Cognitive competence in Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong: a six-year longitudinal study

Abstract The developmental trend and correlates of adolescent cognitive competence were examined in a 6-year longitudinal study in Hong Kong. From Secondary 1 to Secondary 6 years, the same cohort of high school students responded to validated measures of cognitive competence, socio-demographic status (i.e. gender, family intactness and economic disadvantage) and family processes (i.e. family functioning, father-child subsystem quality and mother-child subsystem quality). Results indicated that there was a rising trend of cognitive competence over the high school years. Adolescents with better family functioning or better father-child or mother-child subsystem quality demonstrated higher initial level of cognitive competence. However, adolescents with better family functioning showed slower growth rate on cognitive competence over time. Finally, teenage boys showed faster growth rate on cognitive competence than did teenage girls.