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Improving understanding of how mentoring works: Measuring multiple intervention processes

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Abstract

The objective is to develop and test dimensionality and validity of a new measure of five mentoring intervention processes drawn from emphases across prior mentoring efforts that might be the basis for effects: identification with the mentor, social and emotional support, teaching and education, and advocacy, and shared time and activity. Partial validation of value was drawn from moderation role in a meta‐analysis of mentoring (Tolan, Henry, Lovegrove, Schoeny, & Nichols, 2014. J. Exp. Criminol., 10, 179–201). Data collected of candidate items completed by 740 mentors and 302 mentees (mean age = 16.59 years) were subjected to confirmatory factor analyses based on the five theorized dimensions. Scales derived from best‐fitting solutions were examined for convergent validity in relation to other indicators of mentoring relationship qualities. A bifactor model with five specific factors was supported for adult mentor reports while a simplified single factor model fit youth reports. Correlations between derived scale scores and validity indicators of mentoring relationship qualities were consistent with expectations. Multiple activities that comprise mentoring can be identified in adult mentor reports but not youth reports. This scale provides a promising basis for testing how variation in emphasis during mentoring affects impact and help guide training emphases.

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... These five avenues of influence are core aspects of effective mentoring relationships and represent the means through which young people often experience psychosocial benefits from mentoring programs, such as increased ability to overcome challenges, enhanced motivation to meet goals, and increased self-efficacy (DuBois et al., 2011;Lyons et al., 2019;Rhodes et al., 2006;Tolan et al., 2020). In discussing these five areas of influence, we seek to inform future research and program development by highlighting putative risks and opportunities for promoting healthy autonomy development through mentoring relationships (see Figure 2). ...
... For example, health psychologists find that parents' role modeling of fruit and vegetable intake influences subsequent child intake (Harris & Ramsey, 2015). Similarly, role modeling is considered one of the primary means by which mentors positively influence young people (Tolan et al., 2020). Role modeling presents a relatively safe bet, with very little downside, for promoting healthy behavioral autonomy while avoiding controlling or coercive mentor behavior. ...
... Mentors provide role modeling through interactions and experiences which evoke admiration, respect, feelings of similarity, and connection (Tolan et al., 2020). When these interactions and experiences are paired with observations of mentor decision making (e.g., food choice selection, prioritizing academic work over television, etc.), the appraised value of decisions are likely to be altered. ...
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... The phenomenon we are studying is particularly related to the issue of social competence. The importance of social and emotional support in mentoring and empathic indentification with the mentor is evident from some studies (e.g., Tolan, 2020), which is also close to the phenomenon we studied. ...
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... Further research is needed to shed light on the so-called "black box" of many mentoring interventions (Tolan et al., 2020). Yet this study builds on prior research to develop greater understanding of how mentors respond to the heterogeneous needs of their mentees, and the associated effects on the youth outcomes of most interest to stakeholders. ...
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... To build on the current research, the field may benefit from studies exploring additional operationalizations of mentoring relationship quality, as well as other mediators and moderators, including specific measures of socioemotional, cognitive, identity development processes identified in Rhodes' (2005) model. For example, the Mentoring Processes Scale allows for the assessment of five different mentoring processes (i.e., role modeling, advocacy, relationship and emotional support, teaching, and shared activities) and may better elucidate how youth depressive symptoms interact with different pathways through which mentoring may influence youth outcomes (Tolan et al., 2020). Similarly, other relational constructs such as youth's perception of social support and rejection may be related to depressive symptoms and should be included in future studies. ...
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... It is a concept that Walsh (2005) calls the "relational lifesaver," exemplifying proximal processes of healthy development as described in the bioecological model (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006). Extensive meta-analytic research in the U.S. on mentoring approaches has found that effective quality and consistent mentoring is impactful upon youth (Christensen et al., 2020;Grossman & Tierney, 1998;Tolan et al., 2020). ...
