BRIEF INSTRUMENTAL SCHOOL‐BASED MENTORING FOR FIRST‐ AND SECOND‐YEAR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS: A RANDOMIZED EVALUATION

A limitation of school‐based mentoring (SBM) is the lack of structured, evidence‐based practices in mentoring sessions that explicitly target school‐relevant outcomes, such as academic performance and school behavior. To address this concern, we developed and experimentally evaluated a brief SBM program based on practices adapted from evidence‐based counseling and academic interventions with the goal of improving the academic and behavioral performance of middle school students. The results indicate that students randomly assigned to instrumental SBM with an average of 8 sessions over a 2.5 month period (N = 74) showed better math grades, reduced school behavioral office referrals, and increased life satisfaction when compared to students randomly assigned to the control group (N = 60). Tentatively, our results suggest that SBM programs may benefit from the incorporation of instrumental elements based on evidence‐based practices.     

Randomized evaluation of a single semester transitional mentoring program for first year middle school students: a cautionary result for brief,school‐based mentoring programs

School‐based youth mentoring is popular in the United States. There are reasons to believe that school‐based mentoring might be beneficial, but research has found primarily small effects and some negative effects. This study describes a formal evaluation of a single semester mentoring program that was implemented within the context of a school‐university‐community partnership. Middle school students were randomly assigned to a school‐based mentoring program (n=60) or a control group (n=60) during the first semester of middle school. Results suggest that random assignment to the mentoring program designed to ease the transition to middle school was associated with statistically significant decreases in reading grades and null effects on other measures, including school and teacher connectedness. These results reinforce the need to evaluate mentoring programs on a case‐by‐case basis and continue to innovate in the area of school‐based mentoring until robust, replicable evidence‐based procedures are identified. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Mentoring relationships for youth: Investigation of a process‐oriented model

We investigated a process‐oriented model of mentoring using data on 50 relationships in a Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. Data were collected on a monthly basis from both mentors and youth over a one‐year period; relationship benefits for youth were assessed at the end of the year by each type of informant. The degree to which relationships were continued throughout the one‐year period also was assessed. Path analyses using both youth and mentor report data revealed relations among study variables consistent with the proposed model. Mentors' ratings of their efficacy, obtained prior to the start of relationships, predicted greater amounts of mentor/youth contact as well as more positive experiences in relationships (e.g., fewer obstacles). Feelings of closeness between mentors and youth, in turn, were a final common component in model pathways that linked mentor/youth contact and most other measures to greater perceived benefits and relationship continuation. Implications for the design and evaluation of mentoring programs for youth are discussed. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A CROSS‐LAGGED MODEL OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF MENTOR–MENTEE RELATIONSHIPS AND INTENTIONAL SELF‐REGULATION IN ADOLESCENCE

Intentional self‐regulatory, or goal‐directed, skills are essential for positive social relationships, success, and well‐being during adolescence. Prior theory has suggested that mentoring relationships may provide a key resource for building these skills. However, there is little direct evidence linking mentoring relationships to growth in youth intentional self‐regulation (ISR). Accordingly, we examined the bidirectional relations between mentor–mentee relationship and ISR using data from 415 mentor–mentee dyads from programs around the United States. The 415 youth (48% female) ranged in age from 10.14 to 20.65 and were ethnically and socioeconomically diverse. The 114 mentors (58.8% female; 64% Caucasian) were, on average, 33.6 years of age. Results from cross‐lagged structural equation modeling indicated that a latent factor of mentor–mentee relationship predicted growth in a latent factor of youth ISR. These findings support the role of mentors in promoting youth ISR. The implications of these findings for the training of practitioners are discussed.     

USING VOLUNTEER MENTORS TO IMPROVE THE ACADEMIC OUTCOMES OF UNDERSERVED STUDENTS: THE ROLE OF RELATIONSHIPS

Schools can benefit from understanding how to use community volunteers to achieve academic goals. A randomized control evaluation, involving 1,139 students from 71 schools, of the school‐based mentoring program of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America found modest but statistically significant improvements in the teacher‐rated academic performance and self‐reported scholastic efficacy of mentored students. The present study explores the causal mechanism behind these effects. We find that a close relationship between mentor and protégé appears key to better academic outcomes. Because relationship closeness is not randomly assigned, we use two‐stage least squares and other methods to control for potential selection bias. The role of emotional closeness as a mediator of program effects is evident across mentoring relationships of various lengths and statuses. Students were more likely to feel close to their mentors in programs that included weekly meetings and opportunities for mentor–protégé pairs to interact outside of a large‐group setting.     

