Bulletin Number Three 1984

secondary and primary levels. As for activity pattern, the ten most preferred activity items for the secondary and primary subjects were similar in kind, with one or two exceptions. Generally speaking, game sports such as basketball, badminton, volleyball, table tennis, football were ranked higher than swimming, jogging, summer programme, cycling and hiking. Football was ranked higher in boy's list and dance and gymnastics in girl's list. Students classified as 'good health' and 'bad health' groups did not differ on their levels of fitness performance. At the time of survey, the most common diseases contracted by primary students were dental caries, toothache, influenza, gastric pain, worms, insomnia and impaired vision, while influenza, toothache, dental caries, insomnia plus impaired vision and gastric pain were most commonly contracted by secondary students. There were significant correlations of buying food from hawker with enteritis, gastric pain and typhoid, of insufficient sleeping time with stress and insomnia, of inadequate exercises with anaemia, and of over-eating with gastric pain among students. As for psychological measures, both boys and girls were moderately low in their self concept of ability, quite external in their locus of control belief, moderate in test anxiety, moderately high in their self body image, and moderate in extroversion. Both primary and secondary students tended to show that their self-assurance decreased as they got into higher grades, and females tended to be less self-assuring than males at secondary levels. The effect of school type and residential density on psychological traits was apparent. Both primary and secondary students in Independent schools tended to have lower self concept of ability and less positive body image. Both primary and secondary students living in high crowded home were lower in self concept of ability. Higher level of test anxiety was found associated with secondary students from areas of high residential density. Correlation of physical fitness with academic aptitude In general, physical fitness was not correlated with academic aptitude at the primary six level. Power and strength of Form three boys and flexibility of Form three girls were correlated with their academic achievement. Power of Form five boys and girls, and flexibility of Form five girls were also correlated with their academic achievement. However the above correlations were too small to have any practical value. In other words, academically brilliant students were not necessarily ‘book worms', and students with good physical fitness were not necessarily poor in their academic achievement either. According to the findings of the study, the relationship between physical fitness and student factors such as activity pattern, attitude towards physical education, habit, personality trait, urban stress and health status was rather weak. The second phase of the 'Physical Activities and Quality of l i f e' project, which was started last August, is expected to be completed by 1986. The focus of the Phase II study is twofold: (1) Scientific analyses of the ‘exercise value' of various Chinese traditional physical activities and investigation of the relationships between physical fitness, health, performance and output, and adaptability of the adult sample drawn from Shatin; and (2) Follow-up investigation of the Phase I study. The third phase of the study, scheduled to be completed by 1988, will see an integration of findings of previous studies. It is expected that the project will promote understanding of the role and function of health and physical fitness in the urban setting and facilitate community planning with a view to improving the quality of life. ACADEMIC/CULTURAL EVENTS 19