Chapter
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During the past decade, mentoring has proliferated as an intervention strategy for addressing the needs that young people have for adult support and guidance throughout their development. Currently, more than 5,000 mentoring programs serve an estimated three million youths in the United States. Funding and growth imperatives continue to fuel the expansion of programs as well as the diversification of mentoring approaches and applications. Important questions remain, however, about the effectiveness of these types of interventions and the conditions required to optimize benefits for young people who participate in them. In this article, we use meta-analysis to take stock of the current evidence on the effectiveness of mentoring programs for youth. As a guiding conceptual framework for our analysis, we draw on a developmental model of youth mentoring relationships (Rhodes, 2002, 2005). This model posits an interconnected set of processes (socialemotional, cognitive, identity) through which caring and meaningful relationships with nonparental adults (or older peers) can promote positive developmental trajectories. These processes are presumed to be conditioned by a range of individual, dyadic, programmatic, and contextual variables. Based on this model and related prior research, we anticipated that we would find evidence for the effectiveness of mentoring as an approach for fostering healthy development among youth. We also expected that effectiveness would vary as a function of differences in both program practices and the characteristics of participating young people and their mentors. The meta-analysis encompassed 73 independent evaluations of mentoring programs directed toward children and adolescents published over the past decade (1999–2010). Overall, findings support the effectiveness of mentoring for improving outcomes across behavioral, social, emotional, and academic domains of young people’s development. The most common pattern of benefits is for mentored youth to exhibit positive gains on outcome measures while nonmentored youth exhibit declines. It appears then that mentoring as an intervention strategy has the capacity to serve both promotion and prevention aims. Programs also show evidence of being able to affect multiple domains of youth functioning simultaneously and to improve selected outcomes of policy interest (e.g., academic achievement test scores). From a developmental standpoint, benefits of participation in mentoring programs are apparent from early childhood to adolescence and thus not confined to a particular stage of development. Similarly, although programs typically have utilized adult volunteers and focused on cultivating one-to-one relationships, those that have engaged older peers as mentors or used group formats show comparable levels of effectiveness. Collectively, these findings point toward the flexibility and broad applicability of mentoring as an approach for supporting positive youth development. Several other aspects of our findings, however, underscore a need for caution. These include a failure of evaluations to assess several key outcomes of policy interest (e.g., juvenile offending, obesity prevention) or to determine whether benefits for youth are sustained at later points in their development. More generally, we find that gains on outcome measures for the typical young person in a mentoring program have been modest (equivalent to a difference of 9 percentile points from scores of nonmentored youth on the same measures). This level of impact is within the range of effects observed for other types of interventions for children and adolescents but fails to reflect discernible improvement over the previous generation of mentoring programs (DuBois, Holloway, Valentine, & Cooper, 2002). Variability in program effectiveness, although less pronounced, also continues to be evident even after accounting for methodological differences in studies. In analyzing this variability, we find that programs have been more effective when (a) participating youth have either had preexisting difficulties (including problem behavior specifically) or been exposed to significant levels of environmental risk, (b) evaluation samples have included greater proportions of male youth, (c) there has been a good fit between the educational or occupational backgrounds of mentors and the goals of the program, (d) mentors and youth have been paired based on similarity of interests, and (e) programs have been structured to support mentors in assuming teaching or advocacy roles with youth. These findings suggest that effects may hinge to a noteworthy extent on decisions that are made regarding which youth and mentors to involve in a program and on the care with which mentoring relationships are established and then guided toward specific types of activities. Taking stock of the available evidence leads us to see value in continued support for youth mentoring programs. The argument for using mentoring as an intervention strategy is particularly strong when there is interest in promoting outcomes across multiple areas of a young person’s development. For investments to yield optimal returns, however, there is a need for policy to be directed toward several critical areas of concern: (a) ensuring adherence to core practices (e.g., screening and training of mentors) that both research and common sense dictate to be essential elements of program quality, (b) facilitating ongoing refinement and strengthening of programs using the available evidence as a guide, and (c) fostering stronger collaborations between practitioners and researchers as a framework for evidence-driven dissemination and growth within the field. From a research standpoint, to support and inform these efforts there is a pressing need to (a) gauge the impact of mentoring interventions on key outcomes of policy interest and on the outcomes of participating youth at later points in their development; (b) utilize study designs and analyses that are capable of addressing the relative effectiveness of competing models and practices, the unique contributions of mentoring within more complex, multi-component interventions, and differences in youth responsiveness (including potential harmful effects for some youth); (c) investigate increasingly well-specified models of how different types of program practices and processes may be instrumental in shaping consequential features of mentoring relationships and ultimately, the realization of particular desired outcomes for youth; and (d) establish a research registry to improve the quality and synthesis of available evidence regarding the effectiveness of youth mentoring as an intervention strategy.
