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Public Assistance Reception, Social Service Use, and Developmental Outcomes among Economically Disadvantaged Young People

ABSTRACT Much research has been conducted into the poor life course outcomes among economically disadvantaged young people; however, little attempt has been made to examine the factors that help them gain autonomy and achieve a prosperous future. Given this consideration, the present study surveys low- income youth in Hong Kong to investigate their paths of development. Of particular concern is the exploration of the ways in which two key factors, public assistance reception and social service use, interact to affect youth development in the areas of academic success, work achievement, behavioral adjustment, and overall accomplishment. The basic premise is that these two factors may have main effects and an interaction effect on the outcomes. To test this, the present study analyzed survey data collected from 405 low-income young people recruited from 13 secondary schools and 18 community-based youth-service centers in Hong Kong. The results support the hypothesis that public assistance reception and social service use work jointly in affecting youth development, although their individual effects differ. However, no support is found for the proposition that social service use moderates the effect of public assistance reception on youth development. The implications of the findings are discussed.