An Examination of the Role of Mentees’ Social Skills and Relationship Quality in a School-Based Mentoring Program

Research on youth mentoring highlights the importance of the relationship quality between mentor and mentee; mentoring results in more positive outcomes when the mentee perceives the relationship as satisfying and trustworthy. Research on relationship quality shows that social skills are important for constructing new relationships. However, whereas improved social skills are often one of the main goals of youth mentoring, little is known about the importance of social skills for relationship quality in youth mentoring relations. In this study, we examined whether mentee's pre-intervention social skills were related to mentor–mentee relationship quality as perceived by the mentee, and in turn, if relationship quality was associated with post-intervention social skills. We additionally examined possible gender and age differences in these associations. Data were used from a two-wave study that assessed relationship quality and social skills before and after one semester of mentoring of 390 secondary school students in a school-based mentoring program. Results indicated that relationship quality was positively associated with post-intervention social skills. However, only for young mentees pre-intervention social skills were associated with better relationship quality. Moreover, only for young mentees, relationship quality mediated the association between pre- and post-intervention social skills.     

Youth Risk and Mentoring Relationship Quality: The Moderating Effect of Program Experiences

Because program experiences are more amendable than mentor or mentee characteristics, they may be important factors to consider in buffering the negative impact of youth risk on the quality of the mentor–mentee bond. Data from 455 mentees (ages 11–18; 57% male) and their undergraduate student mentors (82.3% female) from the Campus Connections mentoring program were used to assess whether youth risk and mentors’ program experiences (i.e., program structure, supportive relationships with staff, opportunities for skill building, support for efficacy and mattering, and opportunities to belong) were associated with mentoring relationship quality and whether mentors’ experience within the program moderated the association between youth risk and mentoring relationship quality. Results indicated that environmental, but not individual, risk was negatively associated with relationship quality. Mentors’ experiences with the program were positively associated with mentoring relationship quality, and in many cases, above and beyond youth level of risk. Finally, mentors’ perception of program structure, supportive relationships, and opportunities for skill building attenuated the negative relationship between environmental, but not individual, risk and relationship quality. Mentors’ experiences of program support for efficacy and mattering and opportunities to belong were not significant moderators in any model. Implications for programs and future research directions are presented.     

The Impact of Youth Risk on Mentoring Relationship Quality: Do Mentor Characteristics Matter?

Although mentoring is a widely used intervention strategy, effect sizes for at‐risk youth remain modest. Research is therefore needed to maximize the impact of mentoring for at‐risk youth who might struggle to benefit from mentoring relationships. This study tested the hypothesis that different types of youth risk would have a negative impact on mentoring relationship quality and duration and explored whether mentor characteristics exacerbated or mitigated these negative effects. Results showed that elevated environmental stress at a youth's home and/or school predicted shorter match duration, and elevated rates of youth behavioral problems, such as poor academic performance or misconduct, predicted greater youth dissatisfaction and less positive mentor perceptions of relationship quality. Mentors with greater self‐efficacy and more previous involvement with youth in their communities were able to buffer the negative effects of environmental stress on match duration. Similarly, mentors' previous involvement with youth buffered the negative effects of youth behavioral problems on mentor perceptions of relationship quality. Findings have important implications for the matching of mentors and at‐risk youth in a way that improves mentoring outcomes.     

From Treatment to Empowerment: New Approaches to Youth Mentoring

Traditional approaches to formal youth mentoring have focused primarily on improving the lives of “at‐risk” youth through the assignment of individual mentors who are typically disconnected from youth's communities. Similarly, research in the field of formal mentoring has emphasized the dyadic relationship between the mentor and the mentee, with less attention paid to the broader relational contexts in which such relationships unfold. The current paper proposes a new framework that expands the scope of mentoring interventions to include approaches that build on and cultivate informal supports and empower youth to identify and reach out to networks of potential supportive adults, thus increasing the reach of youth mentoring.     

Predictors of Premature Match Closure in Youth Mentoring Relationships

Although mentoring is a popular and effective means of intervention with youth, the positive effects of mentoring can be diminished by premature match closure of relationships. Program, mentor, and mentee characteristics were examined as predictors of premature match closure. Secondary data analyses were conducted on a large national database of mentoring programs consisting of match and youth risk information from 170 mentoring programs and 6468 matches from across the U.S. Premature closure was associated with mentee age at match inception and 19 individual mentee characteristics. The set of mentee characteristics were examined as part of a cumulative risk index encompassing seven conceptually combined categories including family background characteristics, school functioning problems, engagement in risky health behaviors, self‐regulation difficulties, engagement in illegal or criminal activities, and internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Both the age of mentees when matched and the cumulative risk index score significantly predicted premature closure. Results are discussed in terms of directions for future research and suggestions for enhancing mentoring program practices.     

