The Effect of Poverty on Psychological Well-being of Children

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The aim of this study is to explore the impacts of poverty and income disparity on the psychological well-being of Hong Kong Chinese children.

Detailed Description
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It is well documented that poverty has a negative impact on the physiological well-being of children in the West. There is an imperative need for health care professionals to develop and evaluate interventions to promote the psychological wellbeing of children living in poverty. First, however, it is crucial to assess and understand how the impact of poverty, in particular the impact of income disparity, affects the psychological wellbeing of Hong Kong children before any intervention to promote it can be planned, developed, or evaluated. Unfortunately, while much public concern about poverty has concentrated on children's physical development, the impact of poverty and income disparity on their psychological well-being remains relatively underexplored. Because the cultural context in which they live is drastically different from that of Western children, the way that Chinese children view the nature and meaning of poverty, as well as their responses to it and to any psychosocial interventions, will in all likelihood differ considerably from those of Western children. Hence, the aim of this study is to explore the impacts of poverty and income disparity on the psychological well-being of Hong Kong Chinese children.

Official Title
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The Effect of Poverty and Income Disparity on the Psychological WellBeing of Hong Kong Children

Conditions
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Child

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: Questionnaires


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Hong Kong Chinese pupils from Grades 5 and 6 of the elementary schools in Hong Kong be able to read Chinese and speak Cantonese had to live and go to school in the same district Exclusion Criteria: Children with chronic illness or identified cognitive and learning problems

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 10 Years
Maximum Age: 13 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Children from low-income families<br>Children from low-income families were invited to fill in a set of questionnaires. | Other: Questionnaires<br>* Participants were asked to respond to the Chinese version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for Children, the Rosenberg self-esteem scale, and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory.<br>|
| Children from high income families<br>Children from high-income families were invited to fill in a set of questionnaires. | Other: Questionnaires<br>* Participants were asked to respond to the Chinese version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for Children, the Rosenberg self-esteem scale, and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Levels of quality of life at baseline | The quality of life of the participants will be measured by the Chinese version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL). It has 23 items which are grouped into 4 subscales. They are physical functioning (8 items), emotional functioning (5 items), social functioning (5 items) and school functioning (5 items). Participants were asked to rate how often they had experienced problems over the past month on a scale from 0 to 4. Higher scores indicate better quality of life. Participants will be asked to respond to the Chinese version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) at baseline. | baseline | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Levels of self-esteem at baseline | The self-esteem of the participants will be measured by the Chinese version of the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES). It contains 10 items which are measured on a 4-point Likert scale. Each item is rated from 1 to 4. The higher scores represent the higher levels of global self-esteem of children. Participants will be asked to respond to the Chinese version of the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES) at baseline. | baseline | 
| Number of depressive symptoms at baseline | The number of depressive symptoms of the participants will be measured by the Chinese version of The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC). It consists of 20 items that are measured on a 4-point Likert scale in relation to the experience of last week. Each item is rated from 0 to 3. The higher scores of CES-DC indicate the high numbers of depressive symptoms. The cutoff of this scale is 16, which indicates the children currently experiencing a significant level of depressive symptoms Participants will be asked to respond to the Chinese version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC) at baseline. | baseline |