title: Improving youth mentoring interventions through research-based practice.
abstract: Youth mentoring programs are in the limelight. Over three million young people have a Big Brother, a Big Sister, or a similar adult volunteer involved in their lives-a sixfold increase from just a decade ago-and generous federal funding continues to fuel new initiatives. This expansion speaks volumes about the faith our society places in one-on-one relationships between vulnerable young people and caring adults. But what do we know about the effectiveness of this intervention strategy? A better understanding of the research evidence for youth mentoring, including findings from reviews, evaluations, and meta-analyses, provides a basis for a more informed, practically applicable approach to strengthening youth mentoring interventions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Boston 100 Morrissey Blvd, Boston, MA 02125-3393, USA. Jean.rhodes@umb.edu
authors.forename: Jean E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Rhodes
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D008611:Mentors; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D012944:Social Support; D035862:Vulnerable Populations