Mentoring Relationship Quality: An Evaluation of Environmental Risk and Protective Factor Predictors for Urban Black Youth
Year: 2026
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Mentoring programs are an important intervention promoting positive developmental outcomes among youth exposed to chronic environmental stressors, particularly Black youth living in underinvested communities. Research has demonstrated moderate positive effects of mentoring on youth outcomes however, less is known about factors influencing mentoring effectiveness. Mentoring relationship quality (MRQ) has emerged as a key component of mentoring effectiveness, suggesting that perceived closeness and support within the relationship can enhance youth outcomes. Less is known regarding the environmental risks and protective factors shaping youths’ ability to engage meaningfully in mentoring relationships. Parent–child relationship quality, exposure to violent stressors, and adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies may influence mentoring experiences, though findings remain mixed. The present study sought to examine whether parent–child relationship quality, exposure to violent stressors, and coping strategies at baseline, subsequently predicted MRQ. This study examined whether parent–child relationship quality and coping strategies moderated the relationship between exposure to violent stressors and MRQ. Participants included 81 youth in a mentoring intervention. Findings indicated that parent–child relationship quality was positively associated with MRQ, and female mentees consistently reported stronger MRQ across analyses. Exposure to violent stressors and coping strategies did not significantly predict MRQ, although correlational findings suggest indirect pathways, linking violent stress exposure, coping responses, and relational experiences. No significant moderation effects emerged. Findings suggest MRQ may be shaped less by specific risk or protective factors alone and more through indirect relational and contextual processes. Implications for culturally responsive mentoring interventions and future mentoring research are discussed.
Author: Gage, Brittanie Nicole
Institution: DePaul University
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7221411627