Posts

What is the impact of social support through mentoring on youth?

Brady, B., Dolan, P., & Canavan, J. (2017). ‘He told me to calm down and all that’: A qualitative study of forms of social support in youth mentoring relationships. Child & Family Social Work,22(1), 266-274. Summarized by Ariel Ervin  Notes of Interest: The increased perception that young people facing adversity have limited access to supportive and […]

Profiles in Mentoring: A Conversation with Johanna Greeson on Natural Mentoring and Foster Care

Below is a profile of Professor Johanna Greeson. Johanna’s excellent new book will be out next month!  by Kate Powers Introduction: Johanna Greeson is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Policy & Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Greeson received her MSW from Bryn Mawr College in 1999, and then returned to […]

From “out of the park” mentoring relationships to consistent, evidence-based approaches

by Jean Rhodes For years, I was stubbornly convinced that formal mentoring programs should focus mostly on creating and maintaining deep, emotional bonds. I saw attempts to scale back on relationship length and strength, or to rely on curricula, as existential threats to the field–destined to reduce already modest effects. But, evaluations and meta-analyses of […]

What predicts mentor self-efficacy? Hint: it starts with “E”

summarized by Stella Kanchewa, Ph.D. Larose, S. (2014). Trajectories of mentors’ perceived self-efficacy during an academic mentoring experience: What they look like and what are their personal and experimental correlates? Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 21(2), 150-174, doi:10.1080/13611267.2013.813728. Problem: Previous studies have shown that mentor’s perceived self-efficacy (MPSE), defined as the “mentor’s level of […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

These connections are currency; some young people need our help to form them

By Stephanie Malia Krauss, youthtoday.org The other day I attended a diversity training at work. The facilitator talked about who and how we hire. She said something that really stuck with me: You get hired based on who you know; you get promoted based on who knows you. This is true in my own life. Since […]

New study on program staff’s perspectives on mentoring relationship quality

Dutton, H., Deane, K. L., & Bullen, P. (2018). Distal and experiential perspectives of relationship quality from mentors, mentees, and program staff in a school-based youth mentoring program. Children and Youth Services Review, 85, 53-62. doi:10.1016 /j.childyouth.2017.12.008 Summarized by Rachel Thompson Notes of Interest: This article suggested that on top of mentors and mentees, program staff can […]