Predictors of premature match closure in youth mentoring relationships

Kupersmidt, J. B., Stump, K. N., Stelter, R. L., & Rhodes, J. E. (2017). Predictors of premature match closure in youth mentoring relationships. American Journal of Community Psychology, 59(1-2), 25-35. DOI: 10.1002/ajcp.12124

Objectives: The positive effects of mentoring can be diminished by premature match closure of relationships. The primary goal of the project was to examine the effects of program, mentor, and mentee characteristics as predictors of premature match closure.

Methods: Secondary data analyses were conducted on a large national database of mentoring programs consisting of match and youth risk information from 170 mentoring programs and 6468 matches from across the U.S.

Results: The average rate of premature closure in this large, national sample was 38.07% of matches. Multilevel logistic regression revealed that youth characteristics, such as age at match start and cumulative risk were disproportionately associated with premature match closure.

Conclusions: Results are discussed in terms of directions for future research and suggestions for enhancing mentoring program practices. Considering the age and cumulative risk of mentees may aid programs in providing the most effective mentoring and preventing early match closure.