IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v91y2018icp319-328.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

When natural mentors matter: Unraveling the relationship with delinquency

Author

Listed:
  • Kelley, Margaret S.
  • Lee, Meggan J.

Abstract

Research in the field of adolescent delinquency has, for some time now, shown a positive correlation between mentoring relationships and increased social capital, such as self-esteem, education, and employment achievements. Youth who have a mentor are also likely to have lower rates of some measures of problem behaviors. These findings, however, are complicated by factors such as type of mentor and characteristics of the mentoring relationship. In this paper, we use life-course theory and the sociological construct of “mattering” derived from social learning theory, as frameworks for disentangling predictors of delinquency and the role of mentors. Given the usually positive influence of mentors in the lives of youths, especially those considered “at-risk,” we explore the role of natural mentors in the delinquency and dangerousness outcomes of adolescents using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health data (Add Health), waves I-III (N = 10,120). Results show that natural mentors reduce delinquency over time depending upon characteristics of the mentoring relationship. A key finding is that mattering to others is in fact a vital part of the relationship between natural mentors and delinquency outcomes. The implications of these findings are discussed along with suggestions for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Kelley, Margaret S. & Lee, Meggan J., 2018. "When natural mentors matter: Unraveling the relationship with delinquency," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 319-328.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:91:y:2018:i:c:p:319-328
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.06.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740917310253
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.06.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thompson, Allison E. & Greeson, Johanna K.P. & Brunsink, Ashleigh M., 2016. "Natural mentoring among older youth in and aging out of foster care: A systematic review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 40-50.
    2. DuBois, D.L. & Silverthorn, N., 2005. "Natural mentoring relationships and adolescent health: Evidence from a national study," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 95(3), pages 518-524.
    3. Greeson, Johanna K.P. & Usher, Lynn & Grinstein-Weiss, Michal, 2010. "One adult who is crazy about you: Can natural mentoring relationships increase assets among young adults with and without foster care experience?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 565-577, April.
    4. Greeson, Johanna K.P. & Bowen, Natasha K., 2008. ""She holds my hand" The experiences of foster youth with their natural mentors," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(10), pages 1178-1188, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zinn, Andrew, 2017. "Predictors of natural mentoring relationships among former foster youth," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 564-575.
    2. Greeson, Johanna K.P. & Thompson, Allison E. & Ali, Samira & Wenger, Rebecca Stern, 2015. "It's good to know that you got somebody that's not going anywhere: Attitudes and beliefs of older youth in foster care about child welfare-based natural mentoring," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 140-149.
    3. Thompson, Allison E. & Greeson, Johanna K.P. & Brunsink, Ashleigh M., 2016. "Natural mentoring among older youth in and aging out of foster care: A systematic review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 40-50.
    4. Greeson, Johanna K.P. & Usher, Lynn & Grinstein-Weiss, Michal, 2010. "One adult who is crazy about you: Can natural mentoring relationships increase assets among young adults with and without foster care experience?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 565-577, April.
    5. Duke, Taylor & Farruggia, Susan P. & Germo, Gary R., 2017. "“I don't know where I would be right now if it wasn't for them”: Emancipated foster care youth and their important non-parental adults," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 65-73.
    6. Gowdy, Grace & Miller, Daniel P. & Spencer, Renée, 2020. "Expanding and deepening our understanding of which young people are most likely to have an informal mentor," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    7. Jay Miller, J. & Benner, Kalea & Kheibari, Athena & Washington, Earl, 2017. "Conceptualizing on-campus support programs for collegiate foster youth and alumni: A plan for action," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 57-67.
    8. Kelly, Cara & Thornton, Anthony & Anthony, Elizabeth K. & Krysik, Judy, 2021. "“Love. Stability. Boundaries.” Kinship perspectives of social-emotional well-being of youth residing in out-of-home care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    9. Greeson, Johanna K.P. & Garcia, Antonio R. & Kim, Minseop & Thompson, Allison E. & Courtney, Mark E., 2015. "Development & maintenance of social support among aged out foster youth who received independent living services: Results from the Multi-Site Evaluation of Foster Youth Programs," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 1-9.
    10. Meltzer, Ariella & Saunders, Isabella, 2020. "Cultivating supportive communities for young people – Mentor pathways into and following a youth mentoring program," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    11. Meltzer, Ariella & Muir, Kristy & Craig, Lyn, 2016. "Being trusted: The perspectives of trusted adults about engaging with young people," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 58-66.
    12. Okland, Idun & Oterholm, Inger, 2022. "Strengthening supportive networks for care leavers: A scoping review of social support interventions in child welfare services," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    13. Jay Miller, J. & Benner, Kalea & Pope, Natalie & Dumas, Tamikia & Damron, Larry J. & Segress, Melissa & Slone, Melissa & Thrasher, Shawndaya & Niu, Chunling, 2017. "Conceptualizing effective foster parent mentor programs: A participatory planning process," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 411-418.
    14. Blakeslee, Jennifer E. & Best, Jared I., 2019. "Understanding support network capacity during the transition from foster care: Youth-identified barriers, facilitators, and enhancement strategies," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 220-230.
    15. Ahrens, Kym R. & DuBois, David Lane & Garrison, Michelle & Spencer, Renee & Richardson, Laura P. & Lozano, Paula, 2011. "Qualitative exploration of relationships with important non-parental adults in the lives of youth in foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 1012-1023, June.
    16. Sulimani-Aidan, Yafit & Melkman, Eran, 2024. "A comparative analysis of protective and promotive factors of at-risk youth in the community and in residential care settings in Israel," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    17. Cesar, Gabriel T & Decker, Scott H., 2020. "“CPS Sucks, but… I think I’m better off in the system:” Family, social support, & arts-based mentorship in child protective services," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    18. Sulimani-Aidan, Yafit & Tayri-Schwartz, Talia, 2021. "The role of natural mentoring and sense of belonging in enhancing resilience among youth in care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    19. Gowdy, Grace & Hogan, Sean, 2021. "Informal mentoring among foster youth entering higher education," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    20. Blakeslee, Jennifer E. & Kothari, Brianne H. & Miller, Rebecca A., 2023. "Intervention development to improve foster youth mental health by targeting coping self-efficacy and help-seeking," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:91:y:2018:i:c:p:319-328. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.