An Ecological Framework for Evaluating Relationship‐Functional Aspects of Youth Mentoring1

The present research examined what is necessary to make youth mentoring effective. Central to the discussion is mentee–mentor relationship quality in relation to program effectiveness. Data were drawn from an ongoing youth mentoring program organized in Hong Kong using a conceptual framework derived from ecological psychology to guide analysis. Data analysis followed a multistage process. Quantitative factor analysis was computed to identify the principal components of the mentee–mentor relationship. Then, to explore subjective meanings of the quantitative findings, in‐depth interviews were conducted with 48 mentees who were randomly selected from the respondents. Further statistical associations and qualitative categorizations were conducted with this subsample to examine the complex relations between the relationship outcomes and the program (functional) outcomes.     

A Two-way Street: Mentor Stress and Depression Influence Relational Satisfaction and Attachment in Youth Mentoring Relationships

Over the past two decades, youth mentoring programs have increased in popularity as an intervention for children exposed to a range of stressful life circumstances. Such programs have been shown to promote positive youth development and reduce risk for emotional and behavioral problems; yet, the effect size of youth gains remains small. The current study examined the influence of college student mentors’ history of early life stress and baseline depressive symptoms on their effectiveness in youth mentoring relationships using 340 randomized mentor–youth pairs from College Mentors for Kids, a well-established mentoring program with chapters across the United States. Hierarchical linear models revealed that mentors with higher levels of depressive symptoms reported lower relationship satisfaction and increased avoidance in the mentoring relationship. In contrast, mentors who experienced higher levels of early life stress had youth who reported greater satisfaction in the mentoring relationship and decreased relational anxiety. These findings are some of the first to examine the impact of mentor characteristics on mentor–youth relationships and highlight the importance of considering factors relevant to psychosocial functioning and emotional distress when recruiting, training, and supporting college student mentors.     

Training Young Adult Peers in a Mobile Motivational Interviewing‐Based Mentoring Approach to Upstream HIV Prevention

Mentoring relationships are characterized by a sustained, high quality, and skill‐building relationship between a protégé and mentor (Handbook of Youth Mentoring, Los Angeles, SAGE, 2014). Within prevention science, youth mentoring programs emphasize creating a specific context that benefits a young person. Program‐sponsored relationships between youth and adults allow for creating a mentor–mentee partnership, but do not require the establishment of a strong bond in order to deliver prevention‐focused activities and experiences (Handbook of Youth Mentoring, Los Angeles, SAGE, 2014). Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a counseling style used widely to promote health behavior change and in prevention interventions. As part of an upstream approach to HIV prevention, we combined mentoring and MI by training peer mentors to use MI skills in their interactions as part of a large RCT of a mobile life skills intervention for adolescent men who have sex with men (AMSM). Our training model developed for training peer mentors in MI skills resulted in peers reaching and exceeding established MI fidelity thresholds (e.g., mean percentage of complex reflections = 80%, mean reflection to question ratio = 2.2:1). We offer reflections on lessons learned and future directions for those researchers and practitioners who may benefit from adapting this blended approach for mentoring AMSM.     

Does Natural Mentoring Matter? A Multilevel Meta‐analysis on the Association Between Natural Mentoring and Youth Outcomes

In this meta‐analytic review, we examined the relation between natural mentoring and youth outcomes in four domains: academic and vocational functioning, social‐emotional development, physical health, and psychosocial problems. Natural mentoring relationships are thought to foster positive youth development and buffer against the risks associated with the tumultuous years of adolescence. Two separate meta‐analyses were conducted on the presence of a natural mentor and the quality of the natural mentoring relationship, including thirty studies from 1992 to present. The findings indicated that the presence of a natural mentor was significantly associated with positive youth outcomes (r = .106). A larger effect size was found for the quality of the natural mentoring relationship in terms of relatedness, social support, and autonomy support (r = .208). The largest effect sizes were found for social‐emotional development and academic and vocational functioning. Risk‐status (e.g., teenage mothers, homeless youth, youth in foster care, and youth of alcoholic parents) did not moderate the relation between presence and quality of natural mentoring relationships and youth outcomes, which may indicate that natural mentors are generally beneficial for all youth regardless of risk‐status. Implications for theory and practice concerning the quality of the natural mentoring relationship are discussed.     

