Grace Gowdy

• Professor (Assistant) at North Carolina A&T

Building on previous work examining the three central theoretical models driving the youth mentoring literature, the present paper presents an updated conceptual framework on how youth mentoring can equitably support health outcomes for young people, particularly minoritized or otherwise marginalized youth. Youth mentoring has been demonstrated to...

Youth mentoring as a field of study has grown immensely in recent years, with hundreds of peer-reviewed research articles on the subject. A key driver of this interest is the demonstrated ability of youth mentoring to support positive mental health for minoritized youth. Three central theoretical models, published nearly twenty years ago, drive the...

Core and capital mentoring relationships have been demonstrated to be distinct types of relationships that have different characteristics, qualities of the relationship, and are linked to different outcomes among adolescents more generally. The present study adds to this growing literature base by examining whether this typology captures well the e...

More enduring formal youth mentoring relationships tend to be more effective, but our understanding of how such relationships develop and are sustained remains limited. This prospective, qualitative study examined the development of 67 one‐to‐one, community‐based mentoring relationships over a 2‐year period. Data included interviews with mentors, y...

Higher education has been associated with better social and economic outcomes for foster youth transitioning to adulthood. Informal mentorship is helpful in supporting young people to and through higher education. The present study uses an established typology of informal mentoring, core and capital, to explore the characteristics of these mentorin...

Informal mentoring has many demonstrated impacts on young people, including increased educational attainment, economic mobility, and both physical and mental health. Emerging work on a typology within informal mentoring suggests that "core" mentors are often extended family members and provide emotional support, while "capital" mentors are connecte...

Informal mentoring between youth and adults in their existing social networks can help promote positive and equitable outcomes for disadvantaged young people. Yet little published research exists examining contextual factors that may impact access to this type of beneficial relationship for under-resourced and minoritized youth. Using data from the...

This study sought to examine how social class bias may be enacted by mentors and mentoring program staff within community‐based youth mentoring relationships and how these biases may influence the mentoring relationship. A narrative thematic analysis was conducted with interviews from mentors, mentees’ parents/caregivers, and mentoring program staf...

Children who grow up in low-income households are likely to remain poor throughout their lives. The odds of spending a lifetime in poverty are even greater for children of color, who are more likely to be born into poverty and are less likely to be economically mobile than their White counterparts. Informal mentoring (i.e., a positive relationship...

This paper describes a multi-phase effort to develop a web-based training for adults serving as mentors in school-based programs for youth with a parent in the military. In Phase 1, we conducted focus groups with military parents to: gauge their receptivity to this type of supportive intervention, identify program features that would make the optio...

Although there have been calls to expand mentoring as way to redress the growing problem of economic immobility in the United States, no study to date has directly examined whether mentoring and economic mobility are related. Using multiple waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and employing a propensity score matc...

Background Although early closure of formal youth mentoring relationships has recently begun to receive some attention, more information about factors that contribute to premature endings, and how those factors interact, is needed so that empirically-based program practices can be developed and disseminated to prevent such endings and to ensure tha...

There has been much enthusiasm in the past decade around informal mentoring (naturally occurring relationships with caring non-parental adults) as a way to promote positive outcomes for young people. This enthusiasm is motivated by empirical studies boasting positive effects and has resulted in intervention development around how to promote these r...

This qualitative interview study examined experiences of youth-initiated mentoring relationships (YIM) among youth transitioning out of the foster care system. YIM is an innovative approach wherein programs work with youth to identify adults within their existing social networks to serve as their mentors in the formal program. Participants were 13...

Youth-initiated mentoring (YIM), in which youth select adults from within their communities to serve as mentors in relationships that are formalized through mentoring programs, has the potential to redress problems faced by many mentoring programs that could adversely affect system-involved youth, such as volunteer attrition and premature match clo...

Social capital plays a key role in college and career success, and research indicates that a dearth of on-campus connections contributes to challenges first-generation college students face in effectively navigating the college environment. This study investigates a novel intervention that focuses on the development of skills and attitudes to empow...

Objective To use meta-analytic techniques to evaluating the effectiveness of parent–child interaction therapy (PCIT) at reducing future physical abuse among physically abusive families. Methods A systematic search identified six eligible studies. Outcomes of interest were physical abuse recurrence, child abuse potential, and parenting stress. Res...