“[My counselor] knows stuff about me, but [my natural mentor] actually knows me”: Distinguishing characteristics of youth’s natural mentoring relationships

Deutsch, Nancy L.; Mauer, Victoria A.; Johnson, Haley; Grabowska, Anita A.; Arbeit, Miriam R.

doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104879

Cited by 17 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…This was often expressed by spending time with the youth, and by personality traits such as being "nice" and "funny." Previous studies using data from this data set found similar results, specifically in student-teacher relationships (Yu et al, 2018) and natural mentoring relationships (Deutsch et al, 2020). Researchers have also found that personality traits such as agreeableness and extroversion are important factors in a mentoring relationship (Turban & Lee, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

“…Youth agency is a central premise of PYD, and it is important to remember that youth control whether or not they interact with an adult, what is disclosed, and how much they connect. Identifying attributes of youth-adult relationships that are important during adolescence is an important step in identifying how adults move beyond superficial relationships to developmental relationships (Deutsch et al, 2020;Pekel et al, 2018). As Zaff et al (2016) propose, when relationships within an individual's ecology align with individual needs and strengths, positive development occurs and youth contribute to their broader ecology.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Broadening the perspective on youth's systems of support: An ecological examination of supportive peer and adult relationships during adolescence

Melton

Brehm

Deutsch

2021

Journal Community Psychology

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This study applies the theory of positive youth development (Lerner et al., 2010) and the youth systems framework (Varga & Zaff, 2018) to the examination of supportive peer and adult relationships across multiple Adolescence is a time of significant change (National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine, 2019). As individuals enter adolescence they develop in several critical ways, including socially (Bowers et al., 2014;Carlo et al., 2007). Although multiple factors contribute to development, including biological changes (Branje, 2018), the interactions with other individuals in one's environment are often considered to be the mechanism for most development (Lerner et al., 2010). Many researchers agree: development occurs through relationships (Varga & Zaff, 2018). Individuals learn social skills and develop a sense of identity through interactions with others in their environment (Bowers et al., 2014). During adolescence, the relationships that shape development are shifting, as relationships with parents often change (Branje, 2018), and peers become increasingly important as sources of support (Stotsky & Bowker, 2018).However, although parental relationships change, there is still evidence that supportive relationships with parents remain important for positive development (Muscarà et al., 2018). In addition, research provides evidence that supportive relationships with nonparental adults can also be valuable during adolescence (Yu et al., 2018). As youth age, they begin to interact with more individuals across different contexts of their environment, including with additional adults outside their families (Lerner et al., 2010;Zhang et al., 2018). In an effort to make sense of these multiple relationships, this study examines supportive relationships with peers, parents, and nonparental adults across multiple contexts during adolescence using an ecological perspective and mixed methodology. | REVIEW OF LITERATUREAs adolescents mature, their social networks expand (Zhang et al., 2018), allowing them to interact with more individuals and across multiple contexts. These social networks become important sources of social support, which is essential as youth progress to adulthood (Chu et al., 2010). Social support is generally defined as social resources available or perceived to be available to a person by individuals within their network and is associated with positive youth outcomes such as well-being (Chu et al., 2010). Although social support is often discussed in a holistic way, there are multiple types of support, including companionship (partnership in activities), emotional (source of support with feelings, etc.), informational (provides advice and information about resources), instrumental (provides concrete support and help), and validation support (affirms individual, normalizing behavior and feelings; Wills & Shinar, 2000). The presence of social support has been associated with positive youth outcomes (Lerner et al., 2011), and a youth's perception of support has been found to act as a signif...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Broadening the perspective on youth's systems of support: An ecological examination of supportive peer and adult relationships during adolescence

Melton

Brehm

Deutsch

2021

Journal Community Psychology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…At each interview, youth were asked to discuss their relationships with significant adults, called Very Important People (VIP). VIP was defined for youth as: “Persons you count on and that are there for you, believe in and care deeply about you, inspire you to do your best, and influence what you do and the choices you make” (Deutsch et al, 2020). Similar definitions have also been used in other research (Beam et al, 2002; Hirsch et al, 2011).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Each interview was conducted by one or two faculty or graduate student interviewers in accordance with a semistructured interview protocol and lasted approximately 1 hour. Most of the interviewers were women (84%) who racially identified as either Asian/Pacific Islander (29%) or White (71%) (Deutsch et al, 2020). Neither of the authors interviewed the participant, Bodos, themselves, although the second author, a White woman, interviewed other youths for the study and led research team meetings throughout the study where Bodos’ data were discussed.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, one strength of qualitative research is that new questions can emerge that were not anticipated during a study’s original design. As such, while a Black boy’s use of fictive kinship practices in mentoring relationships was not the focus of the original study (see Deutsch et al, 2020), the language of fictive kinship in Bodos’ interview responses signaled a degree of significance that warranted a secondary analysis focusing on that construct. Long-Sutehall et al (2010) noted one critique of secondary analysis of qualitative data relates to maintaining the context of interview responses by referencing interviewer field notes.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Conferring Kinship: Examining Fictive Kinship Status in a Black Adolescent’s Natural Mentoring Relationship

Scott

Deutsch

2021

Journal of Black Psychology

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This case study examines the way an adolescent Black boy extends his kinship network as a part of navigating and demonstrating agency in mentoring relationships with nonparental adults. We purposively selected one participant, Bodos, from the sample of a larger mixed-method study involving youth, aged 12 to 18 years, in the southeastern United States. Drawing on narrative methodology, we used a holistic-content approach to analyze Bodos’ responses to semistructured interviews. Bodos used several narratives to describe his experiences. We offer three findings: (a) Fictive kinship is a positive feature of Black adaptive culture that can be leveraged by Black youth as a tool for creating a distinct relational dynamic with their mentors, (b) adolescent Black boys possess skills and knowledge that both preexist and emerge within positive mentoring relationships, and (c) youth agency and expectations manifest in mentoring relationships to inform and influence those adults’ significance. This case study furthers the field’s understanding of how cultural practices can positively influence relational development and create a unique relational context and experience.

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Project DREAM: Iterative development of an afterschool program with an emphasis on youth–adult relationships

Hurd,

Billingsley

2023

American J of Comm Psychol

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The current manuscript describes the iterative development of an afterschool intervention aimed at fostering supportive relationships between adolescents and adults from their everyday lives. Project DREAM (Developing Resourcefulness, Engagement, Acceptance, and Mentoring) is a novel afterschool preventive intervention aimed at promoting youths' improved academic outcomes via gains in social and emotional development and their connectedness with nonparental adults. The purpose of the iterative development process was to improve the intervention to make it maximally usable and acceptable to the intended users and participants. The iterative development process was informed by data collected from advisory boards, focus groups, interviews, and observations of program sessions. In the current article, we describe the methods implemented as part of this process and fully describe the resulting intervention revisions completed across the 2‐year period. We also summarize lessons learned.

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“[My counselor] knows stuff about me, but [my natural mentor] actually knows me”: Distinguishing characteristics of youth’s natural mentoring relationships

Cited by 17 publications

References 39 publications

Broadening the perspective on youth's systems of support: An ecological examination of supportive peer and adult relationships during adolescence

Broadening the perspective on youth's systems of support: An ecological examination of supportive peer and adult relationships during adolescence

Conferring Kinship: Examining Fictive Kinship Status in a Black Adolescent’s Natural Mentoring Relationship

Project DREAM: Iterative development of an afterschool program with an emphasis on youth–adult relationships

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