3-042 - Examining the Effectiveness of Three Research-Based Mentoring Programs for At-Risk Youth

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Mentoring programs present the opportunity to understand youth development within the context of urban poverty and are popular interventions for supporting disadvantaged minority youth (Rhodes, 2002). Recently, these programs have been shown to promote positive development and well-being, with broader benefits than other interventions across multiple domains (e.g., social and academic) while preventing regressions in outcomes (Dubois et al., 2011). While these results are promising, many programs utilize older adult mentors, thus failing to capitalize on the large amount of time adolescents spend with peers (Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker, 2008) and the advantages of having a role model closer in age (DuBois & Karcher, 2014). These mentoring relationships provide opportunities for mentees to model prosocial behavior and for mentors to enhance their own skills.
This symposium presents recent findings on the structure and effectiveness of three research-based mentoring interventions. The first presentation investigates the effectiveness of Saving Lives Inspiring Youth, a cross-age peer mentoring program where high schoolers meet weekly with middle schoolers, in reducing externalizing problems in mentors. The second presentation examines how the Peer Group Connection cross-age peer mentoring program impacts student engagement and graduation rates. The third presentation discusses findings from the Cities Project, in which college students mentor youth starting in sixth grade. Our discussant will provide expertise from his extensive work on youth mentoring to foster discussion surrounding the similarities and differences between these three interventions and how mentoring fits in the larger context of prevention and intervention programs for at-risk youth.

Sub Unit

• Prevention and Interventions

Chair

• Maryse Richards, Loyola University Chicago

Discussant

• Michael Karcher, University of Texas at San Antonio

Individual Presentations

• Effectiveness of Cross-age Peer Mentoring in Reducing Externalizing Problems in Urban Youth Mentors of Color - Presenting Author: Cara DiClemente, Loyola University Chicago; Non-Presenting Author: Catherine Rice Dusing, Loyola University Chicago; Non-Presenting Author: Kassie Gillis-Harry, Loyola University Chicago; Non-Presenting Author: Maryse Richards, Loyola University Chicago; Non-Presenting Author: Katherine Tyson McCrea, Loyola University Chicago

• Impact of Participation in a Cross-Age Peer Mentoring Program on School Attendance and Academic Performance - Presenting Author: Sherry Barr, Center for Supportive Schools; Non-Presenting Author: Christine Harris, Center for Supportive Schools

• Preliminary Evaluation of the Cities Mentor Project - Presenting Author: Sophia Duffy, Dominican University