Editorial: Evaluation of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong : are the findings replicable across different populations?

Abstract

Existing youth enhancement programs commonly deal with isolated problems and issues in adolescent development and they are relatively short-term in nature. To promote holistic development among adolescents in Hong Kong, we launched Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes (P.A.T.H.S.). One unique characteristic of the Project P.A.T.H.S. is systematic evaluation of the program using various evaluation strategies. In this special issue, comprising 8 research articles, we have applied the principle of replication to re-evaluate the effectiveness of the Programs, including subjective outcome evaluation based on program participants and implementers, evaluation based on secondary data evaluation, and objective outcome evaluation. Generally speaking, the findings are consistent with those reported previously, thus providing evidence for the replication of related research findings. These replicated findings generally suggest that different stakeholders have positive perceptions of the program, workers and benefits of the program and there is evidence supporting the effectiveness of the program.