Mentoring Program Enhancements Supporting Effective Mentoring of Children of Incarcerated Parents

Children of incarcerated parents (COIP) are at risk for a range of negative outcomes; however, participating in a mentoring relationship can be a promising intervention for these youth. This study examined the impact of mentoring and mentoring program enhancements on COIP. Secondary data analyses were conducted on an archival database consisting of 70,729 matches from 216 Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) local agencies to establish the differential effects of mentoring on COIP. A subset of 45 BBBS agencies, representing 25,252 matches, participated in a telephone interview about program enhancements for better serving COIP. Results revealed that enhanced program practices, including having specific program goals, providing specialized mentor training, and receiving additional funding resulted in better outcomes for COIP matches. Specifically, specialized mentor training and receiving additional funding for serving matches containing COIP were associated with longer and stronger matches. Having specific goals for serving COIP was associated with higher educational expectations in COIP. Results are discussed in terms of benefits of a relationship‐based intervention for addressing the needs of COIP and suggestions for program improvements when mentoring programs are serving this unique population of youth.     

The Functions and Longitudinal Outcomes of Adolescents’ Naturally Occurring Mentorships

Adolescence is a time during which positive adults outside the familial context may be most influential to development. A growing body of research on naturally occurring mentors has found favorable outcomes for youth who have these types of positive adult figures in their lives. Less is known, however, about how these naturally occurring mentors influence youths’ development in the long‐term. This study examines the long‐term outcomes related to having a naturally occurring community mentor in adolescence. Results from longitudinal analyses of a nationally representative sample of adolescents revealed that having a mentor in adolescence was related to higher educational attainment, lower criminal activity, higher psychological well‐being (i.e., optimism, self‐efficacy, and lack of depressive symptoms), and greater romantic relationship satisfaction in adulthood. Additionally, a taxonomy of mentoring functions was created from qualitative responses and drawing upon the youth, work, and academic mentoring literature. This taxonomy aims to serve as a framework for understanding the functions of youth mentors to provide a foundation for future research. Implications of findings and future directions are considered.     

Anchoring Relationships at Work: High‐Quality Mentors and Other Supportive Work Relationships as Buffers to Ambient Racial Discrimination

Applying a unifying theoretical framework of high‐quality work relationships, we conducted a set of 3 complementary studies that examined whether high‐quality mentoring relationships can buffer employees from the negative effects of ambient discrimination at work. Integrating relational mentoring with relational systems theory, we first examined whether the presence of a high‐quality mentoring relationship buffers employees in a sample of 3,813 workers. In support of the “mentors‐as‐buffers” hypothesis, we found that employees who witnessed or were aware of racial discrimination at work had lower organizational commitment than those not exposed, but employees with high‐quality mentoring relationships experienced less loss of commitment than those lacking mentors. We then examined the specific buffering behaviors used by mentors in high‐quality relationships and whether these behaviors were effective for other work relationships and outcomes. Applying Kahn's typology, we developed and validated a measure of high‐quality relational holding behaviors in a sample of 262 workers. Using this measure in a third sample of 557 workers, we found that mentors buffer by providing holding behaviors, but we did not find this buffering effect when supervisors or coworkers provided holding behaviors. This potent mentor buffering effect held across a range of outcomes, including organizational commitment, physical symptoms of stress, insomnia, and stress‐related absenteeism. These studies suggest that mentoring may be a singularly effective relationship that offers a safe harbor for employees faced with ambient discrimination at work.     

Enhancing School Engagement in At-Risk,Urban Minority Adolescents Through a School-Based,Adult Mentoring Intervention

ABSTRACT

The current study investigated whether a 5-month, adult mentoring intervention delivered by school personnel could enhance the school engagement of ninth grade urban minority adolescents. Compared to 20 at-risk students who did not receive an intervention, 20 at-risk students who were randomly assigned to mentoring exhibited significantly less decline during the first year of high school in perceived teacher support and decision making and were less likely to enter the discipline system. The effects were stronger and included sense of school belonging for participants who were “mentored as intended.” Moreover, mentee and mentor reports of relationship quality were associated with changes in mentored participants' school-related cognitions and behaviors. The findings indicate that adult mentoring may help to prevent normative declines in urban minority youths' school engagement.     

Is Being a Good Learner Enough? An Examination of the Interplay Between Learning Goal Orientation and Impression Management Tactics on Creativity

This study explores how protégés’ learning goal orientation (LGO) and impression management (IM) tactics interact to explain mentors’ provision of mentoring functions and ultimately, protégés’ creativity. Using longitudinal data from 917 mentor–protégé dyads participating in an 8‐month mentoring program, we found that protégés’ mentor‐focused and self‐focused IM tactics strengthened the relationship between protégés’ LGO and the extent of mentoring provided by mentors, whereas job‐focused IM tactics weakened this relationship. Moreover, these IM tactics moderated the indirect effect of protégés’ LGO on protégés’ creativity through the extent of mentoring provided by mentors. Implications for organizational theory and practice are discussed.     

