PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL CHARACTEIUSTICS OF SOCIAL

PARTICIPATION AMONG YOUTH IN HONG KONG

Fanny M. Cheung Department of Psychology

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

and

Rhoda Yuen Department of Social Work

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Paper presented at the Workshop on "Current Research on Youth in Hong Kong" on June 29-30, 1987 at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

ABSTRACT

Three groups of youth varying in their degree of social participation were studied in terms of their psychological needs (using the EPPS), interpersonal relationship (FIRO-B), values (Rokeach Study of Values), social support (from family, acquaint- ance and intimate friend), and life satisfaction. The sample consisted of 127 young persons (55 males & 72 females) aged 14-26, including 50 leaders, 36 participants and 41 non-participants. Youth leaders differed from the other two groups in terms of their educational level, their egoistic Rokeach values, their value towards salvation and their availability of confidantes. The degree of social participation was signifi- cantly related to higher level of education, fewer number of siblings, higher level of expressed inclusion on the FIRO-B (tendency to approach other people), and lower level of self-oriented values. However, the level of life satisfaction, including satis- faction with one's activities, emotional life and life in general, was not related to the level of social participation. The results suggest that overall life satisfaction among this age group is probably dependent upon a wider range of concerns other than social participation. Specific areas of satisfaction may be derived from social partici- pation especially if participation is in service activities.

Experience-based education, including volunteer community service and community

study/political action has been found to have a positive impact on the psychological, social, and

intellectual development of adolescents (Conrad and Hedin, 1982). Participation in experiential

programmes was found to improve students' level of personal and social responsibility, attitudes

towards active participation in the community, self-esteem, and moral reasoning.

The importance of social participation has likewise been emphasized during the International

Youth Year in 1985. The Conference on the Outlook on Youth Policy held in Hong Kong (TYY

Coordinating Committee, 1985) called for the cultivation of social concern in adolescents and

youths to facilitate long-term community development.

However, actual participation in community activities remains low. A report by the Social

Welfare Department (1983) showed that only 30% of children and young persons aged 6 to 24

were aware of the community centres, community halls, or youth centres in their districts. A mere

3% actually participated in the activities. Ng (1984) showed that the leisure activity most

frequently engaged in by young persons was watching television although they would have pre-

ferred more interesting activities for their recreation. A survey conducted by the Hong Kong

YWCA (1985) found that the strongest motive among young persons involved in the agency activi-

ties and services was self-improvement, followed by helping others. These preliminary results

suggest that promotion of social participation should fulfill the needs and values of youths. Other

than this study, there is little in the literature which addresses the correlates of social participation

among young persons in Hong Kong.

The present study will attempt to explore a wide range of psychosocial factors related to social

participation, and to relate participation to life satisfaction. The profiles of three groups of young

persons varying in their degree of social participation were studied with regard to their

psychological needs, interpersonal relationship, values, social support, and life satisfaction, in

addition to other sociodemographic variables. It is hypothesized that young people who actively

participate in community affairs differ from those who do not in terms of social values, personal

needs, and interpersonal relationships. The patterns of life satisfaction among the three groups will

also differ.

METHOD

Subjects

The subjects were 127 young persons from the Sha Tin District, including 72 females and 55

males. Their age ranged between 16 to 24 years with a mean of 18.3. Among the subjects, only 25

(20%) were presently employed while the remaining 102 were still enrolled in school.

The subjects were categorized into leaders, participants and non-participants according to

their level of social participation. In the total sample, there were 50 leaders, including

chairpersons or committee members of clubs in schools or of service agencies in the community.

There were 36 participants who were involved in some activities but did not take up any leadership

roles. The remaining 41 subjects in the sample were non-participants who did not join any clubs.

Instruments

Data were gathered by use of a self-administered questionnaire made up of four parts. Part I

included items in background information, school club and community involvement and activity

pattern.

Part I1 examined the subjects' social support network. Availability, area and helpfulness of

support from confidantes, parents, intimate friends of the opposite sex, and same-sex close friends

of the subjects were measured.

Part 111 was a battery of psychological instruments aiming to assess subjects' value system,

interpersonal relationships and psychological needs.

Rokeach's (1973) Value Survey was used to measure subjects' personal preference for 36

values. These 36 values were presented as two separate lists. Eighteen values formed the terminal

value list which included items such as inner harmony, pleasure, freedom, social recognition, an

exciting life, etc. The instmental value list included items such as logical, courageous, clean, self-

controlled, loving, helpful, etc. In each of the lists, subjects ranked the 18 values from 1 to 18

according to the degree of importance each of these values was to them.

Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavior (FIRO-B; Schultz, 1978)

measured subjects' desired and actual mode of social relationship. The instrument consisted of 54

items presented in a 6-point frequency scale. Six fundamental dimensions of social relations were

studied. They were expressed inclusion, wanted inclusion, expressed control, wanted control, expressed

affection and wanted affection.

Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (EPPS; Edwards, 1959) was used to gauge subjects'

degree of preference for each of the following 15 psychological needs: achievement, deference,

order, exhibition, autonomy, affiliation, intraception, succorance, dominance, abasement,

nurturance, change, endurance, heterosexuality and aggression.

Part IV examined the subjects' life satisfaction by means of three subscales. First, 29 items

presented in a 7-point Likert scale were used to assess subjects7 level of satisfaction in areas of life

such as self, family, peer, and community. Second, nine pairs of adjectives in semantic differential

format (eg. interesting vs. boring) were presented in a 7-point rating scale for subjects to evaluate

their present life condition. Third, a nine-point scale ranging from "the most miserable" to "the

best time" were employed to assess subjects' satisfaction with their life experience last year, at

present and in two years.

Procedure

Two camps were organized to recruit subjects for the present study. An overnight camp in Sai

Kung was arranged in cooperation with the Sha Tin District Board in October, 1985. Another day

camp was run on The Chinese University of Hong Kong campus in March 1986. The instruments

were administered in different sessions of the camp programme.

RESULTS

Psvchological Characteristics

The three groups of youths were first compared in terms of their needs, interpersonal

relationships, and values. High and low scores on the EPPS and FIRO-B are listed in Tables 1 & 2

respectively. The most important and least important Rokeach values are listed in Table 3.

Table 1. High and Low EPPS Needs Among Youth

EPPS - (Score = 0.28)

Total Non-participants Participants Leaders

High Needs Succorance Intraception Succorance (X= 16.97) ("X 17.07) (2 = 16.69)

Succorance (st = 17.60)

Intraception Succorance Intraception (X = 16.47) (z = 16.46) (z = 16.34)

Intraception (z = 16.56)

Affiliation Affiliation Affiliation (K= 16.12) (z = 15.41) (X = 16.29)

Affiliation (X = 16.08)

Low Needs Heterosexuality Heterosexuality Heterosexuality (x= 9.97) (% = 10.27) (%= 9.69)

Heterosexuality (% = 9.91)

Aggression Aggression Aggression ( x = 10.78) (z= 11.27) (% = 10 .14)

Aggression ( z = 10.83)

Deference Order Deference (% = 11.40) (%= 11.83) (x = 11.19)

Deference (Z = u.14)

Table 2. High and Low Scores on FIRO-B Among Youth

FIKO-B

High Scores

Participants Leaders

Wanted Affection ( x =6.03)

Wanted Affection (X =6.02)

Wanted Affection @ =6.06)

Wanted Affection (X = 6.02)

Expressed Control (X = 5.21)

Expressed Control (X = 5.12)

Expressed Control (R = 4.94)

Expressed Control (z = 5.48)

Low Scores Wanted Control (?=3.61)

Wanted Control (Z=3.46)

Expressed Affection (E=3.61)

Wanted Control (x=3.68)

Expressed Affection (X = 3.74)

Expressed Affection (X = 3.83)

Wanted Control (x =3.67)

Expressed Affection (x =3.76)

Table 3 . Most and Least Important Rokeach Values Among Youth

Values

Most Imporatant

Terminal

Instrumental

Least Important

Terminal

Instrumental

Freedom Peace Friendship Happiness Wisdom

Ambitious Responsible Capable Helpful Intellectual

Exciting Life Pleasure

Social Recognition Salvation Accomplishment

Obedient Clean Imaginative Broadminded Logical

Freedom Peace Friendship Happiness Wisdom

Ambitious Capable Intellectual Responsible Helpful

Salvation Exciting Life

Social Recognition Pleasure Beauty

Obedient Imaginative Clean Broadminded Cheerful

Participants

Freedom Peace Happiness Friendship Wisdom

Ambitious Responsible Helpful Loving Capable

Exciting Life Social Recognition Pleasure

Salvation Accomplishment

Obedient Imaginative Clean Logical Broadminded

Leaders

Friendship Freedom Peace Happiness Wisdom

Ambitious Responsible Loving Helpful Intellectual

Pleasure Exciting Life

Social Recognition Salvation Accomplishment

Obedient Clean Imaginative Broadminded Logical

On the whole, the youths in this study indicated high needs for succorance, intraception and

affiliation, but low needs for heterosexuality, aggression, and deference. The leaders, participants and

non-participants did not differ in their psychological needs. Nor did they differ in terms of their

pattern of interpersonal relationship behaviour. All three groups received the highest scores on

wanted affection, expressed control and expressed affecton on the FIRO-B.

