Influence of prolonged deprivation, age and culture on the development of future orientation

The Association between Perceived Social Hardship and Future Orientation among Hong Kong Young People: The Mediation Role of Belief in a Just World

A positive future orientation (FO) is associated with a range of positive outcomes. It is a crucial resilience factor that assists individuals to navigate developmental difficulties during the transition to young adulthood and during periods of social adversity. Exposure to negative social context threatens young people’s FO. The social demonstrations and the outbreak of coronavirus disease in Hong Kong over the past year have caused considerable hardship to the local society. Under such circumstance, young people in Hong Kong may develop a negative FO. Scant research has directly examined the relationship between perceived social hardship and FO as well as the underlying mechanism among Hong Kong young people. In this study, we tested the idea that young people’s perceived social hardship would be negatively related to FO via belief in a just world, a well-known foundation for individuals to think, feel, and plan their future. Participants were 554 students recruited from eight universities in Hong Kong. They filled in self-report questionnaires online. Results of structural equation modeling supported our hypothesis. These findings shed light on how to nurture Hong Kong young people to develop a positive mindset during periods of social hardship.

Planning and Problem Solving

In cognitive psychology, there is an increasing interest in problem solving and planning processes in complex and ill-defined situations. To examine cultural differences in planning processes, two instruments are used both with Brazilian and German university students ( n = 38 each) as participants: the Planning Inventory, which consists of everyday problem scenarios, and the Coldstorage, which is a computer-simulated dynamic problem. In the Planning Inventory, Brazilian participants accept the given descriptions and are more optimistic about the results of their efforts. German participants tend to inquire more about the background of the problems and take a more active approach but are less optimistic. In the Coldstorage simulation, the Brazilian participants have more difficulties in controlling the system. This is attributed to their presence orientation, which makes it difficult to detect developmental patterns. The results are discussed following a functional perspective that interprets cognitive processes within their ecocultural context.

Cross-cultural caregiving and the temporal dimension

The caregiving research literature has explored and documented findings from psychological, clinical, and policy/program perspectives, but little is known regarding the contextual perspectives of caregiving. Temporal factors influence the structure and functioning of the caregiving family. The proposed paradigm adaptation extends a contextual perspective that addresses the exploration of the caregiving process as a temporal, dynamic, progressive process over time, in which decisions made by caregivers may not always be based on observable tasks but, nevertheless, may have important consequences. When cultures cross, attitudes and behaviors are modified, resulting from contact with a different set of values and beliefs. Cross-cultural research aims to explore these changes that take place over time. Future research should consider the inclusion of measures that assess the temporal aspect of caregiving and the acculturation considerations of family caregivers. These measures are especially needed because of the increased influence of international migration, economic globalization, and political conflicts in today's multicultural societies.