Reasons for Premature Closure of a Mentoring Relationship: A Qualitative Study of Mentoring Youth With a Visual Impairment

Eline C. M. Heppe,Janis B. Kupersmidt,Sabina Kef

doi:10.1177/07435584211034874

Eline C. M. Heppe, Janis B. Kupersmidt + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.1177/07435584211034874

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Abstract

Preventing mentor-mentee relationships from ending prematurely is important because an early or unanticipated closure could lead to negative youth outcomes. In this study, the reasons for premature closure of a community-based mentoring program for youth with a visual impairment (VI) are studied. Data from 44 prematurely ended mentor-mentee pairs were analyzed; all mentees ( M age = 18.5, SD = 1.92) and 23 of the mentors had VI. Logbook data with two types of transcribed semi-structured interviews were thematically coded line-by-line. Frequencies of coded responses provided insight into the most frequently reported reasons and the most frequently reported problems. Chi-square analyses were conducted to study differences between matches in the two conditions (i.e., matches containing mentors with or without VI). Regardless of the condition, premature closure was primarily initiated by mentees, and the most common cause was reported to be due to deficiencies in mentors’ relationship skills. Matches with a mentor with VI experienced more problems within one domain of the International Classification of Functioning (ICF) model. These results show that additional pre-match mentor and supplementary mentee training are needed to increase relationship success in mentoring programs serving youth with VI.

Highlights

The positive effects of mentoring programs on a wide range of youth outcomes have been demonstrated in meta-analyses (DuBois et al, 2011; Raposa et al, 2019; Tolan et al, 2014)
The primary aim of the current study is to examine if previously reported findings on the reasons for premature closure found in an urban, one-to-one, community-based mentoring program for youth are generalizable to reasons for premature closure in an one-to-one, community-based mentoring program for adolescents with visual impairment (VI)
This study shows some additional challenges with establishing a successful mentoring relationship between to two people who have VI, all reasons provided for premature closure and the majority of the problems experienced within the match during the mentoring program did not significantly differ between matches with a mentor with or without VI

Summary

Introduction

The positive effects of mentoring programs on a wide range of youth outcomes have been demonstrated in meta-analyses (DuBois et al, 2011; Raposa et al, 2019; Tolan et al, 2014). Positive gains for youth participating in a mentoring program are especially evident within the domains of education and employment (DuBois et al, 2002) and for several social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes (Chan et al, 2013). In addition to these positive effects, some studies of the effectiveness of mentoring programs for youth have shown small average effect sizes (d = .21) and some have even shown negative effects (Raposa et al, 2019). Little is known about what reasons mentees with VI provide for early mentoring relationship termination and what problems occur within these matches, which could interfere with establishing a successful mentoring relationship

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