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A simulation study compared the performance of robust normal theory maximum likelihood (ML) and robust categorical least squares (cat-LS) methodology for estimating confirmatory factor analysis models with ordinal variables. Data were generated from 2 models with 2-7 categories, 4 sample sizes, 2 latent distributions, and 5 patterns of category thresholds. Results revealed that factor loadings and robust standard errors were generally most accurately estimated using cat-LS, especially with fewer than 5 categories; however, factor correlations and model fit were assessed equally well with ML. Cat-LS was found to be more sensitive to sample size and to violations of the assumption of normality of the underlying continuous variables. Normal theory ML was found to be more sensitive to asymmetric category thresholds and was especially biased when estimating large factor loadings. Accordingly, we recommend cat-LS for data sets containing variables with fewer than 5 categories and ML when there are 5 or more categories, sample size is small, and category thresholds are approximately symmetric. With 6-7 categories, results were similar across methods for many conditions; in these cases, either method is acceptable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
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Two studies examined individual and environmental forces that affect engagement in prosocial behavior. Self-determination theory was used to derive a model in which autonomy orientation and autonomy support predicted satisfaction of three core psychological needs, which in turn led to engagement in prosocial activities. In Study 1, college students reported their engagement in various prosocial activities, and completed measures of autonomy orientation, parental autonomy support, and general need satisfaction. In Study 2, volunteer workers completed measures of autonomy orientation, work autonomy support and need satisfaction at work. The number of volunteered hours indicated the amount of prosocial engagement. Results across the studies showed that autonomy orientation was strongly related to engagement in prosocial behavior, while autonomy support was modestly related. Need satisfaction partially mediated the effect of autonomy orientation, and fully mediated the effect of autonomy support. Interestingly, autonomy support predicted lower volunteer turnover. Implications for how prosocial behavior can be motivated are discussed.
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We used meta-analysis to review 55 evaluations of the effects of mentoring programs on youth. Overall, findings provide evidence of only a modest or small benefit of program participation for the average youth. Program effects are enhanced significantly, however, when greater numbers of both theory-based and empirically based "best practices" are utilized and when strong relationships are formed between mentors and youth. Youth from backgrounds of environmental risk and disadvantage appear most likely to benefit from participation in mentoring programs. Outcomes for youth at-risk due to personal vulnerabilities have varied substantially in relation to program characteristics, with a noteworthy potential evident for poorly implemented programs to actually have an adverse effect on such youth. Recommendations include greater adherence to guidelines for the design and implementation of effective mentoring programs as well as more in-depth assessment of relationship and contextual factors in the evaluation of programs.
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Youth mentoring programs are an increasingly popular intervention, and although successful mentoring relationships can promote a range of positive developmental outcomes, relationships that fail can lead to decrements in a youth’s functioning and self-esteem. The present research develops and validates a youth mentoring relationship quality inventory, based on data from a national evaluation of Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) mentoring programs (N = 347 youth). This tool can be administered to adolescents who have been assigned mentors in order to assess the quality of the relationship as it is forming and to identify dyads that may need additional support before those relationships fail. Implications of such a tool for mentoring interventions and research are discussed. Editors’ Strategic Implications: Reliability and validity data are presented for a measure of youth’s perceptions of the quality of their mentoring relationship. This measure shows promise as a tool for research and evaluation of a wide array of mentoring programs due to its brevity, demonstrated psychometrics, and straightforward focus on the mentoring relationship.
