Tang, Mun Yu. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 473-493). / Abstracts in English and Chinese; appendices in Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / 摘要 --- p.iii / Acknowledgments --- p.iv / Table of Contents --- p.vi / List of Figures and Tables --- p.xiii / Chapter Chapter One --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter Two --- Literature Review on Adolescent Development with Particular Reference to Poor Adolescents --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1 --- Theories of adolescent development --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Micro theories --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Macro theories --- p.15 / Chapter 2.1.3 --- Ecological model --- p.17 / Chapter 2.1.3.1 --- Introduction --- p.17 / Chapter 2.1.3.2 --- Application to understand the development of adolescents experiencing adversity ´ؤ Resilience Model --- p.18 / Chapter 2.1.3.2.1 --- Definitions of resilience with specific to children and adolescents --- p.18 / Chapter 2.1.3.2.2 --- Models of resilience --- p.20 / Chapter 2.1.4 --- Summary --- p.22 / Chapter 2.2 --- Existing findings on the development of adolescents growing up in poor families --- p.22 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Poor adolescents perceive poverty --- p.23 / Chapter 2.2.1.1 --- Conceptualization of beliefs about causes of poverty --- p.23 / Chapter 2.2.1.2 --- Review of previous studies --- p.29 / Chapter 2.2.1.3 --- Limitations --- p.34 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Development of adolescents experiencing poverty --- p.38 / Chapter 2.2.2.1 --- Development of poor adolescents in their present lives --- p.38 / Chapter 2.2.2.1.1 --- Psychological well-being and magnitude of having behavioral problems --- p.38 / Chapter 2.2.2.1.2 --- Educational outcomes --- p.45 / Chapter 2.2.2.1.3 --- Limitations --- p.52 / Chapter 2.2.2.2 --- Perceptions of future lives --- p.56 / Chapter 2.2.2.2.1 --- Review of previous studies --- p.56 / Chapter 2.2.2.2.2 --- Limitations --- p.64 / Chapter 2.3 --- Directions for future research --- p.69 / Chapter Chapter Three --- Research Questions and Research Design --- p.77 / Chapter 3.1 --- Research questions --- p.77 / Chapter 3.2 --- Proposal for a qualitative research approach --- p.79 / Chapter 3.3 --- Research design --- p.81 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Sample --- p.87 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Data collection --- p.92 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Data analysis --- p.95 / Chapter 3.3.3.1 --- Reliability of the findings --- p.99 / Chapter 3.3.3.2 --- Validity of the findings --- p.100 / Chapter Chapter Four --- Findings --- p.106 / Chapter 4.1 --- Perceived economic disadvantage experienced by their families --- p.107 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- Beliefs about the causes of their families in need for financial support from the Government --- p.108 / Chapter 4.1.1.1 --- Individualistic causes --- p.108 / Chapter 4.1.1.1.1 --- Causes in relation to parents --- p.108 / Chapter 4.1.1.1.2 --- Causes in relation to mother --- p.109 / Chapter 4.1.1.1.3 --- Causes in relation to father --- p.110 / Chapter 4.1.1.1.4 --- Causes in relation to children --- p.111 / Chapter 4.1.1.2 --- Societal causes --- p.115 / Chapter 4.1.1.3 --- Fatalistic causes --- p.117 / Chapter 4.1.1.4 --- Summary --- p.119 / Chapter 4.1.2 --- Perceptions of being a CSSA recipient --- p.119 / Chapter 