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The Effects of Youth Mentoring Programs: A Meta-analysis of Outcome Studies

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Abstract

Mentoring programs, which pair youth with caring, non-parental adults with the goal of promoting positive youth development, are an increasingly popular strategy for early intervention with at-risk youth. However, important questions remain about the extent to which these interventions improve youth outcomes. The present study involved a comprehensive meta-analysis of all outcome studies of intergenerational, one-on-one youth mentoring programs written in the English language between 1975 and 2017, using rigorous inclusion criteria designed to align with developmental theories of youth mentoring. Analysis of 70 mentoring outcome studies, with a sample size of 25,286 youth (average age of 12 years old), yielded a statistically significant effect of mentoring programs across all youth outcomes. The observed effect size fell within the medium/moderate range according to empirical guidelines derived from universal prevention programs for youth, and was consistent with past meta-analyses of youth mentoring. Moderation analyses indicated that programs serving a larger proportion of male youth, deploying a greater percentage of male mentors or mentors with a helping profession background, and requiring shorter meetings yielded larger effect sizes, as did evaluations that relied on questionnaires and youth self-report. Taken together, these findings provide some support for the efficacy of mentoring interventions, while also emphasizing the need to remain realistic about the modest impact of these programs as currently implemented, and highlighting opportunities for improving the quality and rigor of mentoring practices.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by funding from the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Connected Learning and MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership.

Authors’ Contributions

E.B.R. led data management and analysis, wrote the first draft of the manuscript, and coordinated draft revisions; J.R. conceptualized and designed the study, oversaw study execution, and contributed to drafts of the manuscript; G.J.J.M.S. and N.C. consulted on study coding and conducted the statistical analyses; J.K. led the development of the outcome coding scheme; S.S. reviewed and contributed to the final draft of the manuscript; and S.B., L.Y.S., S.K., and S.H. conducted literature searches and then identified and coded relevant studies. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Data Sharing and Declaration

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychological Sciences, College of William and Mary, 540 Landrum Dr., Williamsburg, VA, 23188, USA

    Elizabeth B. Raposa

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA, USA

    Jean Rhodes, Samantha Burton, Laura A. Yoviene Sykes & Stella Kanchewa

  3. Department of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

    Geert Jan J. M. Stams

  4. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA

    Noel Card

  5. Department of Psychology, Suffolk University, Boston, MA, USA

    Sarah Schwartz

  6. Innovation Research & Training, Durham, NC, USA

    Janis Kupersmidt

  7. Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Saida Hussain

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Raposa, E.B., Rhodes, J., Stams, G.J.J.M. et al. The Effects of Youth Mentoring Programs: A Meta-analysis of Outcome Studies. J Youth Adolescence 48, 423–443 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-00982-8

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