TNAG-1734-FCO40-2447-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 324

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HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 11 May 1988

If I were to quote from a very informative paragraph of the report, 'Youth is a critical transitional period of human development-a time of life for the search of self identity, the development of abilities and potentials, the acquirement of skills and knowledge for coping with the adult world, the re-evaluation of values learnt during childhood and the exploration of meaning in life under the influence of various environmental factors.'. When care is not taken to ensure a successful transition during youth, all the untoward effects of lack of self identity, lack of self esteem, immoral standards, and inability to cope with adult life results! This in turn leads to the development of the socially destructive behaviour of juvenile delinquency, drug abuse, prostitution and the less imme- diately obvious self destructive mental illness in later adult life.

The future lies in the prevention of this maladaption during this critical transitional period of human development. Other than giving support to the findings of the report I have the following additional recommendations.

There exist deteriorating moral standards among our young! A study of the moral attitudes of our youth should therefore be addresed and moral education strengthened within the family and the schools.

A study should be made into the risk factors giving rise to problems of youth such that early identification and intensive counselling could offset the need for prosecution and rehabilitation.

The normal standards of physical and mental development of adolescents in Hong Kong are lacking. The Paediatric Department of the Chinese University should be given support in their failed attempts to apply for a research grant to study the same. Furthermore, with the increasing hospital admissions of adolescents into children's wards, adolescent medicine should be developed as a specialty under Paediatrics.

Paediatricians are most aware of the common disparity between the physical, mental, psychological, emotional and academic development during adole- scence. Often it is psychological and emotional development which lags behind. Problems often arise when significant disparity exist between the different facets of development. For example, an adolescent with heightened sexual needs may not have the mature mentality to accept its consequences.

Sir, physical recreation in the form of sports is vital for our youth and should be actively promoted for this age group. Not only does it benefit health, it is also a useful channel to divert excess energy, so abundant in youth, for a useful

cause.

Parents of our young have gone through youth in a simpler environment and often fail to understand the demands faced by our youth today. A multi- disciplinary workshop should be organised to educate parents and workers with youth on the different aspects of adolescent development, their needs, problems and management. I believe the Hong Kong Child Health Foundation has provisionally scheduled to do this in November this year.