Population Studies
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Population Studies

Introduction

The research theme of population studies covers a wide range issues relating to population and wellbeing. Our work involves the major components in population dynamic modelling, namely, fertility, mortality, marriage and divorce, poverty, and migration. International comparison has been conducted examining fertility and international migration. The research theme is supported by a strategic public policy research (SPPR) on integrated population policy, a Chief Executive Community project on poverty, numerous peer review UGC and international grants.

Our expertise covers a wide range of population modelling tools, including spatial analysis to examine poverty and service provision in Hong Kong and multilevel modeling to examine wellbeing of the population in individual, household and community levels. We are developing assessment tools in social return on investment (SROI) and program evaluation for many social and welfare programs. The wellbeing of migrants and their left-behind families is also another area of interest.

There are active and intensive international research collaborations with colleagues at Melbourne University, National University of Singapore, Renmin University, Fudan University, and Columbia University. Interdisciplinary research teams have been established with colleagues in faculties of humanities, medicine, business and science. Innovative methods have been developed in understanding the population dynamics with real impact to the social and public policies in Hong Kong and other global regions of the world. We have also provided consultancy service to Hong Kong SAR Government, OECD, UNICEF, Terres D’Hommes and many other local organizations on population issues.

The members are also serving in a number of Government committees, for example, Commission on Poverty, Care Fund, Central Policy Unit and Strategic Population Policy Committee.

Cluster Members

paulyip-profile-1-300x300
Professor (Convenor)

Prof. Paul Yip

Training
Population Health
 
Specialties
Evidence-Based Suicide Prevention Measures and Program; Program Evaluation; Poverty Alleviation Study; Population Studies; Big data analytics
Clifton-24
Associate Professor

Prof. Emery Clifton

Training
Social Work, Statistics, Sociology, Women’s Studies
 
Specialties
Child maltreatment, domestic violence, refugees
paulw
Associate Professor

Prof. Paul Wong

Training
Clinical Psychologist
 
Specialties
Social inclusion
flaw2021
Associate Professor

Prof. LAW Y.W. Frances

Training
Social Work
 
Specialties
Social work and education and program evaluation
Jian-400x400
Assistant Professor

Prof. Jian Gao

Training
Computational social science
 
Specialties
Science of science, social big data, complex systems, network science, public policy
Peiyi_Lu
Associate Professor

Prof. Peiyi Lu

Training
Gerontology, Social Work, Statistics, Public Health
 
Specialties
Social determinants of health, social welfare policy
PengChenhong-scaled-e1682409576170 (1)
Assistant Professor

Prof. Peng C.H.

Carrie_Li-e1671078678559-400x389
Assistant Professor

Prof. Li K.W. Carrie

Lei-web (1)
Assistant Professor

Prof. CHAI Lei

LEE.J
Assistant Professor

Prof. Lee, J.

Team members

Rectangle 25
Professor (Convenor)

Prof. Paul Yip

Training
Population Health
 
Specialties
Evidence-Based Suicide Prevention Measures and Program; Program Evaluation; Poverty Alleviation Study; Population Studies; Big data analytics
Clifton-24
Associate Professor

Prof. Emery Clifton

Training
Social Work, Statistics, Sociology, Women’s Studies
 
Specialties
Child maltreatment, domestic violence, refugees
yuhuang
Associate Professor

Prof. Paul Wong

Training
Clinical Psychologist
 
Specialties
Social inclusion
flaw2021
Associate Professor

Prof. Frances Yik Wa Law

Training
Social Work
 
Specialties
Social work and education and program evaluation
Jian-400x400
Assistant Professor

Prof. Jian Gao

Training
Computational social science
 
Specialties
Science of science, social big data, complex systems, network science, public policy
Cheryl_25
Associate Professor

Prof. Peiyi Lu

Training
Gerontology, Social Work, Statistics, Public Health
 
Specialties
Social determinants of health, social welfare policy

Team members

Funded Projects

2020-2025
TopicPI/Co-InvestigatorFunding sourcesAward Year
Aging experiences of middle-aged and older adults living in subdivided housingPI: Prof. Pelyi LuHKU seed fund HK$ 300,0002024-2026
A study on poverty transition and the effectiveness of poverty alleviation programsPI: Prof. Paul YipUGC Humanities and Social Science Prestigious Scheme HK$ 379,0002020/2021
Protective Informal Social Control of Child Maltreatment, Adolescent Health Behavior, and Empathy: A Nationally Representative 2 Wave Panel Study of Mothers and Adolescents in NepalPI: Prof. Emery CliftonGeneral Research Fund (GRF) $808,464 HKD2020-2023

Significant Publications

Prof. Paul Yip Articles

1. Fong, T. C. T., Cheng, Q., Pai, C. Y., Kwan, I., Wong, C., Cheung, S.-H., Yip, P. S. F. (2023). Uncovering sample heterogeneity in gaming and social withdrawal behaviors in adolescent and young adult gamers in Hong Kong. Social Science & Medicine, 321, 115774. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115774

