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.     

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.     

The Role of Neighborhood in the Development of Aggression in Urban African American Youth: A Multilevel Analysis

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of neighborhood disadvantage and perceptions of neighborhood on the development of aggressive behavior among a sample of urban low‐income African American middle school aged youth (mean age = 11.65 years). Results of hierarchical linear modeling indicated that youth experienced significant changes in rates of aggression across the three middle school years, and that on average, negative youth perceptions of neighborhood predicted increases in aggression. Both parent and youth perceptions of neighborhood disadvantage trended toward significance as a moderator between objective neighborhood characteristics and aggression. These results are in accordance with past research, which suggests that personal evaluations of the disadvantage of a neighborhood influence child development and behavior. Future studies should examine the role that perceptions play in youth development, as well as in interventions geared towards thwarting youth aggression.     

The Long‐Term Impact of Natural Mentoring Relationships: A Counterfactual Analysis

Previous research suggests that youth's natural mentoring relationships are associated with better academic, vocational, and psychosocial functioning. However, little is known about the extent to which the impact of mentoring endures beyond adolescence and early adulthood. Furthermore, most natural mentoring research is confounded by selection bias. In this study, we examined the long‐term impact of mentoring using the nationally representative, longitudinal Add Health dataset. We conducted counterfactual analysis, a more stringent test of causality than regression‐based approaches. Compared to their unmentored counterparts, adults (ages 33–42) who had a natural mentor during adolescence or emerging adulthood reported higher educational attainment, more time spent volunteering, and more close friends, after controlling for a range of confounding factors. However, outcomes differed when mentors were classified as “strong ties” (e.g., grandparents, friends) or “weak ties” (e.g., teachers, coaches, employers). Having a strong‐tie mentor was associated with having more close friends and a lower income. In contrast, having a weak‐tie mentor was associated with higher educational attainment, higher income, and more time spent volunteering. These findings suggest that natural mentoring relationships can exert lasting influence on young people's developmental trajectories, providing strong rationale for efforts to expand their availability and scope.     

The Impact of Fathers' Absence on African American Adolescents' Gender Role Development

Gender role development was assessed in 52 father-absent and 54 father-present African American adolescents. Father-present boys, especially those from lower-income backgrounds, had higher perceptions of their masculinity than did father-absent boys. Lower income father-absent girls perceived themselves to be higher in masculinity than did all other girls. Consequently, father-present adolescents tended to have more traditional gender role orientations than did those in father-absent homes. It is argued that mothers' and fathers' different socializing strategies balance out in two-parent homes. However, in father-absent homes, mothers' tendency to rely on and pressure their daughters fosters relatively more masculine girls, whereas a lack of father socialization fosters less masculine boys. Implications for theory and future research are also discussed.     

The Social Relations of Rural African American Early Adolescents and Proximal Impact of the School Engagement Project

This paper reports on the social relations of rural African American early adolescents and the initial impact of a multilevel universal intervention program aimed at enhancing the productive school engagement of at-risk youth. Students' school social relations were assessed with social cognitive mapping procedures that yield information on peer group membership and social network centrality (i.e., prominence in the social structure). Risk status was determined by cluster analysis of teacher ratings of students' adjustment on multiple dimensions including aggression, academic competence, and popularity. Four subgroups were identified: Model, Aggressive, Troubled, and Below Average. Differences among clusters were found in network centrality and patterns of peer affiliations. In addition, boys in the Below Average and Troubled configurations showed an increase in social prominence after the initial intervention phase.     

Long-Term Self-Regulation Moderates the Role of Internal Resources for Resilience in Positive Youth Development in Portugal

Abstract

Positive Youth Development (PYD) presents a strength-based conception of transition to adulthood that has been well-supported by literature to date. However, research is needed to integrate the pathways to PYD and the possible moderators. This study aimed to analyze the relationships between internal resources for resilience and PYD and to examine the moderating role of short-term and long-term self-regulation by gender. To reach this overall aim, a cross-sectional study was performed with a national sample of 2700 youths (73.3% girls; M_age = 21.3, SD?=?2.79) from Portugal, who completed self-report measures. Regression-based moderation models were developed. Results indicated that greater presence of internal resources for resilience was related to higher PYD. Long-term self-regulation and gender moderated this relationship, such that a greater effect was observed in men with high levels of long-term self-regulation. These results highlight the need to integrate prevention and promotion paradigms to foster healthy development in youth, as well as the importance of taking self-regulation skills and gender into account in program design.     

Applying a Social Justice Lens to Youth Mentoring: A Review of the Literature and Recommendations for Practice

Youth mentoring interventions are often designed with the intention of promoting improved outcomes among marginalized youth. Despite their promise to reduce inequality through the provision of novel opportunities and increased social capital to marginalized youth, youth mentoring interventions hold the potential to reproduce rather than reduce inequality. In the current review, we explore literature on youth mentoring that has incorporated a social justice lens. We conclude that there is a need for greater attention to principles of social justice in the design, implementation, and evaluation of youth mentoring interventions. After reviewing the literature, we make recommendations for research and practice based on a social justice perspective and explore alternatives to traditional youth mentoring that may allow for better alignment with social justice principles.     

