Going the distance: A longitudinal qualitative study of formal youth mentoring relationship development

Abstract

More enduring formal youth mentoring relationships tend to be more effective, but our understanding of how such relationships develop and are sustained remains limited. This prospective, qualitative study examined the development of 67 one-to-one, community-based mentoring relationships over a 2-year period. Data included interviews with mentors, youth, and the youth's parent/guardian across multiple time-points and agency case notes. Five developmental trajectories were identified: (a) continued growth, (b) initial growth that plateaued, (c) initial growth followed by decline and then recovery, (d) initial growth followed by decline with no recovery, and (e) little to no growth or connection. Matches in the continued growth and recovery groups were more enduring and experienced by participants as meaningful connections. Factors that appeared to have contributed to these different trajectories were youth interest in the mentoring relationship, mentor empathy, flexibility, and commitment, and program support.