Evidence-based positive youth development programs : insights from the project P.A.T.H.S.

In this chapter, the nature of evidence-based practice and its role in positive youth development programs are presented. With specific reference to the Project P.A.T.H.S., it is observed that the best available evidence was used in the conceptualization, design, and training components of the project. An integrated evaluation framework using multiple evaluation methods was adopted to generate evidence for the effectiveness of the project. Several insights arising from the project regarding the development of evidence-based positive youth development programs in the Chinese contexts are presented. These include development of validated positive youth development programs, validated measures of positive youth development, and credible databases on evidence-based positive youth development programs, as well as strengthening of education on evidence-based practice for social workers and related professionals.