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Mentoring is one of the most commonly‐used interventions to prevent, divert, and remediate youth engaged in, or thought to be at risk for delinquent behavior, school failure, aggression, or other antisocial behavior. We conducted a meta‐analytic review of selective and indicated mentoring interventions that have been evaluated for their effects on delinquency outcomes for youth (e.g., arrest or conviction as a delinquent, self‐reported involvement) and key associated outcomes (aggression, drug use, academic functioning). Of 112 identified studies reported published between 1970 and 2005, 39 met criteria for inclusion. Mean effects sizes were significant and positive for each outcome category. Effects were largest (still moderate by Cohen's differentiation) for delinquency and aggression. However, these categories also showed the most heterogeneity across studies. The obtained patterns of effects suggest mentoring may be valuable for those at‐risk or already involved in delinquency and for associated outcomes. Moderator analyses found stronger effects in randomised controlled trials compared to quasi‐experimental studies, for studies where emotional support was a key process involved in mentoring, and where professional development was a motivation for mentors. However, the collected set of studies are less informative than expected with quite limited detail in studies about what comprised mentoring activity and key implementation characteristics. This limitation encourages caution particularly in interpreting the moderated effects. These findings add to the longstanding calls for more careful design and testing of mentoring efforts to provide the needed specificity to guide effective practice of this popular approach. Abstract Background In recent years, mentoring has drawn substantial interest from policymakers, intervention theorists, and those interested in identifying promising and useful evidence‐based approaches to interventions for criminal justice and child welfare outcomes (Grossman & Tierney, 1998; Jekliek et al., 2002). Mentoring is one of the most commonly‐used interventions to prevent, divert, and remediate youth engaged in, or thought to be at risk for, delinquent behavior, school failure, aggression, or other antisocial behavior (DuBois, Holloway, Valentine, & Cooper, 2002). One account lists over 4500 organizations within the United States that use mentoring to promote youth wellbeing and reduce risk (Rhodes, 2002). Definitions of mentoring vary, but there are common elements. For the purpose of this review, mentoring was defined by the following 4 characteristics: 1) interaction between two individuals over an extended period of time, 2) inequality of experience, knowledge, or power between the mentor and mentee (recipient), with the mentor possessing the greater share, 3) the mentee is in a position to imitate and benefit from the knowledge, skill, ability, or experience of the mentor, 4) the absence of the role inequality that typifies other helping relationships and is marked by professional training, certification, or predetermined status differences such as parent‐child or teacher‐student relationships. A total of 39 topic and methodologically eligible studies were identified for inclusion in the meta‐analysis (out of 112 outcome reports) on delinquency, aggression, drug use, and academic achievement, which are each associated consistently with delinquency involvement or risk for such involvement. Objectives This systematic review had the following objectives: To statistically characterize the evidence to date on the effects of mentoring interventions (selective and indicated) for delinquency (e.g. arrest, reported delinquency), and related problems of aggression drug use, school failure. To attempt to clarify the variation in effects of mentoring related to program makeup and delivery, study methodology, and participant characteristics. To help define mentoring in a more systematic fashion than has occurred to date to, in turn, help clarify what constitutes mentoring and what might be key components for future research. To identify gaps in this research area and make recommendations for further research. To inform policy about the value of mentoring and the key features for utility. Search Strategy The authors of three meta‐analyses on mentoring or related topics (1) DuBois et al. (2002) on mentoring in general, 2) Lipsey and Wilson (1998) on delinquency interventions in general, and 3) Aos et al. (2004) on interventions for delinquency and associated social problems) were contacted for databases on reports and coding approaches. In addition, we searched various databases including PsychINFO, Criminal Justice Abstracts, Criminal Justice Periodicals Index, Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Science Citation Index (SCI), Applied Social Sciences Indexes and Abstracts (ASSIA), MEDLINE, Science Direct, Sociological Abstracts, Dissertation Abstracts, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness, and ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) and the Social, Psychological, Educational and Criminological Trials Register (SPECTR), the National Research Register (NRR, research in progress), and SIGLE (System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe). Finally, the reference lists of primary studies and reviews in studies identified from the search of electronic resources were scanned for any not‐yet identified studies that were relevant to the systematic review. Selection Criteria Studies that focused on youth who were at risk for juvenile delinquency or who were currently involved in delinquent behavior. Risk is defined as the presence of individual or ecological characteristics that increase the probability of delinquency in later adolescence or adulthood. We included interventions focusing on prevention for those at‐risk (selective interventions) and treatment (indicated interventions) that included mentoring as the intervention or one component of the intervention and at least measured impact of the program. We