Chinese communities and positive youth development

When we attempt to prevent adolescent problem behavior, we have to look at the strengths and potentials of adolescents. The basic line of reasoning is that when adolescents have more inner resources, the probability of engaging in problem behavior would become lower. Using the experience from the United States on positive youth development Shek and his associates developed the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong, trained the potential program implementers, and evaluated the developed programs. Because of the overwhelming success of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong, the project was piloted in China for several years. With the support of Tin Ka Ping Foundation, the Tin Ka Ping P.A.T.H.S. Project was piloted in four cities in East China (Shanghai, Suzhou, Changzhou and Yangzhou) from 2011 to 2014. The spirit and principles of the Project P.A.T.H.S. are also intrinsic to several subjects designed for university students at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Consistent with the principle of evaluation, the chapters in this book underscore the importance of evaluation in academic subjects designed for young people. It is hoped that the related findings will motivate university teachers to design subjects utilizing positive youth development principles within and outside Hong Kong.