David L. DuBois

Effectiveness of Mentoring Programs for Youth: A Meta-Analytic Review

We used meta-analysis to review 55 evaluations of the effects of mentoring programs on youth. Overall, findings provide evidence of only a modest or small benefit of program participation for the average youth. Program effects are enhanced significantly, however, when greater numbers of both theory-based and empirically based “best practices” are utilized and when strong relationships are formed between mentors and youth. Youth from backgrounds of environmental risk and disadvantage appear most likely to benefit from participation in mentoring programs. Outcomes for youth at-risk due to personal vulnerabilities have varied substantially in relation to program characteristics, with a noteworthy potential evident for poorly implemented programs to actually have an adverse effect on such youth. Recommendations include greater adherence to guidelines for the design and implementation of effective mentoring programs as well as more in-depth assessment of relationship and contextual factors in the evaluation of programs.

The Relation Between Self-Beliefs and Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analytic Review

There has been extensive debate among scholars and practitioners concerning whether self-beliefs influence academic achievement. To address this question, findings of longitudinal studies investigating the relation between self-beliefs and achievement were synthesized using meta-analysis. Estimated effects are consistent with a small, favorable influence of positive self-beliefs on academic achievement, with an average standardized path or regression coefficient of .08 for self-beliefs as a predictor of later achievement, controlling for initial levels of achievement. Stronger effects of self-beliefs are evident when assessing self-beliefs specific to the academic domain and when measures of self-beliefs and achievement are matched by domain (e.g., same subject area). Under these conditions, the relation of self-beliefs to later achievement meets or exceeds Cohens (1988) definition of a small effect size.

How Effective Are Mentoring Programs for Youth? A Systematic Assessment of the Evidence

The current popularity of mentoring programs notwithstanding, questions remain about their typical effectiveness as well as the conditions required for them to achieve optimal positive outcomes for participating youth. In this report, we use the technique of meta-analysis (i.e., aggregating findings across multiple studies) to address these questions. As backdrop for our analysis, we begin with an overview of recent trends in youth mentoring practice, findings from prior research, and a developmental model of mentoring relationships and their potential effects on young people. Language: en

Cognitive-behavioral therapy of depression and depressive symptoms during adolescence: a review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE Outcome studies support the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral approaches for treating depression among adults. The effectiveness of these approaches for adolescents, however, has received less empirical attention. This article critically reviews the literature on cognitive-behavioral therapy with depressed and dysphoric adolescents. METHOD A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the effectiveness of these approaches and the stability of therapeutic gains. RESULTS Fourteen posttreatment-control comparisons and 10 follow-up-control comparisons resulted from six studies containing 217 subjects. The overall effect size posttreatment was -1.02, whereas the overall effect size at follow-up was -0.61. The effect sizes in both of these analyses were homogeneous and were supported by Fail-Safe-N calculations. CONCLUSION Results suggest the short- and long-term effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral approaches for treating depressive symptoms with this population.

Natural Mentoring Relationships and Adolescent Health: Evidence From a National Study

OBJECTIVES We used nationally representative data to examine the impact of natural (or informal) mentoring relationships on health-related outcomes among older adolescents and young adults. METHODS We examined outcomes from Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health as a function of whether or not respondents reported a mentoring relationship. Logistic regression was used with control for demographic variables, previous level of functioning, and individual and environmental risk. RESULTS Respondents who reported a mentoring relationship were more likely to exhibit favorable outcomes relating to education/work (completing high school, college attendance, working >/= 10 hours a week), reduced problem behavior (gang membership, hurting others in physical fights, risk taking), psychological well-being (heightened self-esteem, life satisfaction), and health (physical activity level, birth control use). However, effects of exposure to individual and environmental risk factors generally were larger in magnitude than protective effects associated with mentoring. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest a broad and multifaceted impact of mentoring relationships on adolescent health. However, mentoring relationships alone are not enough to meet the needs of at-risk youths and therefore should be incorporated into more comprehensive interventions.

Prospective investigation of the effects of socioeconomic disadvantage, life stress, and social support on early adolescent adjustment.