The Long Arm of Mentoring: A Counterfactual Analysis of Natural Youth Mentoring and Employment Outcomes in Early Careers

Young people often develop natural mentoring relationships with nonparental adults during adolescence and young adulthood. While much has been learned about the benefits of natural mentoring for more proximate outcomes such as mental health and education, relatively little is known about the causal impact of youth mentoring relationships on career opportunities. This study uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) survey to explore the effects of different kinds of natural mentoring relationships on employment outcomes during the early career years (when workers are in their late twenties and early thirties). Whereas traditional methods of causal conditioning show a broad range of employment benefits from being mentored, results from counterfactual analysis using propensity score matching reveal that the benefits of mentoring are confined to intrinsic job rewards. The findings imply that mentors help steer youth toward intrinsically rewarding careers.     

Hyperactivity,Impulsivity, Inattention (HIA) and Conduct Problems among African American Youth: The Roles of Neighborhood and Gender

This study replicated and extended prior research by examining neighborhood context as a moderator of the relation between the constellation of hyperactivity, impulsivity, and attention (HIA) difficulties and conduct problems among African American youth (11–16 years old; 55% girls) from single mother homes (N = 193). Using audio computer-assisted interview (ACASI) software, mother-child dyads provided ratings of HIA difficulties and two domains of conduct problems: aggression and rule-breaking. In addition, both subjective (mother-report) and objective (census data) indices of neighborhood context were assessed. Findings revealed that both subjective and objective indices of neighborhood context moderated the relation between HIA and conduct problems, but the pattern of moderation differed depending on the index and combination of reporters. Future research directions and implications of the findings are discussed.

Treatment for Youth in Short-Term Care Facilities: The Impact of a Comprehensive Behavior Management Intervention

We describe a comprehensive program to train emergency shelter staff in effective methods for dealing with youth who have behavioral and emotional problems; assess the degree to which staff implemented the treatment approach; measure the impact of the intervention on shelter-wide incidents such as out-of-control behavior, runaways, and violence against other youth; and examine pre-post changes in staff experiences at the shelter via anonymous surveys. Overall, the short-term shelter staff indicated adequate implementation of the intervention. The rate of youth incidents at the shelter significantly declined from pre to post assessment. Direct-care staff ratings of their satisfaction with their proficiency in behavior management and teaching youth skills increased significantly from pre to post implementation. These findings suggest that it is feasible to deliver an effective staff-training program to improve the behavior management and social skills of youth residing in short-term care facilities within the child welfare system.     

Durability of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Effects for Youth and Adolescents With Anxiety,Depression, or Traumatic Stress:A Meta-Analysis on Long-Term Follow-Ups

Cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT) for youth with anxiety, traumatic stress, and depression have demonstrated strong effects in individual studies and meta-analyses. Relatively more attention has been given to posttreatment effects, though, and assessment of follow-up effects has been limited at the meta-analytic level. The current meta-analysis aimed to (a) examine the effects of youth CBT at posttreatment, 1-month, 3-month, 6-month, 1-year, and long-term (2 + years) follow-up as well as (b) identify research-related variables (e.g., measure respondent type) that relate to effects. Using a random effects model across 110 child and adolescent CBT groups, within-group effect sizes were large at posttreatment (g = 1.24) and from 1-month through long-term follow-up (g = 1.23–1.82), and effect sizes did not significantly differ by treatment target (i.e., anxiety, traumatic stress, depression). However, availability of outcome data for effect sizes diminished across later follow-up assessments. Moreover, effect sizes were significantly associated with outcome respondent type across assessment timing, with outcome measures from caregiver and youth respondents associated with smaller effect sizes (B = -0.97, p < 0.001) relative to outcome measures that were evaluator-reported. Results provide initial support for the durability of treatment effects for youth CBTs and highlight the importance of some confounding variables. Implications for improving treatment research standards and prioritizing assessment of long-term follow-up assessment are discussed.     

First time gun carrying and the primary prevention of youth gun violence for African American youth living in extreme poverty

First time gun carrying is specified as a logical starting point for the primary prevention of youth gun violence, which is also consistent with the public health approach to the prevention of firearm injuries for at risk African American youth. However, it is difficult to disentangle youth gun violence from other aspects of violence that are concentrated in high poverty settings. Insights from developmental life-course criminology (DLC) are used to: (1) categorize first time gun carrying as a critical inflection point in the development of youth violence; and (2) categorize exposure to violence in the community as a developmental pathway for first time gun carrying for youth attempting to prevent and/or deter future violent victimization. The ecological-transactional model of community violence provides a more nuanced breakdown of the impact of exposure to violence in the community on first time gun carrying given the embeddedness of contexts that shape child and adolescent development in high poverty settings. Finally, several areas for future research are outlined that include a need to better integrate gun carrying into existing theories as well as future longitudinal studies of high risk African American youth.     

