Nurturing the Hope of Youth in Care: The Contribution of Mentoring

Background: Hope has long been viewed as important to individuals attempting to overcome obstacles. Overall hope is the combination of one’s appraisal of capability and determination to achieve goals (Agency) and identifying viable routes to reach them (Pathway) (Snyder 1994). The main goal of this study was to examine the incremental contribution of mentoring to hope among youth on the verge of leaving care above and beyond related personal characteristics and placement history.

Methods: The sample included 148 adolescents who had adult mentors (ages 16-19) from three main types of out-of-home placements in Israel that agreed to participate in the study voluntary: therapeutic residential care facilities, youth villages, and foster care families. The instruments tapped the young adult`s personal background (e.g. gender, ethnicity and total placements), hope and mentoring (e.g., longevity and function in relationship).

Results: Results showed that lower levels of parental education and being in a welfare residential placement were associated with decreased levels of hope. Mentoring length and various mentoring functions were found to have a significant contribution to the prediction of hope above and beyond associated individual and placement variables.

Conclusions and implications: The findings indicate that mentoring relationships for youth in care play a significant role in the development of hope. Thus, residential care leaders should recruit and select mentors for longevity, and train mentors to serve as role models and parental figures who focus on independent living in order to influence hope among youth who are about to leave care. Discussion focuses on the importance of seeking strategies to strengthen youths` relationships with their meaningful adult figures or connect them with new potential mentors in order to support their successful transition into adulthood.