Working to make it work: the role of parents in the youth mentoring process

Theoretical and empirical work on youth mentoring relationships has been largely focused on the mentor‐youth dyad, with little attention to the larger context within which such relationships form and develop. The perspectives of parents have been absent for the most part from the mentoring literature to date. In‐depth, semistructured, qualitative interviews were conducted with parents (n=13) of youth who were participating in a community‐based mentoring program. Four major themes were identified: parents' (a) hopes and expectations for the mentoring relationship, (b) trust in the mentor and satisfaction with the relationship, (c) roles in the mentoring relationship, and (d) reflections on and experiences with cultural differences between their child and the mentor. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

EFFECTIVE YOUTH MENTORS: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INITIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COLLEGE WOMEN MENTORS AND MENTEE SATISFACTION AND OUTCOME

To optimize the effectiveness of youth mentoring it is important to begin to identify specific preexisting characteristics of mentors that lead to positive experiences for adolescent mentees. College women mentors, aged 18 to 22 years, were paired with middle school girls, aged 11 to 14 years, for weekly one‐on‐one and group mentoring in an 8‐month, school‐based youth mentoring program. For the sampled 142 mentor‐mentee dyads participating in the program, mentor's reported academic self‐worth, parent relationship, and not being too autonomous were important preexisting characteristics related to mentee satisfaction. Mentor's initial level of depression was negatively correlated with mentee's self‐reported improvement in competence, while mentor anxiety was positively correlated. Finally, the relationship between mentor's autonomy (negative) and ethnocultural empathy (positive) and mentee outcomes were stronger for cross‐race versus same‐race pairs. Implications for mentoring programs that use college students as youth mentors are discussed.     

Prosper study of evidence‐based intervention implementation quality by community–university partnerships

This study examined a community–university partnership model for sustained, high‐quality implementation of evidence‐based interventions. In the context of a randomized study, it assessed whether implementation quality for both family‐focused and school‐based universal interventions could be achieved and maintained through community–university partnerships. It also conducted exploratory analyses of factors influencing implementation quality. Results revealed uniformly high rates of both implementation adherence—averaging over 90%—and of other indicators of implementation quality for both family‐focused and school‐based interventions. Moreover, implementation quality was sustained across two cohorts. Exploratory analyses failed to reveal any significant correlates for family‐intervention implementation quality, but did show that some team and instructor characteristics were associated with school‐based implementation quality. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 35: 981–999, 2007.     

Improving middle school climate through teacher‐centered change

A collaborative school‐based intervention aimed at modifying relationships among administrators and teachers was implemented in three middle and junior high schools. Across the intervention schools, teachers were active collaborators in identifying problems and then articulating and implementing customized interventions to redress those problems. Analyses of both teacher (N=180) and student (N=2,631) data provide support for positive outcomes. Teachers' perceptions of school climate improved, and longitudinal models suggested that these improvements mediated the impact of treatment on teacher reports of affiliation and academic focus. In addition, the treatment had a positive impact on teachers' perceptions of principal support, which led to improvements in teacher attitudes. Furthermore, students in the intervention schools reported improvements in school climate relative to students in the comparison schools. Taken together, these results suggest that a strategy of encouraging and supporting teacher‐led interventions, customized to the needs and circumstances of each particular school, can successfully revitalize school settings, leading to improvements not only in school's climate, but also in the quality of interactions within the settings. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Natural mentoring under the microscope: an investigation of mentoring relationships and latino adolescents' academic performance

The current study examined the role of natural mentoring relationships in the academic performance of urban, diverse, Latino high school students. Participants reported up to three mentors in their lives, and they were asked about their mentors' demographic characteristics and the characteristics of their mentoring relationships. The presence of a mentor was associated with fewer absences, higher educational expectations, and greater expectancies for success and sense of school belonging. Further, the number of reported mentors predicted fewer absences, higher educational expectations and a greater sense of school belonging. Mentors' educational level, frequency of contact, relationship duration, and total form of support provided by mentors were related to participants' academic outcomes. Mentor type also made a difference in youth's academic outcomes. Implications for future mentoring research and programs are discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Positive youth development and adolescent eating disorder symptomatology: The role of natural mentors