excluded studies in which the intervention was explicitly psychotherapeutic, behavior modification, or cognitive behavioral training and indicated provision of helping services as part of a professional role. We required studies to measure at least one quantitative effect on one of the four outcomes (delinquency, aggression, substance use, academic achievement) in a comparison of mentoring to a control condition. Experimental and high quality quasi‐experimental designs were included. The review was limited to studies conducted within the United States or another predominately English‐speaking country and reported in English and to studies reported between 1970 and 2005. Data collection and Analysis All eligible studies were coded using a protocol derived from three related prior meta‐analyses, with 20% double‐coded. The intervention effect for each outcome was standardized using well established methods to calculate an effects size with 95% confidence intervals for each of the four outcomes (if included in that study): delinquency, aggression, drug use and academic achievement. Meta‐analyses were then conducted for each independent study within a given outcome (delinquency, aggression, drug use, and academic achievement). Effect sizes for each study were scaled so that a positive effect indicated a desirable outcome (i.e., lower delinquency, drug use, and aggression or higher academic achievement). Main Results 112 studies were identified as meeting inclusion criteria as focused on delinquency and mentoring. Of these, 39 met the additional criteria for inclusion in the quantitative analyses. 22 were randomized controlled trials and 17 were quasi‐experimental studies involving non‐random assignment, but with matched comparison groups as was described above. Twenty studies reported delinquency outcomes, 19 reported academic achievement outcomes, 6 reported drug use outcomes, and 6 reported aggression outcomes. Main effects sizes were positive and statistically significant for all four outcomes, though some studied showed zero or negative effects. Significant variation across studies was also present. For delinquency substantial heterogeneity was found among studies’ results ( Q (19) = 71.2, p < .01 ; Range: SMD = ‐0.18 to SMD = 1.73) and the mean effect size using random effects calculation was SMD = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.11 – 0.36. For aggression some heterogeneity was found among studies’ results ( Q (19) = 9.78, p < .10; SMD = ‐0.05 to SMD = 0.95) and the mean effect size using random effects calculation was SMD = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.06 – 0.74. For drug use heterogeneity was substantial ( Q (5) = 18.5, p < .01; SMD = ‐0.13 to SMD = 0.34). The mean effect size using random effects calculation was SMD = 0.13, 95% CI = ‐0.02 – 0.28. Academic achievement results did not show evidence of heterogeneity ( Q (19) = 25.4, ns; SMD = ‐0.21 to SMD = 0.63), and the weighted random effects estimate of effect size was SMD = 0.08, 95% CI = 0.01 – 0.15. We compared effect sizes of those studies that were random assignment experimental designs with those that were quasi‐experimental and found RCTS had a larger average effect size. We conducted moderator analyses to attempt to determine whether effects differed according to the criteria for selecting participants, key processes of mentoring interventions, presence of other interventions in the study, motivations of mentors, or assessment of quality or fidelity of the intervention. To do so we combined effects across outcomes to provide adequate power for valid analyses and because analyses to check for bias in effects due to outcome suggested no such effect. The analyses were limited due to the relatively limited information about these characteristics extractable from many reports and perhaps may have some limitation in direct application due to this combining of outcomes. We found evidence for moderation when professional development was a motive for becoming a mentor and when emotional support was emphasized within the intervention. Effect sizes did not differ by whether or not other components were used, how risk was identified (environmental versus individual characteristics) or if fidelity adherence and implementation features were assessed. Reviewers’ Conclusions This analysis of 39 studies on four outcomes measuring delinquency or closely related outcomes suggests mentoring for high‐risk youth has a modest positive effect for delinquency, aggression, drug use, and achievement. However, the effect sizes varied by outcome with larger effects for delinquency and aggression than for drug use and achievement. Also, effect sizes varied more for delinquency and aggression than for drug use or academic achievement. We also identified some characteristics that moderated effects that provide some additional understanding for further studies and program preference. RCTS had larger effect sizes than quasi‐experimental studies. Effects tended to be stronger when emotional support was a key process in mentoring interventions, and when professional development was an explicit motive for participation of the mentors. While these findings support viewing mentoring as a useful approach for intervention to lessen delinquency risk or involvement, due to limited description of content of mentoring programs and substantial variation in what is included as part of mentoring efforts detracts from that view. The valuable features and most promising approaches can not be stated with any certainty. In fact, there is a remarkable lack of description of key features or basic program organization that is typically provided in empirical reports of effects with not much increase in quality of reports over the time period studied here. Given the popularity of this approach, the promise of benefits should be seen as a strong argument for a concerted effort through quality randomized trials to specify the theoretical and practical components for effective mentoring with high‐risk youth. Concordantly, lacking such features, further trials may not add useful knowledge.
