Promotion of positive youth development and family quality of life in Chinese adolescents

According to the ecological perspective, adolescent behavior is influenced by processes in different systems. With reference to the individual system, developmental assets such as psychosocial competencies protect adolescents from risk behavior. Regarding the family system, positive family functioning and dyadic parent-child relational quality are also protective factors for adolescent problem behavior. Besides protecting adolescents from risk behavior, protective factors in these two domains also promote adolescent holistic development. In this chapter, ecological influences with reference to individual developmental assets and family social capital on adolescent personal well-being with particular reference to adolescent risk behavior are outlined. Positive youth development programs with particular focus on the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong and programs that can be used to promote family quality of life are also examined. The chapter ends by discussing the possible directions for developing positive youth development and family quality of life enhancement programs in the Chinese contexts.Department of Applied Social Science