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The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups released the latest findings on a survey entitled, ¡§Indicators of Youth Values¡¨ on 30 December 2001, which also raised four significant issues regarding youth. The Federation has been conducting similar surveys on ¡§Indicators of Youth Values¡¨ annually since 1997. The following results from four surveys and significant trends from eight aspects were compiled and observed as follows:
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1. Education
Youth were positive towards the value of school education in general. The percentage of those who were satisfied with their English proficiency, however, fell to a new low. The survey showed that most respondents believed an education gleaned from school was useful (86.5%) and expressed that they liked going to school (77.8%). The responses were maintained at a high standard throughout the four surveys. However, in the latest survey, there was a decline in terms of the usefulness of schooling (1997: 92.1%; 2001: 86.5%). 78.1% of the respondents were satisfied with their Chinese proficiency, illustrating an upward trend. Yet, less than a half of them were satisfied with their proficiency in English over three years and the percentage fell to a new low of 36.1% in the latest survey.
2. Employment
Youth had little confidence in employment prospects, while the percentage of those who valued work satisfaction more than monetary rewards continued to decrease. The confidence in employment prospects among youth saw a sharp decrease. Only 31.0% of respondents believed that it would not be difficult to find a job, while 67.2% of the youth polled had confidence in their own skills to make a living. Both these figures were low when compared to past surveys. On the other hand, 55.5% of respondents believed that starting their own businesses would be better than being employed by someone else, while 63.0% believed that work satisfaction was more important than monetary rewards. Both these figures were lower than those of 2000.
3. Values on Sex
The findings from the four surveys showed that although the attitude of youth towards sex was basically liberal, there was an emphasis on loyalty to their partners. The survey continued to understand the values of youth regarding sex by asking respondents for their views on pre-marital sex, abortion and sex partners. The findings, from the four surveys, showed that the attitude of youth towards sex was basically liberal ¡V only 35% to 45% of respondents considered pre-marital sexual relations wrong, with about half of the respondents finding abortions to be acceptable, and 15% to 20% believing that having more than one sexual partner at a time was acceptable. Figures also showed that the percentages had decreased amongst those considered pre-marital sexual relations wrong (1997: 45.2%; 2001: 35.6%). The percentage of respondents who believed that having more than one sexual partner at a time was acceptable, also decreased (1998: 23.4%; 2001: 16.0%).
4. Values on the Family
5. Development of Hong Kong and China
6. Rating of the Hong Kong SAR Government
Although more than half of the youth polled believed that the Hong Kong SAR Government was honest and trustful, the percentage continued to decrease. More than half of the youth polled in past surveys believed that the Hong Kong SAR Government was honest and trustful, and that the opinions of the citizens were able to affect Government policies. However the percentage of these positive assessments have continued to decrease over the past three years. The percentage of respondents who believed that the SAR Government was honest and trustful decreased by 8.6% (1998: 70.5%; 2001: 61.9%) and 7.8% (1998: 59.2%; 2001: 51.4%) respectively, while those who believed that the opinions of the citizens were able to affect Government policies decreased by 8.2% (1998: 69.5%; 2001: 61.3%). It appeared that youth continually give the SAR Government a low rating on its performance. Only 30% to 37% of respondents were satisfied with the overall performance of the SAR Government.
7. Sense of Belonging
More than 95% of youth identified themselves as Chinese, while more than 80% had a sense of belonging to Hong Kong. The percentage of respondents who identified themselves as Chinese remained high. The percentage went up to 97.1% in the latest survey. Those who had a sense of belonging to Hong Kong also remained at a high percentage, with more than 80% in the past four surveys. In addition, those wishing to emigrate remained at about 30%.
8. Sense of Abiding by the Law
Youth had strong sense of abiding by the law. They also thought that the problem of corruption was becoming more serious. Youth polled agreed with the importance of abiding by the law, with the percentage remaining at 95% or above and showing a steady increase. There was a decrease in the number of youth who claimed that they would not abide by laws that appeared unreasonable (1998: 50.3%; 2001: 37.8%). 43.6% of respondents thought that the problem of corruption in Hong Kong was becoming more serious, which was higher than the previous year. There was also an increase in the percentage, as compared to the previous year, of respondents who believed that corruption was unavoidable in a commercial society. But this was much lower than when compared to four years ago (1997: 67.0%; 2001: 55.1%).
The
Survey on the "Indicators of Youth Values" was conducted from 11 to 18
June 2001. 1,128 young people, aged between 15 and 39, were successfully
interviewed by telephone through a random sampling. The response rate was
47.3% and the standard error was below ¡Ó1.5% per cent.
In compiling research conducted, not only by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, but also by the Government, Research Agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations, the following four issues caught the attention.
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(I) Youth unemployment was still serious and the problem would worsen in the midst of economic restructuring. Youth with low educational standards would face many more problems when seeking employment.
