Does the experience of mentoring youth affect mentors’ mental health and wellbeing?

Maples, A. E., Weiler, L. M., Moran, M. J., Miller-Chagnon, R., LeBouef, S., Zimmerman, T., & Haddock, S. A. (2026). Does the experience of mentoring youth affect mentors’ mental health and wellbeing? American Journal of Community Psychology, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.70062

Introduction

College students face considerable mental health challenges under ordinary circumstances: over 90% report average or above-average academic stress, and anxiety and depression are the most frequently diagnosed conditions in this population (American College Health Association, 2020). During the COVID-19 pandemic, those challenges intensified. Yet, an emerging body of scholarship suggests that structured, relational service-learning experiences may buffer students against psychological strain. Maples and colleagues (2026) set out to test whether college students serving as youth mentors through a service-learning course demonstrated measurably better mental health and wellbeing than peers who did not, examining outcomes during one of the most stressful periods in recent memory.

Methods

Using a quasi-experimental pre-post design with propensity score matching, the study enrolled 548 undergraduate students at a large public university in the western United States across three semesters. Of these, 112 were enrolled in Campus Connections, a 15-week service-learning course pairing college student mentors with youth ages 11–18 exposed to adversity. The remaining 436 served as the comparison group. Program delivery was conducted entirely online due to COVID-19 restrictions. Propensity score matching on age, gender, race, and socioeconomic status created 112 matched pairs. Outcomes included depression, anxiety, flourishing, gratitude, self-compassion, and five EPOCH wellbeing subscales.

Results

The central finding is clear: participating as a youth mentor was associated with significantly greater increases in flourishing (B = 0.25, p = .004, d = 0.38) and self-compassion (B = 0.12, p = .03, d = 0.30) compared to matched peers. No significant effects were found for depression, anxiety, gratitude, or any EPOCH wellbeing subscale. The takeaway: relational, purpose-driven service-learning may support specific dimensions of college student wellbeing even when broader mental health improvement is constrained by external stressors like a global pandemic.

Discussion

The authors situate these findings within Fredrickson’s (2001, 2004) broaden-and-build theory, arguing that positive relational experiences may initiate a cycle of widening engagement and growing psychological resources. The gains in self-compassion are particularly notable; exposure to youth adversity may cultivate a deeper recognition of shared humanity, a core component of self-compassion (Neff, 2023). The absence of effects on anxiety and depression is interpreted cautiously, as pandemic stressors likely created a ceiling that the intervention could not overcome.

Implications for Mentoring Programs

These findings argue for intentional investment in relational, community-connected service-learning as a component of college student support. Programs that pair students with youth, especially those navigating adversity, appear to cultivate not just civic skills but genuine psychological growth in the mentors themselves. For mentoring program administrators and higher education practitioners, the implication is direct: structured mentoring experiences should be treated as a legitimate wellbeing intervention, not merely an extracurricular supplement. Embedding reflective practice, peer processing, and faculty support likely amplifies these effects.

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