Prevention Works!

Mentoring Can Make a Difference for Youth

Mentoring Matters

Mentors are responsible adults who provide young people with support, advice, friendship, positive reinforcement, and constructive examples. Several studies show that mentoring helps prevent youth from using drugs and alcohol. In 1995, Public/Private Ventures published the findings of a 3-year study conducted by Big Brothers Big Sisters of America--the largest mentoring organization in the world, with over 500 program sites in this country alone. Data showed that children participating in a mentoring program (ages 10 to 16 in eight cities) were 46 percent less likely to start using drugs than those who did not participate. Through its Your Time--Their Future Campaign, SAMHSA/CSAP is raising awareness about the importance of providing young people with activities that structure their out-of-school time and offer them skills, competence, a sense of responsibility, and optimism about the future.

Mentors are people who care, people who listen, and people who want to help youth realize their own strengths. Such caring adults can help children set achievable goals for the future, both by serving as a positive example and by introducing them to realistic possibilities outside the lures of peer pressure and drug use. In turn, mentors gain the satisfaction of helping children succeed, the pleasure of sharing their own interests, and the chance to teach--and learn from--the next generation.

A successful mentor often has the following characteristics:

• Patience. A mentor should realize that developing a strong relationship with a child can take time and move through different stages. In the first few weeks or even months, the mentor and young person must learn to trust each other. After trust is established, each learns to share feelings and offer insights. Both participants are responsible for shaping the direction of their relationship and building communication channels that work for each person.
• Long-term Commitment. Mentoring relationships are most beneficial if meetings are regular and the pair maintains contact for a few months, a year, or, ideally, several years. A young person who has been disappointed by adults in the past particularly needs an example of an adult who is truly committed and keeps his or her word.
• Realistic Expectations and Persistence. Mentors must retain realistic expectations of their role. While a mentor can certainly make a difference for a young person, it is sometimes modest and not always immediate. When a mentor takes on the entire responsibility for a young person’s development, frustration, disappointment, and burnout can often result.

Mentoring programs usually pair adult volunteers with young people in one-on-one settings or in teams. Potential volunteers should look for a program that best matches their interests, needs, and abilities. Individual mentoring programs, such as those coordinated by Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, expect mentors to meet with a young person at least once a week. How they choose to spend their time is up to them.

Other mentoring programs may be more structured. For instance, some workplace mentoring programs bring young people to assigned mentors’ workplaces so that youth can learn about the professional world and get advice on academics, careers, and other life choices. Other workplace programs give employees "released time" to meet with young people at local schools for counseling or tutoring. Adults who prefer to work as part of a group might investigate team-mentoring programs.

Interested adults who want to get more information about mentoring or find opportunities in their area can contact SAMHSA/CSAP’s National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at 1-800-729-6686 (TDD: 1-800-487-4889) or http://ncadi.samhsa.gov

To receive a complimentary copy of this PreventionAlert, call SAMSHA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) @ 1-800-729-6686, TDD 1-800-487-4889 (for the hearing impaired.) PREVENTIONAlert is supported by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and may be copied without permission with appropriate citation. For information about PREVENTIONAlert, please contact CSAP by phone (301) 443-0581 or e-mail gensley@samhsa.gov

Return to Table of Contents for Volume I
Return to Table of Contents for Volume II
Return to Top of Page