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Despite its popularity in practice, the Grit-O Scale has shown inconsistent factorial structures and differing levels of internal consistency in samples outside the USA. The validity of the Grit-O Scale in different contexts is, therefore, questionable. As such, the purpose of this paper was to determine whether the Grit-O Scale could be used as a valid and reliable measure to compare grit across different nations. Specifically, the aim was to investigate the factorial validity, reliability, and concurrent validity of the Grit-O Scale and to investigate measurement invariance across three national cohorts (Europe, the USA, and Hong Kong). Data were gathered from 1888 respondents stemming from one USA- (n = 471), two Hong Kong- (n = 361) and four European (n = 1056) universities. A series of traditional CFA and less restrictive ESEM models were estimated and systematically compared to determine the best factorial form of the Grit-O Scale. The results showed that a bifactor ESEM model, with one general factor of overall grit and two specific factors (consistency of interest and perseverance of effort), fitted the data best, showed strong measurement invariance across the three samples, and showed itself to be a reliable measure. Furthermore, concurrent validity was established by showing that the three grit factors were directly and positively related to task performance. Meaningful latent comparisons between the three cultural cohorts could therefore be made. The results imply that cross-national comparisons of grit may only be problematic when traditional CFA approaches are favoured. In contrast, ESEM modelling approaches may compensate for cross-national differences in understanding grit and control for differences in the interpretation of the scale's items. Therefore, the bifactor ESEM approach may be more appropriate for cross-cultural and cross-national comparison studies, as it allows for these differences to be meaningfully captured, modelled, and controlled for. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to expand our knowledge on autonomy experiences predicting, or associated with, important well-being attributes, by drawing on the concept of an "Authentic Inner Compass" (AIC, Assor 2012, 2018; Vansteenkiste and Soenens 2015): Sense of knowing what is truly important to us in terms of values, aspirations, and goals. Study 1 (304 Hong Kong students; mean age = 20.3 years), showed that sense of AIC predicted increased subjective vitality and self-esteem over time. Study 2 (257 Israeli students, mean age = 16.2 years) validated a measure of the experience of behavioral self-realization, hypothesized to mediate the links between AIC and positive well-being attributes. Study 3 (307 Israeli students, mean age = 16.3 years) showed that AIC had direct links with vitality and low depression, and was also indirectly linked to depression via behavioral self-realization. This study also examined the hypothesis that the associations between AIC, and the indicators of behavioral self-realization, vitality and low depression, hold also after controlling for another, widely researched autonomy experience: psychological freedom and volition (Chen et al.'s [2015] need for autonomy scale). Results supported this hypothesis. The findings suggest that sense of AIC is associated with increased vitality and self-esteem over time. Results also suggest that sense of AIC and psychological freedom and volition are two distinct autonomy experiences that are uniquely associated with important well-being attributes. Future research may examine the benefits of supporting these two autonomy experiences in youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the mechanism underlying the relationships among positive emotions, work well-being (job satisfaction and stress symptoms) and turnover intention based on the broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson in Am Psychol 56:218-226, ) and conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll in Am Psychol 44:513-524, ; Rev Gen Psychol 6:307-324, ). A total of 311 Chinese police officers in Hong Kong were recruited in this study. Our results showed that, in line with previous studies, psychological capital (PsyCap) was composed of four dimensions, namely self-efficacy, hope, optimism and resiliency. Furthermore, we found that positive emotions were positively related to PsyCap; that work well-being (both job satisfaction and stress symptoms) fully mediated the association between PsyCap and turnover intention. In addition, positive emotions had a direct negative effect on stress symptoms. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings and issues for future research were discussed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the influence of conspicuous and experiential consumption on the discrepancy between economic and subjective poverty as well as the potential mechanisms for any such discrepancy. Conspicuous consumption describes the purchase of goods to display social status and economic power, while experiential consumption describes purchases made primarily to acquire a life experience. Cross-sectional data were drawn from the first wave (2015) of the Hong Kong Panel Survey for Poverty Alleviation (n = 1752). Ten consumption categories (food, utilities, necessities, rent, mortgage, communication, transportation, education, health, and leisure) were classified as either conspicuous (experiential) or non-conspicuous (non-experiential) consumption. Logistic regression showed that expenditure on leisure, which falls into both conspicuous and experiential consumption, increased the probability of feeling non-poor among the economically poor and, conversely, reduced the probability of feeling poor among the economically non-poor. Multiple mediation analysis further revealed that these relationships were mediated by self-perceived social status (conspicuous consumption pathway) but not by social connectedness (experiential consumption pathway). The findings confirm that the way people spend their money shapes their perceptions of poverty, which may deviate from their poverty status as measured by economic criteria. By enhancing self-perceived social status, conspicuous consumption reduces subjective poverty for both the economically poor and the non-poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines an income and wellbeing paradox—the discrepancy between economic and subjective poverty—from a consumption perspective. The theoretical underpinning is that households allocate their monetary resources into different consumption categories, which may lead to varying levels of utility, thereby shaping their perceptions of poverty in different ways. Data were drawn from the first wave of the Hong Kong Panel Survey for Poverty Alleviation (N = 1386). Cluster analysis identified four consumption patterns among the economically poor: (a) food-dominant, (b) rent-dominant, (c) food & rent-dominant, and (d) balanced, and five among the economically non-poor: (a) food-dominant, (b) rent-dominant, (c) education-high, (d) mortgage-high, and (e) balanced. Logistic regression revealed that the food-dominant cluster (compared with the balanced cluster) reduced the probability of feeling non-poor among the economically poor, and the mortgage-high cluster (compared with the balanced cluster) increased the probability of feeling poor among the economically non-poor. However, the significant association between the mortgage-high cluster and subjective poverty became insignificant after controlling for assets. The mortgage-high cluster's positive impact on subjective poverty was most likely offset by the negative impacts of homeownership and assets. The study's findings