Public interest an
d research literature on preventive interventions have grown exponentially in the last three
deca
des (O'Connell, Boat, & Warner, 2009), an
d the accountability of preventive interventions has come to the forefront of research as stakehol
ders an
d consumers increasingly require evi
dence to support prevention practices (Biglan, Mrazek, Carnine, &
Flay, 2003; Flay et al., 2005; Wan
dersman & Florin, 2003; Weissberg, Kumpfer, & Seligman, 2003). A major goal for preventive interventions is to provi
de evi
dence that observe
d in
divi
dual an
d community-level outcomes are a result of the intervention (Glass et al., 2013; Gottfre
dson et al., 2015). However, preventive interventions require the use of unique assessment metho
dology to establish evi
dence supporting the intervention. The present paper seeks to: 1) i
dentify measurement issues within preventive mo
dels, 2) examine the interface of theory an
d practice in evaluating outcomes, an
d 3) review the implementation of an assessment para
digm in establishing support for a lea
ding preventive intervention.
d="sp0015">The scope of the paper is limited to preventive interventions for children at risk for psychosocial problems and child maltreatment. A selected parent training model, the Triple P — Positive Parenting Program (Triple P; Sanders, 1999) is highlighted because it has emerged as a leader in the use of a rigorous, multi-level, prevention-focused assessment methodology. This paper adds to the extant literature by providing a theoretical review of assessment within preventive interventions and reviewing the Triple P approach to implementing this methodology successfully. Future directions are discussed.