Community-Based Mentoring Programs Partially Offset Pandemic's Negative Impact on Youth Mental Health
A study on the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) community-based mentoring program found that while the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted youth mental health and well-being, mentoring programs provided a partial offset. The research, which included 1,353 youth, assessed participants before and during the pandemic. It revealed that youth with longer pandemic exposure experienced declines in both personal resources (like self-control and coping efficacy) and social-contextual resources (such as support from family and friends), which were linked to poorer mental health outcomes. Conversely, youth in the BBBSA program showed gains in personal resources, leading to improvements in mental health and well-being. However, these benefits only partially mitigated the pandemic's overall negative effects, and mentoring did not directly lessen the impact of pandemic exposure itself. The study also noted that mentoring programs adapted during the pandemic, with a mix of in-person, online, and phone intera...
