Yuk-Chung Chan

Parenting stress and social support of mothers who physically abuse their children in Hong Kong

Thirty-seven identified abusive mothers were matched on demographic and socioeconomic parameters with a known nonabusive comparison sample in order to examine the role of parenting stress and maternal social support. The mothers were assessed using a personal (demographic) questionnaire, the Parenting Stress Index (PSI), and the Maternal Support Index (MSSI). Demographic data showed that the two groups were comparable on all variables except abusive mothers had significantly more children (p = .01). Abusive mothers showed significantly more stress on total PSI scores (p = .005), as well as in all three of the subjects: Child Domain (p = .007) Parent Domain (p = .02), and Life Stress (p = .016). Abusive mothers scored lower in all seven items on the MSSI. The difference was significant on the MSSI as a whole (p = .007) and on four subsets: number of people to count on in time of need (p = .02), perceived neighborhood support (p = .04), satisfaction with spousal relationship (p = .01), and degree of community involvement (p = .03). The greatest percentage (74.32%) of correct predictions of child abuse was achieved by combining the number of children, the Life Stress Scale and the MSSI. Implications for future research are discussed.

Youth Religiosity and Substance Use: A Meta-Analysis from 1995 to 2007

In this meta-analysis, the magnitude of the protective effects of religiosity on youth involvement in substance use was investigated. Based on 22 studies in peer-reviewed journals published between 1995 and 2007, the average weighted mean correlation was Zr = .16, significant regardless of the definitions of religiosity. The homogeneity test of variance showed consistent protective effects of religiosity on four types of substance use, namely, alcohol, cigarette, marijuana, and other illicit drugs.

Children's views on child abuse and neglect: Findings from an exploratory study with Chinese children in Hong Kong

OBJECTIVES This research study explored childrens views on issues about child abuse in Hong Kong and examined their implications on child protection work and research in Chinese societies. METHOD Six primary schools were recruited from different districts of Hong Kong. Five vignettes of child maltreatment in the form of flash movies were presented to 87 children in 12 focus groups for discussion. The process was video-taped and the data were transcribed verbatim for data analysis by NUDIST. RESULTS (1) Children do not have a homogeneous view on issues about child abuse and neglect, and their awareness and sensitivity to different kinds of child abuse are also different; (2) some of their views on child abuse and neglect are uniquely their own and are markedly different from those of adults; (3) some of the views expressed by children, however, are very much akin to those of adults, such as the factors they would consider in deciding whether a case is child abuse or not; (4) childrens disclosure of abuse in Hong Kong is often affected by the Chinese culture in which they live, like filial piety and loyalty to parents. CONCLUSION Childrens views on issues of child abuse and neglect, no matter they are the same or different from those of adults, serve to inform and improve child protection work. Children are not only victims in need of protection. They are also valuable partners with whom adult practitioners should closely work. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Children have, and are able to give, views on child abuse. They should be listened to in any child protection work no matter their views are same with or different from those of adults. As this study suggests, the relatively low sensitivity of the children to child neglect and sexual abuse, and their reluctance to disclose abuse and neglect due to their loyalty to parents are areas to focus on in preventive child protection work in a Chinese society like Hong Kong.

Public Perception and Reporting of Different Kinds of Family Abuse in Hong Kong

The prevalence and serious consequences of family violence have given rise to massive research efforts. However, there is often a discrepancy between the official definitions and public perception of child abuse, elder abuse, and spouse abuse cases. Under-reporting is common due to lack of awareness of the abusive behaviors by the public. Differences between perception of abuse and reporting are well documented in the context of single group of victims. However, research studies on the differences in perception and reporting of different forms of abusive behaviors that occur to victims of child abuse, spouse abuse, and elder abuse are scarce. The present study attempts to examine whether perception and reporting of abuse will be different with respect to who the victim is and how the victim is abused. Findings show that perception and reporting of abusive behavior differ with respect to the victims of abuse and to the nature of abusive behaviors. Implications of these differences and directions for practice are discussed.