The Rokeach terminal values ranked as most important by the subjects were freedom, peace,

friendship, happiness, and wisdom. The most important instrumental values were ambitious,

responsible, capable, helpful, and intellectual. In contrast, the least important terminal values were

exciting life, pleasure, social recognition, salvation, and accomplishment, whereas the least important

instrumental values were obedient, clean, imaginative, broadminded, and logical. The only

differences between the leaders and the other two groups of youth were that the leaders valued

friendrhip more andpleasure less.

Using maximum likelihood factor analysis with varimax rotation, the 36 Rokeach values were

reduced to six factors with a reliability coefficient of 0.35: achievement values included capable,

accomplishment, wisdom, social recognition, and not helpful. Social concern values included peace,

national security, not happiness, not pleasure. Rationalism values included logical, imaginative, not

polite, not obedient, exciting, not pleasure, and equality. Egoistic values included not fiendship, not

responsible, beautiful world, pleasure, and imaginative. The other two factors, true love and

salvation, involved a single value each. Only the egoistic values and value towards salvation were

found to differentiate significantly among the three groups of youth (Table 4).

Table 4. Mean Rokeach Value Factor scores Among Youth

Value Factors

Achievement

Social Concern

Rationalism

Egoism

Love

Salvation

Participants

-0.192

-0.019

-0.108

0.164

-0.174

0.044

70

Leaders P-value for ANOVA

-0.060 0.143

0.047 0.911

0.066 0.726

-0.269 0.049

0.168 0.273

0.291 0.004

Social S u ~ ~ o r t

Maximum likelihood factor analysis with varimax rotation was run on the total set of social

support items and a four-factor structure was obtained with a reliability coefficient of 0.76. Four

factor scales were then constructed from the Social Support Scale items. Three of the scales,

parental support, opposite-sex friendr' support, and same-sex friendr' support, contained items

depicting understanding, telling about bad mood, telling about joy, care, sharing joy,

commendation, helping to cope and communication. The fourth scale, confidante availability,

contained items depicting contact frequency, talking and listening to confidante, accessibility,

feeling comfort, and importance. The scales' loadings and reliabilities are presented in Table 5.

The support scale scores were standardized with a mean of 0.00 for the total sample. The

relative scores for the three groups of subjects were compared. The means and ANOVA results

are shown in Table 6.

Table 6. Mean Social Support Scale Scores Among Youth

Social Support Factor Non-~articipants Participants Leaders P-value for ANOVA

Parental Support 0.072 -0.292 0.159 0.13

Oppositesex Friend's Support -0.279

Same-sex Friend's Support -0.289

Confidante Availability -0.390 0.193 0.165 0.02

The results showed that parental support did not differ among the leaders, participants and

non-participants. However, the participants and leaders scored significantly higher than the non-

participants on confidante availability. Although the differences did not reach a significance level

of 0.05, participants scored higher on support from same-sex f r i e d whereas Leaders scored higher

on support from opposite-sex friend.

Item -

Understanding Telling bad mood Telling joy Care Sharing joy Commendation Helping to cope Communication support Contact frequency Talking to confidante Listening to confidante Accessibility Feeling comfort Importance

Table 5. Factor Scales for Social Support Based on Principal Component Analysis

Parental S U R D O ~ ~

Loading Weight

Omega Reliability 0.872

Opposite-Sex Friend's S u ~ ~ o r t * Loading Weight

Same-Sex Friend's Suvvort Loading Weight

Confidante Availabilitv

Loading Weight

*Only 38 obse~vations were available to perform the analysis for oppositesex friend's support.

Life Satisfaction

The life satisfaction items were factor analyzed and three factor scales were constructed on the basis

of the first principal component loadings. These scales may be labelled as satisfaction with personal

relationships, satisfaction with activities, and life description. The items and first component loadings

for the three scales are listed in Table 7a, 7b, & 7c.

Table 7a. First Component Loading for Satisfaction with Personal Relationship

Satisfaction with:

Family

Relation with father

Relation with mother

Relation with friend

Health

Finance

Friendship

Acceptance by others

Respect from others

Interaction with others

Community

Family role

Knowledge

Reliability, Omega

First Component

Loading

First Component Weight

Table 7b. First Component Loading for Satisfaction with Activity

Satisfaction with:

Study

Activity

Leisure

Amusement

Sleep

Freedom

School

Relaxation

Most satisfactory week

Reliability, Omega

First Component Loading

Interesting

Happiness

Worth

Friend

Substantiality

Hopefulness

Benefit

Relaxation

Freedom

Reliability, Omega

Table 7c. First Component Loading for Positive Life Description

First Component Loading

First Component Weight

0.31897

0.36076

0.33465

0.33838

0.32823

0.31958

0.29753

0.34271

0.35465

First Component Weight

The three groups of subjects did not differ on the three general dimensions of life satisfaction.

