Biomedical subjects

Howard C H Cheng

Publications and source records attributed to Howard C H Cheng.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Prosocial involvement as a positive youth development construct: conceptual bases and implications for curriculum development.

Pro-social involvement programmes are significant and important for the healthy growth of adolescents as well as for the development of society. Pro-social involvement of adolescence refers to paid-job, volunteer works, sport and games. It serves the functions of making adolescents aware of and to accept the social norms and moral standard of the society, which would bring positive changes to the adolescents and consequently benefit the society as a whole. Past studies showed that adolescents who participated in pro-social involvement programmes tended to have positive self-perception, more social skills, and less anti-social behaviors. In Hong Kong, professionals in education and social services have fully recognized the benefits of pro-involvement programmes. They have organized multi-level and diverse pro-social involvement programmes and encouraged adolescents to participate. Through participation, adolescents could be helped to redefine their relationship with the society, and maximize their potentials for growth. The current programme described in this article is designed in the P.A.T.H.S. Project, support by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Prosocial norms as a positive youth development construct: conceptual bases and implications for curriculum development.

Prosocial norms are clear, healthy, ethical standards, beliefs, and behavior guidelines that promote prosocial behavior and minimize health risks. The promotion of prosocial norms like altruism, solidarity, and volunteerism is an important aspect of positive youth development programs. From the literature, it is evident that a prosocial orientation is encouraged in traditional Chinese philosophy. Longitudinal studies have shown that prosocial behavior increases gradually over adolescence, and that the development of prosocial behavior is closely linked to the development of moral reasoning, perspective taking, and regulation of personal distress. It is noteworthy that females have a higher prosocial orientation than males, and peer influence could be a major mediating factor of interventions to foster prosocial norms and behavior during adolescence. This review also analyzes the mechanism underlying prosocial behavior using the cost-reward model, social cognitive theory, and stages of moral development. Role modeling, social reinforcements and evaluations, discussion of moral dilemmas, empathy skills training, and foot-in-the-door procedures are identified as useful strategies for fostering prosocial norms and behavior.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Recognition for positive behavior as a positive youth development construct: conceptual bases and implications for curriculum development.

Recognition of positive behavior has gained momentum as the focal perspective in understanding the needs of growth and development among youth. Parents, teachers, youth workers, and other helping professions are encouraged to recognize the strength and potential of young people instead of merely attending to problem behaviors of the youth. Implementing the concepts and practice of recognizing positive behaviors involves both explicit, implicit or symbolic positive reinforcements. Effective recognition of positive behaviors involves the consideration and the combination of different reinforcement strategies that would help young people develop appropriate values and attitudes towards life. Within the Chinese culture, Hong Kong parents are very practical and place strong emphasis on academic achievement. Discipline is the most frequently used method to correct misbehaviors; whereas recognition of positive behaviors is rarely utilized. Consequently, curriculum design needs to encompass contents that help teachers, parents and students understand the importance of positive behaviors, and learn how to promote positive behaviors. The ultimate goal is to help young people internalize positive behaviors, develop a more positive self-perception and to be more active and pleasant in relating to others, and to feel that helping others is self-fulfilling and rewarding. The curriculum programme described in this article is designed for the PATHS-Project, supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.

Adolescent↗