Public interest and research literature on preventive interventions have grown exponentially in the last three decades (O'Connell, Boat, & Warner, 2009), and the accountability of preventive interventions has come to the forefront of research as stakeholders and consumers increasingly require evidence to support prevention practices (Biglan, Mrazek, Carnine, & Flay, 2003; Flay et al., 2005; Wandersman & Florin, 2003; Weissberg, Kumpfer, & Seligman, 2003). A major goal for preventive interventions is to provide evidence that observed individual and community-level outcomes are a result of the intervention (Glass et al., 2013; Gottfredson et al., 2015). However, preventive interventions require the use of unique assessment methodology to establish evidence supporting the intervention. The present paper seeks to: 1) identify measurement issues within preventive models, 2) examine the interface of
theory and practice in evaluating outcomes, and 3) review the implementation of an assessment paradigm in establishing support for a leading preventive intervention.
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.