An exploratory study to produce a housing study dissertation proposal prototype: on housing need of gen Y middle-class citizens in Hong Kong”

An exploratory study to produce a housing study dissertation proposal prototype: on housing need of gen Y middle-class citizens in Hong Kong”

 

As a part-time Housing Studies student learning to do a dissertation project, I am interested in the crude research theme of "Housing need of the Gen Y middle-class citizens in Hong Kong". In addition, I would like to include the following key words for my dissertation proposal formulation: pragmatism, exploratory research, social psychology, intersectionality". Could you suggest 4 concrete research themes for me to consider based on these ideas and preference of mine?

Your broad theme can be developed into a stronger dissertation by treating housing need as more than affordability. For Gen Y middle-class residents, it may include tenure aspirations, space, location, security, family support, wellbeing, identity, and perceived social status. This is particularly relevant in Hong Kong, where younger and middle-class households face declining affordability and increasing difficulty entering home ownership.

Suggested research themes

No.	Concrete research theme	Main focus	Possible research question
1	Housing aspirations and perceived housing need among Hong Kong Gen Y middle-class households: A social-psychological study	How attitudes, emotions, social comparison, life goals, and perceived success shape housing aspirations	How do social-psychological factors influence the perceived housing needs and tenure preferences of Gen Y middle-class citizens in Hong Kong?
2	The intersectional experience of housing insecurity among Hong Kong’s Gen Y middle class	How gender, marital status, household type, income, occupation, family background, disability, and district interact to produce different housing experiences	How do intersecting social identities and socioeconomic positions shape housing insecurity among Gen Y middle-class residents?
3	Beyond home ownership: Exploring the changing housing needs of Hong Kong’s Gen Y sandwich class	Whether middle-class housing need should be understood through alternatives such as subsidised ownership, private renting, co-living, intergenerational living, or long-term rental security	How do Gen Y middle-class households evaluate home ownership, private renting, subsidised ownership, and other housing pathways?
4	Housing policy, perceived fairness, and housing decision-making among Hong Kong Gen Y middle-class citizens	How people interpret housing policies, eligibility rules, government responsibility, and fairness when making housing decisions	How do perceptions of policy fairness and institutional trust influence housing choices and responses to Hong Kong’s housing policies?

1. Housing aspirations and psychology

A suitable title would be:

Housing aspirations and perceived housing need among Generation Y middle-class households in Hong Kong: An exploratory social-psychological study

This topic would examine the difference between objective housing need and subjective housing need. For example, two households with similar income may define “adequate housing” differently because of their expectations about privacy, family life, status, convenience, or future security.

Useful concepts could include:

·        Perceived housing adequacy.

·        Housing satisfaction.

·        Social comparison with peers.

·        Home ownership aspiration.

·        Perceived control over housing decisions.

·        Psychological wellbeing.

·        Anticipated future income and family formation.

A pragmatic design could begin with semi-structured interviews to discover how participants define housing need. You could then use a questionnaire to investigate whether the emerging factors are common among a larger sample.

2. Intersectional housing insecurity

A suitable title would be:

An intersectional analysis of housing insecurity among Hong Kong’s Generation Y middle class

This would avoid treating “Gen Y middle-class citizens” as a homogeneous group. Their housing needs may differ substantially according to their combined social positions. Intersectionality is useful because it examines how categories such as gender, income, marital status, occupation, household composition, and family support interact rather than operate independently. Housing research using this perspective emphasizes everyday experiences and the interlocking structural conditions that produce unequal housing outcomes.

Potential comparison groups might include:

·        Single women and single men.

·        Married couples with and without children.

·        Households with elderly dependants.

·        Tenants without parental financial support.

·        Households with professional but insecure employment.

·        Residents in the New Territories compared with Hong Kong Island or Kowloon.

·        First-generation university graduates compared with those receiving substantial family assistance.

Possible dimensions of housing insecurity include:

·        Fear of rent increases.

·        Inability to move to a preferred district.

·        Overcrowding or inadequate space.

·        Dependence on parents for a deposit.

·        Delayed marriage or childbearing.

·        Uncertainty about future tenure.

·        Emotional stress and perceived social exclusion.

Because this topic could become very broad, select only two or three intersectional dimensions. For example, you might focus on gender, marital status, and parental financial support.