Article
A survey of 1,860 15-year-olds from across the United States found that mentees’ perceived positive regard from caring adults was associated with a range of personal, school, and civic outcomes. A structural equation modeling analysis found that for youth who have a mentor or other caring adults that they feel gets them, this perceived positive regard was positively related to youth’s sense of purpose and effort in school, which are related to higher grades and civic engagement. A person-centered approach found associations between feeling ‘gotten’ by a caring adult and higher academic and civic engagement. Results also demonstrate potential negative effects for youth who perceived low positive regard from an adult. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
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We used meta‐analysis to review 55 evaluations of the effects of mentoring programs on youth. Overall, findings provide evidence of only a modest or small benefit of program participation for the average youth. Program effects are enhanced significantly, however, when greater numbers of both theory‐based and empirically based “best practices” are utilized and when strong relationships are formed between mentors and youth. Youth from backgrounds of environmental risk and disadvantage appear most likely to benefit from participation in mentoring programs. Outcomes for youth at‐risk due to personal vulnerabilities have varied substantially in relation to program characteristics, with a noteworthy potential evident for poorly implemented programs to actually have an adverse effect on such youth. Recommendations include greater adherence to guidelines for the design and implementation of effective mentoring programs as well as more in‐depth assessment of relationship and contextual factors in the evaluation of programs.
Article
Like many youth development programs, most youth mentoring programs do not have prescribed practices that target specific outcomes. Because the construct of mentoring represents a broad range of potential activities, researchers face a conundrum when making generalizable causal inferences about the effects of this and similar services. On the one hand, researchers cannot make valid experimental inferences if they do not describe what they manipulate. On the other hand, experiments that include prescribed protocols do not generalize to most mentoring programs. In most cases, researchers conducting school-based mentoring program evaluations err on the side of not sufficiently specifying treatment constructs, which limits the field’s ability to make practically or theoretically useful inferences about this service. We discuss this reality in light of the fundamental logic of the experimental design and suggest several possible solutions to this conundrum. Our goal is to empower researchers to adequately specify treatments while still preserving the treatment construct validity of this and similar interventions.
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Mentoring has been shown to have a small to moderate effect on youth outcomes; however, implementation of research-based practices improves program efficacy. Benchmark program practices and Standards in the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring (MENTOR, 2009) were assessed in the current study as predictors of match longevity. Secondary data analyses were conducted on a national agency information management database from 45 Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies and 29,708 matches from across the U.S. Agency leaders completed a web-based survey describing their policies, procedures, and practices. Results revealed that the only individual Standard that was predictive of match length was the Training Standard. In addition, the sum total of both Benchmark program practices and Standards were associated with match length and long-term relationships; however, neither predicted premature match closure. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of implementation of evidence-based practices, particularly mentor training, for achieving effective mentoring outcomes.
Article
Youth mentoring relationships have significant potential for promoting positive youth development. Nonetheless, the benefits derived from such relationships depend considerably on the length and quality of the bonds that are created between mentors and youth. Although some attention has been paid to youth’s experience of relationship quality, few studies have focused on mentors’ experience of relationship quality. In the context of a national sample of mentor and youth dyads in Big Brothers Big Sisters community-based mentoring programs (N = 5,222), the current study validated a new mentor-reported measure of relationship quality, explored associations between mentor and youth assessments of relationship quality, and investigated the capacity of early assessments of relationship quality to predict mentoring relationship duration. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
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This article examines the adequacy of the “rules of thumb” conventional cutoff criteria and several new alternatives for various fit indexes used to evaluate model fit in practice. Using a 2‐index presentation strategy, which includes using the maximum likelihood (ML)‐based standardized root mean squared residual (SRMR) and supplementing it with either Tucker‐Lewis Index (TLI), Bollen's (1989) Fit Index (BL89), Relative Noncentrality Index (RNI), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Gamma Hat, McDonald's Centrality Index (Mc), or root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA), various combinations of cutoff values from selected ranges of cutoff criteria for the ML‐based SRMR and a given supplemental fit index were used to calculate rejection rates for various types of true‐population and misspecified models; that is, models with misspecified factor covariance(s) and models with misspecified factor loading(s). The results suggest that, for the ML method, a cutoff value close to .95 for TLI, BL89, CFI, RNI, and Gamma Hat; a cutoff value close to .90 for Mc; a cutoff value close to .08 for SRMR; and a cutoff value close to .06 for RMSEA are needed before we can conclude that there is a relatively good fit between the hypothesized model and the observed data. Furthermore, the 2‐index presentation strategy is required to reject reasonable proportions of various types of true‐population and misspecified models. Finally, using the proposed cutoff criteria, the ML‐based TLI, Mc, and RMSEA tend to overreject true‐population models at small sample size and thus are less preferable when sample size is small.
