User:Tnm2ff/sandbox

Edit to youth mentoring

Much research has been conducted on youth mentoring with the intent of determining if there are positive benefits for youth and, if so, under what conditions the positive effects are most likely to occur. The evidence is somewhat mixed, however. According to some studies, not all mentoring programs are found to have positive effects. Furthermore, some studies demonstrating positive outcomes for youth enrolled show that apparent benefits do not always last long after the intervention has ended. On the other hand, some research indicates that the use of specific best practices, like encouraging a relationship of a year or longer and providing mentor support, can be used to improve the mentoring experience.

Joanna's edits to youth mentoring addition
I'm not entirely sure how to show my changes, so I'm just putting my re-wording here: Sentence 1- the intention isn't entirely clear as currently worded- specifically, I wasn't sure what you meant by "effects" until I read the next couple of sentences. I'd suggest, "Much research has been conducted on youth mentoring with the intent of determining if there are positive benefits for youth, and if so, under what conditions the positive effects are most likely to occur." Sentence 2- "The evidence is somewhat mixed, however." Final sentence- do you want to mention some of the best practices? Something like, "...the use of specific best practices, like X and Y, can be used to improve..."

Overall I think this looks really good! Of course I have no idea how the Wiki community will react. One thing I was told was that if you include more than one reference to support a point, it's often viewed as "synthesis" of multiple findings. I don't see that as the case with your citations, but it's something to be aware of since another Wiki editor might bring it up. --Joanna Jml4bw (talk) 02:38, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

Potential References for Wiki Project

 * These are also posted to the talk page for youth mentoring

Blinn-Pike, L. (2007). The benefits associated with youth mentoring relationships. In T.D. Allen & L.T. Eby (Eds.). The blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach (pp. 165-188). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Britner, P. A., Balcazar, F. E., Blechman, E. A., Blinn-Pike, L., & Larose, S. (2006). Mentoring special youth populations. Journal of Community Psychology, 34, 747-763.

DuBois, D. L., Neville, H. A., Parra, G. R., & Pugh-Lilly, A. (2002). Testing a new model of mentoring. New Directions for Youth Development, 93, 21-57.

DuBois, D. L., Portillo, N., Rhodes, J. E., Silverthorn, N., & Valentine, J. C. (2011). How effective are mentoring programs for youth? A systematic assessment of the evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 12(2), 57-91. doi:10.1177/1529100611414806

Grossman, J. B., & Tierney, J.P. (1998). Does mentoring work?: An impact study of the big brothers big sisters program. Evaluation Review, 22, 403-426. doi:10.1177/0193841X9802200304

Herrera, C., Grossman, J. B., Kauh, T. J., & McMaken, J. (2011). Mentoring in schools: An impact study of big brothers big sisters school-based mentoring. Child Development, 82, 346-361. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01559.x

Jolliffe, D., Farrington, D. (2007). A rapid evidence assessment of the impact of mentoring on re-offending: A summary. Home Office.

Keating, L. M., Tomishima, M. A., Foster, S., & Alessandri, M. (2002). The effects of a mentoring program on at-risk youth. Adolescence, 37, 717.

Leve, L. D., & Chamberlain, P. (2005). Association with delinquent peers: Intervention effects for youth in the juvenile justice system. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33, 339-347. doi:10.1007/s10802-005-3571-7

McCord, J. (1992). The cambridge-somerville study: A pioneering longitudinal experimental study of delinquency prevention. In J. McCord & R. Tremblay (Eds.). Preventing antisocial behavior (pp. 196-206). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Miller, A. Best practices for formal youth mentoring. In T. Allen & L. Eby (Eds.). The blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach (pp. 307-324). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Rhodes, J. E., DuBois, D. L., (2006). Understanding and facilitating the youth mentoring movement. Social Policy Report, 22(3).

Rhodes, J. E., Reddy, R., & Grossman, J. B. (2005). The protective influence of mentoring on adolescents' substance use: Direct and indirect pathways. Applied Developmental Science, 9, 31-47. doi:10.1207/s1532480xads0901_4

Rhodes, J. E., Spencer, R., Keller, T. E., Liang, B., & Noam, G. (2006). A model for the influence of mentoring relationships on youth development. Journal of Community Psychology, 34(6), 691-707.

Tolan, P., Henry, D., Schoeny, M., Bass, A. (2008). Mentoring interventions to affect juvenile delinquency and associated problems. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 16. doi: 10.4073/csr.2008.16 Retrieved from www.campbellcollaboration.org/lib/download/238/

Updated References
Based on the conversation we had in class, I think these will be better references:

Blinn-Pike, L. (2007). The benefits associated with youth mentoring relationships. In T.D. Allen & L.T. Eby (Eds.). The blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach (pp. 165-188). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

DuBois, D. L., Holloway, B. E., Valentine, J. C., & Cooper, H. (2002). Effectiveness of mentoring programs for youth: A meta-analytic Review. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30(2), 157-196.

Tolan, P., Henry, D., Schoeny, M., Bass, A. (2008). Mentoring interventions to affect juvenile delinquency and associated problems. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 16. doi: 10.4073/csr.2008.16 Retrieved from www.campbellcollaboration.org/lib/download/238/

Mentoring Effects
Research on Mentoring Effects

Much research has been conducted on youth mentoring with the intent of determining whether or not there are positive benefits for youth and, if so, under what conditions the positive effects are most likely to occur. The evidence is somewhat mixed, however. According to some studies, not all mentoring programs are found to have positive effects. Furthermore, some studies that demonstrated positive outcomes for youth suggested that benefits from mentoring do not always last for an extended period of time after the intervention has ended.

