Cultural Humility is Key: New Study Identifies Cultural Humility Profiles Predicting Outcomes

Anderson, A. J., Simpson, S. B., & Sánchez, B. (2024). Profiles in cultural humility: Examining differences in openness to training and match length among volunteer mentors. Children and Youth Services Review, 163, 107803.

Introduction

Cultural humility, defined as ongoing awareness, supportive interactions, and efforts to address social inequalities, is crucial in mentoring, especially in diverse social identity contexts. Anderson and colleagues (2024) examine the significant role of cultural humility in openness to training and the duration of their mentoring relationships.

Methods

Data from 99 volunteer mentors from primarily community-based matches was used. Mentors were 65% female and 89% White, with a mean age of 34-years-old. Mentors were serving predominantly youth of color and low-income youth, and approximately 78% of matches were cross-race matches.

Cultural humility assessed at baseline included scales on unawareness of racial privilege, self-efficacy to provide racial/ethnic support, empathic perspective taking. Mentors also reported on social justice commitment, which assessed their behavioral intentions for future social justice advocacy. Using these variables they created cultural humility profiles.

Cluster Analysis and Survival Analysis were utilized to examine whether cultural humility profiles predicted openness to training, including prior training experience, value of training, and employment in a helping profession, and match duration (which was calculated up to 24 months).

Results

Three distinct cultural humility profiles emerged from the cluster analysis:

1. High Cultural Humility (37 mentors):
   • Low unawareness of racial privilege.
   • High self-efficacy to provide racial/ethnic support.
   • High empathic perspective-taking.
   • High social justice commitment.
2. Emerging Cultural Humility (32 mentors):
   • Low unawareness of racial privilege.
   • Low self-efficacy.
   • Average social justice commitment.
3. Low Cultural Humility (30 mentors):
   • Higher unawareness of racial privilege.
   • High self-efficacy.
   • Average empathic perspective-taking.
   • Low social justice commitment.

High Cultural Humility: Reported more prior training experiences and higher perceived value in future training.

Emerging Cultural Humility: Had intermediate levels of training and value.

High and Emerging Cultural Humility profiles also reported longer match lengths (22.3 and 22.4 months, respectively).

Low Cultural Humility: Reported the least training and perceived value, and shorter match lengths (20.2 months).

Discussion

The study underscores the importance of cultural humility in mentoring relationships. Mentors with higher cultural humility exhibit more openness to training and maintain longer mentoring relationships.

The findings suggest that addressing cultural humility through continuous, integrated training and support can foster more effective and lasting mentoring relationships.

Implications for Mentors

This has significant implications for mentoring programs:

• Training programs will want to integrate specific training for mentors on skills to build cultural humility in practice. These trainings may be best implemented continuously throughout the mentoring program to foster continued learning.
• Utilize individual and group supervision to discuss cultural humility and enhance ongoing training.

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