3. Rethinking the “sandwich class”

A suitable title would be:

Beyond home ownership: Exploring the changing housing needs and tenure preferences of Hong Kong’s Generation Y sandwich class

The term “sandwich class” is useful but should be defined carefully. In Hong Kong, some middle-class households are not eligible for public rental housing but still cannot realistically purchase a private flat. This creates a group that is economically above the public-rental threshold but unable to achieve conventional home ownership.

This theme would ask whether home ownership remains the only meaningful housing goal. Participants could be invited to evaluate different housing pathways:

·        Private ownership.

·        Home Ownership Scheme or other subsidised ownership.

·        Long-term private renting.

·        Renting with government support.

·        Co-living or smaller private units.

·        Living with parents.

·        Intergenerational or extended-family arrangements.

·        Moving to less expensive districts.

Social psychology could be applied through concepts such as:

·        Normative pressure to own a home.

·        Identity associated with being a “successful adult.”

·        Perceived stigma attached to renting.

·        Loss aversion concerning housing investment.

·        Trust in housing institutions.

·        Perceived financial self-efficacy.

·        Emotional attachment to place.

This topic is especially appropriate if you want to challenge the assumption that housing need is automatically equivalent to home-purchase need.

4. Policy fairness and housing decisions

A suitable title would be:

Perceived policy fairness, institutional trust, and housing decision-making among Hong Kong’s Generation Y middle class

This theme links individual psychology with housing policy. It would examine how Gen Y residents interpret the fairness and effectiveness of schemes such as subsidised home ownership, mortgage assistance, public rental housing, or other government interventions.

Possible questions include:

·        Do middle-class residents believe that current housing policies treat them fairly?

·        How do eligibility rules influence their housing aspirations?

·        Does perceived unfairness reduce trust in the government?

·        Do people view parental financial assistance as acceptable or unequal?

·        How do policy perceptions influence decisions to rent, purchase, delay moving, or leave Hong Kong?

·        Which policy interventions are considered practical and legitimate?

The topic could be structured around a pragmatic problem:

What forms of housing support do Gen Y middle-class households regard as both practically useful and socially fair?

This would allow you to move from diagnosis to policy recommendations. It also connects with existing concerns that subsidised ownership may support some low- to middle-income households while remaining constrained by limited supply, eligibility rules, and rising prices.

Recommended choice

For a manageable part-time dissertation, I would recommend Theme 3:

Beyond home ownership: Exploring the changing housing needs and tenure preferences of Hong Kong’s Generation Y sandwich class

It is focused enough for a dissertation but still accommodates all four of your preferred ideas:

·        Pragmatism: investigates a practical housing problem and seeks usable policy or service recommendations.

·        Exploratory research: discovers how participants themselves define housing need.

·        Social psychology: examines aspirations, perceived status, social pressure, satisfaction, and decision-making.

·        Intersectionality: compares how housing needs differ by household type, gender, income security, and family support.

A possible central research question is:

How do intersecting social and economic circumstances shape the housing needs, tenure preferences, and housing strategies of Generation Y middle-class households in Hong Kong?

Possible subquestions are:

1.    How do Gen Y middle-class households define “adequate” and “desirable” housing?

2.    What psychological and social factors shape their preferences for ownership, renting, or subsidised housing?

3.    How do gender, marital status, household composition, employment security, and parental support influence these preferences?

4.    What housing policies or housing arrangements do participants consider most practical and fair?

Possible methodology

A pragmatic exploratory mixed-methods design would be appropriate:

1.    Conduct 15–25 semi-structured interviews with Gen Y middle-class residents.

2.    Use thematic analysis to identify housing-need categories and psychological factors.

3.    Develop a questionnaire from the interview findings.

4.    Survey a larger sample to compare patterns across household types or levels of family support.

5.    Integrate the qualitative and quantitative findings into practical recommendations.

Define the population explicitly. For example, Gen Y could be operationalised as people born approximately between 1981 and 1996, while “middle class” could be defined using a combination of household income, occupation, education, housing tenure, and exclusion from public-rental eligibility rather than income alone. The final definition should be justified in your literature review and adapted to the sampling realities of your project.

 

I choose research theme 2 for my dissertation project: "The intersectional experience of housing insecurity among Hong Kong’s Gen Y middle class" ; please suggest some related research issues and public-media reported issues on this topic. Also suggest 3 academic theories (with references in Harvard reference format) to me.