According to the statistical data, the Federation claimed that there were three kinds of youth faced with the crisis of joblessness, who might eventually end up as long-term unemployed: (1) 15-19 year-old unemployed youth: The unemployment rate for 15 to19 year-old youth has been consistently high since 1998. The rate had even climbed to 25.1% in the third quarter of 2001. This group was made up of school-leavers who usually had not attained matriculation standards and did not have enough working experience. They were thus the first to be squeezed out from the highly competitive labour market and could fall into long-term unemployment since they did not possess the necessary criteria to re-enter the labour market. (2) Youth who were at mid-level positions: The percentage of youth occupying middle-level positions such as clerks ¡V which is the most commonly filled position by youth ¡V craftsman and plant and machine operators and assemblers has been decreasing in the past ten years. Along with the computerization of work processes, the size-reduction trend of enterprises and the moving of jobs onto Mainland China, the problem of unemployment definitely extends to this group of employed youth. (3) Youth who were occupying elementary occupations (such as domestic helpers and doorkeepers): The percentage of the labour force occupying elementary occupations has been on the rise in the past ten years, but the demand has recently been decreasing, according to a report released by the Education and Manpower Bureau. Supply has exceeded demand forcing this group to face the unemployment crisis.
According to the analysis of the Federation, the problems of these three groups of youth have developed as a result of economic restructuring. Therefore, the principle of increasing employability should be introduced in order to solve their problems. Such methods include: increasing educational standards so as to equip youth with the ability to compete; providing chances for life-long learning so that school-leavers can advance their standards accordingly and by providing vocational training so as to enhance their working skills.
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(II) Although there are more and more ways to increase the educational standards of youth, different programmes do not often recognize each other¡¦s educational credentials, resulting in the problem of transition between different programmes. High tuition fees also prevent youth from continuing with their education.
There were an increasing number of educational programmes for which Form Five and Form Seven school-leavers could apply, such as Project Springboard, the Associate Degree programmes and different kinds of vocational training certificates, in coordination with the Government¡¦s policy on Continuing Education. The Federation agreed with this direction, but emphasized that it should be carried out with the following conditions: (1) That an overall accreditation and recognition system be established so that programmes other than university undergraduate programmes can be recognized. (2) Establish a bridging or transition system so that graduates of different continuing education programmes may gain access to higher education by the acculmulation of educational credentials. Youth who are already working can also receive continuing education. (3) Provide financially strapped youth with assistance. The tuition fee of Project Springboard is $30,000 while that of the Associate Degree programmes range from $30,000 to $40,000, which are unaffordable to large numbers of potential students. The Government should provide suitable financial assistance to those students in need.
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(III) There are increasing problems concerning the mental health of adolescents, which must be addressed as soon as possible.
Hospital Authority figures show that there were 1,355, 1,678 and 2,321 adolescents under 15 receiving mental health treatment in 1998/99, 1999/00 and 2000/01 respectively, contributing to an upward trend. The World Health Organization has also warned that depression, which is an emotional illness, will become the second most prevalent killer in the world. In a report released by the National Institute of Mental Health of the United States in October 2000, 2.5% of children and 8.3% of adolescents suff from depression. The Institute also pointed out that various longitudinal research studies found that the symptoms of depression could be extended to adulthood.
Adolescents suffering from depression were usually diagnosed as being at a stage in their lives of emotional instability and therefore ignored. Those who were anxious, irascible, ignored their studies, challenged authorities or abused drugs were generally considered to be having behavioural problems. This is not something to be taken lightly, as serious depression has, in many instances, led to suicide or attempted suicide. The School Social Work Team of the Federation had distinguished 30 cases with symptoms of depression in the year 2000/01. It called on parents, teachers and youth workers to be aware of the relevant diseases and provide assistance to those who were suffering. Suitable preventative action and education should also be provided to avoid worsening the problem.
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(IV) A most worrying feature of youth behaviour is the trend of youth under 21 abusing psychotropic drugs. Drug abuse has already become part of the leisure activity of young people, and the venue of abusing has also changed, from large parties to smaller sites.
As quoted by the Narcotics Division, the number of newly reported cases of youth under 21 abusing psychotropic drugs rose significantly, from 1,120 in 1999 to 2,238 in 2000, and to 2,132 during the first nine months of 2001. 90% of these cases abused psychotropic drugs such as ¡§ecstasy¡¨ and ketamine. Social workers of the Federation said that drug abuse had already permeated the leisure activities of youth and the thrill of drugs had become very popular. Since there were few cases of dramatic deaths resulting from drug abuse, the conventional means by which the message was being disseminated had proved to be ineffective. Social workers also found that the venue of drug abuse had changed from large parties such places as karaoke bars, parks, private gatherings, and even schools and homes, making the problems more difficult to detect. Coupled with this alarming trend was the rising number of smokers among junior secondary students, which has very often been one step away from experimenting with drugs.
The Federation has said that the effect of anti-drug abuse propaganda should be reviewed from time to time. The propagandas should focus on the changes in the pattern of youth drug abuse and let youth understand the long-term effect of the drugs.
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