Psychology-Informed Theology: A Case Study of Older Adults in Hong Kong

Apr 01, 2025

By Ann Gillian Chu Assistant Professor at Hong Kong Baptist University and Claire Cheung, Research Assistant also at Hong Kong Baptist University.

From the beginning of Gillian’s academic career, she has been involved in ventures related to science-engaged religion. From working with Professor Ross Hastings (Regent College) as his research assistant on his John Templeton Foundation-funded research project to witnessing her doctoral supervisor, Dr John Perry (University of St Andrews), conducting his John Templeton Foundation-funded research project, the experiences have shaped how she understands theology and religious studies. It made her more aware of science-engaged theology ventures, and she often pondered on what leads to human flourishing. As such, when the opportunity of Cross Training in Psychology and Theology came her way, again funded by the John Templeton Foundation (surprise, surprise!), she leapt at the chance. Dr Carissa Sharp and her team at the University of Birmingham have created a unique space for theologians to understand what research psychologists of religion are doing and how, as theologians, we can conduct psychology-informed research. Our research just began in November 2024, and at this preliminary stage, we have already gained some helpful insights. As such, in this post, we hope to share some of these preliminary insights with you.

About This Project

Since the announcement of the British National (Overseas) (BN[O]) visa on July 22, 2020, many young Hong Kong families have moved to Britain for different lifestyles and prospects, leaving their elderly parents behind due to barriers like language and culture. Statistical analyses have since been released regarding the increasing cases of loneliness, family disconnection, and suicide in the elderly population. As social identity and belonging to social groups provide meaning to an individual’s life (Haslam et al., 2009), and identity as a parent and grandparent is important to older adults, how do they reconcile with this loss of social relationships?

Numerous studies have investigated the impact of adult children’s migration on the well-being of elderly parents left behind, with many reporting significant negative effects on the parents’ physical and mental health, commonly attributed to reduced functional support and increased psychosocial isolation (Lu, 2013; Rahman, 1999; Tan, 1992). Particularly in Confucian Asia, co-residence with adult children demonstrates filial piety, where older parents typically have emotional bonds and expectations for their children to provide physical, financial, and emotional support (Nair, 2008; Croll, 2006). Consequently, left-behind older adults exhibit higher rates of depression (Zhai et al., 2015; Xie et al., 2010), anxiety (Wang et al., 2013), loneliness (Cheng et al., 2015), lower life satisfaction (Liu & Guo, 2008), and overall poorer psychological well-being (Liu et al., 2007; Liu & Guo, 2007) compared to those living with their children. This project will highlight the profound sense of loss experienced by older adults in Confucian-influenced cities like Hong Kong when their adult children migrate, meriting further investigation into how they cope with this challenge.

In Hong Kong, many non-profit organizations have religious affiliations that trace back to the Christian social welfare programs during its time as a British crown colony before 1997. Despite the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government's well-established welfare department, Protestant Christian social services remain an integral part of society. The Christian social identity is often a central one (Cameron, 2004); this project will explore how such self-identification of membership to Christian communities is crucial in supporting these older adults amid the transition.

This project aims to determine how Christian social services and churches facilitate the flourishing of older adults amid the loss they face in the migration of their adult children and grandchildren by answering three key questions: (1) How do “left-behind elderly parents” understand their relationship with God? (2) How do Hong Kong Christian organizations support these left-behind elderly parents? And (3) how do left-behind elderly parents understand their social identity and the loss of such?

Post-BN(O) Visa Hong Kong and Older Adults

According to the South China Morning Post (November 9, 2022), 38,600 Hong Kongers under 18 years old have applied for BN(O) visas, and those aged 25 to 54 make up the majority of the 142,000 applicants. By extension, very few Hong Kongers over 54 chose to migrate to Britain via the BN(O) visa. How do these new migrants manage split families, with elderly parents in Hong Kong and their adult children in Britain? How do their church communities and Christian organizations assist elderly parents in accepting and managing their newly split families?

