A Mixed-Method Exploration of an emotion coaching approach within youth mentoring

Emotion coaching is a relational co-regulation approach to meeting youth’s emotional needs that was first discovered in high quality parent–child relationships. The current study piloted this approach within a youth mentoring program and sought to determine the extent to which youth mentors considered emotion coaching to be feasible and useful. Participants included 88 adult mentors of 11-to-18-year-old youth in a 12-week site-based youth mentoring program. Mentors were trained in emotion coaching prior to the start of the program and during brief training sessions ahead of each weekly program session. A sequential mixed-method design was used and included pre- and post-program self-report surveys and post-program focus groups. Mentors rated emotion coaching as highly feasible, acceptable, appropriate, and effective. Mentor self-efficacy and emotion coaching significantly increased from pre- to post-program and emotion dismissing significantly decreased. Emotion coaching was associated with higher mentoring relationship quality, whereas emotion dismissing was associated with lower quality mentoring relationships. Mentors’ emotion dysregulation was related to greater emotion dismissing tendencies. No significant change was observed in mentors’ emotion dysregulation from pre- to post-program. Results from the focus groups corroborated these findings and offered suggestions for future training, including less rigidity in use of the emotion coaching approach, additional experiential learning opportunities, and continued ongoing support from experienced staff. Findings suggest that emotion coaching is an accessible strategy for youth mentors that should be evaluated further.