Background: Adolescents (11-18-year-olds) are at risk of physical inactivity. There is limited knowledge of physical activity (PA) levels among adolescents in the school setting in Hong Kong. We developed and tested a novel theoretical model of how household/family characteristics, school-level social and physical environmental factors and individual adolescent's characteristics impact on their school-based PA during and after school hours.; Methods: Cross-sectional study participants were Hong Kong adolescents attending secondary school, paired with their parent/caregiver (n = 1299 dyads). Parents survey-reported on household/family characteristics, parental PA and rules related to PA. Adolescents survey-reported on school PA-friendly policy, PA equipment at school (combined to create PA-friendly index), social support for PA from peers, athletic ability, attitude to and enjoyment of PA. Adolescents self-reported their school-based PA during school hours (physical education; recess) and after school (sports teams/classes). Objectively-measured moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) was measured using accelerometers for a sub-sample of adolescents (n = 588). Generalized additive mixed models were used to estimate how household/family-level and school-level factors, and adolescents' individual characteristics were related to adolescents' school-based PA in Hong Kong, and to identify potential mediators of these associations.; Results: A complex network of potential pathways of influence on adolescents' school-based PA was identified. Overall, most of the significant effects were indirect ones. However, there were far fewer significant pathways between household/family characteristics and objectively-measured MVPA at school than there were for self-reported PA at school. In fact, there were no indirect pathways between these variables and MVPA at school. Gender disparities among pathways were identified. For example, school PA-friendly index was significantly associated with MVPA

A two-wave longitudinal study on 470 parent–child dyads examined the impact of family mealtime environment, parenting style and family functioning on preschoolers' (three to six years old) learning. Measures included parent report on parenting style, family functioning, family meal frequency, mealtime television, feeding practice, teacher/parent report of academic competence and individual assessment of preschoolers' preschool concepts. Family mealtime environment variables were associated with pre-schoolers' learning, in addition to parenting style and family functioning, after controlling for family income and wave 1 preschoolers' learning. The results highlighted the importance of family mealtime environment on preschoolers' learning.
[Copyright © 2017 Department of Social Work, National University of Singapore, Singapore.]

This article reported the outcome of an adapted British parenting programme in Hong Kong which aimed at reducing parent-adolescents conflicts. Adolescents' outcome was measured by Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and parent's parenting stress was measured by parenting stress Index short form (PSI-SF). The level of conflict between parents and their adolescents was measured by parent-adolescent conflict scale (PAC). The study showed that parents of the experimental groups showed significant decrease in parenting stress after the programme. SDQ showed significant decrease in adolescents' difficulties and significant decrease in conflict between parents and their adolescents. Significant between group differences was observed between experimental groups and comparison group in parent child dysfunction interaction and granting of autonomy to their children. Participant satisfaction survey indicated majority of parents perceived the programme as helpful to their parenting as well as reducing conflict with their adolescents. The presence study showed a promising design of a parenting programme that support parents of adolescents in facing their conflicts with their adolescents.
[Copyright of Revista de Cercetare si Interventie Sociala is the property of Lumen Publishing House.]

While a number of previous studies have examined citizens' attitudes towards police response to domestic violence, very few have approached the topic from an international, comparative perspective. Using survey data collected from more than 600 students in a Hong Kong university and an American university, this study empirically assesses students' attitudes towards proactive and reactive police responses to domestic violence incidents, controlling for students' demographic characteristics, personal and vicarious experiences with crime including domestic violence and perceptions of gender roles and violence. The results showed that Chinese students were less likely to support proactive police response and more likely to favour reactive police response, compared with their US counterparts. Chinese students' attitudes towards police response were shaped mainly by their attitudes towards gender equality, whereas American students' attitudes were influenced chiefly by their background characteristics and attitudes towards violence. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.
[Copyright of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2011.556731]

This study had three purposes: (a) to compare the prevalence of boys' and girls' gender-atypical behaviors (GABs) in a sample of Chinese school-aged children, (b) to examine the developmental pattern of GABs in Chinese boys and girls over the age range in question (6-12 years), and (c) to test the effects of being an only child on children's GAB expression. Parents of 486 boys and 417 girls completed a Child Play Behavior and Activity Questionnaire (CPBAQ) in regard to their own children, and a demographic information sheet. The frequency distribution for each gender-related behavior was calculated. The associations between sex, age, and only-child status, and CPBAQ scale scores were examined. Although most GABs (by their very nature) were exhibited infrequently in Chinese children, it was found that girls displayed GABs more frequently than boys did. The prevalence of GABs rose for girls as they grew older, but fell slightly for boys. The expressions of GABs in only children did not differ from that in children with siblings. Possible effects of Chinese culture (including the current only-child policy) on children's GABs are discussed.
[Copyright of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00224491003774867]