Research Brief: Mentoring: A Promising Strategy for Youth Development

Research Brief: Mentoring:  A Promising Strategy for Youth Development

(Susan Jekielek, Kristin A. Moore, Elizabeth Hair, Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, Child Trends, January 2002)

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Summary:

This is a 8-page summary of the report, Mentoring Programs and Youth Development: A Synthesis. The report examines the role that mentoring plays in helping youth to develop a broad array of strengths and capacities in education, health and safety, and social and emotional well-being.  This report also evaluates various mentoring programs on the impact of program participation on youth outcomes.

Why does FASTEN recommend this resource?

The study on which this research brief reports reviewed examinations of ten youth mentoring programs in the U.S., to determine whether youth who participate in such programs are better off than those who do not. It concluded that “mentoring programs can be effective tools for enhancing the positive development of youth.” Kids in mentoring programs tended to have fewer absences from school and reported less alcohol and drug use and better relationships with their parents. Practitioners operating mentoring programs may find it useful to reference these studies in their grant-seeking applications and/or to review the best practices noted in the studies and measure their own programs against these effective practices.