Volunteer Mentoring Programs and Positive Development of Children and Youth: Evaluation of Ethnicity, Program Types, and Length of Match Time on Program-Based Outcomes

Background: Even though numerous studies have focused on mentoring program outcomes, little has been found regarding the impact of racial ethnicity matches, different program types, and match lengths on specific outcomes for school-aged children. Therefore, the goals of this study are to examine whether the practice of assigning matches based on participants’ racial ethnic backgrounds, mentoring in school-based or community-based programs, and differing match period lengths are associated with the outcomes of Big Brothers Big Sisters’ programs which target school-aged children. Finally, the study aims to contribute to the development of mentoring programs which are more effective in improving youths’ self-confidence, school performance, and social relationships. 

Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental design. We analyzed Program-based Outcome Evaluation surveys, from mentors from 2005 to 2009, of 412 protégé-mentor pairs from the local area Big Brothers Big Sisters agency and focused on three categories of youth’s development—Confidence (confidence level), Competence (school level), and Caring (social emotional level). We used a T-test and a One-Way Analysis of Variance to compare the mean and Standard Deviation differences, specifically focusing on racial ethnic match types (same vs. cross-racial ethnic), program types (school-based vs. community-based), and match lengths (short-term, mid-term, and long-term periods).

 Results: Protégées in cross-racial/ethnic matches reported greater improvement in Confidence (p<.01), Competence (p<.001), and Caring (p<.01) than those in same-racial/ethnic matches. Protégés in the community-based program matches showed higher levels of positive outcomes in three categories (p<.001, p<.001, p<.01 each) than those in school-based program matches. Longer participation (more than one year) in mentoring programs was associated with better improved outcomes of Confidence (p<.01) and Competence (p<.001) than short-term participation (less than 6 months) and mid-term (6 to 12 months).

Conclusions: This study confirms that volunteer mentoring programs can be a useful means for positive development of disadvantaged school-aged children. Many mentoring agencies place priority on racial ethnic factors when matching youth to mentor role models, especially for African American children.  However, it has become normal for African American children to be matched more often with White mentors due to the lack of same ethnic minority volunteers.  

The study results find that cross-racial ethnic matching can be more positive than same-racial ethnic matching and that concern with racial and cultural backgrounds may not be essential for protégé-mentee bonding relationships nor for children’s positive development. Instead, qualifications, experiences, and cultural openness of mentors and agency training for mentors may be more important as matching criteria than racial and ethnic factors.

At-risk children and youth cannot successfully develop their inner strength through a simple match. To gain beneficial youth outcomes, program staff  should  pay special attention to well  designed and structured programs (e.g., cross vs. same-racial ethnic, school-based vs. community-based) and activities through assessing youths’ special needs (e.g., lack of confidence or school achievement). In addition, to assist protégés’ overall developmental areas, mentoring programs should encourage their matches to build relationships as long as possible. Finally, frequent workshops on cultural competence and multicultural intervention strategies should be offered to mentors.