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Copyright of International Social Work is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article describes the recent production of a five-year plan for social welfare development in Hong Kong. The fact that the Government accepts the main responsibility for social welfare services does not mean that there is no longer such a need for a voluntary sector. On the contrary, it seems clear that there will continue to be an important role for vigorous and progressive voluntary sector in the provision of social welfare services in Hong Kong. The very fact of planning jointly with the voluntary sectors meant that there was a second opinion as to the needs of social welfare and their relative urgency.

This study examines the extent to which poverty is passed from parents to children in Hong Kong based on the social investment thesis. Through tracking the educational and career trajectories of the second generation (aged 23–25) of 77 families, this study suggests that adolescents with poor parents have a 202 percent higher chance of being poor in young adulthood. This poverty-continuation probability increases dramatically to 681 percent if parental poverty is defined in terms of homeownership rather than income. Another important factor that also affects intergenerational poverty is the mother's educational level. Implications for social workers and policy makers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Hong Kong, professional social workers made their presence felt when they delivered a variety of services at the height of the pandemic. Social workers who were working in community development projects or who had adopted community work approaches have become the major service providers when the availability and accessibility of other types of social services have been seriously impeded. This article reports on a qualitative research study conducted to examine (1) how community social workers have planned and implemented services, (2) their use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), and (3) ideas for addressing injustices in disaster management work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compares the findings of two qualitative research studies on meanings of divorce endorsed by Chinese divorced women in Hong Kong conducted in 1998–2002 and 2016–2018, respectively. It is clearly shown that ideas about divorce have changed enormously in the past two decades. While the ideas that divorce is not acceptable and divorced women are failures were still prevalent, particularly in the divorce decision-making process, there has been a move towards a more dominant modern stance on divorce, although two powerful obstacles, the welfare of children and social stigmatisation, have persisted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the vital basis of the professional judgments made by social workers, this article proposes a framework with which to study the complex mechanisms involved in their judgments that considers three Ps: personal experience, professional training, and practice environment. Using a qualitative case study analysis, the authors apply the framework to examine the experiences of 20 Chinese social workers based in Hong Kong. Three cases have been selected to illustrate three trajectories as revealed from the 20 cases. Consistent with the notion of reflective practice, the analysis enhances the understanding of the forces behind the judgments that social workers make. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This short article presents the plight of grassroots under the Covid-19 pandemic, which has been in the third wave from mid-July 2020. Like in many other places, the outbreak has caused economic downturn, and intensified stress about health and rising unemployment. The disadvantaged groups are suffering the most, which shows the problem of social inequality in the community. The roles of community social work in Hong Kong are highlighted to show how social workers can contribute to crisis management and empowerment of the deprived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examined advocacy strategies and barriers of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the child welfare sector in Hong Kong. Drawing on seven case studies, the dynamics between social workers' role as advocates on one hand, and the need for their organizations to fulfill contractual obligations with the government on the other are revealed. We found that the ambivalent political environment and the subvention system defining existing relationships between the government and NGOs appear to restrict the social work profession's mandates toward advocacy. Legal reforms that define what is permissible advocacy work by NGOs while protecting their right to do so are urgently needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutional support for social work case management in services for adults with intellectual disabilities has attracted limited literature attention globally. This study aims to explore how social workers in services for adults with intellectual disability make sense of institutional support in the domain of case management. Through purposive sampling, 13 social workers employed in this service setting were invited to attend in-depth interviews to share their views on institutional support for case management. Five themes were developed through qualitative data analysis: ' A big dinner without a main course ', '" Tip Si " but not explicit ', ' Towards inclusion ', ' Fulfilling the requirement ' and ' Surviving the " unfair " salary system '. These findings indicate that the current institutional surrounding is not well-suited to the case management practice, and social workers also passively participate in institutional design. Furthermore, this study implies a coordination between institutions and social workers could enhance case management practice in services for adults with intellectual disabilities. The future academic attention could be paid to the more in-depth context of institution–practice relation in case management and how the service environment shapes social workers' case management practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies show the tremendous negative impact of child abuse, including physical and emotional abuse in childhood on externalizing mental health problems in later life (e.g. young adulthood). However, limited information about this relationship is available in Asian countries like Hong Kong. The current study sought to address this gap by utilizing an exploratory retrospective design. Findings with 118 college students in Hong Kong suggest that there are statistically significant associations between experience of physical and emotional abuse in childhood and behavior problems in later life, and that there is a significant moderation effect of social support on that relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media does not just lead to new ways of social participation; it creates new opportunities for serving difficult-to-reach groups in the community. This study examined the experiences and processes of a pioneering cyber youth work project working with young people