We have found that these left-behind elderly parents may be vulnerable or feel a sense of loss because of the relatively sudden decision of their adult children to migrate to Britain. On July 29, 2023, the Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong released a statistical report on suicide deaths in Hong Kong in 2022. In 1,010 suicide deaths, 466 were 60 years old or above, making up 44% of overall suicides, the highest in record since 1973. Older adult suicide rates have increased by over 40% in the past five years, which correlates with the beginning of the mass migration wave since 2020, though there may be other factors contributing to this as well. The agency head of the Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong, Clarence Chin-kwok Tsang, argues that younger couples’ migration has left many elderly parents living alone, which has increased older adults’ feelings of loneliness. Since older adults in Hong Kong are considered more reserved, they are less likely to share suicidal thoughts with others. Society for Community Organization, Elderly Rights League (Hong Kong), and the Chinese University of Hong Kong together conducted an investigation of working-class older adults between July 2022 and January 2023 and announced on August 20, 2023 that only 15.1% of elderly parents are in constant communication with their adult children, and only 8% of elderly parents consider their adult children as providing constant emotional support. As the digital gap has created emotional issues, such as depression, anxiety, and stress, older adults in this study rate their loneliness as 9.2 out of 10.

One survey found that older adult centers and other social welfare-supported units only operate at certain times with no round-the-clock support, especially during the pandemic. This means older adults cannot count on these centers for support during out-of-office hours and resort to independent means of coping. Our project wonders if Christian organizations could fill in the gap amidst this inconsistent support. In our project, there are no requirements for our interview participants to be confessing Christians; but so that we can meaningfully dialogue on how these organizations have supported their journey, they will have to be affiliated with Christian organizations, such as churches, social service centers run by churches, or non-profit Christian organizations. For those who self-identify as Christians, we will assess how their spirituality supports them through the loss of family connections due to migration.

Psychology-informed Theological Research

In the midst of the migration of their adult children, and perhaps grandchildren who they may have provided care for on a regular basis prior to the migration, older adults may experience a sense of loss, which could lead to a need for a renewed sense of purpose in life. The quest for meaning is critical for adjusting to such loss, and religion has been posited as one way this need may be fulfilled (e.g., Koltko-Rivera, 2006–2007; Silberman, 2005; Park, 2013). According to Davis and Nolen-Hoeksema (2001), loss events often present people with dual dimensions of meaning: the need to make sense of the event and the need to derive some benefit from it. Religious beliefs provide ways of understanding, reinterpreting, and adding value to suffering, as well as perspectives that allow one to see a larger divine purpose and plan, thereby making sense of the struggle (Park, 2020; Hall et al., 2018).

This religious meaning-making process can also lead to positive intrapersonal changes, since people can find positive outcomes from attributing more value to positive relationships. Religious individuals tend to focus on factors in stressful situations that foster personal growth, such as reorienting one’s life and reordering ultimate goals (Park, 2013), enabling them to manage their negative emotions more adaptively (Vishkin et al., 2019; Pargament et al., 2000; Shaw et al., 2005). Furthermore, the substantial social support they receive from their religious community can foster a sense of belonging and social integration, leading to more favorable outcomes that deepen their sense of life meaning (Ysseldyk et al., 2010; Park, 2007; Krause & Wulff, 2005). These psychology-informed insights on religion offer a promising avenue for exploring their application in addressing the underexplored BN(O) migration trend in Hong Kong.

We have the support of the University of Birmingham, both monetarily as well as with continuous psychology trainings and an assigned psychology mentor, Dr Renate Ysseldyk from Carleton University (Canada). There is a wealth of psychology of religion literature that engages the topic of older adults and their understanding and expressions of loss. This literature can inform our theological interpretations of older adults and faith, enriching the conversation.

