Subjective experience of early adolescents after joining a positive youth development program in Hong Kong

Abstract

The present study attempts to ascertain the effectiveness of a positive youth development (PYD) program through qualitative interview of the program participants to understand their perception about the program by asking them to recall their subjective perception of the results of the intervention. Two waves of qualitative data were collected immediately after the completion of the program and one year after the program respectively. A total of eight groups of early adolescents aged 12 to 14 who successfully completed the program attended semi-structured interviews. The results indicated retention in some but not all impacts one year after the completion of the program. Furthermore, participants opined that they were satisfied with life, established and had a higher level of self-discipline.