Page 42 - 香港浸會大學16-17

4. Funded Research Projects

4.12 Materialism among children and adolescents in China,
Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore (on-going project)

Principal Investigator: Prof. Kara Chan

Convenor of Environment, Health and Sustainability
Working Group of LEWI and
Professor of Communication Studies

Source of Funding: Digital Scholarship Grant, HKBU
Amount Awarded: HKD99,200

Brief Introduction:

Developmental psychologists, educators, parents, marketers and policy makers

are interested in understanding how children and adolescents develop
materialistic values with age, and what factors are related to the adoption of

materialistic values. In the past 15 years, Prof. Chan conducted over ten studies
on the topic. Different research methodologies were used, including surveying

surveys, drawings, and interviews. These studies cover subjects in Hong Kong,
Macau, Mainland China, and Singapore. This digital scholarship project attempts
to consolidate the materials adopted in the research process and the data

generated in one site. The website will facilitate other researchers and interested
party to develop models, test hypothesis, and conduct cross-cultural analysis. The

measurement instruments could be opened up for testing of validity. Further data
mining and statistical analysis will enable educators and parents to develop

strategies to discourage the endorsement of materialistic values among children
and adolescents. It also has policy implications of regulating marketing

communication tools in media and the school context.

37 HONG KONG BAPTIST UNIVERSITY | David C. Lam Institute for East-West Studies