"It is OK to let them know you are human too": Mentor self-disclosure in formal youth mentoring relationships.

Abstract

This study aims to capture descriptive data on how mentors self-disclose to their adolescent mentees. Self-disclosure is a normative communication process that facilitates trust and closeness in interpersonal relationships. Despite being a relational intervention, little is known about self-disclosure in youth-mentoring relationships. A total of 54 mentors from 2 community-based mentoring programs in Auckland, New Zealand, participated in this mixed-methods study about their experiences of disclosing to mentees via an online questionnaire. In this sample, mentors disclosed about various topics, including hobbies, school and work, health, beliefs, self-esteem, substance use, emotions, sex, and money. Qualitative analysis identified themes regarding how mentors self-disclose, disclosure influencing positive relationship characteristics, the influence of mentoring programs, challenges with mentee interest and culture clashes, and the perceived effect of self-disclosure on mentees and the mentoring relationship. These mentors disclosed broadly and viewed generally self-disclosure in a positive way, but they also experienced challenges and complexities.