Natural mentoring relationships have been linked to diverse outcomes in youth; however, little research has examined the role of natural mentors in adolescent eating disorder symptomatology. The present study applied a strength‐based, positive youth development (PYD) perspective to examine the cross‐sectional relations among disordered eating attitudes and behaviors, PYD, and natural mentoring relationships. We used data from 975 9^th‐grade youth (61.1% female; mean_age = 15.01, standard deviation = 0.73) who participated in the 4‐H Study of PYD. Natural mentoring relationships had a differential association with outcomes based on youth sex. Natural mentors were linked to higher levels of PYD in both males and females, but these relationships were more strongly linked to eating disorder symptomatology and PYD in males. Having a natural mentor predicted significantly lower body dissatisfaction in males, but not in females. Natural mentoring relationships did buffer the relation between drive for thinness symptoms and PYD in females. The present study provides evidence for the benefits natural mentors may provide to youth reporting disordered eating attitudes and behaviors. The findings suggest taking an ecological approach to eating disorder symptomatology and ways youth–adult partnerships can be leveraged or nurtured to promote positive and healthy development.     

THE ROLE OF RELATIONAL,RECREATIONAL, AND TUTORING ACTIVITIES IN THE PERCEPTIONS OF RECEIVED SUPPORT AND QUALITY OF MENTORING RELATIONSHIP DURING A COMMUNITY‐BASED MENTORING RELATIONSHIP

Previous research has shown that activities between volunteer mentors and youth mentees are associated with relationship quality. Using data from a longitudinal investigation of Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) community mentoring relationships across Canada, the current study investigated whether different types of activities (relational and skill, recreational, and tutoring) moderate the association between mentees’ perceptions of received support and subsequent relationship quality. The results showed that, irrespective of activity type, activity frequency was positively associated with perceptions of received support and relationship quality. More importantly, higher frequency of recreational activities strengthened the positive association between perceptions of received support and relationship quality, whereas higher frequency of tutoring activities weakened this association. The implications for the provision of relational and skill, recreational, and tutoring activities are discussed in relation to BBBS programs.     

Associations of parent and staff factors with parent engagement in after‐school programs

This 2‐study research examined staff and parent predictors of parent engagement in after‐school programs. A parent engagement measure tailored to after‐school programs was developed based on existing theory and literature. Two distinct factors, parent engagement and parent participation, emerged from factor analyses and were subsequently tested. A 2‐level model was run on 4 program/staff and 6 parent predictors using staff and parent data from 26 after‐school program sites (Study 1) and nine sites (Study 2). Program quality, staff educational levels, and length of employment in the after‐school program were significantly associated with parent engagement and parent participation but in opposite directions, with other findings contrary to hypotheses. For parent factors of engagement and participation, there was a significant positive association between parental age and parent engagement, while having more than 2 children in a program was significantly and positively associated with parent participation only. Results and implications are discussed.     

BONDING AND BRIDGING: TRANSITION TO SCHOOL AND SOCIAL CAPITAL FORMATION AMONG A COMMUNITY OF INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN

This study reports on an intervention program designed to facilitate transition to school of a whole community of Indigenous Australian children who had previously not been attending. The children were from families displaced from their traditional lands and experienced on‐going social marginalisation and transience. A social capital framework was employed to track change in the children's social inclusion and family‐school engagement for two years, from school entry. Sociometric measurement and interview techniques were applied to assess the children's social connectedness and peer relationship quality. Using these data, analyses examined whether bonding within the group supported or inhibited formation of new social relationships. Although transience disrupted attendance, there was a group trend towards increased social inclusion with some evidence that group bonds supported bridging to new social relationships. Change in family‐school engagement was tracked using multi‐informant interviews. Limited engagement between school and families presented an on‐going challenge to sustained educational engagement.     

