotional competence, subjective happiness, and significant decrease in anxiety symptoms. Changes in hope were a significant mediator in the relationship between the intervention and decrease in anxiety symptoms and increase in subjective happiness. Discussion: The study provides evidence that integrating positive psychology and music therapy is effective in alleviating psychopathology and enhancing well-being of adolescents.