involved in drug use and the sex trade in Hong Kong. A thematic analysis of online communication records and interviews of social workers and clients was conducted to determine the relating factors concerned, namely, 'social presence', 'autonomy and 'privacy', 'use of text and media', and 'time dimension'. The results suggest practice insights for youth workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social workers always strive for an intricate balance between the competitive demands of different discourses of accountability. However, the neoliberal welfare regime, which privileges the ideologies of free market choice and managerial control, has synchronized the different discourses into a neoliberal discourse of accountability. Using Hong Kong as an example, this article examines how this discourse is put into practice and how it demoralizes the social work profession. To resist this discourse, social workers may need to work reflexively with their service users in and outside their workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion of ‘shame’ is increasingly being recognised as a tool with some explanatory power to help promote understandings about a range of social problems. Through an exploration of migrant South Asian women’s experiences of domestic violence and help-seeking practices, this article considers the relevance of the notion of shame as a unit of analysis to help contribute to the growing theoretical and empirical literature. The article sheds light on the meanings, events, processes and structures in the lives of migrant South Asian women respondents living in Hong Kong. Within the framework of the discussion on shame and intimate partner violence (IPV), the article also identifies the implications for social work practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the determinants of social support. We used a random sample of 211 female Chinese marriage migrants from a 2-year longitudinal secondary data set and conducted bivariate and multivariate multiple regressions to examine the associations of social support with acculturation stress, persistent acculturation stress, psychological wellbeing, perceived neighborhood disorder, and optimism. Results showed that marriage migrants have difficulties rebuilding their social network outside their own communities. Acculturation stress and psychological wellbeing were the two significant factors affecting social support. Findings suggest that social support interventions should focus on alleviating acculturation stress, expanding social networking opportunities, and enhancing psychological wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serious debate about the indigenization of social work has transpired recently. This article argues that by taking indigenization as an interactive and non-linear process that helps cultivate a multicultural social work practice within a society, importing Western social work practice and indigenization are compatible. In particular, this article attempts to illustrate the compatibility by analyzing how political activists employ Western values and practice, the universal human rights discourse, and mainstreaming, to fight for the rights of Hong Kong ethnic minorities, which may consequently lead to the development of a multicultural social work practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the research on a social service organization practising knowledge management in Hong Kong. Discussion on different knowledge sharing activities conducted on different platforms and their interplay illustrates that a good balance between the two knowledge management approaches can better achieve the objectives in this newly developed management area. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article describes the system development processes for an electronic case library, built to facilitate and support the suicide prevention service provided by a social service organization in Hong Kong. It is a knowledge management system in which both ‘rule-based reasoning’ (RBR) and ‘case-based reasoning’ (CBR) are adopted. Initial test results, potentials and limitations of this knowledge management approach are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The meaning and nature of work has undergone significant change across the world, making job related stress a routine part of employment for many people. Social workers who are charged with the task of easing the chaotic lives of service users can also be subject to considerable job stress which adversely affects their personal lives. The current research identifies the stressors experienced by social workers serving in an NGO and also considers their consequences. Job stress was found to negatively influence not only social workers’ self-development, family life and job satisfaction, but also their physical and mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article presents the findings of a study on age discrimination against older workers in Hong Kong. The study collected survey data from 787 older workers aged 45 or above and 283 employers who were managers responsible for personnel or human resources management, or for hiring people for organizations. The focus is on revealing the influences of the organizational goals of profit-making and social responsibility on age discrimination, along with influences from negative stereotyping and other factors. Results indicate that the social responsibility goal tends to be more influential than negative stereotyping on age discrimination. In contrast, the profit-making goal did not display a significant effect on age discrimination. They offer implications for policies and practices for managing the ageing workforce in the labour market. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of International Social Work is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of International Social Work is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of International Social Work is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of International Social Work is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of International Social Work is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents information on controversies in psychiatric services in Hong Kong, China and the complexes of the social workers involved in that profession. The controversies of psychotherapy still prevail in the psychiatric services. First, there is the controversy of whether psychotherapy is effective or not for people with mental illness. Studies have shown that various types of psychotherapy can reduce the number of consultations and the medication dosage, change the psychological diagnosis, shorten the time in psychiatric and medical treatment and increase patients' satisfaction. Second, there is always a problem in defining psychotherapy. The controversies are concerned with topics ranging from helping, casework-oriented activities to psychoanalytical description. The findings showed that the controversies over defining and perceiving psychotherapy were complicated by social workers inferiority and superiority complexes. Some tended to have specialized definition and others had general definition of psychotherapy.

