Objective outcome evaluation of a positive youth development program in China

An adapted version of the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. developed in Hong Kong was implemented in four secondary schools in East China, with the financial support of the Tin Ka Ping Foundation. A quasi-experimental design with the inclusion of both experimental and control schools was adopted. Results showed that the experimental schools and control schools were basically equivalent in terms of pretest measures. For the posttest measures, analyses showed that students in the experimental schools performed better than did students in the control schools. Alternative analyses using between-subjects ANCOVAs showed similar effects. Results also revealed that high proportions of the respondents had positive perceptions of the program and the instructors, with 96.3% of the respondents regarding the program as helpful to them. The present study provides preliminary support for the effectiveness of the adapted Project P.A.T.H.S. in mainland China.