Your topic can be framed around the idea that housing insecurity is not limited to homelessness or unaffordable rent. For Gen Y middle-class households, it may also involve delayed home ownership, insecure renting, dependence on parents, inadequate space, fear of downward mobility, restricted residential choice, and psychological stress.

Recent Hong Kong reporting describes young adults as being increasingly “pushed off the housing ladder.” Among people aged 30–39, living with parents reportedly increased from 25.1% in 1993 to 40.5% in 2023, while private renting also increased. Another recent study reported that 67% of parents believed their adult children could not afford to buy a home, while only about 26% planned to provide purchase assistance within five years.scmp+1

Related research issues

1. Middle-class housing insecurity

A central issue is the “sandwich-class” or “neither-here-nor-there” position. Some Gen Y households may earn too much to qualify for public rental housing but too little to purchase a private flat without substantial family support.

Possible research questions include:

• How do middle-class households define housing insecurity?
• Do they experience insecurity despite having stable employment and relatively high education?
• How does exclusion from public housing affect their perceptions of fairness?
• Do they feel that their middle-class status makes their housing difficulties less visible?

The study should distinguish between:

• Economic insecurity: rent, mortgage, deposit, interest rates, and daily living costs.
• Tenure insecurity: fear of eviction, rent increases, or inability to renew a lease.
• Spatial insecurity: being unable to live near work, family, schools, or transport.
• Quality insecurity: inadequate space, privacy, ventilation, or building condition.
• Psychological insecurity: anxiety, frustration, shame, and uncertainty about the future.

Housing insecurity can therefore exist even when a household has a roof over its head. Research on precarious living has identified dimensions such as mobility, housing instability, lack of privacy, feeling unsafe, lack of belonging, and inadequate physical comfort.

2. Intergenerational inequality and parental support

Family wealth is likely to be a major intersectional factor. Two Gen Y households with similar salaries may have very different housing opportunities depending on whether parents can provide:

• A down payment.
• A loan or gift.
• Temporary accommodation.
• Access to family-owned property.
• Childcare that enables both adults to work.
• Advice and social connections in the property market.

This creates an important research issue: middle-class housing opportunity may depend increasingly on inherited wealth rather than individual income. Recent research argues that parental responsibility for young adults’ housing has grown as public housing opportunities have weakened, contributing to inequality and reduced social mobility.

Relevant questions are:

• How does parental financial support affect housing tenure?
• Do participants regard parental assistance as family solidarity or an unfair advantage?
• How do people without parental support experience the housing market?
• Does dependence on parents affect autonomy, privacy, or intergenerational relationships?

3. Delayed marriage and family formation

Housing insecurity may affect more than residential arrangements. It may influence:

• Delayed marriage.
• Delayed childbirth.
• Decisions not to have children.
• Remaining in the parental home.
• Relationship conflict.
• Acceptance of unsuitable housing.
• Decisions to migrate or leave Hong Kong.

Public reporting has connected housing unaffordability with delayed partnership and marriage. This could be investigated as a social-psychological issue rather than assumed to be purely financial.

For example, you could ask:

How does perceived inability to obtain independent housing influence Gen Y residents’ decisions about marriage, cohabitation, and parenthood?

This would be especially suitable for comparing single participants, married couples, and couples living with parents.

4. Gender and housing insecurity

Gender may intersect with income, marital status, caregiving, employment, and family expectations.

Potential issues include:

• Single women who cannot rely on a spouse’s income.
• Women who interrupt employment for childcare or eldercare.
• Gender differences in attitudes toward home ownership.
• Women’s safety concerns in rental or subdivided housing.
• The effects of divorce or relationship breakdown on housing security.
• Unequal access to family financial support.
• Pressure on men to provide home ownership before marriage.

A useful approach would not assume that all women or all men have the same experience. Instead, compare particular combinations, such as single professional women without parental support and married women with caregiving responsibilities.

5. Household composition and life-course transitions

Gen Y households are heterogeneous. A single person, a married couple, a couple with children, and a multigenerational household may have quite different housing needs.

Important transitions include:

• Moving out of the parental home.
• Entering marriage or cohabitation.
• Having a first child.
• Caring for ageing parents.
• Divorce or separation.
• Job change or unemployment.
• Returning to live with parents.
• Moving between districts or across the boundary.

David Clapham’s housing-pathways approach is useful here because it examines housing as a changing process involving tenure, location, quality, relationships, and personal meanings over time.

