Session 13

Life Course, Health, and Psychosocial Well-Being Across the Lifespan

Moderator: Dr. Hui Fa (Assistant Professor, City University of Macau, China)

O13.1  Enhancing Career and Life Development among Students with Special Educational Needs: Evidence from a ongitudinal Study

*Steven Sek-yum Ngai¹

¹Department of Social Work, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

 Abstract

Background and Purpose: Students with special educational needs (SEN) face persistent challenges in their career and life development (CLD), particularly in accessing opportunities and navigating transitions from school to further education or employment. While interventions increasingly aim to strengthen students’ competencies, there remains limited longitudinal evidence on how structured CLD interventions in special school contexts support both developmental capacities and psychosocial resources. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a CLD intervention implemented in special schools and examines the developmental pathways through which program impacts may emerge.

Methods: Data were drawn from the CLD Benchmark Evaluation for Special Schools, a large-scale evaluation project in Hong Kong aimed at enhancing CLD among students with SEN. The study has involved students from 34 special schools, with a total sample of 658 participants. A waitlist randomized controlled trial research design was adopted, in which schools were assigned to intervention and comparison conditions at different time points, with all participants eventually receiving the program. The present analysis focused on a matched longitudinal subsample of students with complete responses across two survey waves, enabling a more rigorous estimation of program effects and comparability between groups. Outcomes included youth career development competencies (YCDC), career and life development hope (CLDH), social well-being, social connectedness, resilience, life satisfaction, and multidimensional social capital (family, peer, and school). Difference-in-differences models with covariate adjustment were employed to estimate program effects.

Results: The findings indicate that the intervention yielded statistically significant and consistent improvements in several psychosocial and relational outcomes. Positive effects were observed in social capital across family, peer, and school domains, as well as in social connectedness, social well-being, resilience, and life satisfaction. Significant gains were also found in CLDH, including both pathways and agency components. Positive changes were also observed in competency-based outcomes (i.e., YCDC), with significant improvements emerging in selected subdimensions (e.g., engagement, planning and career management), suggesting early-stage development of broader competencies.

Conclusions and Implications: The results suggest that intervention effects may emerge first in relational and psychosocial domains before translating into broader developmental competencies. This highlights the foundational role of social capital and supportive environments in promoting CLD among students with SEN. From a practice and policy perspective, the findings underscore the importance of strengthening school-based support systems and relational networks, as well as ensuring equitable access to tailored CLD support for students with SEN in special school contexts. Sustained, multi-level efforts are needed to support students’ longer-term transitions and developmental outcomes.

O13.2  Pursuing a Good Death among Young People: The Interplay of Attitudes, Behaviors, and Sociocultural Context

Siyan Wu¹, *Ziqian Ma¹

¹Department of Social and Public Administration School, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Good death concerns not only the preservation of individual dignity at the end of life, but also reflects deeper inquiries into the meaning of living. Compared with older populations, young people's understandings, imaginations, and planning regarding the end of life remain underexplored. This study therefore examines contemporary youths’ pursuit of and expectations for a good death, with a focus on their specific content, influencing factors, and the interactive mechanisms among individual attitudes, behavioral experiences, and the social environment.

Methods: This study adopts a qualitative research design. In-depth interviews were conducted with 13 young participants selected through purposive sampling. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis, involving systematic coding and categorization to identify key themes related to youths' expectations and pursuits of a good death. Building on this, the framework of triadic reciprocal determinism was employed to examine the interactions among individual attitudes, behavioral experiences, and environmental factors.

Results: The findings indicate that young people's views on life, death, and a good death are complex and diverse, serving as intrinsic driving forces shaping their expectations and pursuits. Behavioral experiences—such as internship practice, family responses to death-related events, and peer communication—provide direct impetus for the formation of these views. Meanwhile, broader social environmental factors, including traditional culture, moral norms, and media influences, function as external shaping forces. These three dimensions do not operate independently; rather, they interact dynamically to shape youths' expectations and pursuits across three domains: pre-death planning, end-of-life expectations, and post-death visions.