However, they differed on individual items of satisfaction, with leaders and participants more

satisfied with friends' relationship than non-participants. Participants and leaders were also more

satisfied with their community organizations than non-participants (Table 8).

Table 8. Life Satisfaction Among Youth

Satisfaction Non-participants Participants

Satisfaction with Personal Relation- -0.048 -0.102 ship Factor*

Satisfaction with Activity Factor* 0.064 -0.011

Positive Life Descriptive Factor* 0.011

Satisfaction with Friend's Relation- ship

Satisfaction with the Agency

Leaders P-value for ANOVA

0.118 0.571

0.023 0.743

0.017 0.895

5.82 0.035

5.49 0.010

*Factor scales are standardized with a mean of 0.

Correlates of Social Partici~ation

The level of social participation was correlated with a range of psychological and social

variables. The variables with significant univariate correlations included education, egoistic values

and salvation value on the Rokeach values, confidante availability on the Social Support

questionnaire, joining for interest's sake and joining for service's sake on the community

involvement section of the background information questionnaire (Table 9).

Table 9. Signilkant Correlations with Social Participation Level

Variables

Education

Egoistic Values

Salvation Values

Confidante Availability

Joining for interest

Joining for service

r with Participation Level

0.216**

-0.197*

0.287***

0.226**

0.2w*

0.262**

* Significant at L 0.05 level

** Significant at 5 0.01 level

*** Significant at 5 0.001 level

2 A multiple regression analysis was performed on the set of psychological variables with a R of

0.496. The variables found to contribute significantly to the model included higher education, fewer

siblings, higher expressed inclusion on FIRO-B (reflecting the tendency to approach other people),

and lower egoistic values. This set of variables did not include some of the significant variables

found in the univariate correlations due to missing data.

Although the overall level of social participation was not significantly correlated with life

satisfaction in general, it was positively correlated with satisfaction with one's participation.

Satisfaction with participation was also correlated with participation in service activities, joining for

service's sake, and participation in recreational activities (Table 10).

Table 10. Simcant Relationships between Social Participation and Satisfaction

Participation Satisfaction

Overall level of participation

Joining for service

Participation in service

Participation in service

Participation in service

Participation in service

Participation in service

Participation in service

Participation in service

With participation

With participation

With participation

With family role

With the agency

With the district

With respect received

With being accepted

With freedom

** Significant at 5 0.01 level

*** Significant at 5 0.001 level

The relationship between participation in service activities with satisfaction was studied in

greater details. Significant correlations were found between participation in service activities and

satisfaction with one's community agencies, with one's district, with being accepted, with freedom,

with family role, and with the respect one received.

DISCUSSION

Results from the present study showed that the level of social participation was higher among

young people with higher educational level, who placed less importance on egoistic values and

more importance on salvation values. They were more active if they participated for the sake of

social service, or for their own interests. Those who were active also received more social support

with a confidante more available who would be able to communicate and share their feelings and

concerns. However, they did not differ in terms of their psychological needs as measured by the

EPPS or interpersonal relationship as measured by the FIRO-B.

These results suggest that social participation among young people is related more to social

orientation than to individual needs or personality styles. Opportunities for social participation are

often provided by schools, church groups, and community organizations. Many of these activities

are related to social services. The extent to which these social values a r e determinants or

consequences of social participation cannot be ascertained in this cross-sectional study. However,

as higher educational attainment and lower self-orientation values have been known to be related

and are both predictors of social participation, it would be reasonable to suspect that social values

are predisposing factors. At the same time, direct participation in the community has been found

to increase students' concern for others and acceptance of community responsibilities in the U.S.

(Conrad and Hedin, 1982). In future studies, the reciprocal facilitation of social orientation and

social participation should be investigated using multivariate analysis.

Do young people derive greater life satisfaction on the basis of their social participation? It

seems that general life satisfaction is dependent on a broader range of experiences other than

social participation alone among this age group. More important sources of general satisfaction at

this stage may be relationships with one's family and friends, which were found to be significantly

related to overall personal satisfaction. One's academic achievement (which has not been included

as a variable in this study) may also play an important role in life satisfaction among youth.

On the other hand, specific areas of satisfaction were derived from social participation,

especially if the young people participated in service activities. It was found that participation in

social services was related to their satisfaction with their family role, with the social group they

were involved in, and with their home district. Moreover, participation in social services were

related to their satisfaction with the acceptance and respect they received from others. Youth

leaders and active participants were also found to enjoy greater availability of personal confidantes

and were more satisfied with their relationships with their friends. These areas of satisfaction

reflect good personal adjustment among active young people. Similar results were obtained by

Conrad and Hedin (1982) in the U.S. where adolescents who attended experiential learning

programs improved their level of personal and social responsibility, attitudes toward others,

attitudes toward active participation in the community, self-esteem, moral reasoning, social

consciousness, and interpersonal skills. Although the present study is more restricted in scope, the

results support the value of encouraging young people to participate in social services as a means

of promoting their social development.

