A strong signal in a noisy world: Implications of a remarkably consistent finding in mentoring research
Jean Rhodes
Study after study has shown that mentees experience more benefits when they are paired with mentors who had experience in helping roles (e.g., teachers, counselors, or social workers) as opposed to mentors with no such experience. In a large study, researchers a mentor’s helping background was a significant moderator of program effects, improving outcomes in conflict management, help-seeking, and problem-solving, as well as affect, emotional symptoms, and conduct problems (Jarjoura, Tanyu, Janet Forbush, Herrera, & Keller, 2018).
Two comprehensive meta-analyses, conducted in nearly 20 years apart drew similar conclusions, finding that programs that included a higher percentage of me tors with helping backgrounds produced relatively stronger effects. Similarly, mentoring programs delivered by teachers have shown the highest return on investment. Finally, a 2016 study found that volunteer mentors with previous involvement with youth in their communities were more successful than those with no involvement in working with children and adolescents from high-stress backgrounds.38 Although these various studies were not designed to pinpoint the specific practices of subgroups, and the factors underlying helping professionals’ relative advantages remain unclear, the findings seem to converge.
Here’s a sampling of these effects reported in meta-analyses, dating back more than 15 years:
DuBois et al. (2002). “Utilization of mentors with a background in a helping role or profession (e.g., teacher), however, was a significant moderator of effect size …Evaluations of programs that used these types of mentors reported larger effect sizes (d = .26) than those for which utilization of such mentors was not indicated (d = .09).”
DuBois et al. (2011) “Stronger effects were found when there was “a relatively strong fit between mentor educational/occupational backgrounds and program goals.”
Van Dam et al. (2018) “The percentage of mentors with a helping profession background significantly moderated the relation between the presence of a natural mentor and youth outcomes… (e.g., teacher, guidance counselor, minister/priest/rabbi, religious leader, doctor/ therapist), which may reflect the particular salience of caring teachers or guidance counselors in educational and community settings.”
Raposa et al. (2019) “Consistent with previous studies, programs with a greater percentage of mentors who worked in helping professions showed larger effect sizes for youth outcomes.
Fortunately, many volunteer mentors actually have helping backgrounds. Jarjoura et al. (2018) noted that a third of the volunteers in their evaluation report “having a job or role for 10 or more hours a week in a “helping profession,” in which they helped others directly (e.g., tutoring, nursing, counseling, teaching, coaching).” Such findings should not be taken to suggest that only those with specialized experience or helping backgrounds can be effective mentoring. Indeed, programs that provide volunteers with in-depth training have produced laudable effects (e.g., McQuillan et al., 2017). But the findings highlight the benefits of recruiting volunteers from helping pools and the importance of evidence-based training to increase mentors’ exposure to typical problems and confidence in their ability to work effectively with youth.
Of course, these findings and recommendations do not suggest that only those with relevant experience or helping backgrounds can be effective mentors. In fact, programs that provide volunteers with sufficient training have produced laudable effects. But they do point to the merits of considering mentors’ experiences and professional background alongside other relevant variables (e.g., geographical proximity, race, and interests), which are often taken into consideration when making matches. Just as the broader field of mental health moves toward a stepped-care model, the mentoring field should consider mentor experience and expertise on a continuum, reserving more seasoned volunteers for youth who need them most.
