The five most popular Chronicle posts of 2025
by Jean Rhodes
This year has been shaped by a mix of profound challenges and meaningful progress. Cruel and capricious federal policies under the Trump administration, painful geopolitical events, rising mental health struggles among adolescents, and rapid advances in AI technology have created a landscape marked by uncertainty and strain. At the same time, these conditions have underscored the vital importance of connection, care, and evidence-based support. Throughout the year, the Chronicle of Evidence-Based Mentoring has engaged these issues through the lens of mentoring, offering commentary, profiles, and summaries of peer-reviewed research. We remain deeply committed to advancing the science of mentoring and to closing the gap between research and practice. Now more than ever, my team and I believe that inclusive, evidence-based approaches are essential, and we will continue to highlight the inspiring work of researchers and practitioners who are doing all they can to ensure that young people have the supportive relationships they need to navigate this period of pain and uncertainty.
We are deeply grateful to our readers, including our more than 15,000 subscribers, for your continued engagement with the Chronicle. We know your attention is pulled in countless directions, and it means a great deal that you choose to spend some of it with us. On a personal note, 2025 was also a momentous year for my family. My husband, Dane, and I celebrated 35 years of marriage, and both our daughter and our oldest son were married. With that spirit of reflection and appreciation, here are five of the most frequently viewed posts of 2025, in case you missed them.
1. A Groundbreaking New Evaluation of Big Brothers Big Sisters
- The Findings: This article discusses a rigorous four-year randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) community-based mentoring program. The study found that while the program remains a gold standard for building strong relationships, its impact on long-term academic and behavioral outcomes varies. It underscores the critical importance of match length and the specific “ingredients” of the mentor-mentee interaction in driving life-changing results.
2. Mentoring as Mutual Growth: New Study Highlights Benefits for Adult Mentors
- The Findings: Traditionally, research focuses on the mentee, but this study shifts the lens to the mentors themselves. The researchers found that supporting youth significantly cultivates hope, purpose, and well-being in adults. Key findings include how identity-affirming connections help mentors combat burnout and find deeper meaning in their own lives, proving that mentoring is a powerful bidirectional relationship.
3. New Research Reveals the Hidden Ingredients for Successful Workplace Mentors
- The Findings: Analyzing 240 coach-client dyads, this research identifies five key traits that separate exceptional workplace mentors from average ones: competence, commitment, interpersonal skills, a pro-social orientation, and a developmental mindset. Notably, the study found that a mentor’s emotional intelligence and empathy are far better predictors of a mentee’s success than the mentor’s general cognitive ability.
4. Untangling Outcomes of Mentoring Initiatives for At-Risk Youth
- The Findings: This review critiques the traditional “at-risk” label and suggests that programs should move toward a “strengths-based” approach. The study found that mentoring significantly reduces delinquent behaviors and improves mental health, but these effects are most durable when youth have agency in selecting their mentors and when the program addresses broader systemic inequities rather than just individual resilience.
5. New Study Explores AI and Empathy in Caring Relationships
- The Findings: As mentoring enters the digital age, this article examines whether AI can replicate human empathy. The research concludes that while AI can simulate “cognitive empathy” (understanding emotions via data), it lacks “compassionate empathy”—the authentic emotional resonance that makes human mentoring so transformative. It warns that while AI can bridge gaps in accessibility, it cannot replace the irreplaceable value of a genuine human connection.
A special thanks to the Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring’s amazing Mia Lamont, Megyn Jasman, Ramya Ramadurai, Emily Buss, and Allison Neumeyer for their hard work on the Chronicle this past year. Here’s to a happy and healthy 2026!