Conclusions and Implications: The pursuit of and expectations for a good death among contemporary youth are shaped by the interaction of individual attitudes, behavioral experiences, and the social environment, reflecting agency, reflexivity, and future orientation. The findings also reveal limitations in existing support systems and provide empirical implications for social work practice and policy development.

O13.3  Life-Course Mechanisms from Childhood Victimization to Elder Abuse Proclivity: A Mental Health and Social Support Perspective

*Mengtong Chen

¹Department of Social Work, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

Abstract

Background and purpose: Childhood victimization, including child abuse and neglect (CAN), and exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) between parents, is associated with an increased risk of experiencing IPV and perpetrating CAN in adulthood. While the life-course patterns of violence throughout childhood, early, and middle adulthood are understood, the continuation of violence into older adulthood, resulting in elder abuse, has not yet been studied. The mechanisms connecting childhood victimization and elder abuse perpetration have yet to be thoroughly investigated. Thus, the current study aims to 1) examine the link between childhood victimization and the tendency toward elder abuse in adulthood to address the evidence gap regarding intergenerational transmission of violence, and 2) explore the influence of social support and mental health within this association.

Methods: This study used a cross-sectional design with retrospective data collection. A multi-stage stratified sampling method was employed, covering five districts and 32 communities with diverse socioeconomic backgrounds in Shenzhen, China. This study focused on adults aged between 18 and 65 with at least one living parent, yielding a total of 1,258 valid samples. (57.38% female; mean age = 32). The major assessment tools included: (1) the Conflict Tactics Scales to measure respondents’ childhood exposure to violence (CAN and IPV), (2) the Caregiver Abuse Screen (CASE) to measure respondents’ tendency to abuse the elderly, (3) the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale to measure respondents’ depressive symptoms, and (4) the Family Needs Screener (FNS) to measure perceived social support. The study used structural equation modelling (SEM) to explore the underlying mechanisms linking childhood victimization to elder abuse proclivity.

Results: The independent variable is a latent variable assessed via five dimensions, including emotional abuse, physical abuse, childhood neglect, witnessing paternal violence against the mother, and witnessing maternal violence against the father in childhood. The standardized factor loadings range from 0.562 to 0.777 (p < 0.001), showing good measurement reliability. Childhood victimization was found to have a significant positive effect on elderly abuse proclivity (β = 0.382, p < 0.001). Significant serial mediation effects of perceived social support and depressive symptoms were found in the association (β = 0.004, p < 0.05). This indicates that childhood victimization may lower a person’s perception of social support, worsen depressive symptoms, and consequently increase the likelihood of elder abuse.

Conclusions and implications: By examining both CAN and exposure to IPV in childhood, the study emphasizes the strong impact of childhood victimization on a person’s risk of elder abuse. This study also finds that perceived social support and depressive symptoms are important links connecting traumatic experiences with elder abuse proclivity. In practice, screening for childhood victimization is necessary in eldercare and caregiver services, as it helps in developing preventive measures and breaking the cycle of violence. Programs aimed at reducing the impacts of childhood victimization should include efforts to strengthen social support and mental health in adulthood.

O13.4  Rethinking Service Frequency: Social Work Interventions and Subjective Well-being among Vulnerable Children

*Hou Ming¹

¹Dezhou Sunshine Social Work Service Center, Shandong, China

Abstract

Background and purpose: In China, there are approximately 545,000 orphans and children residing in de facto orphanages. Current social service initiatives predominantly target left-behind children and orphans, often overlooking those living in de facto orphanages and children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Furthermore, existing evaluations tend to prioritize the frequency of service delivery while neglecting service quality and the subjective experiences of the children. This study focuses on a rural children's care service project in Gaotang County, Shandong Province, to examine the influence of social work service frequency on the subjective well-being of disadvantaged children. It also explores the mediating roles of perceived social support and psychological state, while analyzing potential differences across gender and age groups. The study hypothesizes that service frequency positively predicts well-being (H1); that it indirectly affects well-being through social support perception (H2) and psychological state (H3); and that these effects vary by gender and age (H4).

