Developmental outcomes of economically disadvantaged adolescents

The purpose of this chapter is to examine the relationships between economic disadvantage and adolescent and developmental outcomes as well as perceived family qualities in 3,580 Secondary 2 students in Hong Kong. Developmental outcomes included positive youth development constructs, problem behavior, and drug taking behavior, whereas perceived family qualities included perceived family functioning and parental parenting. Generally speaking, poor and non-poor adolescents differed in terms of overall positive youth development and family life qualities. Although adolescents experiencing poverty did not display significant differences from non-poor adolescents in terms of risk behavior and psychosocial competencies, adolescents with economic disadvantage showed lower levels of positive identity, family interaction, and perceived paternal parenting than did those without economic disadvantage.