Meta-Analysis

One method of determining how effective mentoring relationships have become is with the use of meta-analysis. Meta-analysis allows a researcher to synthesize several studies and has been said to provide an unbiased, objective, and quantifiable method to test for significant differences in the results found across studies. Two studies utilizing this method are presented below.

In a meta-analysis of 55 studies on mentoring programs, the overall effectiveness of mentoring as well as the factors relating to variation in mentoring effects were studied. In this study, articles found on popular databases as well as possible search engines (such as Yahoo, etc.) that were published between 1970 and 1998 were selected and evaluated. Findings from this meta-analysis indicated that there was an overall positive, though modest, effect from mentoring. The effect appeared to be especially beneficial for youth classified as “at risk” (see at-risk students) or “disadvantaged”. Further findings indicated that effect size may be increased with the use of specific strategies and practices, such as providing continual support and structure to the mentor and relationship. It is important to note, however, that this study cannot imply causality and further research is recommended to explore this relationship.

In another meta-analysis, 39 articles published between 1970 and 2005 were analyzed. Articles were required to measure a quantifiable effect on either delinquency, aggression, substance use, or academic achievement. The overall effects were found to be positive with delinquency as well as with the other outcomes studied. Effects were stronger with the delinquent and aggressive outcomes, while still remaining moderate with the group measuring substance use and academic achievement. This suggests that mentoring programs are especially effective with delinquent behavior.

Use of Best Practices

Research indicates that the use of specific best practices can be used to improve the mentoring experience.

In the meta-analysis listed above, several best practices were found to increase effect sizes in mentoring programs:


 * 1) Monitoring of program implementation
 * 2) Screening of prospective mentors
 * 3) Matching of mentors and youth on the basis of one or more relevant criteria
 * 4) Both pre-match and ongoing training
 * 5) Supervision for mentor
 * 6) Support group for mentors
 * 7) Structured activities for mentors and youth
 * 8) Parent support or involvement components
 * 9) Expectations for both frequency of contact and length of relationship
 * 10) Mentor background in a helping role

In addition, there are several mentor websites that suggest the inclusion of similar best practices with the hopes of created greater outcomes for youth.

Research on Informal VS Formal Mentoring

In the research, there is a distinction between a naturally occurring adult-youth relationship (referred to as informal mentoring) and a structured adult-youth relationship where the mentor is assigned or matched (referred to as formal mentoring). .  There is less research available for informal mentor relationships than there is for formal, but the research indicates that benefits exist for both the mentor and mentee. Research is also available that suggests no effect or negative effects from mentoring, especially if the relationship with the adult fails. Formal mentoring has been better studied in the research and, therefore, more findings are available on this topic. In a review of literature, it was suggested that an emphasis in quality of mentoring relationship and programming has been steadily increasing in the research and a shift in outcome measures is apparent, with most studies measuring general youth development as opposed to reductions in particular deviant behaviors. In another review of literature, 10 studies were analyzed and found a moderate positive effect on mentee grades, reduction of substance use, reduction of some delinquent behaviors, but not with youth self-esteem.

These studies suggest that, although research is conflicting, there is typically an overall positive effect as a result of a mentoring relationship. This positive effect is more likely with the use of established best practices and within the population of youth classified as delinquent or "at risk". Most research agrees, however, that further research is necessary and that research with more rigorous methods would be beneficial to the field.

'''Questions for Reviewer:

1)	Should I included specific information on every possible best practice listed in the meta-analysis? Or would a “best practice” section be it’s own section?

2)	Should I discuss specific areas that are expected for improvement (e.g. self esteem, etc. These vary.

3)	Should I go into details about what types of outcomes are typicall measured and how those effects are found

4)	I don’t want to reference every sentence, but also don’t want to plagiarize. Is the method I’ve used acceptable, or should I cite more?'''

5)    Is the summary out of lines with Wikipedia's guidelines?

Kelly's peer review

 * I think it would be useful to break your work into more sections and/or bolded headlines. Although I’ve seen long sections on Wiki pages before, I think your additions would still flow with some sections and may help you organize your thoughts!


 * For example, would it be useful to break down “Mentoring Effects” into “Positive Effects of Mentoring” and “Negative Effects of Mentoring” (especially since you mentioned the evidence is mixed, it would be interesting to have both sides present) – This is of course dependent on how much literature you would have to include in these sections


 * Another example is, where you start with “One method of determining how effective…” This could be a separate section on “Research on Mentoring” or “Research on Mentoring Effects”? Then you could have two bolded headlines for the two meta-analyses

Answers to questions
 * 1) “Best practices: could certainly be its own section. Would you only pull best practices from the meta-analysis studies or a general compilation of best practices from some of the various resources you listed?
 * 2) I could potentially see sections on improvement, such as, “Mentoring on Self Esteem”, “Mentoring on Identity”, etc – but I think it depends on how in depth you want to go on this Wiki page.
 * 3) If you decided against doing sections on improvement – I think it would be helpful to discuss outcomes that are typically measured as its own section. In terms of discussing how the effects are found, I am wondering how to discuss measures in the appropriate Wiki lingo without too much research jargon– Although, I think it can be done!
 * 4) I am also struggling with determining how much to cite and not citing every sentence. I think currently you have a good balance. You seem to have cited all the main/ important points that users may want to check up on.
 * 5) I think you have summarized well and I think sections may even help with the summaries -- especially thinking as a random user who happens to be looking for the youth mentoring Wiki page; chunks of info seem more efficient.

We can talk about this more in detail in person if you'd like! Kef4d (talk) 06:54, 22 April 2014 (UTC)

PS. I just took a second look at your work -- I now see how your section could still be one whole section on mentoring effects with how you gave a sort of wrap up sentence at the end stating that "Overall..." Lets chat about it. Kef4d (talk) 06:59, 22 April 2014 (UTC)