NCJ Number
218845
Date Published
2007
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This report presents a summary of an analysis of a range of studies on mentoring to assess how successful mentoring is in reducing offending.
Abstract
Only 2 of the 18 evaluations were conducted in England and Wales, suggesting that there is little valid information about the potential impact of mentoring on reoffending in the British context. Since mentoring seems to be a promising intervention, large scale randomized controlled trials should be conducted to evaluate the effects of mentoring programs on subsequent offending in this country. The conclusions are limited by the use of a rapid evidence assessment, as well as the fact that only two methodologically weak evaluations of mentoring have been conducted in England and Wales. There has been a significant amount of recent interest in the influence of mentors in increasing the life success of individuals who are at risk of reoffending. The mentor can provide both direct assistance and indirect support. There have been a number of evaluations of the impact of mentoring on later life outcomes, but many of these have been based on limited research designs offering a limited ability to estimate the impact of mentoring on reoffending. This review sought to summarize the best available evidence on the effects of mentoring on reoffending in a systematic manner. A rapid evidence assessment was used rather than a full systematic review. Forty-nine potentially relevant studies were identified with only 16 meeting the inclusion criteria. Two of the 16 studies reported on more than 1 separate study. Therefore, the analyses were based on 18 comparisons of mentored and control/comparison groups. References