TY - JOUR
T1 - The influence of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and community protective factors on Hong Kong adolescents’ stress arising from political life events and their mental health
AU - Chang, Ching Wen
AU - To, Siu Ming
AU - Chan, Wallace Chi Ho
AU - Fong, Alex Ching Pong
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: This project was supported by a grant from the Public Policy Research Funding Scheme, Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office of The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Grant number: 2020.A4.067.20B).
PY - 2021/9/7
Y1 - 2021/9/7
N2 - Precarious political circumstances can take a mental toll on young people. Adopting a socio-ecological perspective, this study investigated the influence of stress arising from political life events, intrapersonal factors (i.e., meaning in life, resilience), interpersonal factors (i.e., social support, associational social capital), and community factors (i.e., perceived empowerment in the community, perceived opportunities for civic engagement) on the mental health of youth in Hong Kong. Furthermore, it examined the moderating effects of these factors on the relationship between stress arising from political life events and mental health. A cross-sectional quantitative survey with a stratified purposive sampling data collection method was conducted. A total of 1330 secondary school students were recruited for this study. Multiple regression analysis was performed to examine both direct and moderation effects. The results indicate that high stress arising from political life events, low meaningfulness in life, low resilience, low social support, low youth empowerment in the community, and high civic engagement in the community were related to high mental distress. None of the presumed moderators moderated the relationship between stress due to political life events and mental distress. Assessing and addressing stress due to political life events would be potentially important in mental health programs for Hong Kong adolescents in precarious political situations.
AB - Precarious political circumstances can take a mental toll on young people. Adopting a socio-ecological perspective, this study investigated the influence of stress arising from political life events, intrapersonal factors (i.e., meaning in life, resilience), interpersonal factors (i.e., social support, associational social capital), and community factors (i.e., perceived empowerment in the community, perceived opportunities for civic engagement) on the mental health of youth in Hong Kong. Furthermore, it examined the moderating effects of these factors on the relationship between stress arising from political life events and mental health. A cross-sectional quantitative survey with a stratified purposive sampling data collection method was conducted. A total of 1330 secondary school students were recruited for this study. Multiple regression analysis was performed to examine both direct and moderation effects. The results indicate that high stress arising from political life events, low meaningfulness in life, low resilience, low social support, low youth empowerment in the community, and high civic engagement in the community were related to high mental distress. None of the presumed moderators moderated the relationship between stress due to political life events and mental distress. Assessing and addressing stress due to political life events would be potentially important in mental health programs for Hong Kong adolescents in precarious political situations.
KW - Community protective factors
KW - Interpersonal protective factors
KW - Intrapersonal protective factors
KW - Stress arising from political life events
KW - Youth mental health
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85114352441&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph18189426
DO - 10.3390/ijerph18189426
M3 - Article
C2 - 34574351
AN - SCOPUS:85114352441
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 18
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 18
M1 - 9426
ER -