Hong Kong survey finds households with higher incomes better at coping with adversity amid pandemic
- About two-thirds of those in households earning HK$40,000 a month or more scored themselves highly when it came to dealing with hardship
- That figure fell to just 46 per cent for households earning less than HK$10,000
Older people and those with higher incomes tend to be better at coping with adversity amid the coronavirus pandemic, a survey by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has found.
When asked how capable their families were at dealing with hardship, 65 per cent of those in households earning HK$40,000 (US$5,130) a month or more gave themselves a score of seven or higher on a 10-point scale, compared with just 46 per cent of those earning less than HK$10,000.
The findings were similar for age, with 64 per cent of respondents aged between 55 and 64 reporting a high capacity for dealing with adversity, compared with 42 per cent in the 18-24 group.
“[The figure] definitely has room for improvement, as 46 per cent of the respondents showed low to moderate capability [for dealing with hardship],” said Kelvin Wang Man-ping, an associate professor of nursing at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) who oversaw the survey. “They should boost their capability by utilising the services provided by family service centres.”
Respondents with lower coping capabilities were found to be less willing to seek out in-person services from NGOs when they encountered family problems, and tended to prefer online ones, the survey showed.
Wang said the survey results made sense, given that older people and ones with higher education levels and income had more experience and resources when it came to dealing with adversity.
Stone Tsang Ngan-tung, a social worker from Hung Hom Integrated Family Services Centre of Hong Kong Children & Youth Services, said the pandemic had resulted in more household conflicts, as many families were stuck at home.
