Mentoring programs hold great promise for fostering competency in disadvantaged youth. Although considerable theoretical work has been conducted to explain the role of mentoring relationships in promoting positive youth outcomes, very little empirical research has directly investigated this alliance. The present study developed and validated a tool to assess mentees’ perceptions of their relationships with their mentors and to investigate the relationship between this alliance and youth competency. Based on pilot data from four cross‐national mentoring programs (N=276), a 10‐item, two‐factor Mentor–Youth Alliance Scale (MYAS) was created. Subsequent confirmatory factor analyses conducted on national evaluation data from a multi‐site study of mentoring programs (N=219), generated a 10‐item, one‐factor solution. The one‐factor MYAS significantly predicted youths’ scores in four competency domains: Family Bonding, Relationships with Adults, School Bonding, and Life Skills, at 8‐months post‐intake. Higher competency youth were more likely to be female, younger on average, and have a higher quality of relationships with their mentors than were lower competency youth. Implications for the development of the mentor–protégé relationship are discussed.

The purpose of this study is to examine the issues Hmong immigrants considered family secrets and to whom they would disclose their secrets when these secrets became problematic to them. Ninety-nine Hmong immigrant adults (39 males and 60 females), with ages ranging from 18 to 89 participated in this study. Content analysis found more than half of the participants considered marital issues to be secrets, while descriptive statistics found spousal arguments about family chores were the most secretive, followed by arguments about children, and overspending. Relatives on the husband's side, spouse, family members, and adult children were among the most frequent recipients of disclosures. The article concluded with some suggestions for educators, practitioners, and policymakers who work with Hmong immigrant families.

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