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<p>Hong Kong’s high living costs, dense housing, and competitive schooling create daily stressors that may affect the physical and psychological well-being of underprivileged children and adolescents. Guided by capital theory, this study examined the independent and joint associations of economic, cultural, and social capital with multiple well-being outcomes.&#xa0;A cross-sectional study was conducted with 529 primary and secondary students recruited through an NGO serving low-income and migrant households in Hong Kong. Measures included physical well-being, psychological well-being, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, weekly pocket money, access to cultural items, parent relations, and peer support. Hierarchical multiple regression models were used to examine the relative and incremental associations of different forms of capital with each outcome.&#xa0;Social capital, particularly parent relations and peer support, accounted for the largest increment in explained variance across all four outcomes. In the fully adjusted models, stronger parent relations and peer support were associated with higher physical and psychological well-being and with fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms. Cultural capital remained positively associated with physical well-being, but its associations with psychological outcomes attenuated after social capital was added. Weekly pocket money retained small positive associations with physical and psychological well-being but was not independently associated with depressive or anxiety symptoms after adjustment.&#xa0;Among underprivileged children and adolescents in Hong Kong, bonding social capital was the most consistent correlate of well-being across outcomes. The findings suggest that supportive parent and peer relationships may be more strongly associated with well-being than modest differences in discretionary economic or cultural resources in this sample. Longitudinal research is needed to clarify temporal ordering and possible causal pathways.</p>

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Social Capital and the Well‑Being of Underprivileged Children and Youth in Hong Kong: Evidence from a High-Income but Unequal City

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月5日

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  • Wan Sang Kan,
  • Siyuan Guo,
  • Jialiang Cui

摘要

Hong Kong’s high living costs, dense housing, and competitive schooling create daily stressors that may affect the physical and psychological well-being of underprivileged children and adolescents. Guided by capital theory, this study examined the independent and joint associations of economic, cultural, and social capital with multiple well-being outcomes. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 529 primary and secondary students recruited through an NGO serving low-income and migrant households in Hong Kong. Measures included physical well-being, psychological well-being, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, weekly pocket money, access to cultural items, parent relations, and peer support. Hierarchical multiple regression models were used to examine the relative and incremental associations of different forms of capital with each outcome. Social capital, particularly parent relations and peer support, accounted for the largest increment in explained variance across all four outcomes. In the fully adjusted models, stronger parent relations and peer support were associated with higher physical and psychological well-being and with fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms. Cultural capital remained positively associated with physical well-being, but its associations with psychological outcomes attenuated after social capital was added. Weekly pocket money retained small positive associations with physical and psychological well-being but was not independently associated with depressive or anxiety symptoms after adjustment. Among underprivileged children and adolescents in Hong Kong, bonding social capital was the most consistent correlate of well-being across outcomes. The findings suggest that supportive parent and peer relationships may be more strongly associated with well-being than modest differences in discretionary economic or cultural resources in this sample. Longitudinal research is needed to clarify temporal ordering and possible causal pathways.