REFERENCE

Conrad, D. and Hedin, D. (1982) The impact of experiential education on adolescent development. Child and Youth Services, 57-76.

Committee on 1985 International Youth Year. (1985) 1985 International Youth Year Program of Activities. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government Printers.

Edwards, A.L. (1959). Edwards Personal Preference Schedule. New York: Psychological Corporation.

Hong Kong Young Women's Christian Association. (1985) Youth Involvement of Social Responsibilit~ Survey R e ~ o r t . Hong Kong: Young Women's Christian Association.

Ng, P.P. (1984) Socio-demographic patterns of leisure behaviour of adolescents in Hong Kong. Centre for Hone Kone Studies Occasional P a ~ e r No. 4, Hong Kong: Institute of Social Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Rokeach, M. (1973). The nature of human values. New York: Free Press.

Schultz, W. (1978) F I R 0 Awareness Scales. Palo Alto, California: Consulting Psychologists Press.

Social Welfare Department, Research and Statistics Section (1983). Study of awareness and participation in youth and communitv activities. Hong Kong: Social Welfare Department.

ADOLESCENTS AND CONFINED LIVING ENVIRONMENT

Y.K. Chan Department of Sociology

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

This paper has used part of the data in the Leisure and Life Satisfaction of High School Pupils Survey which was funded by Television Broadcasts Limited, Hong Kong and was conducted under the auspices of the Centre for Hong Kong Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Drs. Pedro Ng and Peter Man played a key role in the Survey. The author wishes to thank Prof. Rance P.L.Lee for his critical comments, and Ms. Lau Shuk-kwan and Ms. Hsu Suet-ming for their assistance in research.

ABSTRACT

This paper, based on data collected in the Leisure and Life Satisfaction of High School Pupils Survey, envisages how adolescents perceive and react to physical con- straints in high-density housing conditions. Correlation and regression analyses were employed in the study. Results show that space avaliable to individuals does not have a strong effect on individual perceptions of physical space. However, discrep- ancy between rising aspiration and actual housing conditions may be a source of dissatissfaction among adolescents. We also found that socially integrated house- holds could tolerate better and could react more positively to density. In addition, better environmental design may help individuals to cope with crowded settings, and space intensity does not necessarily produce negative effects since individual's feeling of crowded setting is conditioned by nature and organization of activities.

A high-density urban living environment is often considered problematic, but there is no substantial

evidence that high density produces consistently negative effects on humans. The lack of consistent

findings can in part be attributed to the differentiation of measurements (Chan, 1984). Adaptive

processes and coping mechanisms also help to explain the differential effects of high density.

Studies previously done in Hong Kong, mostly of the survey type, tend to confirm that density

produces little effect on people (Schmitt, 1963 & 1966; Mitchell, 1971; Mitlar, 1976; Chan, 1978). It

was found that Chinese people in Hong Kong were successful in developing ways of managing space,

time and people (Anderson, 1972; Mitlar, 1976).

As pointed out by Lee (1981), Chinese tranquillity and uncomplaining attitudes, acceptance of

having to work to survive, mutual dependence of family members, low personal value on privacy,

defining privacy in terms of primary groups, and acceptance of close spatial distance between

individuals, are some of the factors explaining why Hong Kong people can cope with the high-density

environment.

However, most of the studies mentioned collected data from the adult population in the 60s and

70s. The respondents, many of them first-generation immigrants from China, might have been less

demanding in many aspects than their children, who have been brought up in our rapidly developing

metropolis (Lee, 1984 & 1985). This younger generation very likely aspires to a better living

environment but be disappointed because of the environmental constraints in Hong Kong. As a

consequence, the prevalent feeIing of stress among the adolescents (Lee, 1984) may further be

aggravated.

To what extent the living environment may contribute to the feeling of stress among adolescents is

beyond the scope of this paper. In order to improve our understanding of the living environment,

particularly high-density housing, we shall focus on the housing conditions of a population of high

school pupils. Special emphasis is placed on space available to them. Our major concern is how

adolescents perceive the physical space and crowding. Factors which may condition or intervene into

the perceptions of physical space and crowding will also be examined. We will .oj on also proceed to

investigate how the respondents react to physical constraints. We believe that the present study can help

to clarify the differential effects of physical space on human perceptions under different physical and

social conditions, and hopefully identify situations which are potential causes of maladjustment and

stress.

