Positive youth development, life satisfaction and problem behaviour among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong : a replication

Abstract

The purpose of this replication study was to examine the relationships among life satisfaction, positive youth development and problem behaviour. The respondents were 7,151 Chinese Secondary 2 (Grade 8) students (3,707 boys and 3,014 girls) recruited from 44 schools in Hong Kong. Validated assessment tools measuring positive youth development, life satisfaction and problem behaviour were used. As predicted, positive youth development was positively correlated with life satisfaction, and positive youth development and life satisfaction were negatively correlated with adolescent problem behaviour. Based on a series of structural equation models, the present findings replicated the previous findings that adolescents with a higher level of positive youth development were more satisfied with life and had lesser problem behaviour, with higher level of life satisfaction and lower level of problem behaviour mutually influencing each other. These replicated findings provide a further advance in the literature on positive youth development, particularly in the Chinese context. Implications for future research and intervention were discussed.