Entries by Laura Yoviene

Natural mentors can buffer the effects of racial discrimination on African American youth

  Editor’s Note: . This study suggests that both parents and mentors can play an important role in attenuating some of the negative effects and keeping young people focused on school.  Cooper, M. S., Brown, C., Metzger, I., Clinton, Y., & Guthrie, B., (2022). Racial discrimination and African American adolescent’s adjustment: Gender variation in family […]

Rejection Sensitivity: A Self-fulfilling Prophecy with important implications for mentoring

Downey, G., Freitas, A. L., Michaelis, B., & Khouri, H. (1998). The self-fulfilling prophecy in close relationships: Rejection sensitivity and rejection by romantic partners. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 545-560. Introduction: Research shows that people’s beliefs about their significant others (including expectations concerning rejection and acceptance) can influence the course of their relationships […]

An Interview with Dr. Michelle Munson

LY: As an expert on youth aging out of the child welfare system, what have you found to be the most important factors in youth making a “successful” transition into adulthood? MM: So many things go into making a “successful” transition to adulthood. We know that for all young people it takes a lot of […]

The importance of teacher-child relationships during elementary school

Maldonado-Carreno, C., & Votruba-Drzal, E. (2011). Teacher-child relationships and the development of academic and behavioral skills during elementary school: A within- and between-child analysis. Child Development, 82(2), 601-616. Introduction:  Teacher-child relationship quality in the early school years has been linked to child well-being in a variety of domains: peer relationships, behavior problems, classroom adjustment, and […]

Developing self-regulated learning skills with school-based mentoring

Nunez, J., Rosario, P., Vallejo, G., & Gonzalez-Pienda, J. A. (2013). A longitudinal assessment of the effectiveness of a school-based mentoring program in middle school. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 38, 11-21. Introduction: A growing number of studies have highlighted the need for middle school students to develop self-regulated learning (SRL) skills (i.e., OECD, 2010). Students who […]

Fostering Healthy Futures: A model intervention program for youth in foster-care

Taussig, H., Culhane, S., Garrido, E., & Knudtson, M. (2012). RCT of a mentoring and skills group program: Placement and permanency outcomes for foster youth. Pediatrics, 130 (1), e33-e39. Introduction: In 2009, over 400,000 children in the United States were living in foster care. The average age of foster youth is 9.6 years old. Unfortunately, […]

What is “attachment” and how does it relate to mentoring?

Introduction: The idea of attachment, an enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space (Ainsworth, 1973;Bowlby, 1969), has long been studied and related to various psychological outcomes. How do differences in attachment styles affect support-seeking and giving styles. Support-Seeking (Attachment behavior) Although, the attachment system is usually most apparent in infancy, […]

Therapists’ personal lives affect their helping relationships: Implications for mentoring

summarized by UMB doctoral student in clinical psychology Laura Yoviene Nissen-Lie, H., Havik, O., Hoglend, P., Monsen, J., & Ronnestad, M. (2017). The contribution of the quality of therapists’ personal lives to the development of the working alliance. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 60 (4), 483-495. Problem: Much research has pointed to the individual therapist as […]

The importance of attachment styles in both adolescents and professional caregivers

Zegers, M., Schuengel, C., van IJzendoorn, M., & Janssens, J. (2006). Attachment  representations of institutionalized adolescents and their professional caregivers:  Predicting the development of therapeutic relationships. American Journal of  Orthopsychiatry, 76 (3), 325-334.  Introduction: The quality of a therapeutic relationship has long been emphasized as one of the most  important predictors of positive change. Much […]