Lai Yuk Ching

Chinese Adolescent Suicidal Ideation: Personal and Family Correlates Lai Yuk Ching

Adolescent suicidal ideation appears to be an emerging social problem in Hong Kong. Previous studies have mainly focused on the impact of socio- demographic factors on adolescent suicidal ideation. However, there was a lack of a sound theoretical framework in the studies. No comprehensive and integrated study on the factors contributing to adolescent suicidal ideation in the individual, familial and social domains has been conducted. This book, therefore, provides a comprehensive and integrated theoretical framework for studying suicidal ideation among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. The personal antecedents (emotional competence, social problem solving, hopelessness) and family antecedents (parent-adolescent communication, family functioning) of adolescent suicidal ideation are examined. The analysis should help shed some light on social work practice, particularly in enhancing adolescents? sense of hope, emotional competence and social problem solving, and in promoting parent-adolescent communication and family functioning. This should be especially useful to teachers, social workers and family counselors.