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  1. Research Impact
  2. Improving the Social and Behavioural Outcomes among At-risk Young People

Improving the Social and Behavioural Outcomes among At-risk Young People

There are serious concerns about various youth problems (such as violence, drug abuse and unemployment) in Hong Kong and elsewhere. One plausible criminological explanation is that low self-control is primarily responsible for risky and delinquent behaviour. Conversely, people with higher self-control are likely to be involved in conventional activities which are consistent with social norms.

Pioneering interdisciplinary research conducted by Professors Eric Chui has enabled a number of social work non-governmental organizations to provide at-risk young people with timely and effective intervention by fostering their self-control.

The findings from a series of empirical studies, conducted in the last decade, have yielded important implications for professional youth work practice; thereby, promoting better outcomes amongst young people.

At-risk Young People
Justice

A New Way of Measuring Self-control in the Chinese Context

During the last few decades, researchers have made an effort to design a valid and reliable measure that accurately assesses various aspects of self-control. However, there remains to be disagreement regarding how self-control can best be operationalized for the Chinese context. Together with his former doctoral student, Professor Eric Chui’s empirical research provided solid evidence for Grasmick et al.’s (1993) attitudinal scale, instead of Hirschi’s (2004) bonding measure, as a consistent predictor of Chinese juvenile delinquency. Data were derived from a sample of incarcerated young offenders (N=780) and a group of secondary school students (N=1,264) from China.

The Chinese version of the self-control scale has been used as an assessment tool for understanding the level of self-control amongst young people in by both youth work teams and researchers in Hong Kong, Macau and China.

Developing Programmes that Foster Young People’s Self-control

Developing Programmes that Foster Young People’s
Self-control

Research commissioned by Escola Dom Luis Versiglia in Macau demonstrated a robust evidence base to the important role of an individual’s level of self-control in explaining bullying perpetration. The research findings suggested that increasing young people’s level of self-control helped reduce their propensity to engage in bullying perpetration at school. Adolescents receiving residential education, which placed an emphasis on improving their level of self-control, exhibited low incidences of behavioural problems and possessed essential coping strategies to minimizethe negative impact of negative life events to one’s well-being.

Project F.O.C.U.S

Project F.O.C.U.S. (Family, Optimism, Cognition, Unity, Self-control), initiated by The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, aims to provide a new violence treatment program for at-risk youth who exhibited in a range of violent behaviours, including physical assaults, bullying and blackmail. Research findings indicated that the Project is effective, in terms of significantly reducing their bullying behaviour and fighting; improving the communication with parents; and increasing their levels of self-control; and reducing the degree of impulsivity and risk-taking tendencies within a six-month period.

Bar Chart

Research also revealed that the levels of self-control correlates with key social and behavioural outcomes amongst the at-risk young people.

Influencing Practice

Professor Eric Chui has been appointed by the HKSAR Government and various NGOs as an expert on intervention services for at-risk youth.

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Dr Ann JANG
National Youth Policy Institute,
South Korea
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"Thank you for your remarkable presentation for the delegation from Korea. The team members are from Ministry of Education and the regional education offices who are in charge of school bullying prevention programmes. I am grateful for your time and effort for my team."

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Wilson CHAN Man Ho
Coordinator (Services)
The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups
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"The study concluded with an evidence-based counselling package that frontline social workers could use in working with youth with violence and/or gang-related problems. This is the first evidence-based treatment program for at-risk youth in Hong Kong that has undergone rigorous scientific evaluation and yielded significant results. The study found four core intervention factors. Overall, the treatment is able to significantly reduce the criminal cycle and violent behaviors among service targets."

Our experts

Prof. Chui Wing Hong Eric

Prof. CHUI Wing Hong Eric

eric.chui@cityu.edu.hk
+852 34428262
CityU Scholar
SS homepage

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  • Chui, W.H. (2010) “Effective models of outreach youth work intervention”, Conference for the Transformation of At-risk Youths, November 9-11, 2010, Organized by the Children-At-Risk Empowerment Association (CARE Singapore). (Invited Speaker)
  • Chui, W.H. (2011) “Evidence-based practice in youth work”, Seminar on Best Practice on Evidence Based Practice in Dealing with Addictive Behaviours, March 30, 2011, Organized by The Hong Kong Council of Social Service. (Invited Speaker)
  • Chui, W.H. (2015) “A study on youth violence among youth-at-risk in Hong Kong”, 2015 2nd International Conference on Social Sciences and Innovations, 10-11 August 2015, Organized by the International Economics Development and Research Center (IEDRC), Singapore. [Keynote Speaker]
  • Chui, W.H. (2015) “Predictors of violence among youth-at-risk in Hong Kong”, 2015 International Symposium of Crime Problems and Crime Fighting Strategies, 20 November, 2015, Organized by the Department of Criminology, National Chung Cheng University, Chia-Yi, Taiwan. [Invited Speaker]
  • Chui, W.H. (2015) “Zero tolerance for youth dating violence”, Forum on “Empowering Youth to End Dating Violence, 27 November 2015, Organized by the Harmony House, Hong Kong. [Keynote Speaker]
  • Chui, W.H. (2016) “Outreach youth social work in Hong Kong: Social care or control?”, Seminar for Policy, Professionals and Communities Research Group, 30 June 2016, Organized by the Centre for Social Justice and Community Action, School of Applied Social Sciences, Durham University, UK. (Invited Speaker)
  • Chui, W.H. (2018) “Adolescent delinquent problems, effective prevention and intervention strategies in Hong Kong”, Adolescents’ Behavioral Problems: Effective Prevention and Intervention Strategies, 1 June 2018, Organized by Korea Youth Research Association, Seoul, Korea. [Keynote Speaker]