Impact of mentoring on socio‐emotional and mental health outcomes of youth with learning disabilities and attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder

Abstract

Background Learning disabilities (LD) and attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are often accompanied by significant socio‐emotional impairments and mental health challenges. However, there is a lack of controlled, quantitative research on potential interventions to address this issue. The current study evaluated the impact of a near‐peer mentoring program for youth with LD/ADHD designed to promote socio‐emotional well‐being. Methods Youth with LD/ADHD who participated in the mentoring program (Mentored; n = 99) were compared to both nonmentored youth with LD/ADHD (Control‐NM; n = 51) and typically developing youth without LD/ADHD (Control‐TD; n = 81) prementoring in the fall and postmentoring in the spring. Participants were assessed using self‐report measures of anxiety, depression, interpersonal relations, and self‐esteem. Results Youth with LD/ADHD showed significantly higher scores of depression and significantly lower scores of interpersonal relations compared to the Control‐TD group at fall baseline. The depression and self‐esteem scores of the Mentored group significantly decreased and increased, respectively, after mentoring. These changes were associated with mentee‐perceived mentorship quality. The Control‐NM group showed significant decreases in both self‐esteem and interpersonal relations, as well as increases in depression over time, while the Control‐TD group remained stable across all measures. Conclusions Results suggest that mentoring shows promise as a potential intervention for youth with LD/ADHD who experience co‐occurring socio‐emotional and mental health difficulties. The study is the first, to our knowledge, to quantify the effect of a near‐peer mentoring program on youth with LD/ADHD in a design with two control groups. Implications for research and practice involving LD, ADHD, and mental health disorders are discussed. LD and ADHD are associated with increased anxiety, depression, and impaired self‐esteem and interpersonal relationships. There is a lack of research on interventions that could address the mental health problems and socio‐emotional difficulties that co‐occur with learning disabilities and ADHD. Near‐peer mentoring is a promising intervention that can improve socio‐emotional well‐being and mental health in youth with learning disabilities and ADHD, and highlights the importance of strong interpersonal relationships as a protective factor.

How Disability and Other Socio-Economic Factors Matter to Children’s Socio-Emotional Outcomes: Results from a Longitudinal Study Conducted in Ireland

“…The findings of this study resonate with previous research findings which have found significant relationships between disability and poor socio-emotional health (see Bakopoulou and Dockrell 2016;Bryan et al 2004;Davis and Watson 2001; A. Swift et al et al 2019;Haft et al 2019;Lindsay 2007;Van Agt et al 2011) as disabled children were found to be up to 16.3 times more likely to experience poor socio-emotional outcomes over time than their peers without disability. This study found no significant interaction between migrant background and disability and poor socio-emotional outcomes, which is in line with previous findings (Cotter et al 2019).…”

The Role of a Mentorship Program on the Relationship between Neglect and Depression among Adolescents in Low-Income Families

“…Additionally, mentorship programs specifically have been found to affect participating adolescents’ depression [ 8 , 9 , 22 ]. In a school-based mentorship program that paired U.S. elementary and middle school students with learning disabilities and/or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] with mentors (high school and college students who also had learning disabilities and/or ADHD) showed that participating students had decreased depression after participation in the program compared to baseline, while students in the control group experienced increases in depression over the period of the mentorship program [ 8 ].…”

“…Researchers have found that one contributing factor for high levels of adolescent depression is neglect by parents or caregivers [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. One intervention that has been found to be successful in reducing levels of depression among high-risk adolescents are formal mentorship programs, or programs where one person (the mentee) is matched with another person (the mentor) who provides support in various ways (e.g., [ 8 , 9 ]). Formal mentorship programs are distinguished from informal mentorship programs by the fact that formal programs have a set of guidelines or a process in which the mentorship takes place, while informal mentoring is more unstructured [ 10 ].…”

Understanding ADHD: Toward an Innovative Therapeutic Intervention

“…Some comorbidities arise from the stress and frustration that emerge as patients acknowledge their behavioral differences and struggle to conform to a social setting in order to avoid social repercussions or academic consequences for their outbursts [ 31 ]. For example, difficulty with social skills can lead to higher risks for disorders such as anxiety or depression [ 32 ]. Children with ADHD can suffer from a certain degree of emotional impairment, with difficulty controlling feelings including anger or aggression [ 29 ].…”