{"id":595,"date":"2008-10-16T16:50:35","date_gmt":"2008-10-16T15:50:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/?p=595"},"modified":"2008-10-16T16:50:35","modified_gmt":"2008-10-16T15:50:35","slug":"mentoring-for-prevention-a-valuable-partner-in-the-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2008\/10\/mentoring-for-prevention-a-valuable-partner-in-the-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Mentoring for prevention; a valuable partner in the process"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>Mentoring can best be described by the classic example of the Big Brother\/Big Sister Program. In the Big Brother\/Big Sister Program, an adult volunteer mentor commits to developing a supportive relationship with a youth who is between 6 and 16 years old. Although older youth can mentor younger ones, mentoring programs most typically rely on adult mentors. Informal mentoring may happen as part of any youth\/adult interaction, but mentoring programs seek to purposefully structure mentor\/mentee relationships to maximize success. Mentoring may be a component of treatment or intervention, but mentoring for prevention involves youth who have not experienced significant ATOD problems. Often the youth chosen to participate are considered to be \u201cat-risk\u201d due to having limited access to their parents.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>Mentoring is strongly rooted in resiliency theory and research. The goal is to \u201cbond\u201d each youth (via a caring, enjoyable relationship) to a positive role model who gives the youth encouragement and support for healthy activities and development.\u00a0 Key studies of eight Big Brother \/ Big Sister programs by an organization called \u2018Public\/Private Ventures\u2019 in the early 1990\u2019s differentiated successful \u2018developmental\u2019 mentor\/mentee relationships from less effective \u2018prescriptive\u201d relationships. In the less effective \u2018prescriptive\u201d relationships, adults sought to guide or direct youth, apparently leading to alienation in those youth rather than the success of the developmental, supportive relationships. (Mentors need to strike a balance between a non-prescriptive approach and the identifying of behaviours which need to be observed, and a [brotherly] discussion of these boundaries). These studies found very substantial effects toward decreased likelihood of mentored youth initiating alcohol or other drug use, in comparison to a control group.\u00a0 Bonnie Benard (1996) summarizes research-based characteristics of effective mentoring relationships as follows:<\/span><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>Relationships have sufficient intensity and duration (regular weekly contacts, three-four hours per meeting. longer than one year in duration, etc.)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>Sustained relationships are those in which the mentor sees him\/herself as a friend: not as a teacher or preacher. Success is based on the mentors belief that he or she is there to meet the developmental needs of youth\u2014to provide supports and opportunities the youth does not otherwise have.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>Mentors center their involvement and expectations on developing a reliable trusting relationship and expand the scope of their efforts as the relationship strengthens.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>Mentors place top priority on having the relationship enjoyable and fun to both partners, listen non-judgmentally, look for the youth\u2019s interests and strengths, and incorporate the youth into the decision-making process around their activities.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>From a resiliency perspective, mentors provide the three protective factors of a caring relationship that conveys positive expectations and respect, and that provides ongoing opportunities for participation and contribution, and see risks existing in the environment, not in the youth.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>Relationships are fundamentally based on the belief that the development of a caring, trusting, respectful reciprocal relationship is a key to reducing risks, enhancing protection, and promoting positive youth development in any system.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>The following list includes elements of an effective mentoring program. In any community based prevention, one can better assist those involved in the implementation\u00a0 of mentoring programs by promoting these elements:<\/span><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>Encourage quality relationships. Support efforts to build on research-based findings associated with successful mentoring relationships.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>Screen mentors. Use thorough volunteer screening methods that filter out adults who are unlikely to make a lasting commitments or might pose a safety risk to the youth.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>Train mentors. Conduct mentor training that promotes caring relationships, conveying a\u00a0 deep belief in a youth\u2019s innate resilience. Train on communication and limit-setting skills, tips on relationship-building, and recommendations on the best way to interact with a young person.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>Make careful matches. Ensure a good match between the youth and mentor expectations and program goals. Conduct interviews with mentors that explain the type and depth of a mentoring relationship and commitment expectations. Consider youth preferences, their family, and the volunteer, as well as use a professional case manager to analyze which volunteer would work best with which youth.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>Establish structure and a process. Build a program structure and process, supervised by case managers\/youth workers. Ensure that case managers supervise each match through quality contact with the parent\/guardian, volunteer, and youth in an ongoing\/consistent manner and provides help as needed. Use staff to provide \u201cback-up\u201d stability and continuity in a mentoring relationship, especially so that youth are not left alone if their mentor leaves.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>Create a communication process. Ensure that a communication and feedback loop is established for youth and adults to discuss needs, progress, and problems.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>Support social activities\/ATOD-free events. Support the relationship and activities of youth and adults by providing community-based activities and events that are ATOD-free. Be a resource\/volunteer in activities and educational programs.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>Meet mentor needs. Respond to a mentor\u2019s needs, as well as the youth\u2019s needs to support the mentoring relationship.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>Involve families. Communicate clear expectations about family involvement in the mentoring program. Build in opportunities for the families of the youth and adult to become involved in activities.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><em><span style=\"font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>References: This paper derived from a publication by Alan Markwood: Best Practices in ATOD Prevention, pp51-54, pubd. Chestnut Health Services for Illinois Department of Human Services, 1997. \u2013 Benard, Bonnie (1996). Mentoring: New study shows the power of relationships to make a difference. Resiliency in Action, Fall, 1996. \u2013 Blum, Robert William &amp; Peggy Mann (1997). Reducing the risk: Connections that Make a difference in the Lives of Youth. University of Minnesota. \u2013 Saito, Rebecca N. &amp; Blyth, Dale A. (1995). Understanding Mentoring Relationships. Search Institute, Minneapolis, MN. \u2013 Tierney, Joseph P. Grossman, J.B. with Resch, N.L. Public\/Private Ventures (1995). Making a Difference; an impact study of Big Brothers, Big Sisters (USA): 5 year evaluation.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mentoring can best be described by the classic example of the Big Brother\/Big Sister Program. In the Big Brother\/Big Sister Program, an adult volunteer mentor commits to developing a supportive relationship with a youth who is between 6 and 16 years old. Although older youth can mentor younger ones, mentoring programs most typically rely on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prevention-research"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}