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4 types of after-school care (formal after-school programs, mother care, informal adult supervision, and self-care) were examined for 216 low-income children (M age = 9.1 years). After-school care was associated with maternal education, race, and family income but not with child gender, family marital status', neighborhood safety, or parenting style. When maternal education, race, and family income were controlled, attending a formal after-school program was associated with better academic achievement and social adjustment in comparison to other types of after-school care. Children's activities and experiences also varied in different after-school settings. Children in formal programs spent more time in academic activities and enrichment lessons and less time watching TV and playing outside unsupervised than other children. They also spent more time doing activities with peers and adults and less time with siblings than did other children. The time that children spent in these activities was correlated with their academic and conduct grades, peer relations, and emotional adjustment.
Article
Self-Determination Theory specifies the existence of three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The current set of studies (a) provides a narrative review of past research on the Basic Needs Satisfaction in General Scale, (b) examines its dimensionality which has been assumed but not empirically studied, and (c) gathers external validity evidence. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the existence of a one- and a three-factor solution; neither model fit the data. After patterns of misfit were examined across three independent samples, a reduced, 16-item three-factor model with a negative-worded method effect was championed. External validity evidence, collected by examining the differential relationships between the three needs and measures of well-being and worry, supported the distinctiveness of the three needs. Although the results are promising, future research is needed to examine the generalizability of the psychometric properties of the modified scale.
Article
Mentoring programs pose some special challenges for quality assessment because they operate at two levels: that of the dyadic relationship and that of the program. Fully assessing the quality of youth mentoring relationships requires understanding the characteristics and processes of individual relationships, which are the point of service for mentoring. Yet we also must consider the program components that support their development. A number of factors have been indicated to contribute to quality mentoring relationships, including frequency and consistency of contact, feelings of connection between mentor and protégé, and the mentor's approach. Program features linked with quality relationships include mentor screening and training and expectations for frequency of contact. Assessing the quality of the relationship directly requires measuring both the mentor's and protégé's perceptions of important dimensions of the relationship, such as goals, engagement, and closeness. Single-point-in-time surveys or interviews, using both validated measures and open-ended questions, may be used as tools for assessing individual relationships at the conclusion of programs. Short surveys, logs, and observations may be useful for periodic or ongoing assessment of quality for support and intervention purposes. Focus groups and surveys of mentors may also provide useful information for assessing program components needed to support the development and maintenance of high quality relationships. The benefits and drawbacks of each of these methods for assessing relational quality are discussed. Mentoring programs are provided with references for specific tools that may be used to assess relational quality.
Article
This paper presents a general statistical methodology for the analysis of multivariate categorical data involving agreement among more than two observers. Since these situations give rise to very large contingency tables in which most of the observed cell frequencies are zero, procedures based on indicator variables of the raw data for individual subjects are used to generate first-order margins and main diagonal sums from the conceptual multidimensional contingency table. From these quantities, estimates are generated to reflect the strength of an internal majority decision on each subject. Moreover, a subset of observers who demonstrate a high level of interobserver agreement can be identified by using pairwise agreement statistics between each observer and the internal majority standard opinion on each subject. These procedures are all illustrated within the context of a clinical diagnosis example involving seven pathologists.
Article
This study assessed the impact of school-based social competence training on skills, social adjustment, and self-reported substance use of 282 sixth and seventh graders. Training emphasized broad-based competence promotion in conjunction with domain-specific application to substance abuse prevention. The 20-session program comprised six units: stress management, self-esteem, problem solving, substances and health information, assertiveness, and social networks. Findings indicated positive training effects on Ss' skills in handling interpersonal problems and coping with anxiety. Teacher ratings revealed improvements in Ss' constructive conflict resolution with peers, impulse control, and popularity. Self-report ratings indicated gains in problem-solving efficacy. Results suggest some preventive impact on self-reported substance use intentions and excessive alcohol use. In general, the program was found to be beneficial for both inner-city and suburban students.
Benefits and costs of prevention and early intervention programs for youth
  • S Aos
  • R Lieb
  • J Mayfield
  • M Miller
  • A Pennucci
Aos, S., Lieb, R., Mayfield, J., Miller, M., & Pennucci, A. (2004). Benefits and costs of prevention and early intervention programs for youth. Olympia: Washington State Institute for Public Policy.
Handbook of youth mentoring
  • T. A. Cavell
  • L. C. Elledge
Analyzing structural equation models with missing data
  • Enders C. K.
Enders, C. K. (2006). Analyzing structural equation models with missing data. Structural Equation Modeling: A Second Course, 2, 493-519.