Exploring Moderating Effects of Length of Mentor Participation on the Relationship Between Mentor Participation and the Quality of the Mentoring Relationship

• In Event: Mentoring in Schools: The Predictors and Products of High-Quality Relationships

Abstract

Objective
There is an increasingly large disparity in college access for low income and first generation students. Mentoring, however, has been proven to be a successful intervention for helping these populations navigate the post-secondary process and be successful in college (DuBois et al, 2002). The purpose of this study is to examine the whether the length of a mentor’s participation in the iMentor program impacts the strength of the effect of mentor engagement on the quality of the mentoring relationship.

Theoretical Framework
Mentoring is an effective method for improving student outcomes in a variety of areas. A successful mentoring program however, hinges on the quality of the mentors. Bayer and colleagues (2013) found that when looking at student outcomes, students with close relationships made significant improvements. On the contrary, those who did not have a close relationship with their mentor demonstrated little growth. Strength of relationship, however, is highly connected to interpersonal engagement (i.e. being in contact via email, telephone and in person). Thus, this study seeks to explore how a mentor’s length of participation in the iMentor program moderates the effect of quantity of participation on the quality of the relationship.

Data & Methods
The current study will utilize the Strength of Personal Relationship (SPR) scale, mentor engagement data, and survey data collected by iMentor. The sample consists of 2,833 volunteer mentors recruited for the iMentor College Ready and College Transition program. In Table 1, a description of mentor demographics is presented.
Mentor engagement data is collected throughout an academic year by the iMentor online platform and consists of the number of emails sent by the mentor and the number of in-person programmatic events attended by the mentor. The iMentor SPR scale was created based on other valid and reliable scales that currently exist to assess mentoring relationships. This version of the SPR scale was tested using Cronbach’s alpha and displayed strong reliability (α=.92). The survey was administered at the end of each academic year.
This study will examine the relationship between engagement in the iMentor program and the SPR scale. Using regression analysis, the hypothesis that the length of time that a mentor participates in iMentor impacts the strength of the relationship between participation and the strength of the relationship will be tested. The model to test this hypothesis can be seen below and is graphically represented in Figure 1.


Results, Conclusions, & Discussion
As indicated in Figure 2, preliminary results provide support for the hypothesis that there is a relationship between program engagement and SPR, with mentors that are below program requirements for email and in-person event participation reporting lower SPR scores. Additionally, Figure 3 depicts results that show a steady decline in program engagement as the pair progresses to the latter years of their match. The implications of this paper will bring clarity to the impact of declining engagement in longer lasting mentoring programs and its effects on strength of relationship.

Author

• Joaquin Villa, iMentor