The Psychology and Practice of Youth-Adult Partnership: Bridging Generations for Youth Development and Community Change

Youth-adult partnership (Y-AP) has become a phenomenon of interest to scholars and practitioners. Despite the potential of Y-AP to promote positive youth development, increase civic engagement, and support community change, the practice remains unfamiliar to many. Although research has increased over the past decade, the construct remains vague with an insufficient grounding in developmental theory and community practice. This article seeks to address these gaps by synthesizing data and insights from the historical foundations of Y-AP, community based research, and case study. We propose Y-AP as a unifying concept, distinct from other forms of youth-adult relationships, with four core elements: authentic decision making, natural mentors, reciprocity, and community connectedness. We conclude that Y-AP functions as an active ingredient and fundamental practice for positive youth development and civic engagement. Directions for future research are offered.     

The Value of Lakota Traditional Healing for Youth Resiliency and Family Functioning

This article reports research findings on the impact of Oglala Lakota Sioux traditional healing on family functioning and youth resiliency where trauma, abuse, or violence are often present. Caregivers of Lakota youth struggling with serious emotional and behavioral problems participated in the study. The study included both quantitative and qualitative samples: 27 families for the quantitative sample and 8 families for the qualitative sample. Results from caregivers revealed that traditional healing and cultural practices, as well as the promotion of cultural identity, had statistically significant positive effects on the perceived familial and individual functioning of Lakota youth and their families. Effect sizes indicate that the results have strong practical significance.     

The Role of Racial Discrimination in the Economic Value of Education Among Urban,Low-Income Latina/o Youth: Ethnic Identity and Gender as Moderators

The present study used resilience theory to explore relationships among perceived racial discrimination, ethnic identity, gender, and economic value of education (EVE) among urban, low‐income, Latina/o youth. It was expected that racial discrimination would predict poorer perceptions of the EVE among Latina/o adolescents. Ethnic identity was hypothesized to buffer the negative effect of racial discrimination on Latina/o students’ EVE. The participants in this study were 396 urban, low‐income Latina/o high school students from a large, Midwestern city who completed surveys in both 9th‐ and 10th‐grade. Structural equation modeling was used to test the relationships among racial discrimination, ethnic identity, and EVE. Results supported a protective model of resilience. Specifically, ethnic identity served as a protective factor by buffering the negative effect of perceived racial discrimination on EVE for male participants. The present study is the first to examine ethnic identity as a buffer of racial discrimination on EVE among Latina/o high school students. Future directions and implications are discussed.     

“Let our Apache Heritage and Culture Live on Forever and Teach the Young Ones”: Development of The Elders’ Resilience Curriculum,an Upstream Suicide Prevention Approach for American Indian Youth

The White Mountain Apache Tribe have developed an innovative curriculum that connects youth through Elders to their heritage, traditions, and culture, which has been proven to be a protective factor for native Americans. The development process took 4½ years and included community stakeholder buy‐in, Elders’ Council group formation, extensive formative work to identify content, iterative feedback between curriculum writers and Elders, and Elder training prior to implementation. Members of the Elders’ Council have been visiting the local schools to teach youth about the Apache culture, language, and way of life since February 2014 reaching over 1000 youth. This approach demonstrates a promising upstream suicide prevention strategy. We discuss the process of development, implementation, and lessons learned, as this curriculum has potential for adaptation by other Indigenous communities.     

The Presuppositions of Religious Pluralism and the Need for Natural Theology

In ‘The Presuppositions of Religious Pluralism and the Need for Natural Theology’ I argue that there are four important presuppositions behind John Hick’s form of religious pluralism that successfully support it against what I call fideistic exclusivism. These are i) the ought/can principle, ii) the universality of religious experience, iii) the universality of redemptive change, and iv) a view of how God (the Eternal) would do things. I then argue that if these are more fully developed they support a different kind of exclusivism, what I call rational exclusivism, and become defeaters for pluralism. In order to explain rational exclusivism and its dependence on these presuppositions I consider philosophers J.P. Moreland, William Lane Craig, and Alvin Plantinga, who offer arguments for their forms of exclusivism but I maintain that they continue to rely on fideism at important points. I then give an example of how knowledge of the Eternal can be achieved.

The Ecology of Experiences for African American Women in Clinical Doctoral Programs

African American women must navigate higher education, in particular, clinical doctoral programs, as a gendered racial minority. These women often endure multiple levels of discrimination to obtain their degree. Findings of this study highlight these experiences and suggest the importance of increasing supports for African American women in clinical doctoral programs. Practices and supports should be put in place so that students of color are not marginalized because of their race. Las mujeres afroamericanas tienen que pasar por la educación superior, y particularmente en programas de doctorado clínico, como una minoría racial y de sexo. Estas mujeres sufren con frecuencia múltiples niveles de discriminación para poder obtener su titulación. Los hallazgos de este estudio destacan estas experiencias y sugieren la importancia de incrementar los apoyos para mujeres afroamericanas en programas de doctorado clínico. Deberían implementarse prácticas y apoyos para que las estudiantes de color no sean marginadas por su raza.