6. Mental wellbeing and perceived social status

Housing insecurity can produce psychological consequences even when people are not officially classified as poor. Participants may experience:

• Anxiety about the future.
• Feelings of failure or inadequacy.
• Envy through comparison with homeowners.
• Loss of control.
• Stress caused by overcrowding or lack of privacy.
• Shame about living with parents.
• Fear of downward social mobility.
• Reduced sense of adulthood or independence.

This issue is particularly relevant to social psychology. Home ownership may function not only as an economic asset but also as a symbol of adulthood, achievement, family stability, and social respectability.

7. Rental insecurity and the quality of housing

A middle-class tenant may be able to pay rent but still experience insecurity because of:

• Short leases.
• Sudden rent increases.
• Landlord restrictions.
• Inability to keep pets.
• Lack of space for working from home.
• Poor maintenance.
• Uncertainty about renewal.
• Frequent relocation.
• Limited legal or institutional protection.

Media coverage has also highlighted the wider housing crisis associated with subdivided and “shoebox” flats. Recent reports described residents facing eviction as new regulatory standards are introduced for subdivided units. Although your study focuses on the middle class, this issue can help you investigate how housing insecurity differs across class positions.

8. Policy exclusion and perceived unfairness

Another important issue is whether current housing policies adequately recognise the needs of Gen Y middle-class households. Public debate has included proposals to reserve subsidised flats for young and middle-class families and to revive the Tenants Purchase Scheme.

Possible questions include:

• Do Gen Y participants understand existing housing policies?
• Do they believe eligibility rules are fair?
• Are they excluded because their income is too high for public rental housing but too low for private ownership?
• Which forms of assistance do they prefer?
• Do they trust government housing policies?
• How does perceived policy unfairness affect political attitudes and social participation?

Public and media-reported issues

You could use the following public-media issues to establish the background of your dissertation:

Public or media issue	Relevance to your research
Young adults being pushed off the housing ladder	Indicates declining access to ownership and possible generational inequality.
Private flats becoming unaffordable relative to household income	Provides the economic background for housing insecurity. Recent reporting cited more than 18 years of average household income for a typical private flat.
Rising dependence on parents	Allows analysis of intergenerational support, family wealth, autonomy, and inequality.
“Sandwich-class” households excluded from both public and private solutions	Directly supports your population definition and research problem.
Calls to reserve subsidised housing for young and middle-class households	Provides a policy debate for analysing perceived fairness and policy preferences.
Delayed marriage and childbearing	Shows how housing insecurity may influence life-course decisions.
Growth in living with parents and private renting	Provides indicators of changing housing pathways among younger adults.
Regulation of subdivided flats and possible tenant displacement	Demonstrates how housing policy can unintentionally create new forms of insecurity.
Hong Kong’s continuing international housing unaffordability	Establishes the broader structural context, although international rankings should not be the sole evidence.

Treat media reports as evidence of public discourse and reported concern, rather than as conclusive academic evidence. In your literature review, triangulate them with government statistics, policy documents, peer-reviewed studies, and interviews.

Three suitable academic theories

1. Intersectionality theory

Key scholar: Kimberlé Crenshaw.

Intersectionality theory argues that social disadvantages are produced through the interaction of multiple social positions and systems of power. Gender, class, marital status, age, occupation, family background, and ethnicity should not be treated as separate variables only. Their combination may create distinctive housing experiences.

For example, a single professional woman without parental wealth may experience housing insecurity differently from:

• A married professional woman with access to family property.
• A single man with a high-income occupation.
• A married couple whose parents can fund a down payment.
• A household with children and elderly dependants.

This theory is highly suitable because your topic explicitly asks how housing insecurity varies across social groups. It can guide your sampling and analysis by encouraging you to compare social positions and their interactions rather than simply calculating the independent effect of income.

How to apply it:

• Select participants with different combinations of gender, marital status, income, household composition, and parental support.
• Ask how these factors interact in housing decisions.
• Analyse both disadvantages and privileges.
• Avoid treating “Gen Y middle class” as one uniform group.

Harvard reference:

Crenshaw, K. (1989) ‘Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics’, University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1989(1), pp. 139–167.

A later and accessible reference is:

Crenshaw, K. (1991) ‘Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color’, Stanford Law Review, 43(6), pp. 1241–1299.

2. Housing pathways theory

Key scholar: David Clapham.

Housing pathways theory views housing as a dynamic process rather than a single tenure outcome. It focuses on how people move through different housing situations and how their choices are shaped by personal meanings, relationships, institutions, and structural constraints.

