The role of academic mentors for Latino/a adolescents exposed to community violence.

Aims: We examined the protective role of academic mentors for Latino/a youth exposed to community violence. We tested whether the mentor facilitation of positive growth and mentor school involvement moderated the relations between exposure to violence and Latino/a youth's educational values, school effort, and academic efficacy.

Methods: We used hierarchical linear regressions to examine these relations among 210 Latino/a high school students.

Results: Witnessing violence and personal victimization was negatively related to all three educational outcomes. Mentor school involvement was positively related to all three educational outcomes, whereas mentor facilitation of growth was positively related to educational values only. A significant interaction between witnessing violence and mentor school involvement indicated that the negative relation between witnessing violence and educational values weakened at high levels of mentor school involvement.

Conclusion: We discuss the benefits of academic mentoring and exploring effective mentoring characteristics with Latino/a youth exposed to violence.