expand our understanding of how individuals' perceived poverty status can be shaped by their consumption patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social movement has been recognized as a driving force of structural and/or policy changes in the broader society; however, its psychological effects on the movement participants have rarely been examined. Grounded in psychopolitical validity framework, the present study utilized a longitudinal prospective design to follow a group of civically engaged youth and examined how social movement participation is linked to their political efficacy and well-being. A total of 490 youth participating in the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong were recruited during the occupation period of the movement and were followed up for three times with a 4-month interval in the year following the movement. The results of latent profile analysis identified four types of participation, namely minimal participation, onsite participation, online participation, and avid participation. Subgroup analysis showed that youth with avid participation exhibited significantly higher levels of psychological and social well-being, stronger leadership competence and policy control, as well as lower perception of responsiveness of the governments during the period of occupation. In the year following the movement, youth with avid participation had a significant decline in psychological and social well-being compared with other groups of youth. Cross-lagged panel analysis showed that perceived responsiveness of the Hong Kong government explained the changes in their psychological and social well-being. Implications for civic engagement and democratic governance on youth's political efficacy and well-being were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the present study was to examine the relationships between personality characteristics, time perspective (TP), and positive orientation (PO) across three countries representing different cultures: Chile, Hong Kong, and Poland. The participants were university students; they completed the Zimbardo time perspective inventory, the ten-item personality inventory, and the positive orientation scale. We investigated whether PO could be predicted by personality traits and TP. The study revealed that TP dimensions predicted PO even after controlling for personality traits. This effect was found in all three countries. Additionally, the study revealed the role of balanced time perspective as a moderator between personality traits and PO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Families are often faced with long working hours and stressful urban lifestyles which adversely affect family well-being. The Happy Family Kitchen Movement project, which emphasized the interaction and integration of physical health and psychosocial health, was conducted to promote well-being and health in Hong Kong families. Social workers and teachers from 54 social service units and schools in collaboration with the research team designed and implemented a brief community-based family "holistic health" intervention for 1983 individuals from 1467 families. In a 3-arm cluster randomized controlled trial, participants were allocated into positive physical activity (PPA), positive healthy diet (PHD), or control group. The positive psychology framework, which encompassed joy, gratitude, and savoring, was used to help families build positive attitudes with stronger motivation to engage in health promotion behaviors. Data were collected at pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention, and at 1-month and 3-month follow-up. Results showed that compared to the control, PPA was effective in improving subjective happiness at immediately post-intervention and PHD was effective in promoting family harmony at 1-month and subjective happiness at 3-month, with small effect size. Both PPA and PHD showed some evidence of effectiveness on mental quality of life at 3-month. Participants' evaluation of the program provided evidence for the perceived usefulness of PPA and PHD. Qualitative data provided additional support for program effectiveness with in-depth insights into the participants' experiences. These two innovative brief interventions could be a viable, attractive and low cost approach for promoting family "holistic health" in community settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mindfulness Based Flourishing Program (MBFP) is an online 8-week intervention developed for enhancing wellbeing with the use of mindfulness practices, through targeting a range of positive variables. The efficacy of the MBFP has been demonstrated in a randomized controlled trial, and in order to further establish it as an intervention with widespread application, cross-cultural validation is warranted. The current study was conducted with the primary aim of testing the validity of the MBFP with a Hong Kong Chinese population, as well as verifying its positive effects. A randomized wait-list controlled design was adopted with 115 participants (92 females, mean age = 31.50). Intervention outcomes were compared between Hong Kong Chinese and British participants. Five positive variables were examined (self-compassion, meaning in life, positive and negative emotions, gratitude, and mindfulness), and measures were taken pre- and post-intervention. Significant gains in wellbeing measures were observed in both the Hong Kong Chinese and the British experimental groups. Levels of wellbeing post-intervention were also higher for the two experimental groups as compared to their control counterparts. The current study provides preliminary evidence for the MBFP’s cross-cultural validity, and strengthens previous claims for its efficacy as a new, accessible alternative for enhancing wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-assessed health in four items of the Health Related Quality of Life Scale, overall health, physical health, mental health, and activity limitation, and perceived life satisfaction in six domains of the Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale, overall life, family life, friendships, school experience, myself, and where I live were examined among 4,502 Chinese adolescent secondary school students in Hong Kong. Relative to the US adolescents in Youth Risk Behavior Survey the Hong Kong adolescents had very low levels of self-assessed health and life satisfaction. Among the different domains, family and school life were associated with the lowest satisfaction level. There were strong male advantages in self-assessed health and migrant disadvantages in life satisfaction. Age was negatively related to both health and life satisfaction. Two-parent family was a positive factor for adolescents’ quality of life but economic well-being was not a relevant factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from a 1-year, longitudinal study were utilized to explore the role of five pan-cultural beliefs about the world (social axioms) in predicting life satisfaction. It was hypothesized that higher levels of social cynicism would predict lower satisfaction with life because cynical persons set in motion a self-fulfilling prophecy of unrewarding social outcomes. The negative social feedback thus engendered results in lower levels of self-esteem, which mediates the effect of socially cynical beliefs on life satisfaction. These findings were confirmed in a longitudinal study of Chinese undergraduates in Hong Kong. Their implications were explored by considering the role of beliefs about␣the world upon additional mediators of life satisfaction in different cultural settings and for engaging in therapeutic interventions with distressed clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]