Connecting Youth: The Role of Mentoring Approach

• NCJ Number: 255828
• Journal: Youth and Adolescence Volume: 49 Dated: 2020 Pages: 2409-2428
• Author(s): Laura J. Austin; McKenna F. Parnes; G. Roger Jarioura; Thomas F. Keller; Carla Herrera; Manolya Tanyu; Sarah E.O. Schwartz
• Date Published: 2020
• Length: 20 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Since there is limited research on the specific approaches mentors use to support mentee social development, this study examined how mentors’ specific approaches are uniquely associated with youth connection outcomes in formal community-based mentoring.

Abstract

Participants were 766 youth, ranging in age from 11 to 14 (M=12.29), 56.7 percent female, and racially/ethnically diverse (41.0 percent Black/African American, 21.4 percent Hispanic/Latinx, 20.0 percent White, 10.2 percent multiracial/multiethnic, 5.9 percent Native American, 1.2 percent other race, and 0.4 percent Asian/Pacific Islander). Person-centered analyses revealed three mentoring profiles which were differentially associated with youth outcomes: “Status Quo Mentors,” who reported low-to-moderate levels of closeness within the mentor–mentee dyad, low levels of connecting their mentees with programs and people in their community, and low levels of mediating for their mentees; “Close Connectors,” who reported moderate-to-high levels of closeness, moderate-to-high levels of connecting, and low levels of mediating; and “Connector-Mediators,” who reported moderate levels of closeness, connecting, and mediating. Youth mentored by “Close Connectors” demonstrated the greatest benefit, with significant improvements in parent–child relationship quality, extracurricular activity involvement, and help-seeking. Results suggest that community-based mentoring programs that emphasize connecting youth within their communities may be more effective in enhancing youth support networks. 63 references (publisher abstract modified)