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Cited by 60Gender Roles and Identity StudiesMentoring and Academic DevelopmentYouth Development and Social Support

“I just feel safe with him”: Emotional closeness in male youth mentoring relationships

Spencer, Renee·2007·Psychology of Men & Masculinity
DOI 10.1037/1524-9220.8.3.185
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Abstract

This study provides an in-depth examination of close and enduring formal mentoring relationships between adolescent boys and adult men. Qualitative interviews conducted with 12 adolescent and adult pairs of participants (n 24) in a one-to-one communitybased youth mentoring program were analyzed thematically using a holistic-content approach. This yielded six major themes: (a) the importance of relationships with adult men in adolescence, (b) mentors’ desires to be involved and emotionally connected male role models, (c) the close and enduring nature of the emotional connections forged, (d) the ways these relationships provided safe places for emotional vulnerability and support, (e) how these relationships helped some boys manage feelings of anger more effectively, and (f) vacillations on the part of the mentors between more and less conventional forms of masculinity in relation to the emotional nature of these relationships. The findings of this study suggest that close and enduring male mentoring relationships have the potential to provide adolescent boys with models for less constricting and conventional forms of masculinity, particularly with regard to emotional disclosures and expressivity.

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Crossref · 10.1037/1524-9220.8.3.185

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  • Qualitative studies in the U.S. and Australia identified several reasons for early termination, including unforeseen changes in life circumstances, mentees' dissatisfaction, disappointment or disinterest, mentor dissatisfaction, unrealistic expectations, mentors' lack of relational skills, parents' interference and lack of parental support, gradual dissolution, and abandonment.

    “Their reported reasons for early termination included genuinely unforeseen changes in the mentors’ and mentees’ life circumstances, mentees’ dissatisfaction, disappointment or disinterest, mentor dissatisfaction, unrealistic expectations on the part of the mentors or the mentees, the mentors’ lack of relational skills, parents’ interference and lack of parental support, gradual dissolution with”

    From Unpacking Community-Based Youth Mentoring Relationships: An Integrative Review (2021) · cites this paper as [119]

  • Weaker relationships were more likely to end as a result of mentors' or mentees' dissatisfaction with the relationship, or to dissolve without formal termination.

    “Weaker relationships were more likely to end as a result of mentors’ or mentees’ dissatisfaction with the relationship, or to dissolve without formal termination [116,118,119,120,121].”

    From Unpacking Community-Based Youth Mentoring Relationships: An Integrative Review (2021) · cites this paper as [119]

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Authors
Spencer, R.
Venue
Psychology of Men & Masculinity
Publisher
American Psychological Association (APA)
Published
2007-07
Volume
8
Issue
3
Pages
185-198
ISSN
  • 1524-9220 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-151X
DOI
10.1037/1524-9220.8.3.185
OpenAlex
W2090500949
Cited by
59
References
56
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 5
FWCI
4.14
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Psychology of Men & Masculinity (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Henry A. Murray Research Center
  • Harvard University
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender Roles and Identity Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mentoring and Academic Development
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Youth Development and Social Support
Keywords
youth mentoring, male role models, adolescent boys, emotional closeness, masculinity, emotional disclosure, emotional vulnerability, anger management, mentoring relationships

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