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Viewing the status of associate degree students as a stigma in Hong Kong
Author(s)
Date Issued
2014
Publisher
Hong Kong: Hong Kong Shue Yan University
Description
Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.) -- Hong Kong Shue Yan University, 2014.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 43-54).
xii, 90 p.
Type
Thesis
Programme
Master of Social Sciences in Counselling Psychology
Abstract
Research on the status of academic qualification as a stigma is rare. In order to provide evidences that the status of academic qualification is prone to stigmatization, a mixed-method study comparing a sample of students with associate degree (AD) and those
with bachelor degree only (BD) in Hong Kong was conducted. The purposes of this study
were to investigate: (1) the evidence that the status of students with AD can be viewed as a
stigma; (2) the influences of the status on their feelings of inferiority, avoidance of inferior
feelings and subjective well-being. In-depth qualitative interview captured the life experiences of the students with AD background, when survey compared students with AD
and BD on the inferior feelings, the avoidance of inferiority and the subjective well-being.
The stigma conceptualization of Link and Phelan (2001) was applied to investigate the stigma of AD students. The qualitative findings indicated the manifestation that the status of AD students can be considered as a stigma. Compatible with the qualitative findings, the
quantitative results are similar to the theoretical position that stigma induces negative
influences on the stigmatized individuals. In comparison with the BD students without AD
background, the results reflected that the status of AD students associated with the higher
level of inferiority feeling, higher tendency of insecure striving and negative psychological
affect activities. Some critical issues about the students with AD background, such as their
thoughts, experiences and psychological well-being were addressed in order to enhance the understanding on their current situations. Subsequently better social and psychological
services can be established to help these students in their development.
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