Insights Into Recruiting Male Mentors: Motivations, Concerns, and the Role of Payment

• NCJ Number: 251465
• Author(s): Stephanie Hawkins; James Trudeau; Jason Williams; Joshua Hendrix
• Date Published: September 2015
• Length: 141 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2009-JU-FX-0012
• Agencies: OJJDP-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description; Grants and Funding

Annotation

This report presents the methodology and findings of a study in which RTI International and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle (BBBS-T) collaborated to conduct a comprehensive process evaluation that examined male mentor recruitment and mentor motivation, as well as the potential role of payment to mentors.

Abstract

The study produced several insights into recruiting male mentors. The finding highlighted in this report is that the offer of a stipend for mentoring is not an effective strategy in itself. Other findings are that mentoring agencies mining their own administrative data can provide insight for recruitment; e.g., an analysis of administrative data showed that age difference between mentors and youth was a significant predictor of match length (i.e., greater age difference was associated with longer matches). Another finding is that a major incentive for men to become mentors is the potential to make a difference in a child's life. Overall, the findings are important in helping mentoring programs to understand what is effective in recruiting male mentors. The findings presented in this report are based on the following four components of the research design: 1) analyses of BBBS-T youth outcomes and strength of relationship administrative data; 2) mentor motivation and concerns survey; 3) a national telephone survey of men; and 4) an economic study. 27 tables, 27 exhibits, and 17 figures