Benefits of Youth Mentorship

Mentoring provides young people with positive role models and supportive relationships, which can contribute to their personal and social development. According to an often-cited 2002 study by DuBois et al. (2002) published in the Journal of Adolescent Health (1), mentoring programs have been associated with positive outcomes in academic performance, self-esteem and relationships.

When speaking of academic achievement in particular, mentoring can have a significant impact. Several studies have found that mentored youth are more likely to graduate from high school and attend college compared to their non-mentored peers (2).

Mentoring can boost a young person’s self-esteem and self-confidence by providing them with a trusted adult who believes in their potential. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, is the youth benefits from the mentor’s experience. Mentoring can help deter young people from engaging in risky behaviors such as substance abuse, delinquency, and violence.

Longer matches have stronger results. In 2014, researchers published “Making a Difference in Schools,” which specifically studied the benefits of the Big Brothers Big Sisters relationships and found that BBBS mentoring programs do benefit youth, and the longer the kids are involved in the program, the better the outcome. Getting kids enrolled in the BBBS program at a younger age is important, as is encouraging mentors to stay with their matches beyond their one-year commitments. (3)

Youth mentorship programs have many benefits, including:

Lower drop-out rates, increased high school graduation
Decreased likelihood to abuse alcohol or use illicit drugs
More likelihood to pursue higher education
Improved interpersonal skills and communication
Higher self-esteem and self-confidence

Benefits of being a mentee

There is no question about the benefits of positive mentorship between students and adult mentors. The importance of having a mentor has been supported in numerous studies since Big Brothers Big Sisters was founded in 1904, and many of the studies have involved BBBS relationships.

Becoming a mentee (or “Little,” in BBBS speak) has many benefits, including:

Consistency: For some children who have experienced an inordinate amount of change in their lives, having a Big for 12 months (or more, preferably) provides a sense of stability and consistency that kids crave.
Trust: A relationship with a BBBS Big can help kids learn how to trust reliable adults, as well as their own judgement, which, in turn, boosts their self-confidence.
Support: Having a cheerleader or mentor who believes in you can be a huge boost to a child’s self-confidence.
Experience: One of the key benefits of a mentor-mentee relationship is that the mentor can pass along their experiences to mentees and impart all the wisdom that comes with “been there, done that.”

How mentoring benefits children, by the numbers

Girls matched with Big Sisters were 2.5 times more likely than their peers without mentors to say they feel confident in school. (4)
Boys matched with Big Brothers were 3 times less likely to feel anxiety from peer pressure. (4)
Students with mentors have 52% lower truancy rates. (5)
Youth with mentors are 78% more likely to volunteer in their communities. (5)
At-risk youth who have mentors are 25% to 55% more likely to enroll in college. (5) (7)
Kids who have mentors are 46% less likely to try illegal drugs and 27% less likely to try alcohol. (5)
Children who have a mentor of at least 12 months scored 2% to 4% higher on athletic competencies and 3% to 5% higher on social competencies in another study. (6)
Students with in-school mentors (identified as teachers, counselors, coaches, etc.) gained .06 to .48 GPA points. (7)
Students with in-school mentors are 18% to 35% less likely to fail courses in school. (7)
95% of surveyed educators say all students benefit from one-on-one mentoring relationships. (8)

Benefits of becoming a mentor

Besides being a rewarding experience and helping to improve the life of a young person, mentoring has numerous benefits to mentors as well! Mentoring benefits for mentors include:

Adults who mentor young people tend to have a greater understanding of children.
Being a youth mentor is incredibly rewarding and satisfies a need to give back in your community.
You can meet other adults with similar experiences and values
Bigs who volunteer with BBBS benefit from feeling a sense of accomplishment.

From a practical standpoint, community service happens to look good on a resume to potential employers; however, we never advocate for volunteerism as a resume-booster. Volunteer as a mentor because it’s the right thing to do, and then reap the rewards, whatever they may be!

Benefits of peer mentors

Another type of mentor relationship is the peer mentor, which, in BBBS terms, refers to our in-school mentoring programs. In these programs, high school students are matched with other high school students, as well as middle school and elementary school students. These relationships have immense benefits to both mentors and mentees, by building leadership characteristics, self-confidence, self-worth and social skills.

Benefits of mentoring programs in schools

Not only can the mentor-mentee relationship help with student success, but it can also free up resources that benefit the whole classroom. Schools that implement mentoring programs or partner with agencies like BBBS of Broward not only help their students become more successful, but they also lower the stress on school staff. Teachers can focus on teaching and learning in the classroom, while mentors can offer one-on-one support outside the classroom.

Sources

(1) American Public Health Association. Natural Mentoring Relationships and Adolescent Health: Evidence From a National Study. National Library of Medicine (nih.gov) 2005 March. Accessed 2023 October 31.

(2) OJJDP Literature Review. Youth Mentoring and Delinquency Prevention. 2019 February. Accessed 2023 October 31.

(3) P/PV. Making a Difference in Schools: The Big Brothers Big Sisters School-Based Mentoring Impact Study. 2014. Accessed 2023 October 31.

(4) Science News. Youth mentoring linked to many positive effects, new study shows. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. 2013 January 15. Accessed 2023 October 31.

(5) Kids Cause. The Impact of Mentoring on Kids. Accessed 2023 October 31.

(6) International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Duration of mentoring relationship predicts child well-being. 2022 March. Accessed 2023 October 31.

(7) The 74. Higher grades, higher earnings: New study ties in-school mentoring with huge benefits for students. 2021 July 29. Accessed 2023 October 31.

(8) K-12 Dive. 95% of teachers say mentors make a difference for students. 2022 January 19. Accessed 2023 October 31.