May 2, May 9, and June 6 from 1:00 – 3:00 PM ET

Registration is now open for the 2025 Youth Mentoring Research Learning Series! This three-part virtual learning series will offer a variety of sessions facilitated by the National Mentoring Resource Center’s Research Board. Session topics include new developments in measuring relationship-building behaviors, evaluation findings from a school-based group mentoring program, therapeutic mentoring, and more! The Research Learning Series is sponsored by the National Mentoring Resource Center, a project of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

The Research Learning Series offers both new and experienced researchers in the mentoring, youth development, education, health, and related fields an opportunity to come together to discuss research on key mentoring topics and to learn from each other about cutting-edge frameworks and methodologies for conducting stronger research on mentoring programs and relationships. Although geared toward fostering dialogue between researchers and evaluators, program practitioners interested in attending the Research Learning Series are welcome!

Registration

Register here! Sessions will be held virtually on May 2, May 9, and June 6 from 1:00- 3:00 PM ET. Attendance at all three sessions is not required but highly encouraged.

Agenda and Session Descriptions

May 2, 1:00 – 3:00 PM ET Session I – Mentoring Beyond the Dyad

This session will include three presentations focused on the ways mentoring can influence social capital, as well as group mentoring dynamics and models.

Measuring Social Capital in Mentoring Relationships and Positive Youth Development

Presenters: Amy Syvertsen, PhD and Ashley Boat, PhD
Description: This presentation will explore the role that mentors play in supporting young people’s access to relationships and resources, and helping them build the skills and confidence required to activate and mobilize these supports in pursuit of their goals. The presenters will share a set of psychometrically tested measures that assess mentor social capital support, and will explore what these findings reveal about how young people’s social capital development is cultivated via mentoring relationships.

Using Social Network Analysis to Explore the Potential of Intergroup Contact within Mentoring Programs

Presenter: Mariah Kornbluh, PhD
Description: Intergroup connections play a vital role in fostering positive developmental outcomes. Capturing complex social dynamics within group mentoring programs requires a methodological approach that can handle such complexity (Williams et al., 2018). In this presentation, I will discuss the potential of data collected via “social network” methods in exploring children’s (3rd-8th graders) perceptions of their peer relationships. Specifically, I will highlight the role of cognitive social structures and network association analyses as valuable tools to capture children’s perceptions of intergroup connections. Results hold implications for understanding perceptions of intergroup connections, as well as mentoring interventions.

Relative Effectiveness of One-to-One and Group Mentoring in an Innovative School-Based Program for Middle School Students

Presenter: Gabriel Kuperminc, PhD
Description: Formal programs that match mentors with groups of youth are very popular with estimates that nearly half of all mentoring programs use a group format or a combination of one-to-one and group mentoring (Garringer, McQuillin, & McDaniel, 2017). A growing body of research demonstrates the promise of group mentoring for promoting social-emotional development (Kuperminc & Deutsch, 2021), and indirect evidence suggests that mentoring in groups may be as effective as the more traditional one-to-one model (DuBois et al., 2011). This presentation will share preliminary findings from the evaluation of “Level Up,” an innovative school-based mentoring program for middle school students developed by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta in partnership with two large urban public-school districts. Level Up employs full-time professional mentors who are matched with 6th grade students in matches expected to continue throughout the middle school years. Each mentor facilitates approximately 8 groups of 5 students each, and also mentors approximately 10 youth in a one-to-one format. The program’s design allows us to directly compare the contributions of mentoring to socio-emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes across one-to-one and group mentoring approaches.

May 9, 1:00 – 3:00 PM ET Session II – Mentoring and Mental Health

This session will include two presentations focused on research about how mentors can support mental health outcomes through delivery of targeted skill-building and emerging evidence of therapeutic mentoring interventions.

Therapeutic Mentoring: Scoping Review and Future Directions

Presenter: Alexandra Werntz, PhD
Description: In this talk, I will present findings of our recent scoping review of self-designated therapeutic mentoring for youth mental health. Results revealed a lack of rigorous experimental studies on therapeutic mentoring efficacy, as defined by studies that use the term therapeutic mentoring. While some studies showed promising effects, more research is needed to establish the definition of therapeutic mentoring and whether it is an acceptable and effective intervention for youth mental health.

Fostering Healthy Futures for Young People with Child Welfare Involvement: An Innovative Approach to Improving Mental Health

Presenter: Heather Taussig, PhD
Description: This presentation will discuss the core elements of the Fostering Healthy Futures (FHF) program, a mentoring and skill building program for youth with child welfare involvement. The presentation will also review FHF’s research design to rigorously test the program’s impacts on mental health and associated outcomes. A review of these outcomes and lessons learned will be discussed.

June 6, 1:00 – 3:00 PM ET Session III – Mentor Behaviors and Benefits

This session will feature three presentations about the actions mentors take and what they get in return from the mentoring experience.

Measuring Relationship-Building Behaviors​

Presenter: Amanda Davis, PhD
Description: This presentation will describe a research study that aimed to advance the science and practice of promoting supportive school-based mentoring relationships by developing a behavior-based screening measure of teacher-student relationship quality: the Relationship-Building Behaviors Scale. This measure was designed to specifically assess observable, relationship-building behaviors (e.g., things the teacher does outside the instructional context that may influence the student and/or the relationship). Study findings and implications for promoting relationship-building behaviors in school- and community-based settings will be discussed.

Mentors – Post Experience Impact

Presenters: Crystal Aschenbrener, DSW and Ryann Aschenbrener, BA
Description: This presentation will discuss research completed with undergraduate students who were mentors for the Today & Beyond Mentoring Intervention 5+ years ago. Findings revealed mentor-reported gains in multiple domains including personal, educational, and professional.

Exploring Adolescents’ Emotion Regulation in Mentoring: The Role of Mentors’ Emotion Management Strategies and Mentoring Relationship Quality

Presenter: Yunqi He, PhD
Description: Using observational data collected in a laboratory setting, this study aims to understand the specific ways mentors’ approaches to emotion management impact their alliance with youth. The findings will inform the development of evidence-based mentor training protocols. This research is planned to begin in summer 2025.

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Questions?

Contact Dr. Kelly Stewart