Time-Limited, Structured Youth Mentoring and Adolescent Problem Behaviors

Lindsey M. Weiler, Shelley A. Haddock, Toni S. Zimmerman, Kimberly L. Henry, Jennifer L. Krafchick, Lise M. Youngblade

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

Youth mentoring can have a profound impact on the lives of high-risk youth. This study presents the Campus Corps program, a time-limited (12-week), structured mentoring program for high-risk youth (ages 11–18), and results from a quasi-experimental pilot evaluation. Baseline and post-intervention problem behavior data from 315 offending youth were used in multiple regression analyses. After accounting for baseline group differences, pre-intervention scores, and demographic covariates, Campus Corps participants (n = 187, 63.1% male) reported less engagement in problem behavior, lower acceptance of problem behavior, and a greater sense of autonomy from marijuana use post-intervention than participants in the comparison condition (n = 128, 66.4% male). Conversely, post-intervention group differences were not observed for peer refusal skills or autonomy from alcohol use. A description of the Campus Corps program design and supplemental preliminary findings contribute to the growing knowledge base of youth mentoring program designs and outcomes.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)196-205
Number of pages10
JournalApplied Developmental Science
Volume19
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2 2015

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The study was supported by a grant from the Corporation of National and Community Service, CNCS 09LHWCO001 (S. Haddock & T. Zimmerman, Co-PIs). Lindsey Weiler was also supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number F31DA034416, and by USPHS grant T32 MH15442, ‘Development of Psychopathology, Psychobiology & Behavior’ (UCD Institutional Postdoctoral Research Training Program). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2015, Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

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