This book is based upon a special issue published in the International Journal on Disability and Human Development and permission has been obtained from the publisher De Gruyter in Berlin to publish this modified version of the papers in this book. There are several areas of research that should be conducted with reference to Chinese adolescents experiencing economic disadvantage. First, there is a need to understand how factors in different ecological systems influence the psychological well-being of poor adolescents. Second, as family social capital is an important resource within families experiencing economic disadvantage, studies on how different family processes affect adolescent development should be carried out. Third, as far as adolescent developmental outcomes are concerned, it is argued that besides measures of morbidity and symptoms, adolescent developmental assets and strengths should be studied. Fourth, as studies on parental differences on family processes are almost non-existent in the context of poverty, it is important to study this issue in adolescents experiencing economic disadvantage.
In response to these research gaps, they were examined in the papers in this special issue. In this book, several papers reporting evaluation findings for the second piloting exercise are included. Because there are few validated positive youth development programs in the Chinese context, it is our modest wish that the accumulated evidence can give us some insights about the usefulness of having positive youth development subjects designed for university students.