WITHDRAWN: Mentor-Youth Activity Profiles, Mentoring Relationship Processes, and Positive Youth Development

Introduction. Despite a wealth of research on youth mentoring, few studies have examined the potential influence of match activities, or the type of activities that mentors and mentees engage in when they meet, on the mentoring relationship and mentoring impact. Such research is critical because previous literature suggests that not all children benefit from mentoring and that the impact of mentoring on positive youth development (PYD) may be dependent on certain conditions.

Method. Using latent profile analysis (LPA), we investigated associations between mentor-youth activities, relationship processes, and positive youth outcomes. Participants (N=1,110) were from a larger national, randomized study of Big Brothers Big Sisters School-Based Mentoring Programs. Among the current study participants, 54% were female, and self-identified as 47% White, 26% Non-white Hispanic or Latino, 23% Black or African American, 12% Native American, 2% Asian or Pacific Islander, and 5% other. Thirty-six percent lived in a single-parent household and 60% received free/reduced lunch. Sixty-one percent were in 4-5^th grade, 35% in 6-8^th, and 5% in 9^thgrade.

Results and Conclusion. Results of LPA indicated that a three-profile model was the best fit to the data (BIC =10542.397, SSA-BIC =10421.809, Entropy = .84). The three profiles, labeled instructional (n=141), playful (n=247), and conversational (n=39), varied on the extent to which matches engaged in a range of activities and conversations. Descriptive analyses indicated some differences in gender, age, baseline stress, mentor goals, and program structure among the three profiles. Further regression analyses indicated that compared to youth who did not participate in mentoring, youth in the playful group demonstrated both academic and social-emotional gains, including higher academic performance (p =.06), marginally higher self-perceptions of academic abilities (p =.08),increased peer self-esteem enhancement (p <.05) and parent relationship quality (p <.01). They were also more likely to report the presence of a non-parental special adult in their lives (OR =1.47, p =.05), and less likely to engage in school-related misconduct (OR =.59, p =.07). Youth in the instructional group demonstrated largely academic gains including higher academic performance (p <.05), classroom effort (p <.05), self-perceptions of academic abilities (p =.05), and marginally higher global self-worth (p =.07). Youth in the conversational group showed gains only on self-perceptions of academic abilities (p <.05). Finally, relative to youth in the other two profiles, youth in the playful group reported marginally greater emotional engagement with their mentor (p =.07). Implications for research and practice will be discussed.