Entries by Justin Preston

Mentors can spot mental health troubles in mentees

Zimmerman, M. A. (2010). Natural mentors, mental health, and risk behaviors: A longitudinal analysis of African American adolescents transitioning into adulthood. American Journal of Community Psychology, 46(1-2), 36-48. doi: 10.1007/s10464-010-9325-x Summarized by Jessica Cunningham Background: As adolescents grow into adults, they are faced with a number of difficult transitions when becoming more independent. Transition periods […]

New research tests impact of mentoring on school dropouts

Candil, D. M., & Gaza, M. (2017). A pilot Study of the impact of the Peraj mentoring program on school dropout risk of Mexican children. Journal of Community Psychology, 45(3), 315-332.DOI: 10.1002/jcop.21849 Summarized by Jelle de Graaf   Background: School dropout is a serious issue in Mexico; it affects hundreds of thousands of children and […]

Mentors push minority students to achieve even more – Tips for finding the right mentor

By Tori DeAngelis As an undergraduate at the University of California, Irvine, Jeanett Castellanos, PhD, was just glad she’d made it to college. Neither of her parents—both Cuban ­refugees—had graduated from high school, and they were exuberant about their daughter’s success. “I thought I would just get a BA. I didn’t think there was anything […]

New mentoring research identifies key factors predicting early match termination

Kupersmidt, J. B., Stump, K. N., Stelter, R. L., & Rhodes, J. E. (2017). Predictors of premature match closure in mentoring relationships. American Journal of Community Psychology, 59, 25-35. doi: 10.1002/ajcp.12124   Summarized by Jessica Cunningham   Introduction: Mentoring has been shown to have a modest but impactful effect on at-risk youth in terms of […]

Volunteering can be a multigenerational family affair

By Chris Farrell, Next Avenue Contributor  Fiftysomething Linda Meadows, a volunteer with the AmeriCorps Reading Partners program, is tutoring students at the library of Cherry Hill Elementary in south Baltimore, a low-income, mostly African-American neighborhood. “I like to encourage young people. They need to be told they can do it,” she says. For Meadows, Reading […]

How mentors can promote positive outcomes for gay young adults

Drevon, D. D., Almazan, E. P., Jacob, S., Rhymer, K. N. (2015). Impact of mentors during adolescence on outcomes among gay young adults. Journal of Homosexuality, 63(6), 821-837. doi: 10.1080/00918369.2015.1112583 Summarized by Jessica Cunningham   Introduction: LGBTQ adolescents are at a risk of a whole host of negative outcomes, including poor school achievement, risky health […]

How mentoring can bridge cultural divides

Prietro-Flores, Ò., Feu, J., & Casademont, X. (2016). Assessing intercultural competence as a result of internationalization at home efforts: A case study from the nightingale mentoring program. Journal of Studies in International Education, 20 (5), 437-453. DOI: 10.1177/1028315316662977   Summarized by Vera van den Berg   Dr. Oscar Prietro-Flores Background: With the world becoming increasingly […]