Entries by Justin Preston

Research applies sociological concepts to mentoring programs

Stanton-Salazar, R. (2016). Contributions of social capital theory and social network models in advancing the connection between students’ school-based learning and community-based opportunities for pursuing interest-driven learning. Paper presented at Power Brokers: Building Youth Social Capital through Connected Learning. University of California, Irvine.   Summarized by Justin Preston In a paper presented in the Fall […]

Respect for adults versus peers: Implications for working with at-risk youth

Clemans, K.H., Graber J. A., & Bettencourt, A. (2012). Adult-Directed and Peer-Directed Respect for Authority: Relationships With Aggressive and Manipulative Behavior. Journal of Research on Adolescents, 480-486. This study aimed to investigate the association between manipulative and aggressive behaviors and peer-directed and adult-directed disrespect. Method: The study used a quantitative approach to investigate a sample of young adults  […]

Study Finds Positive Physical and Mental Health Outcomes for Mentored Foster Care Youth

Ahrens, K. R., DuBois, D. L., Richardson, L. P., Fan, M. Y., & Lozano, P. (2008). Youth in foster care with adult mentors during adolescence have improved adult outcomes. Pediatrics, 121(2), e246-e252. Summarized by Elyssa Weber, UMB clinical psychology doctoral student Introduction: Young adults in foster care are more likely to have poorer physical and […]

Advice for Men Who Are Nervous About Mentoring Women

By Wendy Murphy, From Harvard Business Review Many senior male managers are reportedly responding to the #MeToo movement with a better-safe-than-sorry attitude and are pulling back from mentoring women. This backlash has little basis in reality. False accusations of sexual harassment are about 2%, the same as any other crime. Aside from being biased, this reaction is also […]

A funder’s guide to identifying high quality mentoring programs: From indicators to red flags

Editor’s Note:  Through a series of posts, we present, “Making the Most of Youth Mentoring: A Guide for Funders”  In this post, Dr. Carla Herrera surveys different approaches to mentoring, highlighting the positive indicators and red flags Original Publisher(s): Public/Private Ventures. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License, with permission from the Foundation Center). […]

Presence of natural mentors and vigilant parents leads to more positive outcomes for Black youth

Hurd, N., Varner, F., & Rowley, S. (2013). Involved-vigilant parenting and socio-emotional well-being among Black youth: The moderating influence of natural mentoring relationships. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(10), 1583-1595. Doi: 10.1007/s10964-012-9819-y Summarized by Jessica Cunningham Background: Previous research on Black youth has often operated on a deficits or challenges based approach, which has the […]

Research identifies key program features to support success for youth with disabilities

Lindsay, S., Hartman, L. R., & Fellin, M. (2016). A systematic review of mentorship programs to facilitate transition to post-secondary education and employment for youth and young adults with disabilities. Disability & Rehabilitation, 38(14), 1329-1340. Summarized by Jessica Cunningham Background: Youth with disabilities encounter barriers when attempting to gain access to higher education and the […]

Study highlights mentoring in the context of Latino youth’s broader village during their transition from high school

Sánchez, Esparza, Berardi & Pryce (2011). Mentoring in the context of Latino youth’s broader village during their transition from high school. Youth and Society, 43(1), 225-252. (Summarized by UMB graduate student Stella Kanchewa) This study highlights the benefits of having supportive figures, or natural mentors, particularly at major transitions in youths’ lives. The mostly Latino […]

MENTOR releases new report entitled “The Power of Relationships”

Written by Justin Preston MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership has just released its latest report, “The Power of Relationships: How and Why American Adults Step Up to Mentor the Nation’s Youth”. The report is considered to be “the most comprehensive picture of what adults think about mentoring kids who are not their own” according to […]

Paying it forward as a mentor

by Balkees Abderrahman Science  03 Aug 2018: Vol. 361, Issue 6401, pp. 522 DOI: 10.1126/science.361.6401.522 The undergrad joining the lab where I worked as a research fellow certainly knew how to make a first impression. “I looked up your work—cool stuff!” he said when we first met. “Fancy working with the best? That’s me, of course!” […]