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Youth mentoring is the process of matching mentors with young people who need or want a caring, responsible adult in their lives. Adult mentors are usually unrelated to the child or teen and work as volunteers through a community-, school-, or church-based social service program. The goal of youth mentoring programs is to improve the well-being of the child by providing a role model that can support the child academically, socially and/or personally. This goal can be accomplished through school work, communication, and/or activities. Goals and settings within a mentoring program vary by country because of cultural values. Although informal mentoring relationships exist, formal, high-quality mentoring matches made through local or state mentoring organizations are often the most effective. According to ''The Encyclopedia of Informal Education'': "The classic definition of mentoring is of an older experienced guide who is acceptable to the young person and who can help ease the transition to adulthood by a mix of support and challenge. In this sense it is a developmental relationship in which the young person is inducted into the world of adulthood." ==Mentoring Effects== Research on Mentoring Effects Much research has been conducted on youth mentoring with the intent of determining whether or not there are positive benefits for youth and, if so, under what conditions the positive effects are most likely to occur. The evidence is somewhat mixed, however. According to some studies, not all mentoring programs are found to have positive effects.〔e.g. Herrera, C., Grossman, J. B., Kauh, T. J., & McMaken, J. (2011). Mentoring in schools: An impact study of big brothers big sisters school-based mentoring. Child Development, 82, 346-361. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01559.x; Rhodes, J. E., DuBois, D. L., (2006). Understanding and facilitating the youth mentoring movement. Social Policy Report, 22(3)〕 Furthermore, some studies that demonstrated positive outcomes for youth suggested that benefits from mentoring do not always last for an extended period of time after the intervention has ended.〔e.g. Britner, P. A., Balcazar, F. E., Blechman, E. A., Blinn-Pike, L., & Larose, S. (2006). Mentoring special youth populations. Journal of Community Psychology, 34, 747-763.; Blinn-Pike, L. (2007). The benefits associated with youth mentoring relationships. In T.D. Allen & L.T. Eby (Eds.). The blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach (pp. 165-188). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.〕 Meta-Analysis One method of determining how effective mentoring relationships have become is with the use of meta-analysis. Meta-analysis allows a researcher to synthesize several studies and has been said to provide an unbiased, objective, and quantifiable method to test for significant differences in the results found across studies.〔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(2), 157-196.〕 Two studies utilizing this method are presented below. In a meta-analysis of 55 studies on mentoring programs, the overall effectiveness of mentoring as well as the factors relating to variation in mentoring effects were studied.〔 In this study, articles found on popular databases as well as possible search engines (such as Yahoo, etc.) that were published between 1970 and 1998 were selected and evaluated. Findings from this meta-analysis indicated that there was an overall positive, though modest, effect from mentoring. The effect appeared to be especially beneficial for youth classified as “at risk” (see at-risk students) or “disadvantaged”. Further findings indicated that effect size may be increased with the use of specific strategies and practices, such as providing continual support and structure to the mentor and relationship. It is important to note, however, that this study cannot imply causality and further research is recommended to explore this relationship.〔 In another meta-analysis, 39 articles published between 1970 and 2005 were analyzed. Articles were required to measure a quantifiable effect on either delinquency, aggression, substance use, or academic achievement.〔Tolan, P., Henry, D., Schoeny, M., Bass, A. (2008). Mentoring interventions to affect juvenile delinquency and associated problems. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 16. doi: 10.4073/csr.2008.16 Retrieved from www.campbellcollaboration.org/lib/download/238/〕 The overall effects were found to be positive with delinquency as well as with the other outcomes studied. Effects were stronger with the delinquent and aggressive outcomes, while still remaining moderate with the group measuring substance use and academic achievement. This suggests that mentoring programs are especially effective with delinquent behavior.〔 Use of Best Practices Research indicates that the use of specific best practices can be used to improve the mentoring experience.〔e.g. Rhodes, J. E., Reddy, R., & Grossman, J. B. (2005). The protective influence of mentoring on adolescents' substance use: Direct and indirect pathways. Applied Developmental Science, 9, 31-47. doi:10.1207/s1532480xads0901_4; Keating, L. M., Tomishima, M. A., Foster, S., & Alessandri, M. (2002). The effects of a mentoring program on at-risk youth. Adolescence, 37, 717.〕 In the meta-analysis listed above, several best practices were found to increase effect sizes in mentoring programs:〔 # Monitoring of program implementation # Screening of prospective mentors # Matching of mentors and youth on the basis of one or more relevant criteria # Both pre-match and ongoing training # Supervision for mentor # Support group for mentors # Structured activities for mentors and youth # Parent support or involvement components # Expectations for both frequency of contact and length of relationship # Mentor background in a helping role In addition, there are several mentor websites that suggest the inclusion of similar best practices with the hopes of created greater outcomes for youth. Research on Informal VS Formal Mentoring In the research, there is a distinction between a naturally occurring adult-youth relationship (referred to as informal mentoring) and a structured adult-youth relationship where the mentor is assigned or matched (referred to as formal mentoring).〔Blinn-Pike, L. (2007) The benefits associated with youth mentoring relationships. In T.D. Allen & L.T. Eby (Eds.). The blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach (pp. 165-188). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.〕 There is less research available for informal mentor relationships than there is for formal, but the research indicates that benefits exist for both the mentor and mentee.〔 Research is also available that suggests no effect or negative effects from mentoring, especially if the relationship with the adult fails.〔 Formal mentoring has been better studied in the research and, therefore, more findings are available on this topic. In a review of literature, it was suggested that an emphasis in quality of mentoring relationship and programming has been steadily increasing in the research and a shift in outcome measures is apparent, with most studies measuring general youth development as opposed to reductions in particular deviant behaviors.〔 In another review of literature, 10 studies were analyzed and found a moderate positive effect on mentee grades, reduction of substance use, reduction of some delinquent behaviors, but not with youth self-esteem.〔 These studies suggest that, although research is conflicting, there is typically an overall positive effect as a result of a mentoring relationship. This positive effect is more likely with the use of established best practices and within the population of youth classified as delinquent or "at risk". Most research agrees, however, that further research is necessary and that research with more rigorous methods would be beneficial to the field. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Youth mentoring」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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