The Relationship Between Social Support and Life Satisfaction Among Chinese and Ethnic Minority Adolescents in Hong Kong: the Mediating Role of Positive Youth Development Cecilia M. S. Ma 1 Accepted: 30 March 2019/ # Springer Nature B.V. 2019 Abstract Studies have shown that perceived social support among adolescents is positively related to life satisfaction. However, research has yet to explore the underlying mech- anisms in the linkage between social support and life satisfaction. The aims of this study were to: a) investigate whether positive youth development mediated the rela- tionship between social support and life satisfaction and, b) compare whether these associations varied with ethnicity. Multi-group path analysis was employed to test a hypothesized model in a sample of 700 Chinese and ethnic minority adolescents in Hong Kong. Results showed that positive youth development does play a mediating role in the relationship between social support and life satisfaction. Analysis revealed that there was a positive relationship between family and friend support and positive youth development, which in turn was linked to life satisfaction. Those linkages appeared stronger in ethnic minority adolescents compared to their Chinese counter- parts. This study has implications for practitioners designing appropriate youth pro- grams for adolescents in the Chinese context. Keywords Hong Kong . Social support . Chinese . Ethnic minority, life satisfaction . Positive youth development 1 Introduction In the past decade, there has been an increasing concern about mental health and well- being among adolescents (WHO 2018). Researches have consistently shown that life satisfaction is an important component of adolescents’ well-being (Catalano et al. 2004; Child Indicators Research https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-019-09638-2 * Cecilia M. S. Ma cecilia.ma@polyu.edu.hk 1 HJ431, Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hunghom, Kowloon, Hong Kong