Children At Risk Education 

The C.A.R.E. Lab at CityU focuses on the aggression and victimisation of children, particularly the Two-factor Model of Aggression. We have implemented several therapeutic projects in over 120 primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. The lab has been supported by grants from the Quality Education Fund (QEF), Grant Research Fund (GRF), and CityU Internal Fund. 

In a 2017 worldwide survey of 540,000 schoolchildren in 72 countries and regions conducted in 2015, the rate of school bullying in Hong Kong is higher than anywhere else in the world. 32.3% of approximately 5,000 students surveyed reported that over the period of a month they had suffered various forms of school bullying. This is three times the number of cases of self-reported bullying in Taiwan (10.7%) and nearly a double (18.9%) that of the US. The number reflected Hong Kong students encounter dangerous situations, as well as being a poor predictor of rates of violence and crime in Hong Kong. 

A correct approach in defining bullies and victims is extremely important in combating bullying acts. I call bullying any well-planned action intended to harm somebody, including physical violence, verbal threats and discrimination, in order to gain a benefit or reward. I would say that violence is not the same as bullying, which has a plan and a purpose, and the benefit gained may not be tangible but can often include a sense of power or control. People who get involved in aggressive incidents fall into two subtypes of the aggressor: the cold-blooded, goal-oriented proactive aggressor and the impulsive, hot-headed reactive aggressor. The latter is often misunderstood as what I call real bullies, they are defensive revengers manifesting with same formats of aggressive behaviour, but they are not bullies at all. Of course, there are some found with co-occurring reactive and proactive aggression, which is the most serious and high-risk group of aggressive behaviour in schools and society. Therefore, it is very significant to develop early interventions with scientific evidence-based effective outcomes for reducing reactive and proactive aggression as well as aggressive and pure victimisation among schoolchildren and adolescents in Hong Kong.