Paper Title
Negativity Toward The Rich Among Unemployed Youth In Hong Kong: A Preliminary Report

Abstract
The current study was designed to examine the potential associations between sense of employability and negative attitudes toward the rich among Hong Kong unemployed youth over time. Given the prevalence of youth employment worldwide, we were interested in exploring the often documented conjecture that unemployed youth’s frustration and anger may lead to different forms of negative consequences, including heightened tensions toward the rich and the Government. Specifically, we collected data from 359 unemployed youth in Hong Kong, across two waves of data collection with 9 months apart,and explored their negative attitudes toward the rich and its associations with sense of employability, changes in employment status, and various psychosocial correlates such as measures in psychological well-being and anti-establishment sentiments. Key findings from our preliminary analyses revealed that: 1) these unemployed youths were generally negative toward the rich as reflected in their mean ratings; 2) negativity toward the rich was positively associated with sense of employability, implying that those who perceived themselves as employable but failed to secure a job were particularly negative the rich; 3) negativity toward the rich was negatively associated with psychological health and support for government, and positively associated with measures such as cynicism and participations in various collective actions. Very little research has been conducted to examine the potential linkage between youth unemployment and negativity toward the rich, and its psychosocial correlates. Our findings bear significant conceptual and applied implications. Keywords - Unemployed youth, negativity toward the rich, psychosocial correlates, Hong Kong This study was funded by General Research Fund (No. 440713) from Hong Kong Research Grants Council.