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Cited by 68Mentoring and Academic DevelopmentYouth Development and Social SupportCrime Patterns and Interventions

Finding the sweet spot: investigating the effects of relationship closeness and instrumental activities in school-based mentoring

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Lyons, Michael D., McQuillin, Samuel D., Henderson, Lora J.·2019·American Journal of Community Psychology
DOI 10.1002/ajcp.12283PMC PMC6590442
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Abstract

School-based mentoring programs are popular prevention programs thought to influence youth development; but rigorous evaluations indicate that these programs often have small effects on youth outcomes. Researchers suggest that these findings may be explained by (a) mentors and mentees failing to develop a close relationship and (b) mentors not setting goals or focusing on specific skills necessary improve outcomes. We assessed these explanations using data from approximately 1360 mentor and mentee pairs collected through a national study of school-based mentoring (called, "The Student Mentoring Program"). Specifically, we tested the influence of mentee-reported relationship quality and mentor-reported use of goal-setting and feedback-oriented activities on academic, behavioral, and social-emotional outcomes. Results suggested that youth reported relationship quality was associated with small to medium effects on outcomes. Moreover, goal-setting and feedback-oriented activities were associated with moderate to large effects on outcomes. We also found significant interactions between relationship quality and goal-setting and feedback-oriented activities on youth outcomes. We conclude that there appears to be a "sweet-spot" wherein youth outcomes are maximized. The results of this study suggest a need for school-based mentoring programs to monitor and support mentors in developing a close relationship while also providing opportunities to set goals and receive feedback.

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  • The SBM program led to reductions in delinquency.

    “delinquency (Lyons et al., 2019)”

    From Outcome domains and assessment measures in school-based youth mentoring programs: a systematic review (2026) · cites this paper as Lyons et al., 2019

    The Discussion (page unavailable) reports favorable behavioral effects, especially for mentees with high-quality relationships whose mentors used goal-setting or feedback; delinquency was among the behavioral outcomes studied. But it also says the program’s overall impact evaluation found null effects, so the paper does not support an unqualified claim that the program reduced delinquency. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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Authors
Lyons, M. D., McQuillin, S. D., & Henderson, L. J.
Affiliations
  • University of Virginia (US)
  • University of South Carolina (US)
Corresponding author
Lyons, Michael D.
ORCID
Venue
American Journal of Community Psychology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2018-12-12
Volume
63
Issue
1-2
Pages
88-98
ISSN
  • 0091-0562 (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-2770
DOI
10.1002/ajcp.12283
PMC
PMC6590442
OpenAlex
W2904350463
Cited by
68
References
29
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 5
FWCI
8.80
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • American Journal of Community Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mentoring and Academic Development
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Youth Development and Social Support
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Crime Patterns and Interventions
Keywords
school-based mentoring, relationship closeness, goal setting, youth development, educational outcomes, behavioral effects, social-emotional outcomes, prevention programs, student mentoring program, mentoring relationships
MeSH terms
Mentoring, Academic Success, Adolescent, Child, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Mentors, Regression Analysis, Schools, Students, Program Evaluation

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