The article explores the extent and nature of help-seeking behavior among a sample of social work students in Hong Kong. Different societies have different ways of legitimizing their help-seeking behaviors. They perceive differently the costs and benefits of help seeking and the relationship of give-and-take when receiving or giving help. Previous studies on help seeking focused primarily on the recipients' attitudes and little attention has been paid to professional helpers' attitudes towards help seeking. The main objectives of the study were: to describe help-seeking problems or situations; to identify help seeking supports; and to examine feelings and contexts, both individually and culturally, occurring in help-seeking situations. The study presents a conceptual framework of help seeking and uses this framework to generate exploratory questions and hypotheses related to help-seeking behaviors. It is hoped that this initial effort in documenting help-seeking patterns among Hong Kong social work students will serve to encourage further studies in this area, across different cultural settings, to cast more light on the role of culture as a determinant of help-seeking behavior.

This study indicates that Chinese couples in Hong Kong do not have a clear understanding of or put appropriate emphasis on premarital preparation. It is necessary to have a premarital preparation. Findings revealed that the divorced had the least awareness of differences before marriage, the unhappily married were the next and the happily married had the most awareness of whatever differences existed. The number of divorce cases has risen from 5893 in 1988 to 8067 in 1992 and further to 9272 in 1994. Increasing numbers of divorces, extramarital relationships and marital conflicts reflect that premarital couples need assistance and support to make good preparation for their marriages. A happy marriage is possible only if there is an awareness of the importance of enriching marital relationships. Therefore, establishing a family requires learning and preparation. Also, findings in the study illustrate that Chinese people are not against premarital marriages.

The article discusses stress factors and mental health adjustment of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong. The Labour Department of the Hong Kong government closely monitors the working conditions of FDHs, and will consider complaints from individual FDHs or their representatives about contract violations. There are several social service and political organizations representing the interests of the Filipino community in Hong Kong, offering specialized counselling and support (including hostel accommodation for those whose contracts have been terminated). The drop in social status in the well-educated FDHs was not a factor in adjustment, and many of these qualified women had found no commensurate professional employment in The Philippines. The financial rewards of being an FDH overcame any loss in status. The remittances to family in The Philippines both provide income support for those individuals, and are a valuable source of foreign exchange for that country's economy. An important policy proposal arises from the analysis of antecedents of psychological distress in FDHs. Those most able to cope with the stress of adapting to a new culture in their first contract overseas are single, well-educated women who migrate in a spirit of adventure rather than migrating for negative reasons (family poverty, and accumulated debt load in The Philippines). Giving preference to immigrants with college or university education might be a logical step.

The article presents ways to strengthen the International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW). ICSW has in recent years taken a number of steps to strengthen and develop its effectiveness in the international social development arena. Probably the best known and most dramatic, of these steps was the adoption of the Report of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Future of ICSW, by the ICSW Committee of Representatives meeting in Hong Kong, China in 1980. Acceptance of the Working Group Report will mean far-reaching changes in ICSW program development, global budgeting, national membership subscriptions, admission of new countries to membership and other aspects of ICSW operations. Agreed in principle, their implementation is now being planned and prepared. Essentially, these changes should result in a significant expansion of ICSW resources, capacity, programs and membership, within a unified global strategy for the achievement of its objectives. After several years in planning and seeking financial support, the Strengthening Project formally commenced in September 1980.

This article presents a review of social welfare development in the voluntary sector in the 1970's in Hong Kong. As Hong Kong has a very youthful population and its extra energy needs healthy outlets, it is not surprising that the government has its priority in the development of youth work services. Hence, the greatest portion of the government's welfare budget was allocated to agencies providing children and youth services. The last 10 years not only witnessed a phenomenal growth in the number of children and youth centers, camps and hostels, but also the introduction of new approaches to youth work, particularly those young people who roam the streets and playgrounds and are considered difficult to reach. In 1973 children and youth centers numbered around 69 but 207 were recorded in 1979. Family Life Education is also very much a programme of the 1970's. Voluntary family service agencies first began to provide family life education to their clients as part of their counseling service in 1973. This was seen as a preventive service to better equip family members to play their role and to prevent family breakdowns. In the past voluntary agencies had no special resources for the development of this programme, but efforts were put in and staff were deployed for this purpose.

The article discusses youth involvement in community development with special reference to the Shek Lei Estate lighting improvement project. It relates an example of how social work students in a field placement carried out a survey on public opinion and organized a letter writing campaign to focus attention on the need for public lighting on playgrounds and pathways in Shek Lei Estate in North Kwai Chung. The purpose of this article is in sharing it is to illustrate an example of how local problems and situations influence the social work process. Hong Kong residents are not the only people to worry about the safety of their homes and children in cities where the crime rate all over the world continues to rise. If first goal of community development strategy in Hong Kong is to find ways of securing favourable public opinion, the second goal must be to involve and get organized persons with the problem-to-be-worked. The third goal of strategy is to find friendly allies who will carry on the ideas and recommendations proposed by the change agent.