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postgraduate thesis: A study on the impact of family factors on the initiation and continuation of young adult drug use in Hong Kong

TitleA study on the impact of family factors on the initiation and continuation of young adult drug use in Hong Kong
Authors
Issue Date2024
PublisherThe University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong)
Citation
Ho, L. K. [何樂强], Kwan, H. W. E. N. [關曉樺], Pan, J. [潘瑾]. (2024). A study on the impact of family factors on the initiation and continuation of young adult drug use in Hong Kong. (Thesis). University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR.
AbstractDrug use is a worldwide social issue that causes numerous deaths, economic losses, and criminal activities at local, regional and international levels. Young adult is one of the most vulnerable groups to drug use. The positive role of family, especially for young adults and adolescents who are experiencing critical psychological and behavioral changes at their unique developmental stages, is significant and indispensable in providing protection against delinquent behaviors, e.g. drug use. The aim of this research study is to examine whether and how family background, family relationship and parenting styles are relevant to the initiation and continuation of young adult drug use in Hong Kong. 10 interviewees, including eight young adult drug users (aged between 18 and 25) and two parents whose children are drug users, have been invited to attend semi-structured interviews for data collection. Based on the research results, we observe that in terms of family background factors, parental drug history was found to be a strong risk factor with direct influence on the initiation and continuation of young adult drug use. Single-parent families, financial hardship and parental physical disabilities were found to be risk factors contributing to young adult drug use indirectly. For the family relationship factors, we observe that low quality of communication, weak family attachment and low level of family intimacy are risk factors which contribute to young adults’ drug use behaviors. Regarding the parenting style factors, we observe that authoritarian, permissive and neglectful parenting styles are risk factors contributing to the initiation and continuation of young adult drug use, whereas the potential protective effects of the authoritative parenting style against drug use are not observed in our study. During the research, we note that different familial and non-familial factors would interact among themselves, which may amplify the negative impacts of the risk factors or undermine the positive effects of the protective factors. Further studies could be conducted to explore the joint effects of multiple factors in the development of delinquent behaviors.
DegreeMaster of Social Sciences
SubjectYouth - Family relationships - China - Hong Kong
Youth - Drug use - China - Hong Kong
Drug abuse - China - Hong Kong
Dept/ProgramCriminology
Persistent Identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/352880

 

DC FieldValueLanguage
dc.contributor.authorHo, Lok Keung-
dc.contributor.author何樂强-
dc.contributor.authorKwan, Hiu Wah Emma Natalie-
dc.contributor.author關曉樺-
dc.contributor.authorPan, Jin-
dc.contributor.author潘瑾-
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-08T06:46:51Z-
dc.date.available2025-01-08T06:46:51Z-
dc.date.issued2024-
dc.identifier.citationHo, L. K. [何樂强], Kwan, H. W. E. N. [關曉樺], Pan, J. [潘瑾]. (2024). A study on the impact of family factors on the initiation and continuation of young adult drug use in Hong Kong. (Thesis). University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR.-
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/352880-
dc.description.abstractDrug use is a worldwide social issue that causes numerous deaths, economic losses, and criminal activities at local, regional and international levels. Young adult is one of the most vulnerable groups to drug use. The positive role of family, especially for young adults and adolescents who are experiencing critical psychological and behavioral changes at their unique developmental stages, is significant and indispensable in providing protection against delinquent behaviors, e.g. drug use. The aim of this research study is to examine whether and how family background, family relationship and parenting styles are relevant to the initiation and continuation of young adult drug use in Hong Kong. 10 interviewees, including eight young adult drug users (aged between 18 and 25) and two parents whose children are drug users, have been invited to attend semi-structured interviews for data collection. Based on the research results, we observe that in terms of family background factors, parental drug history was found to be a strong risk factor with direct influence on the initiation and continuation of young adult drug use. Single-parent families, financial hardship and parental physical disabilities were found to be risk factors contributing to young adult drug use indirectly. For the family relationship factors, we observe that low quality of communication, weak family attachment and low level of family intimacy are risk factors which contribute to young adults’ drug use behaviors. Regarding the parenting style factors, we observe that authoritarian, permissive and neglectful parenting styles are risk factors contributing to the initiation and continuation of young adult drug use, whereas the potential protective effects of the authoritative parenting style against drug use are not observed in our study. During the research, we note that different familial and non-familial factors would interact among themselves, which may amplify the negative impacts of the risk factors or undermine the positive effects of the protective factors. Further studies could be conducted to explore the joint effects of multiple factors in the development of delinquent behaviors. -
dc.languageeng-
dc.publisherThe University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong)-
dc.relation.ispartofHKU Theses Online (HKUTO)-
dc.rightsThe author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent rights) and the right to use in future works.-
dc.rightsThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.-
dc.subject.lcshYouth - Family relationships - China - Hong Kong-
dc.subject.lcshYouth - Drug use - China - Hong Kong-
dc.subject.lcshDrug abuse - China - Hong Kong-
dc.titleA study on the impact of family factors on the initiation and continuation of young adult drug use in Hong Kong-
dc.typePG_Thesis-
dc.description.thesisnameMaster of Social Sciences-
dc.description.thesislevelMaster-
dc.description.thesisdisciplineCriminology-
dc.description.naturepublished_or_final_version-
dc.date.hkucongregation2024-
dc.identifier.mmsid991044890308303414-

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