Mentor commitment in formal mentoring relationships

This research examined the role of mentor commitment relative to protégé perceptions of relationship quality within formal mentoring programs. Based on a matched sample of 91 mentors and protégés, the results indicated that mentor commitment related positively to protégé reports of relationship quality. This relationship was stronger for male protégés than for female protégés. The results indicated that protégés reported higher quality relationships when mentors underestimated their commitment to the relationship relative to the protégés estimate of mentor commitment. Suggestions for future research are offered.     

Factors Related to Mentor Reports of Mentoring Functions Provided: Gender and Relational Characteristics

In this study we examined the relationship between mentor gender, protégé gender, mentorship characteristics (e.g., mentorship type, mentorship duration, mentor experience), and mentoring functions provided as reported by mentors. Drawing on research regarding diversified mentorships and interpersonal relationships, we proposed that mentoring effectiveness would vary as a function of the gender of the mentorship participants and the characteristics of the relationship. As hypothesized, several interesting gender differences emerged from the data. Male mentors reported providing more career mentoring to their protégés, whereas female mentors reported providing more psychosocial mentoring. Contrary to expectations, mentors in informal mentorships did not report providing more mentoring than did mentors in formal mentorships. The findings demonstrate the importance of examining mentoring from the perspective of the mentor.     

Transference, countertransference and mentoring: the ghost in the process

The concepts of transference and countertransference are used in this paper to explore some of the deeper dynamics of the relationship between mentor and mentee; it is hoped that this perspective gives a useful gaze on the mentoring process. Three aspects of the relationship are examined. The first is an exploration of the ambivalent relationship of mentor and mentee to the third party at the meeting--the organisation. The second is an examination of the mentoring process where transference theory illuminates aspects of the power, authority, control, affiliation and resistance in the freezing, unfreezing and refreezing aspects of the ebb and flow of transference and countertransference. The third aspect is an examination of the relationship between mentor and mentee with a glance at the narcissistic impulses of altruism and a sceptical brush with the dominant image of unconditional positive regard that is commonly supposed to flow from mentor to mentee.     

Mentoring Relationships and Programs for Youth

ABSTRACT— Mentoring is one of the most popular social interventions in American society, with an estimated three million youth in formal one-to-one relationships. Studies have revealed significant associations between youth involvement in mentoring relationships and positive developmental outcomes. These associations are modest, however, and depend on several intervening processes. Centrally important is the formation of close, enduring connections between mentors and youth that foster positive developmental change. Effects of mentoring programs likewise typically have been small in magnitude, but they increase systematically with the use of program practices likely to support relationship development. Gaps between research and practice are evident both in the indiscriminate use of the term mentoring in the prevention field and in a focus on the growth and efficiency of mentoring programs at the expense of quality. Continued expansion of effective mentoring will require a better alignment of research and practice.     

Protégé and mentor self-disclosure: Levels and outcomes within formal mentoring dyads in a corporate context

This study examined the role of self-disclosure within protégé/mentor dyads in formal mentoring partnerships within a corporate context as a means of learning more about specific relationship processes that may enhance the positive outcomes of mentoring. While both protégés and mentors self-disclosed in their relationships, protégés disclosed at a higher level than mentors. Protégé self-disclosure, but not mentor self-disclosure, was related to protégé outcomes including mentoring received, relationship satisfaction, and positive influence of mentoring. The study contributes to a mentoring literature that has become more interested in examining mentoring relationship micro-processes from both the protégé and mentor perspective.     

FORMAL AND INFORMAL MENTORSHIPS: A COMPARISON ON MENTORING FUNCTIONS AND CONTRAST WITH NONMENTORED COUNTERPARTS

Research on mentorships has suffered from fragmentation of key issues; specifically, type of mentoring relationship, functions served by the mentor, and outcomes of the mentoring relationship. A field study was conducted comparing 212 protégés who were involved in informally developed mentorships, 53 protégés involved in formal mentor-ship programs, and 284 individuals who did not have mentors. Individuals in informal and formal mentorships were compared along two mentoring dimensions: psychosocial and career-related functions. All groups were compared on three outcome measures: organizational socialization, job satisfaction, and salary. Results indicated protégés in informal mentorships reported more career-related support from their mentors and higher salaries than protégés in formal mentorships. For all outcome variables, protégés in informal mentorships also reported more favorable outcomes than nonmentored individuals. However, outcomes from protégés in formal mentorships were generally not significant from the other two groups. Implications for mentorship practices and research are discussed.