LET's CONNECT community mentorship program for youths with peer social problems: Preliminary findings from a randomized effectiveness trial

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of LET’s CONNECT (LC), a community mentorship program for youths who report peer social problems, which is based on a positive youth development framework. Participants were 218 youths (66.5% girls), aged 12 to 15 years, who were recruited from an urban medical emergency department and screened positive for bullying victimization, bullying perpetration, and/or low social connectedness. Youths were randomized to LC (n = 106) or the control condition (n = 112). Six-month outcomes were assessed with self-report measures of youth social connectedness, community connectedness, thwarted belongingness, depression, self-esteem, and suicidal ideation. LC was associated with a significant increase in only one of these outcomes, social connectedness (effect size = 0.4). It was associated consistently with trend-level positive changes for thwarted belongingness (decreased), depression (decreased), community connectedness, and self-esteem (effect sizes = 0.2). There was no effect on suicidal ideation (effect size = 0.0), and although not a primary outcome, eight youths in the LC condition and seven youths in the control condition engaged in suicidal behavior between baseline and follow-up. Although LC effect sizes are consistent with those from previous studies of community mentorship, there were multiple challenges to LC implementation that affected dosage and intervention fidelity, and that may account for the lack of stronger positive effects.

Using Mixed Methods to Identify the Primary Mental Health Problems and Needs of Children, Adolescents, and Their Caregivers during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

“…To our knowledge, only one remote intervention for loneliness has been designed and tested for young people, with a focus on emerging adults [ 60 ]. A handful of loneliness-based intervention and prevention programs have been designed for younger children [ 61 , 62 ], but adaptions of such protocols that could be conducive to the virtual world of COVID-19 are limited. Relatedly, caregiver responses often focused on their child’s boredom and motivation.…”

Rapid Systematic Review: The Impact of Social Isolation and Loneliness on the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents in the Context of COVID-19

“…Two randomized controlled trials measured loneliness and mental health outcomes following an intervention aimed at the general population (peer mentoring 81 and classroom based 82 (Table 4). In both instances, the comparator was no intervention/with follow-up and education as usual.…”

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

“…Mentorship programs have been found to have various benefits for adolescent mentees (e.g., [ 9 , 21 , 22 ]). In an evaluation of a community-based intervention that included mentorship and weekly meetings, among the 10–12-year-old girls who attended, they showed improvements in self-esteem, peer bonding and school attachment [ 23 ].…”

“…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 ].…”