DATA AND METHOD

Data used in this paper are taken from the 1985 Leisure and Life Quality of High School Pupils

Survey conducted by the author and his co-investigators (Drs. Pedro and Peter Man) under the

auspices of the Centre for Hong Kong Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. A cluster

sample of high school pupils was selected (primary units: schools, secondary units: classes). Because of

refusals on the part of school principals, subsidized schoolswere under-represented. Information from

about 2,000 respondents was collected through a self-administered standardized questionnaire.

However, it must be noted that findings of this study cannot be generalized to the total population of

high school pupils, though the data were weighted by school categories before analysis, as the survey

population covered Forms 2 and 5 pupils only.

Household density is measured by the effective floor space per capita (in square feet, including

kitchen, bathroom and balcony). Two questionnaire items are selected to reflect the respondent's

perception of space: "Do you think the present housing unit provides sufficient space for your

household?" (0 = no, 1 = yes), and "Do you feel crowded at home?" (0 = no, 1 = yes).

Other indoor environment-related indicators are also considered. They are: "Type of partitioning

(0 = no permanent partitioning, 1 = permanent partitioning), "Type of housing" (1 = whole flat, 2 =

room/rooms in a flat, 3 = temporary housing). "Indoor environment" (comprises four dichotomous

itms -- facilities, noise level, lighting and ventilation, each with score 0 or 1 representing bad or good --

in the form of a five-point scale and then recoded, 0 = low quality, 1 = high quality), "Household's

material possessions"* (0 = below average, 1 = above average".

The attributes of individuals considered are sex (0 = female, 1 = male), and form being

attended (0 = Form 2, 1 = Form 5). The respondent's "Relation wth parents" is measured by .pm

* Measured by the FMP index developed by Dr. Pedro Ng of the Dept. of Sociology, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (see P.Ng, 1988).

points given separately for mother and father by the respondent (0 = worst, 100 = best; then

transformed into 0 = bad to not so good -- either mother or father below 80, or both below 80 , l =

good -- both 80 o r above). Another questionnaire item chosen to indicate the attitude of

respondents toward family life is: "Do you agree harmony among family members should be highly

valued?" (0 = no, 1 = yes).

The questions concerning space utilization are: "While you are doing your homework, do other

household members usually utilize the same place for other purposes?" (0 = no, 1 = yes) and "Do

you share sleeping place with other household members?" (1 = no sharing o r sharing with

brothers/sisters of the same sex, 2 = sharing with brothers/sisters of the opposite sex, 3 = sharing

with other household members).

In addition, several perceptual and behavioral items a re included in the study. These are:

"Circumstances under which the respondent feels crowded", "Most important reason for feeling

crowdedn, "What to do when the respondent feels crowded?" "Academic performance" (1 = high

standing to 4 = low standing), and "Time spent on watching TV programmes" (for both weekends

and weekdays, 1 = less than 2 hours daily, 2 = 2 hours or more daily).

In this study, we computed mainly Pearson r to examine the association between variables;

regression analysis was also employed in the analysis.

F I N D I N G S

The survey data show that half of the households have an effective space per capita of more

than 88 ft (x = 88.49 ft). But 40% of respondents feel that their housing unit does not provide

sufficient space for the household, and 62% report that they feel crowded at home.

To measure the degree of association of space per capita with satisfaction with space and

feeling crowded, the Pearson r is computed. We find that the correlation between space per capita

and satisfaction with space (r = 0.3098, p < 0.001) and that between space per capita and feeling

crowded (r = -0.2607, p < 0.001) moderate but significant. Also, satisfaction with space is

strongly and inversely correlated with feeling crowded (r = -0.4974, p < 0.001).

Among those who feel crowded at home, the most common circumstances under which one

feels crowded are: %hen relatives come to visit the household" and "while doing homework". The

most common reason of feeling crowded is "no sufficient space and activities constrained", and the

next most common is "too noisy". The problem of behavioral constraints is most obvious when the

respondent invites friends or classmates home (see table 1).

However, the reactions, or adaptive behaviors of the respondents, toward feeling crowded are

rather passive. The majority stay at home regardless of the crowded circumstances except for one

occasion. When friends or classmates are invited, they probably go outside when feeling crowded.

It is rare that the respondent would ask for sole occupacy of the place, unless he or she has to play

a key role in the behavioral setting, e.g. entertaining friends or classmates (see Table 2). Sixty-five

percent of the respondents reported that while they a r e doing homework other household

members usually make use of the same place for other activities. However, over 50 percent still

consider the residence a good place for studying. Among those who have to share the same place

with other members while doing their homework, 95 percent usually continue doing their

homework at home, and 51 percent still consider it a good environment.

It seems that the perceptions of physical environment do not have much effect on the academic

performance of the respondents. The correlations between academic performance and space per

capita (r = -0.031, p = 0.092). satisfaction with space (r = 0.0214, p = 0.179) and feeling crowded

(r = 0.0044, p = 0.424) are negligible and insignificant. But academic performance is negatively

correlated with time spent in watching TV on weekdays (r = -0.1046, p < 0.001), though the

correlation is rather weak, it is significant.

