Social welfare services for single parent families in Hong Kong: a paradox

This paper argues that researchers and social workers, whose work aims at empowering single parent families, have inadvertently participated in a social construction process that reinforces a pathological perspective on these families. The process has paradoxically caused single parent families to be disempowered through a welfare service system that pinpoints their difficulties and vulnerabilities. To address the paradox, the author recommends a ‘both–and’ perspective that takes into account both the needs and difficulties, and the strengths and successes, of these families.     

Parenting Stress and Perceived Family Functioning of Chinese Parents in Hong Kong: Implications for Social Work Practice

This article reports the results of a telephone survey (n = 1002) conducted in November 2008, which aimed to identify parenting stress and perceived family functioning of Chinese parents in Hong Kong; to explore the effects of the parents’ socio‐demographic characteristics (gender, family income, education and family structure) on the aforementioned stress and functioning variables; and to examine the interrelationship among these characteristics and the two variables in question. Results showed that the reported parenting stress was at average level, while the perceived family functioning was slightly below average. The results also indicated that the parenting stress of mothers, single parents, the low‐income and the less‐educated was higher than that of fathers, parents of nuclear and extended families, the high‐income and the better‐educated. Socio‐demographic characteristics except the parent’s gender had similar effects on perceived family functioning. Higher parenting stress was associated with lower family functioning, and explained a larger variance in the perceived family functioning than the socio‐demographic characteristics taken alone. The results of the study have provided empirical support regarding the interrelationships among the vulnerable groups in society, parenting stress and perceived family functioning. Implications of the study for social work practice are discussed.     

Mental health of parents with young children in Hong Kong: the roles of parenting stress and parenting self-efficacy

This study aimed to explore the sources of parenting stress and the mental health of parents with kindergarten and primary school children in Hong Kong. It also examined the intervening effects of parenting self-efficacy on mental health of parents. Results indicated that parents who perceived their children as more demanding, less acceptable and less reinforcing had more parenting stress. Those who found their parental roles to be more restrictive also had more parenting stress. Lastly, parenting self-efficacy moderated the effects of parenting stress on the mental health of parents. Cultural and social factors were put forward to explain these findings and suggestions were made towards reducing the parenting stress experienced by parents with younger children in Hong Kong.     

Paternal and Maternal Experiences in Caring for Chinese Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Hong Kong

This paper reports the results of an exploratory study that (i) identified parental stress and competence, parents’ perception of their children's attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, and the parent‐child relationship in caring for children with ADHD; (ii) compared paternal and maternal experiences in these areas; and (iii) examined the effect of children's ADHD behavior on paternal and maternal experiences in Hong Kong Chinese parents. Seventy‐two (59.5%) mothers and 49 (40.5%) fathers participated in the study, in which data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The results showed that: (i) mothers’ level of parental stress was higher than fathers’, but paternal and maternal competence in child‐rearing did not significantly vary; (ii) mothers perceived the child's ADHD behavior more seriously than fathers; (iii) both mothers and fathers had positive perceptions of their parent‐child relationship; and (iv) gender, employment, ADHD symptoms, and parental satisfaction explained the significant variance in parental stress but did not explain the significant variance in parental competence. Implications for social work practice and service development are discussed.     

Popularity and Acceptance as Distinct Dimensions of Social Standing for Chinese Children in Hong Kong

This study attempted to validate distinctions between popularity and social acceptance in the cultural context of Hong Kong. We recruited 280 Chinese children (132 girls, 148 boys, mean age = 9.5) from Hong Kong primary schools. These children completed a peer nomination inventory assessing popularity, social acceptance, social rejection, aggression, peer victimization, and social behavior. Consistent with research conducted in western samples, we found that social acceptance was correlated primarily with positive behavioral characteristics (i.e., assertiveness‐leadership and low levels of submissiveness‐withdrawal). In contrast, popularity was associated with a more mixed pattern of features including high levels of aggression. The overall pattern of findings closely replicates past research conducted in North American and European settings.     

Risk and its Management in Post-Financial Crisis Hong Kong

In the 1970s and up until the financial crisis occurred in the late 1990s, Hong Kong prospered in a relatively stable social, economic and political context. Since the financial crisis, however, its population has been increasingly exposed to risk: there has been job uncertainty and decreasing capacity for self‐reliance, leading to a growing reliance on public welfare and on families at a time when both are under pressure. The old welfare policies, unable to cope with the new risks, have been replaced by neo‐liberal reforms, redistributing the roles and responsibilities of the individual and the state, with a greater burden falling on the former. Individuals are required to be prudent to manage risk. While these reforms have relieved some of the burden on the state, both new social risk groups and ‘net taxpayers’ considered themselves to have borne disproportional costs. Society is facing serious problems resulting from ineffective old welfare policies, new social risks due to new policies, and the political upheavals arising from increased social conflicts and weakened social cohesion and solidarity. A further complication is that there is no acceptable platform or agent to negotiate a compromise between the polarized groups. This article argues that reliance on publicly funded risk coping strategies or on neo‐liberal risk prevention and mitigation strategies is not a desirable and sustainable policy. A commonly accepted political platform is required to negotiate a compromise which emphasizes shared and balanced roles and responsibilities, and a well‐conceived combination of risk prevention, mitigation and coping strategies.     

