TY - JOUR
T1 - Mentoring highly aggressive children
T2 - Pre-post changes in mentors' attitudes, personality, and attachment tendencies
AU - Faith, Melissa A.
AU - Fiala, Samuel E.
AU - Cavell, Timothy A.
AU - Hughes, Jan N.
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank the students, teachers, parents, and mentors who participated in this study. Support for this research was provided by a grant to Jan Hughes and Timothy Cavell by the National Institute of Drug and Alcohol Abuse (R01-DA10037). Additional support was provided by a grant to Timothy Cavell and Jan Hughes from the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health.
PY - 2011/12
Y1 - 2011/12
N2 - This study examined the degree to which mentoring highly aggressive children was associated with changes in mentors' attitudes, personality, and attachment tendencies. Participants were 102 college students who each mentored an aggressive, high-risk child across three academic semesters (spring, fall, spring). We examined pre- to post-mentoring changes in attitudes about mentoring efficacy and future parenting, Big Five personality characteristics, and attachment tendencies. Mentors also rated the impact of the mentoring relationship in their lives, and both mentors and mentees rated support of the mentoring relationship. Results indicated a statistically significant decrease over time in mentors' ratings of selfefficacy, openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness. These findings held even when controlling for ratings of relationship impact. However, mentors who rated the mentoring relationship as supportive tended to experience increased openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness and less attachment-related avoidance over time. Child-rated support negatively predicted mentors' post-mentoring attitudes toward future parenting. Discussed are the potential costs of mentoring highly aggressive children and strategies that could help increase benefits to mentors.
AB - This study examined the degree to which mentoring highly aggressive children was associated with changes in mentors' attitudes, personality, and attachment tendencies. Participants were 102 college students who each mentored an aggressive, high-risk child across three academic semesters (spring, fall, spring). We examined pre- to post-mentoring changes in attitudes about mentoring efficacy and future parenting, Big Five personality characteristics, and attachment tendencies. Mentors also rated the impact of the mentoring relationship in their lives, and both mentors and mentees rated support of the mentoring relationship. Results indicated a statistically significant decrease over time in mentors' ratings of selfefficacy, openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness. These findings held even when controlling for ratings of relationship impact. However, mentors who rated the mentoring relationship as supportive tended to experience increased openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness and less attachment-related avoidance over time. Child-rated support negatively predicted mentors' post-mentoring attitudes toward future parenting. Discussed are the potential costs of mentoring highly aggressive children and strategies that could help increase benefits to mentors.
KW - Aggression
KW - Children
KW - Mentoring
KW - Volunteer
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84856896327&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84856896327&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10935-011-0254-8
DO - 10.1007/s10935-011-0254-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 22143320
AN - SCOPUS:84856896327
SN - 0278-095X
VL - 32
SP - 253
EP - 270
JO - Journal of Primary Prevention
JF - Journal of Primary Prevention
IS - 5-6
ER -