The state of mentoring research: A qualitative review of current research methods and future research implications

Research regarding mentoring relationships has flourished during the past 20 years. This article reviews the methodology and content of 200 published mentoring articles. Some of the major concerns raised in this review include over reliance on cross-sectional designs and self-report data, a failure to differentiate between different forms of mentoring (e.g., formal versus informal), and a lack of experimental research. Implications and suggestions for future research are offered.     

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.     

The relationship between short-term mentoring benefits and long-term mentor outcomes

Little is known about the short- and long-term benefits mentors gain from their mentoring relationships. This study examined the extent to which short-term proximal benefits reported by mentors (improved job performance, recognition by others, rewarding experience, and loyal base of support) predicted the long-term distal outcomes of mentor career success, work attitudes and behavioral intentions to mentor in the future. Mentors’ reports of short-term mentoring benefits significantly predicted their work attitudes and their intentions to mentor again in the future, but were unrelated to their career success. Upon closer inspection, short-term instrumental mentor benefits (improved job performance, recognition by others) were more important in predicting mentor work attitudes, whereas short-term relational mentor benefits (rewarding experience, loyal base of support) were more important in predicting intentions to mentor in the future. Implications for mentoring theory, future research, and practice are discussed.     

Primary Care Provider Familiarity with Binge Eating Disorder and Implications for Obesity Management: A Preliminary Survey

Current guidelines for the evaluation and treatment of obesity recommend referring individuals with binge eating disorder (BED) to a mental health professional. However, it is unclear how familiar primary care providers are with BED. The purpose of this study was to assess providers' familiarity with BED diagnosis and treatment. Providers in two primary care clinics completed a questionnaire, which assessed perceived familiarity with BED and demonstrated familiarity with BED diagnosis and treatment. Results indicated that 61% of respondents demonstrated familiarity with the essential symptoms of BED, and 80% reported familiarity with the diagnosis of BED. However, 35% of respondents who perceived themselves as familiar with BED did not demonstrate familiarity with the most basic symptoms. These results demonstrate that while many providers in primary care are familiar with BED, steps to improve provider familiarity with the disorder and provide appropriate mechanisms to address BED are warranted.     

Indigenous and Interdependent Perspectives of Healing: Implications for Counseling and Research

Because of the dramatic increases of culturally diverse individuals in the United States, indigenous perspectives of healing must be understood in the context of interdependent cultural selves. The authors present an extensive review of the literature with a focus on understanding the role of spirituality, balancing energies, close social networks, and interconnectedness in indigenous healing perspectives and philosophies. Examples of indigenous healing approaches are presented, and implications for counseling and research are discussed.     

Using Mental Imagery to Enhance the Effectiveness of Implementation Intentions

Past research shows that forming implementation intentions increases the probability of carrying out goals. The present research proposes that mental imagery can strengthen the effects of implementation intentions on goal achievement. Participants were assigned a mundane goal and were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: implementation intentions only or implementation intentions plus mental imagery. Results support the hypothesis that using mental imagery when forming implementation intentions leads to higher rates of goal achievement.     

Are Written Reports of Suicide and Seeking Help Contagious? High Schoolers' Perceptions1

To assess contagion for suicide and seeking mental health help, 128 high school students read a short vignette about a teen under stress. Half of them were told that this teen knew someone in the community who had similar problems and had committed suicide, and half were told that the teen knew someone in the community who had similar problems and had sought help from a mental health professional. A 2 (Gender of Respondent) × 2 (Gender of Victim) × 2 (Vignette: Response to Stress) analysis of variance indicated a significant main effect for response, and a significant two-way interaction for gender of respondent and response to stress. These high school students thought contagion occurred for suicide as well as seeking mental health help. Girls tended to be more responsive to seeking help, whereas boys were slightly more responsive to suicide. An implication is that publicity about seeking help may ameliorate suicidal contagion.     

Lexical decisions in the right and left cerebral hemispheres

Subjects performed a lexical decision task in which letter-strings were presented unilaterally and tachistoscopically to the right and left visual fields. Four types of letter-strings were used: high frequency words, low frequency words, pronounceable nonwords, and unpronounceable nonwords. Measures of reaction time and error rate both showed a right visual field advantage for both classes of words and no difference between the hemispheres for either class of nonword. It was concluded that meaning is a more salient parameter of wordness than is pronounceability. Possible mechanisms for processing words presented to the left visual field were discussed.     

Community Reactions to Attempted and Completed Child Suicide1

In order to assess community reactions to attempted and completed child suicide, 180 shoppers were asked to read a short newspaper article about a 10-year-old who either (a) attempted suicide, (b) completed suicide, (c) completed suicide after having previously attempted, (d) was psychiatrically hospitalized, (e) died of a viral illness, or (f) died of an accident. Subjects then completed a 9-item Likert scale designed to assess their reactions. A2 × 6 (Gender of Victim × Type of Incident) multivariate analysis of variance indicated a significant effect only for type of incident. Families of psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents received milder reactions than families of suicide attempters, in terms of (a) other's assessment of their psychological health, (b) how long they were expected to be sad and depressed after the incident, and (c) how tense respondents expected to feel while visiting them. Apparently, families of suicide attempters must face many of the same negative community reactions as families whose loved ones actually die by suicide, whereas families who have a loved one psychiatrically hospitalized face less problematic reactions from others in the community.