Hong Kong men's stories of intra-national cross border romances

This article explores experiences of gender, love, sex and family during the present period of complex social transformation in Hong Kong (HK) and the mainland through the narratives of five HK men and their adventures across the border. Whilst initially rose-tinted, their adventures encountered unexpected problems and brought about unforeseen needs. The article explores the emotions and responsibilities these men needed to contend with as they tried to exploit the opportunities that the mainland presented and argues for the need for services and support for the increasing number of men who frequently cross the border to achieve their goals.     

Sex Differences in Perceived Family Functioning and Family Resources in Hong Kong Families: Implications for Social Work Practice

Although enhancing family functioning has become a rising concern of social workers in Chinese contexts such as Hong Kong, little has been known on perceived family functioning and family resources. To fill in this knowledge gap, this article reports part of the results of a telephone survey conducted in Hong Kong, aiming to identify the sex differences in these two areas. The results of the study have shown that Chinese women perceived better affective involvement, one of the crucial indicators of family functioning, than Chinese men. However, among the different family resources, men rated better physical and mental well-being whereas women's social connection was stronger than men's. Further analysis have shown that the linkage of three family resources (namely stress coping efficacy, time spent with family and income) to perceived family functioning was statistically significant irrespective of genders. Implications of this study for social work practice are discussed at the end of the article.     

Raising Self-esteem through Social Networking Intervention for Older Chinese Adults in Hong Kong

Sudden physical changes can take a toll on older adults' self-esteem. Broadening their social support networks is one approach to retaining their self-esteem. This quasi-experimental study aims to test the effectiveness of a social networking program to raise self-esteem. The results from split-group analyses demonstrate that those who maintained active participation exhibited higher self-esteem. The results provide significant implications for future practice, especially to the less-educated males.     

Restorative justice for delinquents in Hong Kong: current practices and challenges

ABSTRACT

In Hong Kong, juvenile justice embraces mainly disciplinary welfare and rehabilitative philosophies. Various statutory measures are applied to juvenile offenders, including police cautioning, community-based treatment programmes and custodial sentencing options. However, no statutory restorative measure has yet been incorporated into the mainstream criminal justice system in Hong Kong. Several non-governmental organisations are developing innovative strategies to prevent problematic adolescents from slipping into delinquency and are willing to apply restorative practices to help delinquents desist from engaging in criminal careers. This study begins with main features of restorative justice, and it highlights the preventive and correctional services for delinquents in Hong Kong. The study also questions the explanations offered by the government for not implementing restorative justice. By comparing restorative options for juveniles in some Asian jurisdictions, the study advocates for an earlier introduction of restorative justice for the benefits of juvenile offenders.     

内地灾害救助的发展及与港、澳的比较思考

内地的灾害救助从灾害管理到灾害的统计、核定、评估,应急预案和响应,从生活救助到恢复重建,从资金物资储备到捐赠,已经形成了较具规模的主体框架,并在救灾实践中得到不断的完善和发展,当然也存在着一些局限。香港、澳门的灾害救助有着各自的特色,香港基金式管理方式和澳门部门联动与灾民中心,为内地灾害救助体系的发展提供了很多思考。     

Aetiology of anorexia nervosa in Hong Kong: a social work qualitative inquiry

This paper reports the results of a qualitative inquiry into the aetiology of anorexia nervosa in Hong Kong. These results are part of our main research project about family treatment and families with a daughter suffering from anorexia nervosa. This present qualitative study adopts a multiple case study approach (n = 8) and employs a multiple‐source data collection method, involving pre‐ and post‐family treatment interviews, clinical observations of the participants during the treatment sessions and home visits, as well as detailed field notes. The findings indicate that there are biological, psychological, socio‐cultural and familial interpretations of the aetiology of anorexia nervosa. This study challenges the dominant discourse on anorexia nervosa in Hong Kong, which states that the root of the disease lies in a desire for slenderness and beauty, and suggests instead that the aetiology of anorexia nervosa can be discovered only if approached from the systems level. Implications for social work practice are highlighted.     

The debate over the joint parental responsibility model in Hong Kong

Hong Kong's Law Reform Commission recommended the joint parental responsibility model into Hong Kong's family law in 2005. A public consultation on whether to implement the model by legislative means was launched in late 2011. An Internet search and secondary analysis of public opinion about the model and its legislation was conducted. It was found that stakeholders held diverse opinions on the legislation of the model. The greatest concern is over the inadequate support to facilitate a workable relationship between separated/divorced parents, and the methods used in protecting victims of domestic violence from ongoing abuse due to the continuous contact with the abusive parent necessitated by the model. Non-resident parents are invisible in the debate. Their absence in the debate has made the consultation a partial and incomplete one, though it saves the discussion from a gender competition between fathers' rights and mothers' rights. Taking a historical and comparative perspective, this paper makes a comprehensive review of the debate in Hong Kong, with reference to the debate at an international level. Implications to the social work profession and social work practice are discussed.     