Family functioning of Chinese families in an impoverished neighborhood in Hong Kong

Consonant with the family stress model, in this study family economic disadvantage, concomitant with cumulative family stressors, concurrently contributed to poor family functioning of 504 Chinese families in an impoverished neighborhood in Hong Kong, in which the later factor appeared to be more pronounced. Implications were briefly discussed.

Community Capacity Building as a Strategy of Family Violence Prevention in a Problem-Stricken Community: a Theoretical Formulation

This article examines problems confronting the families in a multi-problem community in Hong Kong, from an ecological perspective, and the features and limitations of the existing approach taken by the Government to combat the family violence problem in that community. It suggests the use of the community capacity building model as a strategy of family violence prevention, discusses the rationale, and explores the parameters of the community capacity building model that can be used to fight the family violence problem.

Assessing Knowledge Assets: Knowledge Audit of a Social Service Organization in Hong Kong

Hong Kongs social service sector is facing unprecedented challenges due to, on the one hand, the emergence of new social problems and, on the other, welfare cuts following from the post-1997 economic downturn. Social service organizations must be equipped with a systematic means of understanding and managing their organizational knowledge needs in this digital era so as to surmount these challenges. Knowledge management (KM), which has been practiced since the 1980s, is considered one possible solution; a knowledge audit, usually the first phase of a KM project, can reveal an organizations knowledge needs, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and risks. This article presents a systematic knowledge audit approach and describes its implementation in a social service organization in Hong Kong. The knowledge audit process was conducted for a suicide prevention organization—the Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong. The audit is also the first phase of an action research project on KM collaboratively conducted by the Department of Applied Social Sciences and the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. A knowledge-based case library was established after the audit to facilitate access to, and sharing of, case management information among social workers in the. In this article, the background of the project, and the concepts of knowledge management and knowledge audit are discussed. The article focuses on the process of conducting knowledge audit and the benefits of such audits for the organization and for future KM practice in the profession.

The Development of Family Mediation Services in Hong Kong: Review of an Evaluation Study

This article evaluates a three‐year Family Mediation Pilot Scheme introduced in Hong Kong in the year 2000. The findings of that scheme showed that users of the service generally considered that their time and money were saved and that mediation was effective in helping them to reach solutions on matters of dispute. On the basis of these findings, a framework covering the major parameters of family mediation services was developed. This noted that a service model which best suits Hong Kong is one whereby court‐based and community‐based services coexist, allowing couples to join the relevant service at any point during the divorce process. It should also be a service that is pluralistic and diverse in terms of the service and professional backgrounds of the mediators, thereby meeting the needs of a diverse clientele. Finally, it should offer an approach in which couples proceed to litigation only when mediation has been unsuccessfully attempted.

Enhancing students career readiness through peer counselling programme in Hong Kong

The present study is the first empirical research in Hong Kong to evaluate a peer career counselling programme consisting of a 3.5-day training and a school-based service project. Using a quasi-experimental design, the evaluation was based on the Career Readiness Scales ratings at three waves of data collection. Results showed that the programme was effective in enhancing peer counsellors’ career readiness. The effect came mainly from the training and less from the service project.

POLICE WORK WITH YOUTH-AT-RISK: WHAT CAN SOCIAL WORK CONTRIBUTE?

While traditional policing focuses on crime control by law enforcement, the Hong Kong Police Force has increasingly affirmed the importance of multi-agency collaboration and service-orientation in their work. The change provides impetus for venturing on more innovative training for police. The Police Attachment to NGOs Program is an unprecedented tailor-made multi-agency training program for serving police officers in Hong Kong. A series of these training programs were commissioned to the Department of Applied Social Sciences of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. So far, seven rounds of training have been completed. The program consisted of three phases — the pre-attachment induction phase, the attachment phase and the post-attachment deepening phase. The trainees were provided with opportunities to dialog with the social workers and youth-at-risk directly, an experience evaluated by the trainees as stimulating and rewarding. The program also generated benefits to the social workers and the service use...