4.1.2.1 --- Personal views --- p.120 / Chapter 4.1.2.2 --- Perception shaped by mother --- p.125 / Chapter 4.1.2.3 --- Perceptions related to peers --- p.126 / Chapter 4.1.2.3.1 --- Perceptions related to peers' financial circumstances --- p.126 / Chapter 4.1.2.3.2 --- Perceptions related to peers' reactions towards their financial backgrounds --- p.127 / Chapter 4.1.2.3.3 --- Perceptions related to the level of closeness with peers --- p.129 / Chapter 4.1.2.4 --- Perceptions related to the views of general public --- p.129 / Chapter 4.1.2.4.1 --- Views of general public influenced by the Government --- p.130 / Chapter 4.1.2.4.2 --- Views of general public influenced by the media --- p.130 / Chapter 4.1.2.4.3 --- Views of general public influenced by with or without personal experiences of receiving CSSA or personal contacts with CSSA recipients --- p.133 / Chapter 4.1.2.4.4 --- Views of general public influenced by the dominant societal ideologies --- p.134 / Chapter 4.1.2.5 --- Perceptions related to CSSA claim procedures --- p.138 / Chapter 4.1.2.6 --- Perceptions related to special policy for CSSA recipients --- p.139 / Chapter 4.1.2.7 --- Perceptions related to attitudes of staff in CSSA unit --- p.140 / Chapter 4.1.2.8 --- Summary --- p.141 / Chapter 4.1.3 --- Perceived quality of life under the CSSA and the related factors --- p.142 / Chapter 4.1.3.1 --- Perceived quality of life under the CSSA --- p.143 / Chapter 4.1.3.1.1 --- Primary school --- p.143 / Chapter 4.1.3.1.2 --- Secondary school --- p.145 / Chapter 4.1.3.1.3 --- University --- p.146 / Chapter 4.1.3.2 --- Perceived quality of life under the CSSA in relation to mothers' financial management --- p.150 / Chapter 4.1.3.2.1 --- Ways of monitoring family finance --- p.150 / Chapter 4.1.3.2.2 --- Ways of fulfilling unmet needs --- p.151 / Chapter 4.1.3.3 --- Perceived quality of life under the CSSA in relation to self financial management --- p.153 / Chapter 4.1.3.3.1 --- Being self-disciplined of spending money --- p.153 / Chapter 4.1.3.3.2 --- Saving money --- p.155 / Chapter 4.1.3.3.3 --- Doing part-time jobs and summer jobs --- p.157 / Chapter 4.1.3.4 --- Perceived quality of life under the CSSA in relation to other sources of financial support --- p.161 / Chapter 4.1.3.4.1 --- Financial support from relatives --- p.161 / Chapter 4.1.3.4.2 --- Financial support from non-relatives --- p.163 / Chapter 4.1.3.5 --- Summary --- p.166 / Chapter 4.1.4 --- Comments on the staff in the CSSA unit --- p.166 / Chapter 4.1.4.1 --- Positive comments --- p.166 / Chapter 4.1.4.1.1 --- Attitudes --- p.167 / Chapter 4.1.4.1.2 --- Performance --- p.167 / Chapter 4.1.4.2 --- Negative comments --- p.169 / Chapter 4.1.4.2.1 --- Attitudes (from personal experiences) --- p.169 / Chapter 4.1.4.2.2 --- Attitudes (from mothers' experiences) --- p.171 / Chapter 4.1.4.2.3 --- Performance --- p.172 / Chapter 4.1.4.3 --- Summary --- p.176 / Chapter 4.1.5 --- Comments on the CSSA scheme --- p.177 / Chapter 4.1.5.1 --- Positive comments --- p.177 / Chapter 4.1.5.1.1 --- Nature of the CSSA scheme --- p.177 / Chapter 4.1.5.1.2 --- Strict policy for preventing abuse of the scheme --- p.179 / Chapter 4.1.5.2 --- Negative comments --- p.180 / Chapter 4.1.5.2.1 --- Amount of support in the CSSA scheme --- p.180 / Chapter 4.1.5.2.2 --- Policy on the CSSA scheme --- p.183 / Chapter 4.1.5.2.3 --- Claim procedures in the CSSA scheme --- p.187 / Chapter 4.1.5.3 --- Summary --- p.191 / Chapter 4.1.6 --- Circumstances of women in economic