Data for this study were obtained from longitudinal online surveys that were conducted annually from 2018 to 2020. The surveys asked questions on general well-being and suicidality, and this initiative was led by the Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention (CSRP) at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). Targeted study samples were 10–35 year-old individuals living in the general Hong Kong population, particularly those with known risk factors of suicide such as previous suicidal ideation and attempt, and psychiatric disorders.
For the first survey wave, links to the online survey were disseminated through poster promotions, emails to members, newsletters, and Facebook and web pages of the authors’ affiliated institutions. Additionally, for maximum outreach to the targeted participants, links to the survey were also disseminated as (i) poster promotions at branches, and (ii) notices to members of, three community outreach organizations: Caritas, Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, and The Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong. All three are major outreach organizations with territory-wide service centers that provide counseling and social work services to individuals up to 35 years of age26 –28 .
Clicking the survey link would direct participants to a secure webpage containing the survey. Participants could choose to fill out either a Chinese or English version. Written informed consent was first obtained from all participants, and they were informed of the survey’s purpose (gaining an in-depth understanding of their demographic group’s general well-being), approximate survey duration (ten minutes), strict confidentiality of their data, and of their freedom to discontinue at any time. Careful consideration was taken to ensure that the survey questions would incur no risk and pose the least stress to participants. Contact information for emotional support hotlines and services was made available throughout the survey to encourage distressed participants to seek support immediately. Participants who consented to be contacted further for follow-up could provide their email addresses, where survey links were sent in the subsequent survey collection period.
All procedures & protocols adopted in this study were approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee for Non-Clinical Faculties of HKU under the reference number EA1709039. Consent from parents or legal guardians for under-aged participants was deemed not required by the committee as the endorsed study was assessed to pose minimal potential harm to under-aged participants. Survey collection periods for 2018, 2019, and 2020 waves were 22 December 2017–15 July 2018, 5 June–8 July 2019, and 29 June–29 September 2020 respectively. In 2019 and 2020 survey waves were follow-up surveys from the previous wave, and thus did not involve any recruitment of new participants.
For the first survey wave, links to the online survey were disseminated through poster promotions, emails to members, newsletters, and Facebook and web pages of the authors’ affiliated institutions. Additionally, for maximum outreach to the targeted participants, links to the survey were also disseminated as (i) poster promotions at branches, and (ii) notices to members of, three community outreach organizations: Caritas, Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, and The Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong. All three are major outreach organizations with territory-wide service centers that provide counseling and social work services to individuals up to 35 years of age26 –28 .
Clicking the survey link would direct participants to a secure webpage containing the survey. Participants could choose to fill out either a Chinese or English version. Written informed consent was first obtained from all participants, and they were informed of the survey’s purpose (gaining an in-depth understanding of their demographic group’s general well-being), approximate survey duration (ten minutes), strict confidentiality of their data, and of their freedom to discontinue at any time. Careful consideration was taken to ensure that the survey questions would incur no risk and pose the least stress to participants. Contact information for emotional support hotlines and services was made available throughout the survey to encourage distressed participants to seek support immediately. Participants who consented to be contacted further for follow-up could provide their email addresses, where survey links were sent in the subsequent survey collection period.
All procedures & protocols adopted in this study were approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee for Non-Clinical Faculties of HKU under the reference number EA1709039. Consent from parents or legal guardians for under-aged participants was deemed not required by the committee as the endorsed study was assessed to pose minimal potential harm to under-aged participants. Survey collection periods for 2018, 2019, and 2020 waves were 22 December 2017–15 July 2018, 5 June–8 July 2019, and 29 June–29 September 2020 respectively. In 2019 and 2020 survey waves were follow-up surveys from the previous wave, and thus did not involve any recruitment of new participants.
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