Centering Black Advantage Vision: Informal Mentoring with Extended and Fictive Kin

Background

Informal mentoring – as in a relationship with a caring non-parental adult who supports the young person – has been specifically linked to a wide range of outcomes. Different kinds of mentors are good for different kinds of outcomes, specifically capital mentors (individuals that provide social capital and informational support) versus core mentors (individuals that provide emotional support). The present study integrates a bourgeoning conceptual framework, Black Advantage Vision (BAV). BAV calls for researchers to consider, examine, and amplify the benefits that Black communities and individuals have. In light of BAV, the two research questions for this study are:

1. Does core mentoring strengthen the association between Black identity and wellness outcomes in later adulthood?
2. How do Black youth describe core mentoring and kinship-like relationships?

Methods

The present study uses a mixed-methods approach, with two corresponding datasets. For Research Question 1, we used the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. This study included three waves of data: (1) Wave 1, collected when respondents were between 11 and 19 years old, (2) Wave 3 (18 to 26 years old), and (3) Wave 4 (25 to 33 years old). Our sample for RQ 1 included all 3,108 respondents that had non-missing information across these waves. All models to answer RQ1 were run as moderated regressions. Research Question 2 utilized a qualitative dataset from a qualitative case study of a culturally-responsive mentoring program in Seattle Public Schools called Kingmakers. 6 focus groups were conducted with a total of 44 predominately Black identifying youth in five different middle and high schools in Seattle.

Results

Black respondents had a significantly higher score on personal competence, controlling for mentorship and all covariates (β: 0.155, p<0.001). The additional effect of having a core mentor for Black respondents, however, all but negated the association between race and personal competence (β: -0.130, p: 0.024). In regard to anxiety and depression, there is a significant additional effect for Black youth with core mentors, who are less likely to be diagnosed with anxiety (OR: 0.527,p: 0.07) and less likely to be diagnosed with depression (OR: 0.514, p: 0.033).

The qualitative findings illustrated the many ways Black youth described the benefits of core mentoring. Youth expressed having someone that looked like them, that was from their community, and had their best interest at heart led to them trusting their facilitator. More than anything, students expressed the value of having a facilitator that cared about them as a person and discussed how the climate created in the Kingmakers class was a space, they felt safe in.

Conclusions and Implications

Core mentorship serves as a protective factor for Black respondents against unhealthy personal competence scores. In addition, core mentors serve as a protective factor against anxiety and depression diagnoses for Black respondents. Overall, youth in the qualitative study identified a variety of different aspects of the Kingmakers program that makes core and capital mentoring relationships impactful and distinct from other programs.