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WHAT THE CHILDREN THINK . . . |
The generation gap is more like a chasm in Hong Kong - the territory's teenagers rarely turn to their parents or teachers for advice on anything. Whether it be sex, AIDS, school worries or family problems, adults are not considered up to the job.
Until now, no one has asked Hong Kong youth, ''What do you think?''. An inkling into the emotions of Hong Kong's adolescents, however, has come from the work of Dr. Jeffrey Day at the University of Hong Kong, where he works in the Social Sciences Research Centre. His survey of young people does not focus, for example, on how many drugs they take - but tries to answer the question why.
Dr. Day hopes the results, which he plans to explain in full next week, will reveal what troubles - as well as pleases - today's high-school students. Conclusions will be passed on not only to government departments but back to the schools which took part. ''It is what the Americans would call 'wellness' – the total concept of young people's mental and physical well being,'' is how Dr. Day describes the survey.
A questionnaire asked young people about everything, from habits of personal hygiene to how they cope with a crisis; who they turn to in times of trouble; if they drink, smoke and if they feel good about themselves. ''We wanted to ask, for the first time, 'What are you thinking, how are you behaving?',''Dr. Day said.
One alarming belief among Hong Kong's teenagers could have a significant impact on the immediate future of the territory; as many as 70 per cent of young people said they did not wish to, or were at least uncertain, if they would remain in Hong Kong in the years to come.
Past research, such as a recent home-school questionnaire, has focused on parents and teachers' views but not consulted pupils. Dr. Day went to 11 local Chinese schools - single sex, co-ed and those with both high and low academic standing - and four international schools across the territory, handing out The Health Related Behaviour Questionnaire to 2,000 pupils aged 11 to 18 years, 400 of them at international schools.
He received 1,839 completed questionnaires, over 90 per cent from students aged between 12 and 16, giving him and other professional observers their first glimpse into the psyche of the Hong Kong teenager. The questionnaires were completed in the early part of 1994.
Questions covering home-life, family and friends revealed that adults are probably the last to hear about teenagers' problems. He noted that, in all cases, fathers in particular ''emerged very badly as sources to be contacted for help''. Whether it be school problems, health, career, friends or family matters, few turn to their father for help. It is to their mothers they are most likely to turn, but then mainly with health problems. It was only money and career matters which induced five per cent of teenagers to ask their fathers for advice. Friends are the popular confidants.
Less than 15 per cent said they would consult a teacher for help with a problem at school. Less than 25 per cent would turn to a parent about a family problem. Not a sound strategy, Dr. Day says. ''The reliance of students on their friends may seem unwise when the friends may be as naive as the individuals about such life-skills related matters.''
When it comes to sex, only 13 per cent said that families were a source of information - even though they believed parents should tell them about the facts of life. They want their parents' advice but feel they cannot ask, believes Dr. Day. This was especially prevalent among Chinese school pupils. Instead, they turn to books, stories and what Dr. Day describes as ''notoriously unreliable magazines''. Twice as many students have talked about HIV with their friends as compared with their teachers.
HIV and AIDS are almost never discussed with parents, teachers, doctors, nurses or social workers. Again, teenagers turn to their friends, but only about 40 per cent of those surveyed would even talk to them about the issue. In fact, it would seem that HIV infection is a health risk a number of teenagers would rather ignore: 12 to 16 per cent said they would not take precautions against HIV transmission in their sexual relations, while between 27 and 38 per cent were ''unsure".
''There is wide ignorance of the fact that any family planning advice is available free and confidentially from The Family Planning Association and the Family Life Education Centres Youth Health Information Service,'' said Dr. Day about the sex and HIV-related questions. ''At present there is considerable ignorance and much cause for concern about students' recourse to help about sexuality, and consequently HIV related matters".
There were a number of areas in the questionnaire which exposed cultural divides among Chinese and expatriate teenagers as myths; such as how much money they have and how they spend it.
For alcohol, 31 per cent admitted some use well before the age of 18, when it becomes legal in many countries. Five per cent of local students have tried spirits. This figure doubles among international school students. Sixteen per cent had bought alcohol themselves within the preceding seven days of the survey, with supermarkets the most frequent source. Five per cent had drunk alcohol on five to seven days preceding the survey. For international school students the figure was much higher at 13 per cent. The drinks were consumed at home and parents were said to be aware or ''usually aware'' in 32 per cent of the cases, but it was younger girls who were particularly secretive about their drinking. Twenty-two per cent of boys had had a beer in the week before the survey.
In the section covering smoking, one statistic stands out: the rate of smoking among girls is set to rise as their generation gets older if the trend is not reversed. While four per cent of mothers smoke in Hong Kong, 10 per cent of their daughters said they are occasional or regular smokers. Overall, 15 per cent of students under 16 spent money on alcohol and 10 per cent of those under 16 spent money on cigarettes. When it comes to illegal substances, drugs seem to have touched the lives of many youngsters - 30 per cent of older students and over 15 per cent of the younger ones have been offered illegal drugs. The same figures apply to the teenagers who have tried drugs at least once.
The most frequent drugs offered are cough mixture and marijuana. ''Heroin, often stated as the most frequently abused drug is, amongst the young, just one of a cocktail of 13,'' Dr. Day said. Heroin is only the third most popular drug used by known drug abusers among students. Dr. Day also concludes that their knowledge about the safety, or danger, of drugs is ''very weak''. When it comes to ''drugs'', however, Hong Kong's youngsters could be turning into a generation of pill poppers. Teenagers make frequent visits to the doctor. Just over one third had taken medication at least once in the week of the survey and Chinese children were much more likely to be on prescriptions. Chinese medicine was not the most popular treatment among either Chinese or expat children.
While the survey reveals an apparently more than adequate diet, Dr. Day noted with surprise that a quarter of the children are taking vitamins. The use of pain killers was also a point for concern - 26 per cent of local Chinese students are using pain killers more than once a week. In the international school sample, the corresponding figures were a little lower.
Source : Adapted from the South China Morning Post, 24.06.94
// chasm
- a big gap Return
// inkling
- a slight suggestion. E.g. He had an inkling that it was going to rain. Return
// psyche
- the human mind or soul Return
// recourse
- the act of resorting to a person in difficulty or danger. E.g. He knew that he always had recourse to his parents for help if there was nobody else around. Return
// induced
- caused Return
// naive
- someone who is naive believes that something is less complicated or difficult than it really is Return