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The Development and Validation of a Family Wellbeing Index for Hong Kong Chinese Families

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Abstract

Family wellbeing is studied worldwide. However, there is a dearth of studies on the wellbeing of families in Chinese societies such as Hong Kong, nor is there any socially relevant and culturally unique instrument for measuring such wellbeing. This paper reports the validity and reliability of an instrument that was developed to assess the wellbeing of Hong Kong Chinese families. Through a comprehensive literature review, interviews with service users from a diversity of backgrounds, consultation meetings with experts on families and related issues, and a pilot study, the framework of a family wellbeing index was developed. Using data from 1343 participants collected via a cross-sectional telephone survey, we employed exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to develop the factorial structure of the tool. Six domains, six subdomains, 23 single-question indicators, and 26 questions were constructed. The six domains were family solidarity, family resources, family health, social involvement, social resources, and work-life balance. The internal consistency of the overall index was 0.904. The scale had a significant predictive effect on the subjective appraisal of the current and future status of the wellbeing of a family, which provided initial evidence of convergent validity. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the construct of the tool encompassed different domains. This study is significant because it provides directions for future studies on family wellbeing and insights for social policy formulation and social service development.

Highlights

  • Five steps were used to develop a family wellbeing index for Hong Kong Chinese families.

  • The results of the exploratory factor analysis showed that the factorial structure of this family wellbeing index included six domains and six subdomains.

  • The results of the confirmatory factor analysis indicate that the six-factor index fits the data well.

  • This is the first study in a Chinese context to develop a socially relevant and culturally specific index of family wellbeing.

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Hong Kong Family Welfare Society.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Work, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China

    Mooly M. C. Wong, Joyce L. C. Ma & Michael H. T. Fok

  2. Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China

    P. S. Wan

  3. Department of Sociology, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, 310058, PR, China

    Lily L. Xia

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  1. Mooly M. C. Wong
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Correspondence to Mooly M. C. Wong.

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Wong, M.M.C., Ma, J.L.C., Wan, P.S. et al. The Development and Validation of a Family Wellbeing Index for Hong Kong Chinese Families. J Child Fam Stud 31, 1683–1697 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-022-02281-6

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