New study examines career mentoring for youth in juvenile justice system
Varghese, F. P., Bihm, E. M., Gibbons, C., Bull, C., Whitmire, J., Nolan, J., & Flores, L. T. (2024). Pilot study of career mentoring program for juveniles. Psychological Services, 21(1), 175-183.
Gainful employment begins with positive career development during adolescence, yet paradoxically, justice-involved youth who most need career guidance typically receive the least access to it. The authors developed their intervention by synthesizing best practices from correctional services, which emphasize community-based programming and social learning approaches, with proven career development strategies.
Methods and Program Structure
The researchers implemented a 9-week manual-based mentoring program delivered by university students to court-ordered juveniles. The study included 27 participants (17 males, 10 females) with a mean age of 15.04 years, randomly assigned to either the experimental mentoring group (n=16) or treatment-as-usual control group (n=11).
The program’s curriculum cleverly incorporated multiple evidence-based elements, including:
– A block-game for rapport building and values exploration
– Career interest assessment through card-sorting
– Occupational research using Bureau of Labor Statistics resources
– Problem-solving board games
– Video-based academic skill building
– Internet-based educational exploration
– Peer influence analysis
– Family work-history examination
– Job interview rehearsal
– Resume development
Results
The qualitative analysis revealed several significant findings. Mentored youth showed increased preference for professional careers (from 35% to 47.62%) while decreasing interest in “attention and spotlight” jobs (from 15% to 9.52%)[1]. Perhaps most notably, pro-social motivations for work doubled in the mentoring group (from 13.64% to 26.09%), while declining in the control group[1].
Discussion and Implications for Mentoring Programs
This study demonstrates that university student mentors can effectively guide court-ordered youth toward more realistic and pro-social career aspirations. The program’s success appears to stem from several key elements: age-appropriate mentors, structured career exploration activities, and relationship-building through interactive games. The cost-effective nature of using volunteer university students makes this model particularly attractive for widespread implementation.
The findings suggest several implications for future mentoring programs:
First, programs should incorporate structured career exploration alongside relationship building. Second, using mentors close in age to mentees appears to enhance rapport and model attainable success. Third, interactive elements like games and role-play activities increase engagement while delivering serious content.
Future research should examine long-term outcomes and potential implementation through technology-based platforms (like MentorPRO) to increase accessibility.