disadvantaged and female-headed families --- p.192 / Chapter 4.1.6.1 --- Struggles on financial adversity --- p.192 / Chapter 4.1.6.2 --- Consequences of receiving financial support from the Government --- p.194 / Chapter 4.1.6.2.1 --- Influences on self-image --- p.194 / Chapter 4.1.6.2.2 --- Influences on psychological state --- p.195 / Chapter 4.1.6.3 --- Pressure of taking up the parental roles --- p.197 / Chapter 4.1.6.4 --- Summary --- p.199 / Chapter 4.1.7 --- Recommendations for improvement in the CSSA service --- p.200 / Chapter 4.1.7.1 --- Staff training --- p.200 / Chapter 4.1.7.2 --- Quality of the service --- p.201 / Chapter 4.1.7.3 --- Other recommendations --- p.204 / Chapter 4.1.7.4 --- Summary --- p.195 / Chapter 4.1.8 --- Recommendations for improvement the policy in the CSSA scheme --- p.207 / Chapter 4.1.8.1 --- Subvention policy --- p.207 / Chapter 4.1.8.1.1 --- Subvention for students --- p.207 / Chapter 4.1.8.1.2 --- Subvention for households --- p.209 / Chapter 4.1.8.1.3 --- "Subvention for children, elderly, disabled and chronic illness patients" --- p.211 / Chapter 4.1.8.2 --- Claim procedures --- p.214 / Chapter 4.1.8.3 --- Employment-related policy --- p.216 / Chapter 4.1.8.3.1 --- Employment-related policy for single parents --- p.216 / Chapter 4.1.8.3.2 --- Employment-related policy for general able-bodied CSSA recipients --- p.219 / Chapter 4.1.8.4 --- Other recommendations --- p.222 / Chapter 4.1.8.5 --- Summary --- p.224 / Chapter 4.1.9 --- Service gaps for economic disadvantaged and single-parent families --- p.225 / Chapter 4.1.9.1 --- Services for CSSA families --- p.225 / Chapter 4.1.9.1.1 --- Emotional support services --- p.225 / Chapter 4.1.9.1.2 --- Household support services --- p.227 / Chapter 4.1.9.2 --- Services for women in economic disadvantage and marital disruption --- p.229 / Chapter 4.1.9.2.1 --- Employment-related support services --- p.229 / Chapter 4.1.9.2.2 --- Counseling services --- p.230 / Chapter 4.1.9.3 --- Services for the single-parent families --- p.232 / Chapter 4.1.9.3.1 --- Emotional support services --- p.232 / Chapter 4.1.9.3.2 --- Public education --- p.233 / Chapter 4.1.9.4 --- Summary --- p.234 / Chapter 4.1.10 --- Overall summary of Section 4.1 --- p.235 / Chapter 4.2 --- Perceived past lives --- p.237 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Area 1: Perceived quality of life before receiving the CSSA --- p.237 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Area 2: Reactions towards economic disadvantage --- p.241 / Chapter 4.2.2.1 --- Feelings about living under the CSSA --- p.241 / Chapter 4.2.2.2 --- Perceived influences of economic disadvantage in their past lives --- p.246 / Chapter 4.2.2.2.1 --- Experienced different from those of their peers --- p.246 / Chapter 4.2.2.2.2 --- Influenced on their study plans --- p.248 / Chapter 4.2.2.3 --- Summary --- p.253 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Area 3: Views on mother's employment status --- p.253 / Chapter 4.2.4 --- Area 4: Perceptions of one's roles in the family --- p.257 / Chapter 4.2.5 --- Area 5: Perceived source of influences on one's development --- p.265 / Chapter 4.2.5.1 --- Aspect 1: Family backgrounds --- p.266 / Chapter 4.2.5.1.1 --- Experiences of economic disadvantage --- p.266 / Chapter 4.2.5.1.2 --- Single-parent family Other people --- p.278 / Chapter 4.2.5.1.3 --- Summary --- p.289 / Chapter 4.2.5.2 --- Aspect 2: Significant others --- p.290 / Chapter 4.2.5.2.1 --- Mother --- p.290 / Chapter 4.2.5.2.2 --- Other people --- p.298 / Chapter 4.2.5.2.3 --- Summary --- p.304 / Chapter 4.2.5.3 --- Aspect 3: Beliefs --- p.304 / Chapter 4.2.5.4 --- Summary --- p.306 / Chapter 4.2.6 --- Overall summary of Section 4.2 --- p.307 / Chapter 4.3 --- Perceived experiences of their present lives --- p.309 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Area 1: Meanings of becoming a university student --- p.309 / Chapter 4.3.1.1 --- Familial meanings --- p.309 / Chapter 4.3.1.2 --- Personal meanings --- p.313 / Chapter 4.3.1.3 --- Summary --- p.326 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Area 2: Perceived differences with the peers in university --- p.326 / Chapter 4.3.3 --- Area 3: Economic circumstances --- p.333 / Chapter 4.3.3.1 --- Personal financial circumstances --- p.334 / Chapter 4.3.3.2 --- Perceived meanings of with or without financial support from the Government to their families --- p.347 / Chapter 4.3.3.3 --- Summary --- p.350 / Chapter 4.3.4 --- Area 4: Perceptions of one's roles in the family --- p.351 / Chapter 4.3.5 --- Overall summary of Section 4.3 --- p.357 / Chapter 4.4 --- Perceived future lives --- p.359 / Chapter 4.4.1 --- Expected lives after graduation and the related contributory factors --- p.359 / Chapter 4.4.1.1 --- Area 1: Work --- p.359 / Chapter 4.4.1.2 --- Area 2: Life style --- p.369 / Chapter 4.4.1.3 --- Area 3: Economic circumstances --- p.372 / Chapter 4.4.1.4 --- Area 4: Marriage --- p.380 / Chapter 4.4.1.5 --- Area 5: Spouse --- p.383 / Chapter 4.4.1.6 --- Area 6: Quality of relationship in future family --- p.389 / Chapter 4.4.1.6.1 --- Marital relationship --- p.389 / Chapter 4.4.1.6.2 --- Parent-child relationship --- p.392 / Chapter 4.4.1.7 --- Summary --- p.396 / Chapter 4.4.2 --- Feelings about their future lives --- p.397 / Chapter 4.4.3 --- Overall summary of Section 4.4 --- p.403 / Chapter 4.5 --- Summary of the findings and findings deserving special attention --- p.404 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Discussion and Recommendation --- p.423 / Chapter 5.1 --- Discussion of nine aspects of findings --- p.423 / Chapter 5.1.1 --- Aspect 1 -- Role of education in life --- p.423 / Chapter 5.1.2 --- Aspect 2 -- Absence of father as the main cause of economic hardship --- p.425 / Chapter 5.1.3 --- "Aspect 3 -- Being a ""good child""" --- p.427 / Chapter 5.1.4 --- Aspect 4 -- Difficult growth trajectory --- p.430 / Chapter 5.1.5 --- Aspect 5 -- Poverty: Blessing in disguise --- p.434 / Chapter 5.1.6 --- Aspect 6 -- Family of origin's influence on expectations of future life --- p.437 / Chapter 5.1.7 --- Aspect 7 -- Five protective factors in development --- p.440 / Chapter 5.1.8 --- Aspect 8 -- Mothers experiencing economic disadvantage: Long-suffering women guarding their children --- p.443 / Chapter 5.1.9 --- Aspect 9 -- Balanced view of the CSSA scheme --- p.446 / Chapter 5.1.10 --- Summary --- p.452 / Chapter 5.2 --- Theoretical contributions and implications of the present findings --- p.455 / Chapter 5.3 --- Practical implications and recommendations of the present findings --- p.459 / Chapter 5.4 --- Limitations of this study --- p.461 / Chapter Chapter Six --- Conclusion --- p.463 / Chapter 6.1 --- Summary of findings --- p.463 / Chapter 6.2 --- Evaluation of the quality of this qualitative study --- p.468 / Chapter 6.3 --- Directions for further study --- p.470 / Bibliography --- p.473 / Appendix I: Written Consent Form --- p.494 / Appendix II: Interview Guide --- p.495