Interpersonal Dynamics Shaping Positive Mentee and Mentor Relationships

Shier, Micheal L.; Larsen-Halikowski, Jesssica; Gouthro, Stephanie

doi:10.1007/s10560-020-00660-w

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Mentors and other helping adults have an ethical obligation to establish and maintain boundaries in their relationships with young people (Rhodes et al 2009). However, research has also shown that mentees appreciate mentors who are open and authentic with them, and disclosing on personal and even sensitive topics is one way mentors can demonstrate their feelings of trust and closeness with their mentees (Liang et al 2008;Shier et al 2020). In our study, several mentors mentioned how they carefully consider mentee requests for mentor disclosure, seemingly acknowledging the value of honesty and trust to relationship development.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the benefits and risks of mentor self-disclosure: relationship quality and ethics in youth mentoring

Dutton

Deane

Bullen

2021

Kōtuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online

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Evidence shows that self-disclosure plays an important role in developing and maintaining close interpersonal relationships. As self-disclosure remains largely unexamined in the context of interventions based on youth-adult helping relationships, little is known about the effects of mentor disclosure, or the ethics of using this communication technique. In this study, we used selfreport questionnaire data from 51 mentoring pairs to investigate the effect of mentor self-disclosure on relationship quality in youth mentoring relationships, and consider the ethical challenges that arise when helping adults disclose to young people. Bivariate correlations showed mentor self-disclosure was significantly associated with relationship quality for mentees, but not mentors. Qualitative content analysis showed mentors were aware of how their disclosure may have ethical implications associated with the age and role-appropriateness of topics, contradictions between their own and the mentees' family or cultural values, and the potential to negatively influence mentee behaviour. We consider these findings in a context of ethics in youth mentoring to raise questions about the intersection of disclosure, relationship quality, and safe mentoring practice.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the benefits and risks of mentor self-disclosure: relationship quality and ethics in youth mentoring

Dutton

Deane

Bullen

2021

Kōtuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online

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“…Furthermore, as a future direction of study, we recommend exploring mentor applicants' motivations for service. Associations between mentors' motivations to engage in a mutually beneficial partnership with younger youth may influence mentorship (Shier et al, 2020b), and identifying such relationships may help organizations to identify those mentors whose interests best serve their mentees.…”

Section: Implications For Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fostering youth civic engagement through effective mentorship: Understanding the college student volunteer mentors who succeed

Castro

Cohen

2020

Journal Community Psychology

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College student volunteers play a critical role in many school-based educational programs and can foster valuable near-peer relationships with adolescents, yet how to best select these volunteers has been understudied. We studied college student volunteer mentors for Generation Citizen, a non-profit that provides school-based action civics education programming, and their adolescent students. We identify three common characteristics possessed by the strongest college mentors. Participants were nine college volunteer mentors (67% female; 78% White); these mentors worked in pairs (and one trio) in four different classrooms. Using an action research approach, we conducted semistructured interviews, surveys, and classroom observations to generate quantitative and qualitative data. Effective mentors were: person-oriented, emphasizing the mentor-student connection; aligned with the organization's mission; and constantly honing their craft of mentorship. We recommend college volunteer programs select applicants for positions based on these key indicators to foster mission-driven and motivating educational programming.

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“…An actor who is less open could disclose a lot, but with a guarded or half-hearted demeanor. Openness in disclosure may show that the relationship is a safe space for sharing personal information with one another (Shier et al, 2020 ), while a lack thereof could stifle the development of their mentoring relationship (Lester et al, 2019 ). On this basis, there was an expectation that greater mentor openness would be associated with greater mentees’ relationship quality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Observational Dyadic Methods in Youth Mentoring Research: Preliminary Evidence of the Role of Actors’ and Partners’ Self-disclosure in Predicting Relationship Quality

Dutton

Deane

Overall

2023

J Youth Adolescence

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Self-disclosure builds high quality relationships, but knowledge of self-disclosure in youth mentoring relationships is limited by a lack of research and reliance on self-reports. To demonstrate the value of observational methods and dyadic modeling of mentoring communication processes, this study examined the associations between behavioral observation of self-disclosure and self-reported relationship quality in 49 mentee-mentor dyads (mentees: 73.5% female; x̄ age = 16.2, range = 12–19; mentors: 69.4% female; x̄ age = 36.2, range = 19–59). Video-recorded observations of disclosure were coded on three dimensions: amount (number of topics and detail of disclosure), intimacy (disclosure of personal or sensitive information), and openness (willingness to disclose). More intimate mentor disclosure was associated with higher mentee relationship quality, whereas higher amount of mentor disclosure combined with low intimacy was associated with lower mentee relationship quality. Greater mentee openness correlated with higher mentor relationship quality, but more intimate mentee disclosures were associated with lower mentee relationship quality. These preliminary findings illustrate the potential of methods that enable in-depth investigation of dyadic processes to advance understanding of how behavioral processes may influence mentoring relationships.

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Interpersonal Dynamics Shaping Positive Mentee and Mentor Relationships

Cited by 3 publications

References 30 publications

Exploring the benefits and risks of mentor self-disclosure: relationship quality and ethics in youth mentoring

Exploring the benefits and risks of mentor self-disclosure: relationship quality and ethics in youth mentoring

Fostering youth civic engagement through effective mentorship: Understanding the college student volunteer mentors who succeed

Using Observational Dyadic Methods in Youth Mentoring Research: Preliminary Evidence of the Role of Actors’ and Partners’ Self-disclosure in Predicting Relationship Quality

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