Mapping the Life Satisfaction of Adolescents in Hong Kong Secondary Schools With High Ethnic Concentration

Abstract

The present study aims to map the life satisfaction of adolescents from ethnic minority/immigrant backgrounds in schools with high concentrations of co-ethnic peers by comparing them with their mainstream counterparts in Hong Kong. The life satisfaction of 1,522 students was measured by the validated Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale. Tests of invariance were conducted followed by latent mean analysis. In contrast to the public debates on the undesirability of co-ethnic education, the findings do not suggest negative associations between the ethnic minority or immigrant status of these students and their self-appraised global and specific life satisfaction in school and with friends. This study confirms that a school factor exists and that there are significant differences in the life satisfaction of the student groups under review. Educating students in schools with high concentrations of co-ethnic peers appears to benefit South Asians but not mainland Chinese immigrant students.