Obesity aggravates COVID‐19: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Obesity and COVID‐19 are both worldwide epidemics now. There may be some potential relationships between them, but little is known. This study was done to explore this relationship through literature search, systematic review, and meta‐analysis. Pubmed, Embase, WOS, Cochrane, CNKI, Wanfang, and Sinomed databases were searched to collect literature concerning obesity and COVID‐19. Systematic review and meta‐analysis were conducted after literature screening, quality assessment, and data extraction. A total of 180 articles were initially searched after duplicate removal, and 9 were finally included in our analysis. Results show that severe COVID‐19 patients have a higher body mass index than non‐severe ones (WMD = 2.67; 95% CI, 1.52‐3.82); COVID‐19 patients with obesity were more severely affected and have a worse outcome than those without (OR = 2.31; 95% CI, 1.3‐4.12). Obesity may aggravate COVID‐19.     

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE ROLE OF MENTORING IN THE ACCULTURATION OF LATINO/A YOUTH

For youth from immigrant families, acculturation is an important process that impacts their overall developmental outcomes, which could have implications for mentoring models. In this cross‐sectional study, we explore the relationship between mentoring and acculturation using a sample of 140 urban, low‐income, Latino/a high school seniors. We explore the associations between various mentoring variables and acculturation variables. Overall, the results did not yield significant associations between mentoring and acculturation. However, having more mentors did indicate a higher familiarity with Latino/a culture and more frequent contact predicted a higher value of respeto. Also, having at least one cross‐race mentor predicted less perceived discrimination, which may indicate that having cross‐race mentors resulted in lower scores or that youth who perceive less discrimination tend to seek out more cross‐race mentors. These findings inform how mentoring programs and other interventions can be adapted to serve young immigrants in the United States.     

Support relationships and teen mothers’ school retention at one‐year postpartum

Teen mothers face unique barriers to continuing education, making important the identification of key elements in their support systems that facilitate educational attainment. In this longitudinal quasi‐experimental study, we investigate the unique role of different types and sources of support measured at baseline, from family and father of the baby, on teen mothers’ return to school after childbirth. We analyze data of 102 urban, low‐income African American teen mothers, retained over 12 months. Results show that teen mothers who received parental financial support soon after giving birth were over 5 times as likely to be in school or have graduated when their children were a year old. Additionally, remaining in a romantic relationship with the father of the baby was associated with reduced odds of returning to school, but only in the absence of an intervention program designed to support teen parent families . Findings highlight the unique importance of parental financial support, shortly after birth, on teen mothers’ school retention and suggest the relevance of clinical staff in supporting teen mothers in couple relationships to continue their education.     

Structured after‐school activities as a moderator of depressed mood for adolescents with detached relations to their parents

This study investigated whether participation in structured after‐school activities moderates the association between detached parent–adolescent relationships and adolescent depressed mood. A representative sample of 539 14‐year‐olds and their parents were assessed concerning adolescent participation in after‐school activities, the parent–adolescent relationship, and adolescent depressed mood. Results showed that adolescents with detached relations to their parents reported high levels of depressed mood. Adolescents who participated in after‐school activities reported low levels of depressed mood compared to adolescents not participating in such activities; however, this was primarily true of participants who perceived high support from their activity leader. Support from after‐school activity leaders was particularly important for a subgroup of youth characterized by highly detached relations to their parents. Although girls reported higher levels of depressed mood than did boys, the associated benefits of perceived support from an activity leader were consistent across gender. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

In‐session behaviours and adolescents' self‐concept and loneliness: A psychodrama process–outcome study

As adolescents spend many hours a day in school, it is crucial to examine the ways in which therapeutic practices in schools promote their well‐being. This longitudinal pilot study examined the contribution of school‐based psychodrama group therapy to the self‐concept dimensions and perceived loneliness of 40 Israeli adolescents (aged 13–16, 60% boys) in public middle schools. From a process–outcome perspective, we also examined the understudied trajectory of adolescents' in‐session behaviours (process variables) and its associations with changes in their self‐concepts and loneliness (outcome variables). Psychodrama participants reported increases in global, social, and behavioural self‐concepts and a decrease in loneliness compared to the control group. In‐session productive behaviours increased and resistance decreased throughout the therapy, but varied process–outcome relationships were found. The study suggests that conducting further research into the process–outcome relationships in psychodrama group therapy is warranted to pinpoint specific mechanisms of change. Suggestions for future studies are provided.