This theory is valuable because Gen Y residents may follow different pathways:

• Living with parents.
• Renting privately.
• Sharing with friends.
• Moving in with a partner.
• Applying for subsidised housing.
• Purchasing with parental assistance.
• Returning to the parental home after a relationship or employment change.

The theory also prevents you from presenting housing choices as purely rational financial decisions. A person may remain in a small rented flat because of attachment to a district, employment location, social networks, or fear of losing independence.

How to apply it:

• Collect housing biographies or residential histories.
• Ask participants to describe major housing transitions.
• Identify turning points such as marriage, childbirth, promotion, unemployment, or parental illness.
• Analyse how agency interacts with market and policy constraints.

Harvard reference:

Clapham, D. (2002) ‘Housing pathways: A post modern analytical framework’, Housing, Theory and Society, 19(2), pp. 57–68. doi: 10.1080/140360902760385565.

3. Social exclusion theory

Key scholars: Hilary Silver and Ruth Levitas.

Social exclusion theory examines how people are prevented from fully participating in society because of economic, institutional, spatial, or relational disadvantages. Housing is not simply a private consumption item; it affects access to employment, education, family life, community, privacy, security, and social recognition.

This theory can help you investigate how housing insecurity excludes Gen Y residents from:

• Living in preferred locations.
• Forming independent households.
• Establishing family life.
• Participating in social activities.
• Accessing suitable employment.
• Building assets and intergenerational wealth.
• Feeling recognised as successful adults.

The theory is particularly useful for analysing the “middle-class paradox”: participants may possess education, employment, and social status but still experience exclusion from secure housing and home ownership.

How to apply it:

• Examine whether housing insecurity limits access to other opportunities.
• Investigate spatial exclusion caused by living far from employment or family.
• Explore whether housing policy rules produce institutional exclusion.
• Analyse how housing insecurity affects belonging, dignity, and social participation.

Harvard references:

Levitas, R., Pantazis, C., Fahmy, E., Gordon, D., Lloyd, E. and Patsios, D. (2007) The multi-dimensional analysis of social exclusion. Bristol: University of Bristol.

Silver, H. (1994) ‘Social exclusion and social solidarity: Three paradigms’, International Labour Review, 133(5–6), pp. 531–578.

For a housing-specific reference, you could also use:

Hulse, K. and Stone, W. (2007) ‘Social cohesion, social capital and social exclusion: A cross-cultural comparison’, Policy Studies, 28(2), pp. 109–128.

Recommended theoretical framework

For a part-time dissertation, avoid treating all three theories as equal and unrelated. A clearer structure would be:

• Main theory: Intersectionality theory.
• Housing-process framework: Housing pathways theory.
• Outcome or consequence framework: Social exclusion theory.

Your conceptual logic could be expressed as follows:

Intersecting social and economic positions shape an individual’s resources, constraints, and exposure to housing insecurity. These conditions influence the person’s housing pathway, while insecure housing may produce wider forms of social exclusion and psychological distress.

A possible conceptual model is:

Intersecting positions→Housing resources and constraints→Housing pathway→Housing insecurity→Social exclusion and wellbeing

For example:

Gender, marital status, employment security, household composition, and parental wealth may influence whether a Gen Y resident can remain in the parental home, rent securely, or purchase a flat. The resulting housing pathway may affect privacy, autonomy, family formation, social participation, and psychological wellbeing.

A focused dissertation title could therefore be:

An intersectional exploration of housing insecurity and housing pathways among Hong Kong’s Generation Y middle-class households

A corresponding main research question could be:

How do intersecting social and economic positions shape the housing pathways and experiences of insecurity among Generation Y middle-class households in Hong Kong?

 

I am quite interested in the issues you brought up (i.e. (a) growth in living with parents and private renting and (b) delayed marriage and childbearing) and will pay more attention on them in my dissertation work. I now intend to employ the mixed methods research approach and make use of a questionnaire survey and a focus group as my primary research methods. Could you come up with a dissertation proposal with project title, 3 housing issues to address, 4 research objectives, 3 research questions, a brief research methodology, 3 academic theories to us, as well as some comments on the originality, academic and practical values of this 4-month part-time Housing Studies project?