Preliminary Findings

Looking at our preliminary field observations and interviews, we came to understand different factors affecting older adults’ perspectives in this wave of migration, as well as how faith-based organizations have been helping and can further help older adults alleviate their stress caused by their adult children’s migration.

Mobility of Older Adults

One factor contributing to older adults’ perspectives of their adult children migrating is their own relative mobility. When they are in relatively good health, they find it perplexing to be questioned on their sense of loss. Therefore, it is important for faith-based organizations to reach out to those who are not yet feeling the loss so that, when they are in need, they will already have a trusting community to support them.

Daily Routine

Another factor contributing to their outlook is whether their adult children are part of their daily routine. In the case that their children are not, this absence facilitates a sense of isolation or relational absence. Faith-based organizations can become part of older adults’ daily routines, in turn lessening the social distance they may feel. This is where communal spaces created by faith-based organizations come in, providing older adults a place to hang out and a community with whom to spend time. Under the grand narrative of Christianity, where the biblical story provides a narrative arc of creation, fall, redemption, and salvation, being able to place themselves within this overarching story provides their lives with a renewed sense of meaning and purpose. Additionally, older adult organization service users often become volunteers, providing them with a role in which they feel integral and needed for the community around them.

Use of Technology

Another way to alleviate a sense of loss and isolation is changing how older adults see the use of technology. There is an increasing need to train and empower older adults in technology for their daily lives. Training older adults in the use of technology is important because, in this digital era, much of the vital information, such as health information and social connections, is conducted through digital means (Lee et al., 2025). Faith-based organizations can support older adults in this way by familiarizing them with technology, which can seem like second nature to younger generations, such as providing training workshops on how to use digital tools. Initiatives funded by the government and run by faith-based organizations demonstrate the use of government funds in helping older adults navigate the use of technology in daily life, and there are proposals for using virtual representations and metaverse in creating communities for those who might find it difficult to access physical locations, possibly due to social anxiety or physical mobility.

Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approaches

Changes in the makeup of Hong Kong’s society will always create an impact. An increasingly aging society leads to greater demands on social services. The question is, how do faith-based social services fill the social network gap that other welfare services cannot in the aftermath of the migration of adult children to Britain? As this wave of migration is still in progress, faith-based social services are exploring different ways to support left-behind elderly parents. New developments in social services for left-behind elderly parents are developing both from bottom-up, such as organically inviting older adults to volunteer in centres to share their skills and knowledge, and from top-down, as funding bodies utilize academic research on this topic to provide resources.

Impacts of this Research

Hong Kongers are projected to continue to move to Britain but the impact of this wave of relocation is a relatively new and understudied phenomenon. Capturing the experiences and struggles of left-behind elderly parents, as well as how faith-based organizations can support them through this phase, facilitates future policymaking that addresses how to support older populations. This research also enables the construction of an original framework to understand the sense of loss elderly parents of Hong Kong BN(O) visa migrants face in the midst of their adult children’s migration. This project's societal impact on families and the community will be substantial, as physical and mental health issues carry significant costs for both the government and society; from older adults experiencing mental illness to governmental resources needed to financially support older adults, be it medical, housing, or other needs, the losses are enormous. Recognizing the contributions of Christian organizations in this arena also guides policymakers in leveraging their role to reduce such societal losses.

Concluding Thoughts

This is an exciting venture. This trailblazing integration of psychology and theology is original because the methodologies of psychology and theology are often seen as non-compatible, with the former being focused on generating knowledge through conducting experiments, while the latter through faith seeking understanding. Nonetheless, there are many points of shared interest between the two disciplines, as they are both interested in human flourishing. As such, there is great potential for conversations between the two disciplines. We hope that the findings from this project can benefit Hong Kong society and Hong Kongers in the diaspora. This project will carry on until October 2025, and we hope to be sharing more in-depth findings with you at the Princeton Theological Seminary’s 2026 Mental Health conference. See you there!