Entries by Jean Rhodes

All ears: Reasons to take a more targeted approach to mentoring

/in , , , /by

By Jean Rhodes For nearly a century, many mentoring programs have tasked their volunteers with building friendships by being genuinely responsive and engaging in shared activities. A study of nearly 2,000 mentors from thirty nationally representative youth mentoring programs operating across the United States, mentors were asked how they spent time with their mentees (Jarjoura […]

Mentoring and politics: Some resources and expert advice

/in /by

by Jean Rhodes Mentors are often instructed to avoid discussing politics.  But, in this political climate, is it even possible or advisable to avoid politics altogether? With the midterms, contested runoffs, and legal battles, and next presidential race saturating the media, many young people want to understand and engage in conversations with their mentors.  Mentoring […]

Cuteness overload: Why cuteness evokes empathic concern

/in /by

Steinnes et al., (2019). Too cute for words: Cuteness evokes the heartwarming emotion of Kama Muta. Fronteirs in Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00387 Cuteness overload: An overload of cuteness; when something or someone is so super cute that there is no word for it. Urban Dictionary, 2008 Cute attack: A sensational response incited by the witnessing of […]

What are you talking about?!: New study links conversation topics to outcomes in mentoring programs.

/in , , , , /by

By Jean Rhodes In their latest study (excerpted below), research Michael Lyons and his colleagues have taken an important step forward toward shedding light on the so-called “black box” of mentoring programs. As Lyons, the PI, recent told the Chronicle, “This study was led by one of our fantastic doc students, Noor Alwani (who is […]

It’s time to shed light on the “black box” of mentoring programs

/in , /by

By Jean Rhodes For the most part, the field of mentoring has not yet specified the precise conditions under which different approaches to mentoring “work.”  Psychologist, Patrick Tolan and his colleagues have argued that the mentoring field’s resistance to identifying, implementing, and adhering to standards, including specifying how program inputs relate to outcomes, stems from […]

When your grandmother is your mentor: New study reveals positive associations in young adults

/in , , /by

Editor’s note: Here’s an interesting study that I thought you might find interesting! The Mentoring Relationship with the Closest Grandparent and Identity Processes Among Emerging Adult Grandchildren in Poland: The Role of Perceived Grandparents’ Perspective Taking By Justyna Michałek-Kwiecień Published: 29 September 2022 Michałek-Kwiecień, J. The Mentoring Relationship with the Closest Grandparent and Identity Processes Among […]

Untapped potential: New paper argues for deploying mentors to address youth mental health crisis

/in , , /by

By Jean Rhodes Big Picture The demand for child mental health services vastly exceeds the supply. Fewer than half of young people who need services actually receive treatment, and this gap is expected to widen as rates of mental health problems continue to climb. Mentors can help, particularly if the field more fully embraces what […]

Fives Strategies to Help Children Grow in the Wake of a Crisis

/in /by

By Anya Kamenetz (excerpted from New York Times) During the pandemic, young people — especially, but not only, the most vulnerable — have experienced massive disruption. More than 200,000 American children, and counting, lost at least one parent to Covid. Young people in foster care, as well as those in juvenile detention centers, sometimes went an […]