College of Public Health and Human Sciences

This chapter summarizes themes woven across the present Handbook. These ideas are not new in and of themselves, but they nevertheless highlight key issues prominent in the literature today. These themes include (a) PYD implies a systems-level perspective; (b) PYD includes both strength promotion and deficit reduction; (c) there is no “best” model of PYD, (d) defining PYD requires specificity; (e) PYD is holistic; (f) specificity applies to all contexts, and (g) we need to integrate etic and emic approaches. Such themes are equally relevant to PYD in WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) contexts, supporting the overall message we derive from the present Handbook that PYD research, policy and practice are becoming well-established across the globe. If the globalization of PYD was ever thought of as a burgeoning topic for tomorrow, that tomorrow is clearly our today.