Method: Employing a single case study design, a census was conducted involving 265 children aged over eight years without cognitive impairments participating in the project. A total of 147 valid responses were obtained (77.83% based on family units). Given the non-normal distribution of the data, mediating effects were assessed using Spearman correlation, multiple regression analyses, and the PROCESS macro with 5,000 bootstrap samples. Differences across demographic groups were evaluated using the Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis H test.

Results: (1) The direct effect of service frequency on subjective well-being was not statistically significant (β = -0.031, p = 0.726), thus failing to support H1. (2) Perceived social support (β = 0.404, p < 0.001) and psychological state (β = 0.143, p = 0.047) were significant positive predictors of well-being; however, service frequency did not significantly influence either mediator, and bootstrap confidence intervals for mediation effects included zero, indicating no support for H2 and H3. (3) No significant gender differences were observed (p = 0.786). Although overall age differences reached significance (p = 0.045), post hoc analyses were non-significant, revealing only a trend of higher well-being among children aged 8–10 and those aged 17 and above, with lower well-being observed in the 14–16 age group, providing partial support for H4. The explanatory power of the model was limited (R² = 0.038).

Conclusions and implications: The frequency of social work services does not appear to be a critical determinant of subjective well-being among disadvantaged children. Instead, perceived social support and psychological state serve as direct influencing factors. These findings suggest a need to shift practice and policy focus from a "frequency-oriented" paradigm toward a "quality-oriented" approach that prioritizes relationship-building and the subjective experiences of children. The mid-adolescent period (ages 11 to 16) emerges as a particularly vulnerable phase for well-being, underscoring the importance of enhanced psychological support and peer network development during this stage. Future research should consider longitudinal or quasi-experimental designs, incorporate measures of service quality, increase sample sizes, and further investigate subgroup differences.

O13.5  How Do the Wounds of Childhood Shape Adult Family Life: Evidence from a Longitudinal Chinese Cohort

*Lixia Zhang¹

¹Kent School of Social Work and Family Science, University of Louisville, Kentucky, USA

 Abstract

Background and Purpose: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction, are well-established predictors of long-term physical and mental health problems. However, less is known about how ACEs influence major family life decisions, such as marriage and parenthood. This study examines whether ACEs are associated with young adults’ intentions to marry and have children and tests whether mental health and life satisfaction level serve as mechanisms linking childhood adversity to family planning intentions.

Methods: Data were drawn from a two-wave longitudinal survey of educated rural Chinese youth (N > 300). Data were collected in 2016 when participants were approximately 18 years old and again in 2023 when participants were approximately 25 years old. ACEs were measured at Time 1 using the Childhood Experiences Survey. At Time 2, depressive symptoms and life satisfaction were assessed using validated scales, and intentions to marry and have children were measured using binary self-report items. Logistic regression and mediation analyses (PROCESS) were conducted while controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and family background covariates.

Results: Higher ACEs exposure was associated with lower willingness to marry and reduced desire to have children. Mediation analyses indicated that ACEs predicted higher depressive symptoms, which in turn were associated with lower intentions to marry and have children. Although ACEs were associated with lower life satisfaction, life satisfaction was not significantly associated with family planning intentions.

Conclusions and Implications: Findings highlight the long-term influence of childhood adversity on adult family formation decisions and identify depression as a key mechanism linking ACEs to reduced family planning intentions. Results underscore the importance of trauma-informed prevention and intervention approaches that address psychological sequelae of ACEs to support healthy relationship development and autonomous family planning decisions in young adulthood.