Posts

Mentors give a lift to a student’s five C’s

Erdem, G., DuBois, D. L., Larose, S., Wit, D., & Lipman, E. L. (2016). Mentoring relationships, positive development, youth emotional and behavioral problems: Investigation of a mediational model. Journal of Community Psychology, 44(4), 464-483. Summarized by Matthew Hagler Introduction Transition into adolescence brings increased risk for a range of mental health and behavioral problems, ranging from anxiety […]

Boosting the grade for school-based mentoring: Training and focus are key

Written by Marisa Ramirez Mentoring programs for school-aged children have grown in the past two decades, but their effectiveness has not kept pace with their popularity. A study from the University of Houston College of Education finds school-based mentoring programs fail because they lack sufficient time, mentor training and a research foundation. “While community-based mentoring […]

Research identifies three keys to enhancing mentoring relationships

Futch Ehrlich, V. A., Deutsch, N. L., Fox, C. V., Johnson, H. E., & Varga, S. M. (2016). Leveraging relational assets for adolescent development: A qualitative investigation of youth–adult “connection” in positive youth development. Qualitative Psychology, 3(1), 59.   Summarized by Rachel Rubin   Introduction: Research has documented the many positive impacts of youth-adult relationships. However, little […]

Want to get the most from a college internship? Add a mentor.

David Orenstein, Brown University College students who do summer research often say it was time well spent, but a new study offers hard data on exactly which components and experiences proved valuable and how. The study involved 450 participants in the Summer Research Early Identification Program of The Leadership Alliance, a national partnership among universities […]

More than just shared interests: New study highlights the importance of engaged listening for mentor-mentee connection

Larsson, M., Pettersson, C., Skoog, T., & Eriksson, C. (2016). Enabling relationship formation,development, and closure in a one-year female mentoring program at a non-governmental organization: A mixed methods study. BMC Public Health, 16, 1-14. Doi: 10.1186/s12889-016-2850-2 Summarized by Jessica Cunningham   Background: Mental illness rates among young women aged 16-24 have increased significantly in the […]

Teens get them talking: The results of an evaluation of the Teens and Toddlers program

Humphrey, K. & Olivier, A. (2014). Investigating the impact of teenage mentors on pre-school children’s development: A comparison using control groups. Children and Youth Services Review, 44, 20-24. Summarized by Jessica Cunningham     Background: Research has shown that engaging in play is one of the most important skills for toddlers to learn, as most […]

Promising findings from youth-led, trauma-informed intervention

Harden, T., Kenemore, T., Mann, K., Edwards, M., List, C. & Martinson, K.J. (2015). The Truth N’ Trauma Project: Addressing community violence through a youth-led, trauma-informed and restorative framework. Journal of Child and Adolescent Social Work, 32, 65-79. DOI: 10.1007/s10560-014-0366-0 Summarized by Justin Preston   Introduction Chicago has experienced one of the country’s highest violent […]

The Next Generation of Evidence-Based Policy

By Vivian Tseng When we began this blog series, we posited that evidence-based policymaking was at a crossroads. In the past six months—despite rancorous partisan debates and a fierce presidential primary season—Congress surprised everyone and passed the long overdue re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, with strong support from both parties. The Every […]

How a large program in India thinks about mentee risk

Written by Justin Preston   An organization providing one-to-one mentoring support to over 1,300 at-risk and underserved Indian youth and young adults, Mentor Together has years of experience working in five cities across India and online. Their efforts are aimed at providing empowering relationships to help adolescents and young adults achieve their goals and aspirations. […]

Brief Mentoring, Big Effects: Evaluation of a Short-Term, School-Based Mentoring Intervention

McQuillin, S., Strait, G., Bradley, S., & Ingram A. (2015). Brief instrumental school-based mentoring for first- and second- year middle school students: A randomized evaluation. Journal of Community Psychology, 43(7), 885-899. Summarized by Jessica Cunningham   Introduction School-based mentoring programs are one of the fastest growing types of mentoring programs across the United States, but […]