2. Chen, Y.-Y., Yang, C.-T., Yip, P. S. F. (2023). The increase in suicide risk in older adults in Taiwan during the COVID-19 outbreak. Journal of Affective Disorders, 327, 391-396. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.02.006

3. Junus, A., Kwan, C., Wong, C., Chan, Z., Yip, P. S. F. (2023). Shifts in patterns of help-seeking during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of Hong Kong’s younger generation. Social Science & Medicine, 318, 115648. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115648

4. Li, Z., Fong, T. C. T., Yip, P. S. F. (2023). Helping intentions toward suicidal people among young adults: Patterns, transitions, and influencing factors. Journal of Affective Disorders, 325, 611-617. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.01.058

5. Bi, K., Chan, C. S., Xiao, Y., Yip, P. S. F. (2023). The Indirect Effect of Sleep on the Association Between Protracted Social Stressors and Psychological Distress Among Hong Kong Young People. Journal of Adolescent Health. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.11.243.

6. Chan, C.S., Yang, C.T., Xu, Y., He, L., Yip, P.S.F. (2022). Variability in the psychological impact of four waves of COVID-19: A time-series study of 60,000 text-based counseling sessions. Psychol Med. 2022 Mar 1:1-37. doi: 10.1017/S0033291722000587.

7. Yip, P.S.F., Pinkney, E. (2022). Social media and suicide in social movements: a case study in Hong Kong. J Comput Soc Sc.

8. Yip, P., Yeung, C., Chen, Y., Lai, C., & Wong, C. (2022). An evaluation of the long‐term sustainability of suicide prevention programs in an offshore Island. Suicide & Life-threatening Behavior, 52(1), 4-13.

9. Cai, Z., Chen, M., Ye, P., & Yip, P. S. F. (2022). Socio-economic determinants of suicide rates in transforming China: A spatial-temporal analysis from 1990 to 2015. The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific, 19.

10. Men, Y. V., Yeung, C. Y., & Yip, P. S. F. (2022). The association between unemployment and suicide among employed and unemployed people in Hong Kong: A time-series analysis. Journal of affective disorders, 305, 240-243.

11. Yip, P. S. F., Zheng, Y., & Wong, C. (2022). Demographic and epidemiological decomposition analysis of global changes in suicide rates and numbers over the period 1990–2019. Injury prevention, 28(2), 117-124.

12. Men, Y. V., Lam, T. C., Yeung, C. Y., & Yip, P. S. F. (2021). Understanding the impact of clinical characteristics and healthcare utilizations on suicide among cancer sufferers: a case-control study in Hong Kong. The Lancet Regional Health-Western Pacific, 17, 100298.

13. Men, V. Y., Emery, C. R., & Yip, P. S. (2021). Characteristics of cancer patients who died by suicide: A quantitative study of 15‐year coronial records. Psycho‐Oncology, 30(7), 1051-1058

14. Yip, P. S. F., Chan, W.L., Cheng, Q., Chow, S., Hsu, S.M., Law, Y.W., Lo, B., Ngai, K., Wong, K.Y., Xiong, C., Yeung, T.K. (2020). A 24-hour Online Youth Emotional Support: Opportunities and Challenges. Lancet Regional Health -West Pacific. Vol 4 100047..

15. Yip, P. S. F., et al. (2020). Is there gender bias in research grant success in social sciences?: Hong Kong as a case study. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 7(1).

16. Yip, P., & Chau, P. H. (2020). Physical Distancing and Emotional Closeness Amidst COVID-19. Crisis, 41(3), 153–155.

Prof. Emery Clifton Articles

A.1. Emery, C.R., Wu, S., & Chan, K.L. (2020, Online first): “A Comparative Study of Totalitarian Style Partner Control in Seoul and Beijing: Confucian Sex-Role Norms, Secrecy, and Missing Data.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence, doi: 10.1177/0886260518787208. (IF = 3.573, 4/47 in Family Studies, 4/69 in Criminology, 14/84 in Psychology, Applied. Cit: 3). This was the first study of totalitarian style partner control, and also the first to look at neighborhood level Confucian Sex-Role norms in relation to this type of IPV.

A.2. Emery, C.R., Jordan, L.P., Chui, C. (2020): “Friends in Need: Bystander Control of Intimate Partner Violence in Beijing and Seoul.” Sex Roles, 82(11): 673-687. June, 2020. (IF = 2.409, 4/45 in Women’s Studies, 19/64 in Psychology, Social, 22/77 Psychology, Developmental. Cit: 1).

A.3. Emery, C.R., Eremina, T., Arenas, C., Kim, J., & Chan, E. (2020): “When Bigger is Better: Household Size, Abuse Injuries, Neglect, and Family Response in Novosibirsk, Russia.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35(3-4): 1035-1051. February, 2020.  (IF = 3.573, 4/47 in Family Studies, 4/69 in Criminology, 14/84 in Psychology, Applied. Cit: 2).

A.4. Emery, C.R., Yang, H., Kim, O., Ko, Y. (2019): “A Multiplicative Approach to Polyvictimization: A Study of Intimate Partner Violence Types as Risk Factors for Child Polyvictimization in South Korea.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(5): 783-797. March, 2019.  (IF = 2.849, 32/170 in Public, Environmental, and Occupational Health. Cit: 1).