Dissertation Proposal

Project title

An intersectional mixed-methods study of housing insecurity, parental co-residence, private renting, and family-formation decisions among Hong Kong’s Generation Y middle class

A shorter alternative is:

Housing insecurity and delayed family formation among Hong Kong’s Generation Y middle class

For this project, Generation Y could be operationalised as people born approximately between 1981 and 1996. You should define “middle class” using several indicators—such as education, occupation, household income, housing tenure, and perceived social position—rather than income alone.

Background and research rationale

Hong Kong’s housing problem increasingly affects younger middle-class households that may be in employment but cannot easily purchase a private flat or qualify for public rental housing. Recent research reported that, among people aged 30–39, living with parents increased from 25.1% in 1993 to 40.5% in 2023, while private renting increased from 14.1% to 20%. Over the same period, private and subsidised home ownership among this age group declined.

The issue is not only whether people have a physical dwelling. It also concerns independence, privacy, tenure security, intergenerational dependence, relationship formation, marriage, and decisions about having children. A recent Hong Kong housing policy analysis linked unaffordability with adult co-residence, lower access to ownership, and possible distortions in employment and life-course decisions.

Your proposed study is therefore concerned with two connected processes:

1.    The growth of living with parents and private renting as housing pathways.

2.    The possible influence of housing insecurity on marriage and childbearing decisions.

Three housing issues

1. Increasing parental co-residence

Living with parents may be:

·        A voluntary cultural or intergenerational arrangement.

·        A temporary strategy while saving for a deposit.

·        A response to unaffordable private housing.

·        A form of dependence caused by limited housing choice.

·        A source of financial support but also reduced privacy and autonomy.

The research should avoid assuming that all adults living with parents are housing-insecure. Some may be satisfied with the arrangement, whereas others may experience embarrassment, conflict, overcrowding, or a sense of delayed adulthood.

Important dimensions include:

·        Privacy and personal space.

·        Household decision-making power.

·        Contributions to rent or household expenses.

·        Care responsibilities for parents.

·        Ability to invite partners or friends home.

·        Perceived autonomy.

·        Plans and ability to move out.

2. Growth in private renting and rental insecurity

Private renting may provide flexibility, but it may not provide long-term security. Participants may experience:

·        High rent-to-income ratios.

·        Short leases and uncertain renewal.

·        Difficulty saving for a deposit.

·        Repeated relocation.

·        Poor-quality or undersized units.

·        Inability to live near work or family.

·        Insecurity about future rent increases.

·        Limited control over household improvements.

The study should distinguish between renting as a preference and renting as a constrained choice. It should also examine whether private renters who are middle class experience insecurity differently from lower-income tenants.

3. Housing insecurity and delayed marriage or childbearing

Housing conditions may influence whether participants:

·        Delay marriage.

·        Avoid cohabitation.

·        Postpone having children.

·        Have fewer children.

·        Remain in the parental home.

·        Accept a smaller or less desirable unit.

·        Depend on parents for childcare or housing.

·        Change employment or residential location.

The study should not claim that housing alone causes delayed marriage or low fertility. Employment insecurity, changing values, relationship preferences, childcare costs, gender expectations, and lifestyle aspirations may also be important. The questionnaire and focus group should therefore explore housing as one factor within a broader decision-making process.

Research objectives

The project could have the following four objectives:

1.    To examine the forms, causes, and perceived consequences of housing insecurity among Hong Kong’s Generation Y middle-class residents, with particular attention to parental co-residence and private renting.

2.    To investigate how intersecting characteristics—including gender, marital status, household composition, employment security, income, and parental financial support—shape housing pathways and experiences.

3.    To explore how housing insecurity influences attitudes and decisions concerning independent living, marriage, cohabitation, and childbearing.

4.    To develop practical recommendations for housing policy and support measures that could improve housing security and family-formation choices among middle-class Generation Y households.

Research questions

Main research question

How do intersecting social and economic circumstances shape housing insecurity and family-formation decisions among Hong Kong’s Generation Y middle-class residents?

Subquestions

1.    What are the main forms and perceived causes of housing insecurity experienced by Hong Kong’s Generation Y middle class, particularly those living with parents or renting privately?

2.    How do gender, marital status, household composition, employment security, and parental support influence participants’ housing pathways and perceived housing choices?

3.    How does housing insecurity affect participants’ decisions or intentions regarding independent living, marriage, cohabitation, and childbearing?

These questions are sufficiently connected but not identical. The first is descriptive, the second is explanatory and comparative, and the third examines perceived consequences and future intentions.