Certainly, the above findings do not lead to any conclusion about the relationship between

perceptions of physical environment and behavioral adaptation, o r about the effects of physical

environment upon individual performance. However, further analysis of the relationship between

space per capita and indidvidual perceptions on physical space and crowding is possible and

worthwhile.

Housing and environmental conditions, individual social attributes, activities pursued and

space management may all mediate the effects of space on individuals. Therefore, Pearson r is

computed for space per capita with satisfaction with space and feeling of crowding, but controlling

for different environmental, social and behavioral variables separately. The results, summarized

in Table 3, are:

(1) Indoor environment, material possession and partitioning explain the relationship

between space per capita and both satisfaction with space and feeling crowded.

(2) The fact that other members make use of the same place while respondents are doing

homework explains the relationship between space per capita and feeling crowded,

and conditions the relationship between space per capita and satisfaction with space.

(3) Housing type, relation with parents, harmony highly valued, sex, form being attended,

sharing of sleeping place and hours watching TV all condition the relationship between

space per capita and both satisfaction with space and feeling crowded.

Individuals living in poor housing such as shared flats o r temporary housing a re more

sensitive to limited space. And those who do not agree that family members should live together

harmoniously a re less satisfied with small space and feel more crowded. It is interesting to find

that TV watching mediates the effect of space -- those who spend more time watching TV are less

perceptive of limited space. In the case of respondents who live in low quality housing, and those

who have few material possessions or have to share the sleeping place with other household

members, space per capita contributes less to the feeling of being crowded obviously.

In order to assess these various effects, we used stepwise multiple regression analysis in

the la ter stage of t he study, taking the above mentioned variables and space per capita as

independent variables, and satisfaction with space and feeling crowded as dependent variables

separately. For satisfaction with space, six independent variables were entered. For feeling

crowded, only five independent variables were entered before the probability of F-to-enter(O.05)

was reached. The results are summarised in Table 4 with the following highlights:

(1) Indoor environment explains 14.02 percent of the variance for satisfaction with space

and 8.78 percent of the variance for feeling crowded. In other words, indoor

environment is the most significant variable among the independent variables entered

for both items.

Table 3. Correlations of Effective Floor Space Per Capita with Satisfaction with Space and Feeling Crowded (N= 1896)

Effective floor space Respondents per capita with Feeling

satisfaction with space crowded

Original Controlled for: Partitioning

no pennanent partitioning with permanent partitioning

Housing Type whole flat room/rooms in a flat temporary housing

Indoor environment low quality high quality

Material possessions below average above average

Sex of respondent female male

Form bcing at tended 2 4 & 5

Relation with parents bad/not so good good

Harmony should be highly valued not agree agree

While doing homewark No other members mdle use of

the same place Other members make use of the same place

Sharing sleeping place No sharing Rr sharing with brothers/

sisters(same sex) Sharing with brothers/sisters (opp. sex) Sharing with other household members

Number of hours watching T.V. per day Weekdays < 2 hrs. 7 2 hrs

Weekends < 2 hrs. > 2 hrs.

Table 4: Stepwise Multiple Regression Including 7 Independent Variables (N = 1592)

D E P E N D E N T V A R I A B L E S

Independent Variables Satisfaction with Space Feeling Crowded

step entered additional explained

step entered additional p explained

Indoor environment

Space per capita

Partitioning

Form being attended

Sharing sleeping place

Relation with parents

While doing homework, other members make use of the same place

5

6

* not entered

1

3

* not entered

5

* not entered

4

2

% of variance explained by variables entered 23.283 16.210

(2) For satisfaction of space, space per capita enters next. It explains an additional 6.06

percent of the variance.

(3) Partitioning enters third for satisfaction with space. However, it explains 1.68 percent

of the additional variance only. It is not entered at all for feeling crowded.

(4) For feeling crowded, the variable of doing homework being done in a space used by

others enters second. 4.35 percent of the additional variance is explained.

(5 ) Space per capita only enters third for feeling crowded, the additional variance it

explains is 2.28 percent only.

(6) For both items, variables entering after the first three variables explain only a very

minor percentage of the variances.

(7) Even with aU the independent variables jointly introduced, a not very high percentage

of the variance of both perceptual items is explained -- 23.38 percent and 16.21 percent

for satisfaction with space and feeling crowded respectively.

According to the above findings, space per capita is related to satisfaction with space (r =

0.3098, additional variance explained is 6.06 percent) and feeling crowded (r = -0.2607, additional

variance explained is 2.28 percent). However, these correlations are not strong and the percentage

of additional variances explained is low. In other words, space per capita is neither a major cause

of the feeling of dissatisfaction with space nor a major cause of feeling crowded. Indoor

environment contributes more to both perceptual items than space per capita does(entered first in

the multiple regression analysis and explaining 14.02 percent and 8.78 percent of the variances).

