Youth Mentoring

Summary

Youth Mentoring has shown evidence of increasing protective factors for youth and supporting positive impacts on substance use prevention and wellbeing. Research indicates that youth engaged in mentoring programs report fewer positive attitudes towards drug use and are less likely to use alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and illicit drugs. These effects have been shown to be stronger for minority youth. Additionally, indicated populations of youth have self-reported they gained positive influence from their participation in mentoring, identifying that they would decrease or cease the use of drugs and alcohol. Related to wellbeing, research shows that mentorship based on positive youth development leads to positive changes in belongingness, depression, community connectedness and self-esteem. The presence of a trusted adult in the community has also been associated with reduced suicide attempts for youth at risk.

Youth Mentoring is defined by the Agency as relationships that take place between youth ages 5-18 (mentees) and older or more experienced peers or adults (mentors) trained and supported by agencies to act in a non-professional helping capacity to provide relationship-based support that benefits mentees’ development.

Programs are guided by MENTOR’s Elements of Effective Practice. To learn more and to obtain a copy of the fidelity checklist for programs, visit MENTOR’s Elements of Effective Practice website by clicking here: https://www.mentoring.org/resource/elements-of-effective-practice-for-mentoring/

Types of mentoring programs and services supported by the Agency include the following. Please reference RFPs for award specific requirements and supported mentoring programs and services:

• Community-Based Mentoring programs provide consistent contact between one mentor and one mentee over the course of a contract period for a minimum of nine months. Meetings need to occur several times each month, meeting a minimum of four hours per month.
• School-Based Mentoring programs provide weekly contact between one mentor and one mentee for a minimum of one school year/contract period. Period of service for the match shall
  be at least nine months. Contact between mentee and mentor needs to be a minimum of four hours per month. School- based mentoring should not focus on academic needs (i.e., tutoring, reading, etc.).
• Group Mentoring operates on a ratio of no more than four mentees to one adult mentor. Group mentoring includes a consistent relationship between the one mentor and the same four (or less) mentees. Contact between mentees and mentor needs to be a minimum of four hours per month. Group mentoring can only be used with middle and high school youth. Middle and high school youth mentors shall not be permitted to lead a group mentoring process.
• Peer Mentoring programs provide weekly contact between one mentor and one mentee for a minimum of one school year/contract period. Period of service for the match shall be at least nine months. Contact between mentee and mentor needs to be a minimum of four hours per month. Peer mentoring often includes high school students mentoring elementary or middle school students and focuses on providing recreational and developmental activities. If youth are utilized as peer mentors, there needs to be a minimum of a three-year age difference between the mentor and mentee.
• Team Mentoring pairs several consistent adult mentors to work with the same small group of youth mentees, in which the adult-to-youth ratio is not greater than 1:4. Contact between mentees and mentor needs to be a minimum of four hours per month. For best results, mentoring match length should be nine (9) to twelve (12) months.

At this time, the Agency provides grant funds to mentoring programs that have been certified and remain in good standing with their certification through the Iowa MENTOR (The Iowa Mentoring Partnership).

To learn more, visit the Iowa MENTOR (The Iowa Mentoring Partnership) website by clicking here: https://www.iowamentoring.org

References

Aseltine, R. H., Dupre, M., & Lamlein, P. (2000). Mentoring as a drug prevention strategy: An evaluation of Across Ages. Adolescent & Family Health, 1, 11–20.
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ631856

Beier, S. R., Rosenfeld, W. D., Spitalny, K. C., Zansky, S. M., & Bontempo, A. N. (2000). The potential role of an adult mentor in influencing high-risk behavior in adolescents. Archives of
Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 154, 328–331. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.154.4.327

Black, D. S., Grenard, J. L., Sussman, S., & Rohrbach, L. A. (2010). The influence of school-based natural mentoring relationships on school attachment and subsequent adolescent risk
behaviors. Health Education Research, 25, 892–902. http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1093/her/cyq040

Erdem, G., & Kaufman, M. R. (2020). Mentoring for Preventing and Reducing Substance Use and Associated Risks Among Youth. National Mentoring Resource Center.
https://nationalmentoringresourcecenter.org/resource/mentoring-for-preventing-and-reducing-substance-use-and-associated-risks-among-youth/

Haddock, S. A., Zimmerman, T. S., Thomas, A. G., Weiler, L. M., Krafchick, J., & Fredrickson, G. J. (2017). A qualitative analysis of mentee experiences in a campus-based mentoring program.
Journal of Youth Development, 12(4), 61-80. https://doi.org/10.5195/jyd.2017.496

Hanlon, T. E., Bateman, R. W., Simon, B. D., O’Grady, K. E., & Carswell, S. B. (2002). An early community-based intervention for the prevention of substance abuse and other delinquent
behavior. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31, 459–471. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1020215204844

King, C. A., Gipson, P. Y., Arango, A., Foster, C. E., Clark, M., Ghaziuddin, N., & Stone, D. (2018). LET’s CONNECT community mentorship program for youths with peer social problems:
Preliminary findings for a randomized effectiveness trial. Journal of Community Psychology, 46(7), 885-902. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21979

Pisani, A. R., Wyman, P. A., Petrova, M., Schmeelk-Cone, K., Goldston, D. B., Xia, Y., & Gould, M. S. (2013). Emotional regulation difficulties, youth-adult relationships, and suicide attempts
among high school students in underserved communities. J Youth Adolesc, 42(6), 807-820. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10964-012-9884-2

Tierney, J. P., Grossman, J. B., & Resch, N. L. (2000). Making a difference: An impact study of Big Brothers Big Sisters. Public/Private Ventures.
http://ppv.issuelab.org/resources/11972/11972.pdf

Wyman, P. A., Pickering, T. A., Pisani, A. R., Rulison, K., Schmeelk-Cone, K., Hartley, C., Gould, M., Caine, E. D., LoMurray, M., Brown, C. H., & Valente, T. W. (2019). Peer-adult network
structure and suicide attempts in 38 high schools: Implications for network-informed suicide prevention. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 60(10), 1065-1075.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13102