Natural Mentor Support and Black Youths’ Connectedness to Parents Across Adolescence

• In Event: Examining Family Processes across Culturally Diverse Families: A Focus on Family Functioning within Black, Latinx, and Chinese Families

Abstract

Black youth face a disproportionate share of contextual risk factors associated with racism and structural inequality that threaten their well-being and healthy development (Brody et al., 2006; Seider et al., 2019; Wilson, 2009). However, research suggests that Black youth who report better relationships with their parents demonstrate enhanced socioemotional well-being (Bynum & Kotchick, 2006; Cooper, 2009; Sagrestano et al., 2003) and fewer health risk behaviors (Booth et al., 2010; Caldwell et al., 2005) relative to their peers who lack these close bonds. As youth transition from early to middle adolescence, however, parents and youth often experience increased conflict as they attempt to negotiate youths’ growing autonomy (Montemayor, 1983; Smetana, 1989). Given that a strong sense of connectedness to parents may protect Black youth from experiencing negative outcomes stemming from contextual risk, a need exists to identify supports for helping Black youth navigate challenges with parents during adolescence. One factor worthy of consideration is youths’ natural mentoring relationships (i.e., mentoring relationships that develop naturally with supportive adults in their everyday lives). Drawing on a family systems perspective (Bowen, 1974; Minuchin, 1985), Keller’s advanced systemic model of youth mentoring (2005) suggests that mentors may alleviate tension in the parent-adolescent relationship by providing direct support (e.g., advice, validation) to youth and/or parents. The current study utilized quantitative and qualitative data from multiple sources to explore the potential relationship between mentor support and parent-youth connectedness during adolescence. Given that older adolescents may be more likely to experience strains in parent connectedness relative to younger adolescents, we were also interested in examining whether mentor support would be more consequential for older youths’ sense of connection to parents compared to their younger peers. We surveyed a sample of 217 Black youth and interviewed a subsample of twelve participants along with their primary caregiver and mentor to learn more about mentors’ support of the parent-youth relationship. We found that mentor support was positively associated with youth-parent connectedness and this association was not moderated by youths’ age. Results of thematic analyses of qualitative data focused on better understanding how mentors supported the parent-youth connection and whether the nature of mentor support differed among early and middle adolescents. Implications of study findings for the role of mentors in promoting of parent-youth connectedness will be discussed.

Authors

• Janelle Billingsley, University of Maryland - Baltimore County
  Presenting Author

• Ariana Rivens, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Non-Presenting Author

• Bianka Charity-Parker, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Non-Presenting Author

• Stephanie Chang, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Non-Presenting Author

• Tianjiao Li, University of Virginia
  Non-Presenting Author

• Shedrick Lamar Garrett, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Non-Presenting Author

• Paola Garcia, University of Virginia
  Non-Presenting Author

• Noelle Hurd, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Non-Presenting Author