While any adult can act as a youth mentor, a 2005 national survey found some differences between adults who participated in youth mentoring and those who did not (MENTOR, 2006).
Age
Education and Employment
Gender
Race
Research on the benefits of same gender and same race mentor-mentee relationships has been inconclusive (same gender) and has not been shown to be a significant factor in enhancing close emotional relationships between mentors and mentees (same race and ethnicity) (Darling, Bogat, Cavell, Murphy, & Sanchez, 2006; Rhodes, Reddy, Grossman, & Lee, 2003; Sanchez & Colon, 2005). Despite this, research has found that same gender and same race mentor and mentee pairs are more typical in naturally occurring mentoring relationships (Chen, Greenberger, Farruggia, Bush, & Dong, 2003; Darling et al., 2006). While these results are inconclusive, research and practice suggests key attributes that have been associated with successful mentors and should be considered during the matching of mentors and mentees (MENTOR, 2009). These are
Bernier, A. & Larose, S. (2005). Academic mentoring in college: The interactive role of student’s and mentor’s interpersonal dispositions. Research in Higher Education, 46, 29-51.
Chen, C., Greenberger, E., Farruggia, S., Bush, K., & Dong, Q. (2003). Beyond parents and peers: The role of important non-parental adults (VIPS) in adolescent development in China and the United States. Psychology in the Schools, 40(1).
Darling, N., Bogat, G. A., Cavell, T., Murphy, S. E., & Sanchez, B. (2006). Gender, ethnicity, development and risk: Mentoring and the considerations of individual differences. Journal of Community Psychology, 34(6), 765-779.
DuBois, D. L., Holloway, B. E., Valentine, J. C., & Cooper, H. (2002). Effectiveness of mentoring programs for youth: A meta analytic review. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30, 157-197
Hirsch, B. J. (2005). A place to call home: After-school programs for urban youth. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, and New York: Teachers College Press.
Madia, B. P., & Lutz, C. J. (2004). Perceived similarity, expectation-reality discrepancies, and mentors’ expressed intention to remain in Big Brothers/Big Sisters Programs. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34, 598-623.
MENTOR. (n.d.). Become a mentor. Retrieved from http://www.mentoring.org/get_involved/become_a_mentor
MENTOR. (2006) Mentoring in America 2005: A snapshot of the current state of mentoring. Retrieved from http://www.mentoring.org/downloads/mentoring_333.pdf (PDF, 20 pages)
MENTOR. (2009). Elements of effective practice in mentoring. Third Edition. Retrieved from http://www.mentoring.org/downloads/mentoring_1222.pdf (PDF, 28 pages)
National Mentoring Month Campaign (n.d.) Become a mentor. Retrieved from http://www.nationalmentoringmonth.org/take_action/becomeamentor/
Rhodes, J. E., Reddy, R., Grossman, J. B., Lee, J. M. (2003). Same versus cross-race matches in mentoring programs: A comparison. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 32, 2114-2133.
Sanchez, B., & Colon, Y. (2005). Race, ethnicity, and culture in mentoring relationships. In D. L. DuBois & M. J. Karcher (Eds.), Handbook of youth mentoring (pp. 191-204). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Spencer, R. (2006). Understanding the mentoring process between adolescents and adults. Youth Society, 37, 287-315.
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