Perceived Family Life Quality in Junior Secondary School Students in Hong Kong

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.The present longitudinal study examined perceived family functioning and related socio-demographic correlates from the perspective of adolescents in Hong Kong. Results showed that adolescent perceptions of family functioning based on different indicators gradually deteriorated over time. Regarding the socio-demographic correlates, (a) boys had more favourable perceived family functioning than did girls; (b) adolescents from non-intact families had poorer perceived family functioning than those from intact families; and (c) economically disadvantaged adolescents had poorer perceived family functioning than non-economically disadvantaged adolescents. Results also revealed that adolescents’ perceived family functioning was positively related to positive youth devel- opment. Analyses further indicated that perceived family functioning and positive youth development were concurrently and longitudinally related

Secondary Data Analyses of Subjective Outcome Evaluation Data Based on Nine Databases

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes) in Hong Kong by analyzing 1,327 school-based program reports submitted by program implementers. In each report, program implementers were invited to write down five conclusions based on an integration of the subjective outcome evaluation data collected from the program participants and program implementers. Secondary data analyses were carried out by aggregating nine databases, with 14,390 meaningful units extracted from 6,618 conclusions. Results showed that most of the conclusions were positive in nature. The findings generally showed that the workers perceived the program and program implementers to be positive, and they also pointed out that the program could promote holistic development of the program participants in societal, familial, interpersonal, and personal aspects. However, difficulties encountered during program implementation (2.15%) and recommendations for improvement were also reported (16.26%). In conjunction with the evaluation findings based on other strategies, the present study suggests that the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. is beneficial to the holistic development of the program participants

Qualitative Evaluation of the Project P.A.T.H.S.: An Integration of Findings Based on Program Implementers

An integration of the qualitative evaluation findings collected from program implementers conducting the Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes) in different years (n = 177 participants in 36 focus groups) was carried out. General qualitative data analyses utilizing intra and interrater reliability techniques were performed. Results showed that the descriptors used to describe the program and the metaphors named by the informants that could stand for the program were generally positive in nature. Program participants also perceived the program to be beneficial to the development of the students in different psychosocial domains. The present study further supports the effectiveness of the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong based on the perspective of the program implementers

Personal Construction of Cough Medicine among Young Substance Abusers in Hong Kong

Although cough medicine abuse is a growing problem in many places, there is no study examining the views of young substance abusers toward cough medicine. The objective of this study was to examine personal constructions of cough medicine abusers via the repertory grid tests (N = 11). Several observations are highlighted from the study. First, personal constructions of cough medicine were mixed, including the benefits and harmful effects of its abuse. Second, although the informants perceived cough medicine to be addictive and harmful, they perceived cough medicine to be less addictive and less harmful than did heroin. Third, while the informants construed cough medicine to be similar to ketamine and marijuana, they also perceived cough medicine to possess some characteristics of heroin. Fourth, relative to the construed similarity between heroin and the gateway drugs (cigarette, beer, and liquor), the informants construed cough medicine to be more similar to the gateway drugs. Finally, a higher level of perceived dissimilarity between cough medicine and gateway drugs was related to a higher level of perceived harm of cough medicine abuse

Evaluation of a Positive Youth Development Program Based on the Repertory Grid Test

The repertory grid test, based on personal construct psychology, was used to evaluate the effectiveness of Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes) in Hong Kong. One hundred and four program participants (n = 104) were randomly invited to complete a repertory grid based on personal construct theory in order to provide both quantitative and qualitative data for measuring self-identity changes after joining the program. Findings generally showed that the participants perceived that they understood themselves better and had stronger resilience after joining the program. Participants also saw themselves as closer to their ideal selves and other positive role figures (but farther away from a loser) after joining the program. This study provides additional support for the effectiveness of the Tier 1 Program of Project P.A.T.H.S. in the Chinese context. This study also shows that the repertory grid test is a useful evaluation method to measure self-identity changes in participants in positive youth development programs

The Role of a Caring Disposition in Service Leadership

A caring disposition is an important and fundamental attribute of a service leader. At the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, a lecture on a caring disposition in the subject “Service Leadership” was designed to help students understand the importance of caring dispositions. The curriculum design with reference to the basic concepts and theories as well as the content of the lecture are presented in this paper. In the first part of the paper, several uncaring cases are presented to serve as negative examples to inspire students’ reflection on caring leaders. Then, the three most important traits of a caring disposition, including awareness, love and nurturing people are introduced. Next, the relationships between a caring disposition and service leadership are analyzed and practical ways of improving a caring disposition are proposed. Finally, the impacts of a caring disposition on the leader-follower relationship are discussed. To provide a general overview of this lecture, the content including detailed lecture sessions and four designed activities relevant to a caring disposition are also presented in the paper

Evaluation of an Innovative Leadership Training Program for Chinese Students: Subjective Outcome Evaluation

As a part of the Global Youth Leadership Program (GYLP), a 30-h “Service Leadership” subject was provided to 48 undergraduate students studying at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) or Peking University (PKU). This study evaluated the subjective outcomes of the “Service Leadership” subject, including students’ views on the course contents, lecturers, and perceived benefits from the course. A majority of students in the program showed very positive perceptions of the course content, lecturers, and course benefits, with more than 85% of the students indicating that they were very satisfied with this subject and would suggest their friends to take the subject. As expected, the three domains of program effectiveness were significantly correlated amongst themselves, and these domains had different impacts on student overall satisfaction with the course as well as on student willingness to recommend this course to others and participate in similar courses again in the future

Longitudinal Impact of the Project PATHS on Adolescent Risk Behavior: What Happened after Five Years?

The present study investigated the longitudinal impact of the Project PATHS, a large-scale curriculum-based positive youth development program in Hong Kong, on the development of adolescents' risk behavior over a period of five years. Using a longitudinal randomized controlled design, eight waves of data were collected from 19 experimental schools in which students participated in the Project PATHS (N = 2,850 at Wave 8) and 24 control schools without joining the Project PATHS (N = 3,640 at Wave 8). At each wave, students responded to measures assessing their current risk behaviors, including delinquency, use of different types of drug, and their intentions of participating in risk behaviors in the future. Results demonstrated that adolescents receiving the program exhibited significantly slower increases in delinquent behaviors and substance use as compared to the control participants. During two years after the completion of the program, differences in youth risk behaviors in the two groups still existed. These results suggest that the Project PATHS has long-term effect in preventing adolescent problem behavior through promoting positive youth development

Subjective Outcome Evaluation of a University Subject on Service Leadership

University students (n=58) responded to a 45-item subjective outcome evaluation scale after taking a credit-bearing elective subject titled “Service Leadership” at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in the first semester of the 2013–14 academic year. Results showed that the students generally displayed positive perceptions of the program content and the instructors, and most of them perceived the subject to be beneficial to different aspects of their development. As predicted, three subscales of the scale (Program Content, Program Implementer, and Program Benefits) were significantly correlated. Similar to the previous studies, perceived quality of the program but not quality of instructors and program benefits predicted the students’ overall satisfaction with the program