In this prospective study, we investigated the effects of socioenvironmental conditions on adjustment during early adolescence. Participants (N = 339) were assessed at the beginning of the school year and at follow-up approximately 7 months later. Both stressful events and social support made significant contributions to the prediction of psychological distress and conduct problems at follow-up, controlling for initial levels of adjustment in each of these areas. Conditions related to socioeconomic disadvantage predicted poorer academic performance and higher levels of absences and disciplinary problems at school. Youths who experienced multiple conditions of socioeconomic disadvantage were found to demonstrate heightened vulnerability to stressful events (daily hassles) as well as a greater potential to benefit from social support received from adults in the school setting.

Race and gender influences on adjustment in early adolescence: investigation of an integrative model.

This research investigated an integrative model of race- and gender-related influences on adjustment during early adolescence using a sample of 350 Black and White youth. In the proposed model, prejudice/discrimination events, as well as race and gender daily hassles, contribute to a general stress context. The stress context, in turn, influences levels of emotional and behavioral problems in adjustment, with these associations mediated (in part) by intervening effects on self-esteem. Racial and gender identity similarly have positive effects on adjustment via their intermediary linkages with self-esteem. Structural equation modeling analyses provided support for all of these aspects of the model. Findings also revealed theoretically predicted differences in model parameters across race by gender subgroups. These include a direct effect of prejudice/discrimination events on emotional problems specific to Black youth and an effect of gender identity on self-esteem specific to girls. Black girls appeared to be most vulnerable to exhibiting significant adjustment difficulties as a result of the processes under investigation.

Mentoring Relationships and Programs for Youth

Mentoring is one of the most popular social interventions in American society, with an estimated three million youth in formal one-to-one relationships. Studies have revealed significant associations between youth involvement in mentoring relationships and positive developmental outcomes. These associations are modest, however, and depend on several intervening processes. Centrally important is the formation of close, enduring connections between mentors and youth that foster positive developmental change. Effects of mentoring programs likewise typically have been small in magnitude, but they increase systematically with the use of program practices likely to support relationship development. Gaps between research and practice are evident both in the indiscriminate use of the term mentoring in the prevention field and in a focus on the growth and efficiency of mentoring programs at the expense of quality. Continued expansion of effective mentoring will require a better alignment of research and practice.

Peer Victimization and Rejection: Investigation of an Integrative Model of Effects on Emotional, Behavioral, and Academic Adjustment in Early Adolescence

This study investigated an integrative model of the effects of peer victimization (PV) and peer rejection (PR) on youth adjustment using data from 508 middle-school students. In the proposed model, PV and PR each contribute independently to problems in emotional, behavioral, and academic adjustment. The adverse consequences of PV and PR are each mediated by their more proximal contributions to lower self-esteem in the form of negative self-evaluations for peer relations and global self-derogation, respectively. Results of structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses provided support for the overall model, including significant indirect linkages of PV and perceived PR with adjustment problems via their intermediary negative associations with lower levels of self-esteem. Additional analyses revealed that indirect linkages of victimization and perceived rejection with emotional problems via self-esteem were evident only for girls. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Characteristics of natural mentoring relationships and adolescent adjustment: evidence from a national study.

This research investigated characteristics of natural mentoring relationships (mentor role, frequency of contact, closeness, duration) as predictors of adjustment outcomes among older adolescents and young adults (N = 2,053) in the Add Health study. Outcomes were assessed in the domains of education/work, problem behavior, psychological well-being, and physical health. Mentoring relationships with persons in roles outside of the family predicted greater likelihood of favorable outcomes in all domains except psychological well-being, relative to mentoring relationships with family members. Greater reported closeness in relationships was predictive of several favorable outcomes, particularly those in the domain of psychological well-being. These findings indicate that strategies to promote mentoring of adolescents may be more effective if particular categories of adults are targeted and an effort is made to cultivate relationships with strong emotional bonds.Editors’ Strategic Implications: These data suggest that the cultivation of natural (especially non-familial) mentoring relationships during adolescence may be a promising strategy for prevention and health promotion. This study is impressive due to its large, nationally representative sample, the examination of relationship characteristics and multiple mentors, and the links to a variety of outcomes (controlling for earlier functioning). School officials and mentoring programs must consider how to capitalize on – and promote – naturally occurring mentor relationships.