Evaluation of programs for adolescents with greater psychosocial needs: Experience from Hong Kong

Due to the paucity of client satisfaction data on youth development programs in Chinese communities, this study aims to explore the perceptions and level of satisfaction among 1,335 students who participated in the Tier 2 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. for the 2012/13 academic year in Hong Kong and which was tailor-made for participants with greater psychosocial needs. A validated subjective outcome evaluation scale was used to gauge the views of the participants towards the qualities of the program and implementers as well as program effectiveness after the completion of the program. The results showed that participants had favorable perceptions of program qualities, implementer qualities, as well as program effectiveness of the Tier 2 Program. A large majority of the participants were contented with the Tier 2 Program and they perceived it as effective in promoting their personal development. Consistent with the previous findings, both program qualities and implementer qualities were found to be significant predictors of program effectiveness across different grades and program approaches. Copyright © 2015 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.