Service through Counselling

Hong Kong is currently in the throes of examinations. The tensions and pressures that young people are now feeling, does at times, become unbearable. To help them during this critical time, to ease their anxieties and to calm them down, the Youth Counselling Centre of The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups is at their service.

Well known among young people, the Youth Hotline service provides an immediate and convenient channel for troubled and nervous youth to express their concerns. At present Youthline 2777 8899 offers telephone, as well as face-to-face counselling to those who require further referral or are in need of immediate intervention.

This service unit has special projects during the examination period and provides comprehensive support and counselling services for Form Five students. Last year over 6,000 cases were handled, both through the hotline, as well as through ICQ counselling. We anticipate the same level of interest and usage this year.

While the Federation has found a way in which to offer practical help, we call on our partners too to play their part in this annual rite of passage, by offering various resources including cash donations, advertising support, volunteers and donation-in-kinds like new and used computers. Please do call the Partnership and Resource Development Office at 2123 9598 for further details.

In April 2004, "Youthline 2777 8899" of the Federation successfully interviewed 267 Form 5 and Form 7 public examination candidates via telephone. The Survey revealed that 33.8% of the respondents had a high stress index. The main sources of stress cited by the students included expectations they had on themselves (34.5%) and the worries that they could not further their studies in F.6 or university (25.1%). They were also frightened that they would fail their parents (18.0%). Facing such pressures as a result of public examinations, some of the candidates found it difficult to concentrate on their studies. Insomnia, headaches, muscle pain and shaky hands were some of the common symptoms they complained of - each indicating high levels of stress. The Survey also reflected that many Form 5 and Form 7 students were particularly nervous in attending the public examinations, with pressure increasing as the date approached.

To cope with the high level of stress, candidates must learn to think positively and calm the butterflies in their stomachs by exercising good time-management in the revision period.

In an effort to help young people cope with public examination pressure, the Federation launched the "Form Five Broadband@u21" project to accompany young people through the examination period. Our hotline service "Form Five Broadband 2777 1112" provides an immediate and convenient channel for Form 5 and 7 candidates to express their emotional distress and offers immediate counselling and intervention for them. From January to April 20, already 386 cases from Forms 5 or 7 students were handled.

Observing that young people today are computer and information technology savvy, the Federation has launched a new website called "Form Five Broadband@u21" in a hope to provide an online support community for Form 5 and Form 7 students and encourage them to share information and develop a closer rapport with each other. Emotionally troubled young people can also receive professional counselling via e-mail. From January to April 2004 alone, 257 e-mail counselling cases were handled, a 46.8% growth when compared to last year's statistics of the same period.

It is hoped that through these various channels of support, the Federation can help the Form 5 and Form 7 students face the examination pressure with a positive attitude.

Depression Widespread Among Young People

The Federation conducted a Survey from December 2003 to January 2004 on the problem of Adolescent Depression. Among the 1,133 Form 1 to Form 5 students who were interviewed, about half of them showed symptoms of depression, of which 42% were 15- to 17-year-olds. The Survey also asked the student respondents to identify their sources of emotional distress. 85% said academic performance, while 65% identified family relationships and 64% claimed personal financial problems were the cause of their upset. Click here for more details.

Listed below are some fast facts about the situation of adolescent depression around the world.

Coming of Age Ceremony cum Charity Walkathon

" Hip Hip Hurray! Hip Hip Hurray! Hip Hip Hurray!" To the cheers of the Federation's Executive Director, Dr. Rosanna Wong, more than a thousand 18-year-olds began the Seventh Coming of Age Ceremony.

This year, the Ceremony was conducted in conjunction with a Charity Walkathon. These energetic young people eagerly demonstrated their determination to achieve their dreams as adults, through conquering the challenging upward trek from The University Hong Kong to the Victoria Peak. The May 1st walk, under beautiful skies, was full of laughs and joy during the whole journey.

They did not walk alone. To show support for Hong Kong's young people, financial donations were received from ExxonMobil Hong Kong Ltd., Mr. Chan Chung Bun, Bunny, JP of Prospectful Holdings Ltd, Dr. Wong Chi Ho Jimmy of Tung Chun Group and Tim Kee Uniform. Hong Yip Service Company Ltd., not only made a cash donation, but also sent a walking team to accompany the young participants. All the money that was raised will be channelled to support the development of new and innovative services of the Federation to help more young people realize their full potential.

Through donations-in-kind, various corporations also expressed their care and goodwill to the youth participants in a concrete way. Telford International Company Ltd. kindly donated 1,200 bottles of MEKO water and 1,200 bottles of SUNTORY for the walkers, while Power Logistics Ltd., PCCW contributed 100 watches for the top fundraisers. Reader's Digest made a gift of their April issue for the youth participants and presented five books to the top fund-raisers. Cerebos Hong Kong Ltd. donated Chicken Essence, while Popular contributed notepads. The Hong Kong School of Motoring donated cash coupons so that the new adults could now learn how to drive, a light goods vehicle, private car or motorcycle. To celebrate this Coming of Age and 18th birthday, Chung Hwa Bookstore, Commercial Press and Joint Publishing of Sino United Publishing (Holdings) Ltd. offered a 5-10% discount on May 1 to all those born in the year 1986.

The Coming of Age Ceremony reached its climax with a concert held at noon at the Peak Galleria of Hang Lung Properties, the venue sponsor, where Secretary for Economic Development and Labour, Mr. Stephen IP, GBS, JP led the 18-year-olds in their pledge to be responsible and caring adults. Celebrities recollected the ambitions they harboured when they were 18 and gave the young people great encouragement. At the end of the ceremony, Dr. Rosanna Wong accompanied the 18-year-olds to a cake-cutting ceremony. The Federation is grateful to everyone who participated and especially to the sponsors and donors for their great support and encouragement. With special thanks to Radio and Television Hong Kong for its help in producing the Concert.

Please do call the Partnership and Resource Development Office at 2123 9598 to learn more about our upcoming fundraising events.

Suicidal Thoughts Among Hong Kong Students

The Centre for Health Education and Health Promotion of The Chinese University of Hong Kong conducted two surveys in April 2004 on the emotion and suicidal tendencies among Hong Kong students. The results revealed that nearly 30% of the secondary students interviewed had felt sad and despair for two consecutive weeks. One in ten respondents had seriously considered killing, or planned to kill themselves. 4% of students had displayed suicidal behaviour like habitual cutting. A total of 3,498 Forms 1 to 6 students from 17 secondary schools were interviewed.

Not Enough Time To Read

According to a survey conducted by Caritas-Hong Kong, most primary students (87.7%) in Hong Kong enjoy reading. Nearly 91.6% of them felt happy if someone bought them a book. However, 58.1% of them only spent 30 minutes a week on reading. Preferring instead to watch television and play video games, their time for reading was thus limited. 1,999 primary students from 9 schools were interviewed in the period from November 2003 to January 2004.

Students Bystanders to Bullying

Bullying in schools is a serious issue in Hong Kong. In order to prevent this unsocial and devastating behaviour from taking place, students need to be taught how to intervene and not be silent bystanders. However, according to a recent Survey conducted by Hong Kong Christian Service, 54.5% of respondents said that they would prefer to do nothing if they witnessed any bullying. Only 19.6% said that they would intervene to actually help stop the bullying. In addition, 41.3% of respondents said that they had previously tried to help the victim, without receiving any positive response. Others claimed that they were sometimes blamed if they intervened, or were laughed and were sometimes even the target of revenge attacks. 954 citizens were interviewed in March 2004, among them, 85% were students.