Striving for safety, impact, and equity: A critical consideration of AJCP publications on formal youth mentoring programs.

In this virtual special issue (VSI) we curate and reflect upon 22 articles on formal youth mentoring previously published in the American Journal of Community Psychology (AJCP). First, we provide historical context and highlight AJCP's 2002 special issue on mentoring, which played an important role in establishing youth mentoring as a vibrant area of research. Next, we review and discuss findings from subsequent AJCP studies in three interrelated lines of inquiry: (1) the importance of facilitating high-quality mentoring relationships; (2) associations among youth's presenting needs, relationship quality, and outcomes; and (3) program practices leading to stronger, more impactful relationships.

Sampling from different populations: Sociodemographic, clinical, and functional differences between samples of first episode psychosis individuals and clinical high-risk individuals who progressed to psychosis.

Over the past two decades, research and clinical resources on clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis have both expanded, with goals to better understanding risk and protective factors on the course of illness and inform early intervention efforts. However, some studies have highlighted potential sampling bias among CHR research studies, raising questions about generalizability of findings and inequitable access to early detection and intervention. The current study sought to explore these questions by comparing 94 participants in a CHR longitudinal monitoring study across North America (NAPLS-2) who converted to syndromal psychosis over the course of the study (CHR-CV) to 171 participants who presented for treatment at a localized first-episode psychosis service (FES) after converting.

Contextual antecedents and well-being indicators associated with children's and adolescents' access to supportive nonparent adults.

The aim of this study was to examine contextual antecedents and well-being indicators associated with children's and adolescents' access to supportive nonparent adults (SNPAs). We conducted secondary data analysis of the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health, a large-scale caregiver-reported survey. We analyzed separate subsamples of children (ages 6-11, n = 12,849) and adolescents (ages 12-17, n = 17,628).

Mentoring first-generation college students: Examining distinct relationship profiles based on interpersonal characteristics, support provision, and educational capital.

The goal of this study was to identify distinct profiles among first-generation college students' mentoring relationships based on interpersonal characteristics, provision of college-related support, and mentors' educational capital. First-year, first-generation undergraduates (n = 176) identified up to six mentors, rating various relationship characteristics, the types and degrees of college-related support each mentor provided, and each mentor's level of educational attainment. Ratings were used as indicators in a multilevel latent profile analysis among mentoring relationships (n = 254), accounting for clustering of multiple mentors within individual participants.

Paraprofessional Youth Mentoring: A Framework for Integrating Youth Mentoring with Helping Institutions and Professions.

The demand for child mental health services, including those provided by psychologists, counselors, and social workers, exceeds the supply. This trend is expected to continue or worsen unless there are substantial structural changes in how mental health services are provided. We propose a framework for paraprofessional youth mentors, defined as a subgroup of professionally supervised, non-expert volunteer or paid mentors to whom aspects of professional helping tasks are delegated.

Non-Specific versus Targeted Approaches to Youth Mentoring: A Follow-up Meta-analysis.

Despite decades of increased research and funding, youth mentoring programs, overall, yield small effects on youth outcomes. As a result, there are growing calls for programs to utilize the mentoring relationship as context for intentional, targeted skills development, in which mentors employ targeted skills designed to match the presenting concerns of mentees. This targeted approach contrasts with the historically dominant, non-specific friendship model, which holds that a supportive relational bond-alone-promotes positive developmental change.

Natural mentoring relationships among survivors of caregiver childhood abuse: findings from the Add Health Study.

Social support promotes resilience to adverse childhood events, but little is known about the role of natural mentors-caring, nonparental adults-in the lives of childhood abuse survivors. The current study draws from a large, longitudinal, nationally representative sample (Add Health) to examine the prevalence and characteristics of natural mentoring relationships for adolescents with a history of caregiver childhood abuse, and the extent to which these relationships are associated with psychological and health outcomes in adulthood. Among the sample (n = 12,270), 28.

The Long-Term Impact of Natural Mentoring Relationships: A Counterfactual Analysis.

Previous research suggests that youth's natural mentoring relationships are associated with better academic, vocational, and psychosocial functioning. However, little is known about the extent to which the impact of mentoring endures beyond adolescence and early adulthood. Furthermore, most natural mentoring research is confounded by selection bias.