
Family happiness in Hong Kong rises but falls short of pre-pandemic levels
Family happiness in Hong Kong has improved for the first time in three years. However, it has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. Mental health experts are asking the government to develop family policies modelled after Singapore.
HK.WeCARE is a concern group under Wofoo Social Enterprises. The group revealed that the family happiness index stood at 6.91 out of 10. It is an improvement from 6.43 last year but lower than the 7.26 in 2021.
Families with children aged between six and 12 were the least happy. This could be because of stressful environments in primary schools, according to mental health experts.
Daniel Shek Tan-lei from Polytechnic University explained that the rise in the index could be due to two reasons: the economy improving and families adapting to life after the pandemic.
Shek also said that there is a need for better family policies in Hong Kong and mentioned Singapore as a model.
The research gathered 1,117 questionnaires with 76 questions, using online and face-to-face interviews. About 66.8 per cent of respondents ranked their overall family happiness as seven or higher, up from 55.7 per cent last year.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
What makes Japanese food special? From sushi to miso, rice to ramen, it's about simplicity
The Michelin Guide lists over 1,000 restaurants in Japan and has awarded more than 360 of them stars. Advertisement That Japanese cuisine is considered one of the best in the world is thanks to the aroma, freshness of ingredients and stylish presentation of its dishes – many of which are little known outside the country. 'Aesthetics, seasonality and focus on fresh, high-quality ingredients' is what characterises Japanese cooking for Asian food blogger Stefan Leistner. The focus is always on the product. 'The aim is to preserve the natural flavour, which is why spices, heat and fat are used much more sparingly than in other Asian cuisines,' says Inga Pfannebecker, a cookbook author from Amsterdam. Udon, with its gentle flavour and aroma, epitomises what's good about Japanese cuisine. Photo: Marugame Udon Japanese-Australian author and food blogger Emiko Davies has lived in Italy for many years, but still raves about her grandmother's and mother's cooking.


South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Faulty prostate cancer tests leave 406 Hong Kong patients with nervy wait
Hong Kong public hospitals are reviewing blood test results of more than 400 patients after batches of a reagent were found to have quality issues that could produce false positives for prostate cancer Advertisement The Hospital Authority said on Tuesday that it was following up with the supplier of a testing product after being notified by the firm last week about complaints elsewhere related to quality issues. The product, supplied by Abbott Laboratories, is a reagent kit that detects the level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in blood. An elevated level may be a sign of prostate cancer. The product's quality issues could 'potentially lead to a misdiagnosis of prostate cancer, causing doctors to erroneously consider unnecessary treatments', the authority said. Two batches of the affected products were sent to Caritas Medical Centre in Sham Shui Po and Tuen Mun Hospital. Advertisement While Tuen Mun Hospital had not started to use the product, Caritas Medical Centre had already tested blood samples of 406 patients with the PSA kit since April 28. It has reviewed the test results and will contact about 70 patients this week, and rearrange blood tests based on their clinical needs.


South China Morning Post
8 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Lee Jae-myung projected to win South Korean presidential election: exit polls
South Korea's liberal Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung is expected to win the country's snap presidential election, according to projections by local broadcasters. Advertisement Reuters has not independently confirmed the results of the joint exit poll on Tuesday by broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS, which put Lee on 51.7 per cent and his conservative rival Kim Moon-soo on 39.3 per cent. The exit poll has in previous elections mostly been in line with the final results. A separate poll by broadcaster JTBC put Lee at 50.6 per cent and Kim at 39.4 per cent. Channel A also predicted a Lee win by similar margins. Around 78 per cent of South Korea's 44.39 million eligible voters had cast ballots to pick the leader of Asia's fourth-largest economy, hoping to draw to a close six months of turmoil triggered by a shock martial law briefly imposed by former leader Yoon Suk-yeol. National Election Commission officials prepare to count the ballots for the presidential election in Seoul, South Korea on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters After being impeached by parliament in December, Yoon was removed from office by the Constitutional Court on April 4, less than three years into his five-year term, triggering the snap election that now stands to remake South Korea's political leadership and foreign policies.