Positive Youth Development Theory: Evolution and Educational Exploration

Abstract

Adolescence is a critical developmental stage involving significant physiological, cognitive, emotional, and social role changes. While traditional research focused on adolescent risk prevention, Positive Youth Development (PYD) theory has shifted the paradigm since the 1990s, emphasizing youth strengths and fostering development through supportive environments. To promote positive growth among vulnerable children in W City, a PYD-based summer camp program grounded in school social work was designed and implemented with 68 participants. The Chinese Positive Youth Development Scale (CPYDS) was culturally adapted for pre-post evaluation. This study examined the adapted scale's reliability and employed paired-sample t-tests to assess program effectiveness. Results indicated satisfactory psychometric properties for the adapted scale in W City. However, the intervention yielded non-significant effects. Future research should expand the sample size or incorporate qualitative methods for further validation.