Family and Child Development

Family and Child Development 家庭和兒童發展研究小組

Cluster Leaders:
Ms Helen Kwok, Department of Counselling & Psychology
Professor Catherine Tang, Distinguished Professor of Psychology

The formation of a family consists of a series of the most rewarding yet stressful major life events including dyadic relationships, pregnancy, and parenthood. Family is essential to the physical and mental development of children. Children’s relationships with parents, carers, and siblings play important roles in the development process. Early experiences, especially children’s attachment to parents and other key carers, shape children’s future development. The team will investigate bio-psycho-social-cultural factors in fostering family resilience and adversity coping. Other research themes include the process of transitioning to parenthood, the impact of parenting style and family factors on child development, family dynamics on the development of behavioral problems and addictive behaviors in teenagers and youths, and intergenerational communication of social attitudes between children and their parents.