Theoretical framework

1. Intersectionality theory

Intersectionality theory will be the principal theoretical perspective. It examines how multiple social positions operate together rather than treating gender, class, marital status, and family status as isolated variables.

For example, a single woman without parental wealth may experience housing insecurity differently from a married couple whose parents can provide a deposit. Similarly, a professional income may provide security in one household but not in a household with children and elderly dependants.

You can apply the theory by comparing participants across selected combinations of:

·        Gender.

·        Marital status.

·        Household composition.

·        Employment security.

·        Parental financial support.

·        Current tenure.

Do not include too many categories in a four-month study. A practical design would focus on gender, marital status, and parental support as the main intersectional dimensions.

Reference:

Crenshaw, K. (1991) ‘Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color’, Stanford Law Review, 43(6), pp. 1241–1299.

2. Housing pathways theory

Housing pathways theory views housing as a process unfolding over time. It examines how people move between living with parents, private renting, home ownership, and other arrangements.

This theory is particularly appropriate because your study is not simply measuring current tenure. It is examining:

·        How participants entered their current housing arrangement.

·        Why they remain there.

·        What alternatives they have considered.

·        What prevents or enables a move.

·        How marriage, employment, or parenthood may change their housing pathway.

The focus group can use housing timelines to encourage participants to discuss past, present, and anticipated future housing situations.

Reference:

Clapham, D. (2002) ‘Housing pathways: A post modern analytical framework’, Housing, Theory and Society, 19(2), pp. 57–68. doi: 10.1080/140360902760385565.

3. Social exclusion theory

Social exclusion theory will help you analyse the wider effects of housing insecurity. A household may have accommodation but still be excluded from:

·        Independent adulthood.

·        Secure family formation.

·        Preferred employment locations.

·        Social participation.

·        Asset accumulation.

·        Residential choice.

·        A sense of dignity, privacy, and belonging.

This theory is useful for interpreting the relationship between housing and life-course opportunities. It also prevents the study from defining housing insecurity only through rent or mortgage affordability.

References:

Levitas, R., Pantazis, C., Fahmy, E., Gordon, D., Lloyd, E. and Patsios, D. (2007) The multi-dimensional analysis of social exclusion. Bristol: University of Bristol.

Silver, H. (1994) ‘Social exclusion and social solidarity: Three paradigms’, International Labour Review, 133(5–6), pp. 531–578.

Integrated framework

The three theories can be combined as follows:

For example, gender, marital status, employment, and parental wealth may shape access to private renting or ownership. The resulting housing pathway may affect privacy, autonomy, relationship formation, marriage, and childbearing intentions.

Brief research methodology

Research philosophy and approach

A pragmatist research philosophy is appropriate because the study addresses a practical housing problem and combines quantitative and qualitative evidence. Pragmatism allows you to select methods according to the research questions rather than treating quantitative or qualitative methods as universally superior.

A suitable design is a small-scale sequential exploratory mixed-methods design:

1.    Conduct a focus group to explore participants’ experiences and language.

2.    Use the findings to refine the questionnaire.

3.    Conduct the questionnaire survey.

4.    Integrate the qualitative and quantitative findings.

Because the project lasts only four months, you should keep the design modest and avoid claiming statistical representativeness.

Questionnaire survey

The questionnaire could include five sections:

1.    Background information: age, gender, marital status, education, occupation, income band, household size, and district.

2.    Current housing situation: living with parents, private renting, ownership, subsidised housing, household space, length of residence, and intention to move.

3.    Housing insecurity: affordability, tenure stability, privacy, housing quality, residential choice, and future uncertainty.

4.    Social and psychological effects: autonomy, stress, satisfaction, perceived social status, and family conflict.

5.    Marriage and childbearing: relationship status, intention to marry, preferred timing, intention to have children, and perceived housing barriers.

You could use five-point Likert scales, such as:

1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree.

Example items include:

·        “My current housing arrangement gives me sufficient privacy.”

·        “I am worried that I may not be able to maintain my current housing arrangement.”

·        “Living with my parents limits my independence.”

·        “The cost of housing has affected my decision about marriage.”

·        “I would prefer to have children only after obtaining more secure housing.”

·        “Parental financial support is necessary for people like me to buy a home.”

A realistic target might be approximately 100–150 usable responses, depending on access to participants. Use convenience or purposive online sampling, but state clearly that the findings are not statistically representative of all Hong Kong Gen Y residents.