Parenting distress and parental investment of Hong Kong Chinese parents with a child having an emotional or behavioural problem: a qualitative study

This qualitative study aims to understand the parenting distress and parental investment of Hong Kong Chinese parents with a child having an emotional or behavioural problem. The parents of 24 children and adolescents who sought psychiatric consultation within the study period were interviewed using open‐ended questions. The data revealed a vicious reciprocal interaction in which the symptoms affected the parents’ psychosocial well‐being, which in turn impacted unfavourably on the identified patient. With three exceptions, the parents in this study had engaged in different activities prior to the psychiatric consultation, including information search, changes in the methods of parenting, attempts to reduce family stress, reliance on superstitious beliefs, and reaching out for professional help and social services. The parental investment indicated parents’ resilience in facing the child’s problems. Implications for service development and social work intervention are discussed.     

Citizens' attitudes towards economic insecurity and government after the 2007 financial tsunami: A Hong Kong and Taiwan comparison

Wang KY‐T, Wong C‐k, Tang K‐L. Citizens' attitudes towards economic insecurity and government after the 2007 financial tsunami: A Hong Kong and Taiwan comparison The purpose of this study was to investigate people's attitudes to economic insecurity and government in Hong Kong and Taiwan after the financial tsunami of 2007. Random sampling telephone surveys were conducted in July 2009. These are the main conclusions: First, the most vulnerable groups hurt by the financial crisis were low‐income families and people who had lost their job or were afraid of losing it. This implies that the old policy issue of social stratification and the emerging policy issue of employment insecurity coexisted during the financial crisis. Second, personal experiences of economic insecurity had an influence on people's perceptions of the severity of the economic crisis at the societal level. Third, citizens had ambivalent feelings about public interventions during the crisis. Fourth, there were both convergence and divergence between Hong Kong and Taiwan with regard to attitudes to particular issues. The policy implications of these findings are discussed in the final section of this article.     

自助团体在香港发展的普遍性与价值性

作为一种重要的社会力量和满足人们需求的资源,自助团体的发展为香港的社会服务带来了新的活力。自助团体提供的服务在某些方面比专业领域提供的服务有效和廉价得多。除了对个人有所帮助外,它还能影响一些社会福利及医疗政策,使团体成员在宏观层面上获益。     

院舍照顾视角下的香港养老服务

在香港,"照顾长者"已成为政府的策略性政策目标之一。社区支援服务和院舍照顾服务成为香港安老服务体系的重要支柱。如今,香港院舍照顾服务已形成了规范化、标准化和专业化的特点,拥有较为成熟的运作机制。与其他学者对香港养老服务的探讨不同,本文从院舍照顾视角出发,将院舍照顾作为一个单独的子系统进行分析,对香港院舍照顾服务的发展、运营及管理等方面进行深入分析,并提出对内地机构养老服务发展的借鉴意义。     

Issues and Challenges in Performing Family Impact Analysis – Implications for Hong Kong

Family impact analysis (FIA) is informed by a growing vision of incorporating a family perspective into policy making. It is a skillful and technical exercise in examining past, present, or probable future consequences – both intended and unintended – of a policy on family well‐being. Originating in the USA in the 1970s, it has become state/provincial or federal policy in the USA, Canada (Alberta), Australia, and Hong Kong. The policy has had different degrees of success in these countries. This article reviewed the critical issues and challenges for implementing the policy and the countries’ different responses to the challenges. It also discussed the implications of these international experiences on Hong Kong's policy of FIA as the newest member of the ranks. Attention to the diversity of families in defining family, adequate training and support to policy staff, building of quality control mechanisms, and the development of grassroots and political support of FIA were recommended. The review also found that there was a dearth of evaluation research on the policy. Further studies are necessary to examine whether FIA is an effective means of affecting policy‐planning decisions. It is a shared obligation of all countries that voted for a policy on FIA.     

Conditions for migrant mothers' socioeconomic disadvantages in Hong Kong

The present study utilizes both survey and interview data to examine the socioeconomic disadvantages in terms of limited social support, poverty, and non-employment in migrant mothers in Hong Kong, China. It seeks to understand the disadvantages from a social distance perspective, which holds that social distance hinders access to employment, and social and formal support. This article surveyed 837 mothers living in two impoverished communities. A subsample of 72 migrant mothers participated in follow-up in-depth interviews. Findings indicate the socioeconomic disadvantages and reveal some local conditions for the disadvantages. Specifically, the norms of childcare and self-reliance, social stigmatization of welfare recipients, and remote residential community come to shape migrant mothers' experiences of caring for young children. These findings provide implications to social work practitioners for targeting migrant mothers to reduce their social distance from local community resources.     

Barriers Militating Against the Social Inclusion of Low-Income Pakistani Minority Groups in Hong Kong

Research findings from an ethnographic study into low-income Pakistani families in Hong Kong indicate the existence of significant barriers in society militating against social inclusion. Racial discrimination contributes to marginalization, reducing life opportunities. Identified problems include educational, linguistic, and employment issues. These factors lead to social exclusion and weakened social capital.