Posts

The revolving door: Study explores ways to prevent volunteer burnout and attrition

Allen, J.A., & Mueller, S.L. (2018). The revolving door: A closer look at major factors in volunteers’ intention to quit. Journal of Community Psychology, 41(2), 139-155. Introduction: Volunteers provide an invaluable service to non-profit organizations and communities. Unfortunately, perhaps because of the voluntary nature of the role, there is a lot of turnover among volunteers. […]

What are the keys to successful mentoring? Study has some answers

by Jean Rhodes and Elizabeth Raposa In an article in the American Journal of Community Psychology we reported on some interesting findings that have direct implications for mentoring programs. The study was entitled, the Impact of Youth Risk on Mentoring Relationship Quality: Do Mentor Characteristics Matter?- and the short answer is yes! But let’s step back […]

Transition to adulthood for youth leaving care can be made smoother, safer

By Lisa Schelbe, Youth Today Avid cyclists understand if anyone spends enough time riding a bicycle, they will crash at some point. Crashes are more likely for someone who is learning to ride. Hopefully, it is not a dramatic flip over the handlebars in the midst of a crowded street after a car smashes into […]

Senior volunteers ward off brain ‘shrinkage’

By Stephanie Desmon The memory center in the brains of seniors who volunteered in public schools for two years maintained their size, rather than shrinking as part of the normal aging process, report researchers. The findings suggest that retirees who take part in meaningful social activity can prevent shrinkage in their brains’ memory centers and avert age-related […]

Important study of mentoring for higher-risk youth

Mentoring Experiences and Outcomes for Youth with Varying Risk Profiles by Carla Herrera, David L. DuBois, Jean Baldwin Grossman reprinted from MDRC More and more, mentoring programs are being asked to serve young people who are considered “higher risk.” While mentoring has a strong research base generally, relatively little is known about mentoring programs’ capacities to […]

NMRC reviewed the effectiveness of mentoring programs

Reposting from National Mentoring Resource Center One of the main activities of the National Mentoring Resource Center Research Board is to review the research about rigorously evaluated mentoring programs to rate their currently demonstrated level of effectiveness. Program reviews are conducted using the standards and protocols of CrimeSolutions.gov, a resource developed by the Office of Justice Programs. Following a systematic review of […]

What’s new in Public Policy? September, 2018

By Janet Forbush, Contributing Editor Background:  The Labor Day holiday week-end is in the “rearview mirror” as we enter the first full week of September 2018.  With the beginning of a new school year throughout the country; resumption of key Congressional policy discussions on Capitol Hill with implications for funding that can influence support for […]

A conversation with Whitney Mastin: YIM at the programmatic level

Youth Initiated Mentoring, part 2: Promise and challenges in implementing YIM at the programmatic level By Justin Preston Welcome to the second of the Chronicle’s two-part series on Youth Initiated Mentoring (YIM). In part one, we spoke with Professor Sarah Schwartz, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Suffolk University, about the Connected Scholars program. The Connected […]

Study Highlights the Importance of Mentor Attunement

Pryce, J. (2013). Mentor attunement: An approach to Successful School-based Mentoring Relationships. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 29, 285–305  Background In this study, Julia Pryce, Professor of Social Work at Loyola University, notes that successful mentoring “requires an exceptional level of effort and commitment” and that many youth mentoring relationships fall short. The strongest […]

Facing challenges, mentees can develop strengths too!

Posted by University of Arizona Children who grow up in high-stress environments may be at higher risk for learning or behavioral trouble, but new research suggests that their skills warrant more attention. Stress-adapted youth may possess traits—such as heightened vigilance, attention shifting, and empathic accuracy—that traditional learning and testing situations don’t tap into. These skills […]