In this meta‐analytic review, we examined the relation between natural mentoring and youth outcomes in four domains: academic and vocational functioning, social‐emotional development, physical health, and psychosocial problems. Natural mentoring relationships are thought to foster positive youth development and buffer against the risks associated with the tumultuous years of adolescence. Two separate meta‐analyses were conducted on the presence of a natural mentor and the quality of the natural mentoring relationship, including thirty studies from 1992 to present. The findings indicated that the presence of a natural mentor was significantly associated with positive youth outcomes (r = .106). A larger effect size was found for the quality of the natural mentoring relationship in terms of relatedness, social support, and autonomy support (r = .208). The largest effect sizes were found for social‐emotional development and academic and vocational functioning. Risk‐status (e.g., teenage mothers, homeless youth, youth in foster care, and youth of alcoholic parents) did not moderate the relation between presence and quality of natural mentoring relationships and youth outcomes, which may indicate that natural mentors are generally beneficial for all youth regardless of risk‐status. Implications for theory and practice concerning the quality of the natural mentoring relationship are discussed.

Today’s smartphones allow for a wide range of “big data” measurement, for example, ecological momentary assessment (EMA), whereby behaviours are repeatedly assessed within a person’s natural environment. With this type of data, we can better understand – and predict – risk for behavioral and health issues and opportunities for (self-monitoring) interventions. In this mixed-methods feasibility study, through convenience sampling we collected data from 32 participants (aged 16–24) over a period of three months. To gain more insight into the app experiences of youth with mental health problems, we interviewed a subsample of 10 adolescents who received psycthological treatment. The results from this feasibility study indicate that emojis) can be used to identify positive and negative feelings, and individual pattern analyses of emojis may be useful for clinical purposes. While adolescents receiving mental health care are positive about future applications, these findings also highlight some caveats, such as possible drawback of inaccurate representation and incorrect predictions of emotional states. Therefore, at this stage, the app should always be combined with professional counseling. Results from this small pilot study warrant replication with studies of substantially larger sample size.

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