Girls (and Boys) Just Wanna Have Fun: A Mixed-Methods Examination of the Role of Gender in Youth Mentoring Relationship Duration and Quality

Background and Purpose: Evidence points to gender difference in mentoring relationship duration and quality, with female mentoring matches at higher risk for ending prematurely. This is concerning given longer lasting relationships are more likely to be impactful.  It has been suggested that female youth in mentoring programs may have poorer quality parental relationships, perhaps making it more difficult to establish mentoring connections.  Additional research indicates that when initial expectations of mentoring are not met, some mentors feel disappointed and withdraw from the relationship.

The present study is a longitudinal, mixed-methods investigation for which we used quantitative survey data to examine gender differences in relationship duration and strength, and quality of youth-guardian relationship. Qualitative interview data were analyzed to examine mentors' and youths' expectations for their mentoring relationships and their experiences as the relationships developed.

Methods: Participants were 67 gender-matched mentor-youth pairs (37 female) in community-based mentoring programs.  Youth, aged 9-15, were racially diverse.  Mentors, aged 20-55, were predominantly White (75%).  Participants completed surveys and in-depth, semi-structured interviews when the match was made and at 3 and 6 months into the relationship.  Interviews elicited participants' experiences of the nature, quality and development of the mentoring relationship including expectations of and satisfaction with the relationship.  Interviews were analyzed using a multi-step thematic analysis.

Results: Male matches were more likely to last at least 1 year (X²= 6.04, p= .01). At baseline, male youth reported stronger relationships with their guardians (t= 2.96, p <.01), and male youth whose matches lasted at least 1 year reported significantly better relationships with their guardians compared to females whose matches lasted less than (X²= 6.69, p=.01) or greater than 1 year (X²= 3.26, p=.07). After 3 months, male mentors and youth reported stronger mentoring relationship quality compared to female mentors (t= 2.65, p <.05) and youth (t= 2.13, p <.05).  Male mentors whose matches lasted at least 1 year reported stronger mentoring relationships after 3 months compared to females whose matches lasted less than (X²= 3.65, p=.06) or greater than 1 year (X²= 5.36, p=.02).

Interviews from a sub-sample of matches (n = 29) showed that although male and female mentors hoped to experience emotional closeness with their mentees, females had higher expectations for both depth of connection and the pace at which it would be achieved. At follow-up, female mentors also expressed greater dissatisfaction when matches were not as close as anticipated. In contrast, both female and male youth indicated that they primarily hoped and expected to engage in fun activities, and most were satisfied with their relationships.

Conclusions and Implications: Findings from this study both corroborate the existing research that documents gender differences in match duration and also point to new ways of understanding these differences.  The expectations of male mentors were more aligned with those of both male and female mentees and also with how youth form connections. This suggests that programs may be able to facilitate more durable matches for girls by tempering female mentors' expectations for the rapid development of emotional closeness.