One environmental variable -- partitioning -- is also related to satisfaction with space and another

-- while doing homework, other members making use of the same place -- is related to feeling

crowded.

DISCUSSION

Hong Kong is an extremely crowded metropolis. It is normal that quite a number of people

are dissatisfied with the space at home and therefore feel crowded. However, space available to

individuals does not have a strong effect on individual perceptions of physical space as commonly

believed. Discrepancy between rising aspirations and actual housing conditions may well be a

source of dissatisfaction among adolescents, and further research on density and crowding could

be developed along this line. The findings of the present study succeed in highlighting the

following points.

Social integration and the relationship between objective physical space and subjective

perception of space.

According to Freedman (1975; 1979), people do not respond to density in a uniform

way; their response to density depends on their response to the situation itself. Our analyses

reveal that the relation between adolescents and their parents, and their value orientation

concerning harmony among family members -- which are both indicators of family

integration -- affect the relationship between physical space and the perceptions of space.

Poor relation and negative value orientation strengthen the association of physical space

with satisfaction with space and feeling crowded. In addition, many adolescents feel

crowded when relatives visit their household. The visit can be considered a disintegrated

situation which causes a feeling of being crowded. The reason is that young people usually

play only a marginal role in the setting, and very often the situation is beyond their control.

We suggest that members of a socially integrated household would react more positively to

density and could better tolerate confined high density environment.

(2) Indoor environment qaulity and perceptions of physical space

Stokols and others (Stokols et. al., 1975) argued that maximal room-partitioning would

not reduce the perception of crowding and that architectural variations in a particular setting

simply exert minimal influence on occupants' perception of crowding. However, others

(Desor, 1972; Davis, 1978; Lee, 1981) consider that partitioning and architectural design can

modify human perception of physical space. Present findings tend to support the latter

argument. The household's material possessions, partitioning, and particularly indoor

environmental quality all explain the relationship between physical space and perceptions of

space. Housing type also conditions the effect of physical space on human satisfaction and

feeling crowded. All these items in fact reflect the quality of total indoor environment which

is very important to members who have to stay at home for most of the time. It is important

to note that better environmental design may help individuals to cope with settings of

limited space. The remaining questions are what particular design may help best and what

minimal standard should be attained.

(3) Space-intensity and reactions

Space-intensity can be conceptualized as the intensity of human activities in a given

space or behavioral setting. Its effect on human subjective perceptions of a given space

should not be over-simplified. It is suggested that we can consider its effect in at least two

different dimensions.

Firstly, its effect depends on the kind of roles individuals have to perform in the setting.

If several individuals are confined in the same physical space and each of them has to

perform different obligations, e.g. husband, wife or children, individuals would very likely

have a negative reaction to the space that is intensively utilized. In addition, role

performance would be affected by unwanted interference. The argument can be supported

by overload models (Stokols, 1972; Saegert, 1979) and behavioral constraint models (Stokols.

1972' Cohen, 1977). Our findings provide no evidence of inadequate role performance in

space-intensive environment (no association of academic performance with space per capita,

satisfaction of space or sharing a place with others while doing homework). We do however

find that if other members make use of the same place for other activities while the

respondent is doing homework, the effect of space on individual satisfaction is stronger, and

it is also a source of the feeling of crowded.

On the other hand, space-intensity does not necessarily produce negative effects. If

a confined living space is well organized for activities, particularly activities which may divert

one's attention from spatial constraints, negative effects of limited physical space may be

weakened. That is the reason why space-intensive games, and other indoor leisure activities

like watching TV may be considered as coping mechanisms in high-density housing (Lee,

1981; Chan, 1984). Our findings support, at least partly, this suggestion. Satisfaction with

space and feeling crowded are conditioned by hours of watching TV on weekdays.

In short, it is evident that space-intensity is a complex concept. To consider all

"intensive utilization of space" a similar situation is certainly an over-simplification. In

addition to intensity, the nature and organization of activities must also be taken into

considera tion.

More living space is surely a highly valued goal of all Hong Kong people. Regarding the

objective conditions of the local environment, spacious housing is a very difficult if not impossible

goal for the majority of the population to attain. Therefore, we would like to suggest the three

above mentioned highlights as directions for further research, while hoping that social integration,

improved indoor environment and better space management might ease the negative effect of

living in high-density environments.

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- - - - - - - - - (1984) "Family and Mental Health of Chinese Adolescents in Hong Kong." Paper presented at the Conference on Child Socialization and Mental Health: The Case of Chinese Culture. Honolulu, Hawaii, August 6-15.

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