Literature Review of At- Risk Youth Program. Many research studies provide confirmation that mentoring relationships give a number of different benefits to youth that are involved in these programs (Sipe, 2002).

There has been increased interest shown in particular approaches to improve the experiences that young people encounter in public care.   It is argued that achieving progression in a young person’s life, while in care, could have great importance in their life.  This could cause a spill over effect into other features of that young person’s life.  Studies show that mentoring from adults who are present in the child’s social environment can assist in the enrichment of the youth’s potential, strengthen mental health, create new social relationships beyond the care system, and build higher self-esteem.  It can also help improve academic outcomes and improve family relationships (Sipe, 2002).    There are multiple cases that demonstrate how the participation in mentoring can improve the likelihood for a successful transition out of care (Gilligan, 1999).    Some evaluations have illustrated that most one-on-one mentoring alone can make a change in the lives of youth.  Participating youth involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters describe that they felt more secure about their ability to have improved academic performance in school, and had an increase in their grades by the conclusion of the study (Sipe, 2002).

A mentoring approach in which mentors act as “coaches” has proven beneficial to a number of programs.  Temple University experts in professional coaching and psychology were brought in to help their athletic administrators with problem solving, task improvement, decision-making, and other issues.  This type of approach made the participants come together and work on team building.   They focused on building up their assets and working though their disadvantages.  This coaching model is structured to develop good communicators, better listeners, and it helps individuals gain confidence in their talents (Touhey, 1999).  The Grizzlies TEAM Mentoring Program is comparable in that it spotlights the “team” characteristic of the coaching model.  Mentors and participants are in teams consisting three mentors and nine students.  Each meeting of the Grizzlies program helps groups to progress their skills in team building, personal accountability, and leadership while encouraging relationships among one another.  

There are many diverse ways to administer a study on mentoring.  An example of how one program did their study used a focus group process, which involved a semi-structured arrangement with questions that were focused on the participants’ relationships with mentor figures.  They were also asked to provide examples of instances in which they had mentors and explain whether the experience was positive or negative (Brogan, 2008).  Another example involves evaluating a control group against an experimental group.   Big Brothers Big Sisters randomly appoint qualified youth to a control group who would be given the treatment.  The outcomes for these two groups would be compared over time.  An additional study involves an organization that used a cautiously applied match comparison group strategy (Sipe, 2002).

        

References

At-risk youth.  (2004).  Retrieved from atriskyouth.org

Brogan, D., Corral, M., Liang, B., & Spencer, R. (2008).  Mentoring relationships from

early adolescence through emerging adulthood: A qualitative analysis.  Journal of Vocational Behavior, 72 (2), 168+.  Retrieved from

 

Gillgan, R. (1999).  Enhancing the resilience of children and young people in public care by

        mentoring their talents and interests.  187-195.  Retrieved from

        

Memphis Grizzlies Charitable Foundation. (2011).  Retreived from

         

Sipe, C. (2002).  Mentoring programs for adolescents: A research summary.  (pp.251-259).

New York, NY: Elsevier Science Inc.  Retrieved from