Mentoring

Summary

Training youth as mentors allows them to lead and guide each other. In school contexts, the selection of mentors has been studied extensively and is an important part of the process of building a community of both activated adults and activated peers.[citation needed] This not only builds leadership and other skills for peer mentors, but it expands the number of community members who are involved in developing the program and building stronger relationships throughout the community. Many more positive interactions (both shallow and deep shares) can be had within the community, between those with more shared experience, at far lower resource expenditure, if more peers are involved in the process of growing the program and establishing healthy cultural norms.

For the purpose of this model we will focus on two types of mentoring:

Developmental: Relationship, dyadic, social, emotional, cognitive development.

Instrumental: Skill acquisition, goal setting, curriculum based

Notes and References

JAMA Open Network, October, 2020

Airmen learn skills to grow and sustain protective factors essential to job success, mental health and reduced suicide risk (Kinship, Purpose, Guidance, Balance). Class exercises create more cohesive units with skills extended into group culture. Wingman Connect training is delivered to organizational units using interactive exercises to build key group and individual protective factors (Four Cores):

Group cohesion and belonging (Kinship)
Informal and formal support and help-seeking (Guidance)

Social Science & Medicine Social Science & Medicine 296 (2022) 114737

Specific modules and activities build healthy relationships and accountability (Kinship) informal and formal help-seeking (Guidance).

An Outcome Evaluation of Suicide Prevention Program Delivered by Adolescent Peer Leaders in High Schools Am J Public Health. 2010 September; 100(9): 1653–1661

The norms most strongly enhanced through the intervention were students' perceptions that adults in their school can provide help to suicidal students and the acceptability of seeking help from adults.