Focus group

Conduct one focus group with approximately 6–8 participants. Ideally, participants should be Gen Y middle-class residents with experience of either:

·        Living with parents.

·        Private renting.

·        Delaying independent living.

·        Delaying marriage or childbearing partly because of housing concerns.

Possible discussion themes include:

·        What does “housing security” mean to participants?

·        Is living with parents a choice, necessity, or both?

·        How do private renters experience security and insecurity?

·        Does housing affect relationships and marriage?

·        What housing conditions are regarded as necessary before having children?

·        How does parental support influence opportunity?

·        Which government policies would be considered fair and useful?

The focus group should not be used to prove that housing causes delayed marriage or childbearing. It should be used to understand meanings, experiences, explanations, and perceived connections.

Data analysis

For the questionnaire:

·        Use frequencies and percentages to describe housing situations.

·        Use means or medians for Likert-scale items.

·        Compare selected groups, such as those living with parents and private renters.

·        Compare participants with and without parental financial support.

·        Examine simple relationships between housing insecurity and marriage or childbearing intentions.

For the focus group:

·        Transcribe or carefully summarise the discussion.

·        Use thematic analysis.

·        Develop themes such as autonomy, parental dependence, rental insecurity, life-course delay, social comparison, and policy fairness.

For integration:

·        Compare survey patterns with focus-group explanations.

·        Use the focus group to explain why particular survey results may have occurred.

·        Identify convergence, complementarity, and contradictions.

Four-month work plan

Period	Main activities
Weeks 1–2	Finalise research questions, literature review, theoretical framework, and ethics materials.
Weeks 3–4	Design pilot questionnaire and focus-group guide; conduct a small pilot.
Weeks 5–6	Recruit participants and conduct the focus group.
Weeks 7–9	Revise and distribute the questionnaire.
Weeks 10–11	Clean and analyse survey data; complete thematic analysis.
Weeks 12–14	Integrate findings, discuss theories, and develop recommendations.
Weeks 15–16	Write, revise, proofread, and submit the dissertation.

Originality and value

Originality

The topic is unlikely to be entirely original in the sense of being the first study of Hong Kong housing affordability. Its originality can instead come from the combination of:

·        Generation Y middle-class residents.

·        Housing insecurity beyond homelessness.

·        Living with parents and private renting.

·        Marriage and childbearing decisions.

·        Intersectional comparisons.

·        Mixed-methods evidence.

The strongest original contribution would be to show how housing insecurity is experienced differently within the middle class. Existing public discussion often treats young people as one group, whereas your study can demonstrate that gender, marital status, household composition, and parental resources produce different housing pathways.

Academic value

The project can contribute by:

·        Applying intersectionality to Hong Kong middle-class housing research.

·        Connecting housing pathways with marriage and childbearing decisions.

·        Showing how housing insecurity can exist among employed and educated households.

·        Combining measurable housing conditions with subjective experiences.

·        Extending the discussion from housing affordability to autonomy, privacy, wellbeing, and social exclusion.

The academic contribution should remain proportionate to a four-month project. You should describe the study as a small-scale exploratory contribution, not as a definitive explanation of Hong Kong’s fertility or housing crisis.

Practical value

The findings may be useful to:

·        Housing-policy researchers.

·        Government housing departments.

·        Housing providers.

·        NGOs supporting young adults and families.

·        Counsellors and family-service organisations.

·        Employers considering housing or family-support policies.

Potential recommendations could concern:

·        More flexible subsidised home-ownership arrangements.

·        Support for long-term private renting.

·        Measures to improve rental security.

·        Housing options for single adults and couples.

·        Support for young families without parental wealth.

·        Better alignment between housing and childcare policy.

·        Recognition of the needs of middle-class households that fall between public and private housing systems.

Important limitations

You should acknowledge four limitations:

·        A four-month project cannot establish long-term causal effects.

·        A non-probability sample cannot represent all Hong Kong Gen Y residents.

·        Self-reported marriage and childbearing intentions may not predict future behaviour.

·        One focus group may capture shared experiences but not the full diversity of the population.

The safest conclusion will therefore be:

Housing insecurity appears to shape participants’ perceived ability to establish independent households and plan family formation, but it operates alongside employment, relationship, gender, cultural, and childcare considerations.

This formulation is academically cautious and appropriate for a small pragmatist mixed-methods dissertation.

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A collection of blog notes on using chatgpt for research purpose.