Prof. Frances Yik Wa Law Articles

1. Fu, Y., & Law, Y.W. (Accepted). “Chinese Adolescents’ Meaning-focused Coping with Prolonged Parent-child Separation. Journal of Adolescence.

2. Law, Y.W. (2016). Youth suicide and its prevention in Hong Kong: The emerging approaches for a long-standing issue. Journal of Youth Studies, 19(2), 3–12. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Federation of Youth Group.

3. Sha, F., Yip, P.S.F., & Law, Y.W. (2016). Decomposing change in China’s suicide rate, 1990–2010: Aging and urbanisation. Injury Prevention [Publish Online First] doi:10.1136/injuryprev-2016-042006

4. Law, Y.W., Wong, P.W.C., & Yip, P.S.F. (2015). Health and psychosocial service use among suicides without psychiatric illness. Social Work, 60, 65–74. doi: 10.1093/sw/swu054

5. Law, Y.W., Yip, P.S., Zhang, Y., & Caine, E.D. (2014). The chronic impact of work on suicides and under-utilization of psychiatric and psychosocial services. Journal of Affective Disorders, 168C, 254–261. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2014.06.031

Prof. Paul Wong Articles
  1. Wu, A. F., Ooi, J., Wong, P. W., Catmur, C., & Lau, J. Y. (2019). Evidence of pathological social withdrawal in non-Asian countries: a global health problem?. The Lancet. Psychiatry, 6(3), 195.
  2. Wong, P. W., Yu, R. W., & Ngai, J. T. (2019). Companion Animal Ownership and Human Well-Being in a Metropolis—The Case of Hong Kong. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(10), 1729.
  3. Huen, J. M., Lai, E. S., Shum, A. K., So, S. W., Chan, M. K., Wong, P. W., … & Yip, P. S. (2016). Evaluation of a Digital Game-Based Learning Program for Enhancing Youth Mental Health: A Structural Equation Modeling of the Program Effectiveness. JMIR Mental Health, 3(4).
  4. Li, T.M.H., & Wong, P.W.C. (2015). Youth social withdrawal behavior (hikikomori): a systematic review of qualitative and quantitative studies. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 49(7), 595-609. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867415581179
  5. Tse, S., Tang, J., & Wong, P.W.C. (2014). Fortune or foe: the fatal harm caused by a gambling disorder. Addiction, 109(12), 2135.
Prof. Jian Gao
  1. Gao, J. , & Wang, D. (2024). Quantifying the use and potential benefits of artificial intelligence in scientific research. Nature Human Behaviour, 8, 2281-2292. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-02020-5
  2. Cao, Y., Zhou, T.*, & Gao, J.* (2024). Heterogeneous peer effects of college roommates on academic performance. Nature Communications, 15(1), 4785 (*: corresponding author). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49228-7
  3. Gao, J. , Yin, Y., Myers, K. R., Lakhani, K. R., & Wang, D. (2021). Potentially long-lasting effects of the pandemic on scientists. Nature Communications, 12(1), 6188. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26428-z
  4. Yin, Y.#, Gao, J.# , Jones, B. F., & Wang, D. (2021). Coevolution of policy and science during the pandemic. Science, 371(6525), 128-130 (#: contributed equally). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe3084
  5. Gao, J.* , Jun, B., Pentland, A. S., Zhou, T., & Hidalgo, C. A.* (2021). Spillovers across industries and regions in China’s regional economic diversification. Regional Studies, 55(7), 1311-1326 (*: corresponding author). https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2021.1883191
  6. Gao, J. , Zhang, Y. C., & Zhou, T. (2019). Computational socioeconomics. Physics Reports, 817, 1-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physrep.2019.05.002
Prof. Peiyi Lu
  1. Lu, P., Kong, D., Shelley, M. & Li, C. (2024). Health effect of elderly family planning subsidy on older Chinese with only one child. Journal of Aging and Social Policy.1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/08959420.2024.2422659
  2. Lu, P., Kong, D., &Shelley, M. (2024). Perceived housing problems and depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older Americans. Journal of Aging and Social Policy.1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/08959420.2024.2422672
  3. Lu, P., Kezios, K., Jawadekar, N., Swift, S., Vable, A., & Zeki Al Hazzouri, A. (2023). Associations of Food Insecurity and Memory Function Among Middle to Older–Aged Adults in the Health and Retirement Study. JAMA Network Open. 1-15. http://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.21474
  4. Lu, P., Kezios, K., Milazzo, F. H., Jawadekar, N., Shelley, M., & Zeki Al Hazzouri, A. (2023). Racial Differences in Employment and Poverty Histories and Health in Older Age. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 64(4), 543-551. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2022.10.018
  5. Lu, P., Kezios, K., Lee, J., Calonico, C., Wimer, C., & Zeki Al Hazzouri, A. (2023). Association between Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program use and memory decline: Findings from the Health and Retirement Study. Neurology. 100(6), e595-e602. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000201499