Pathways by which case managers' match support influences youth mentoring outcomes: Testing the systemic model of youth mentoring

Abstract

AbstractKeller's systemic model of youth mentoring posits there are multiple pathways through which all stakeholders in the youth mentoring process, including the program staff who support the match (or case managers), influence youth outcomes. This study examines case managers' direct and indirect contributions to match outcomes and tests how transitive interactions facilitate a theorized sequence of mentoring interactions to effect greater closeness and length, specifically in nontargeted mentoring programs. A structural equations model of case manager contributions to match outcomes was tested using data from 758 mentor‐mentee matches, supported by 73 case managers across seven mentoring agencies. Results reveal direct effects of mentor‐reported match support quality on match length and indirect influences on match length through increasing youth‐centeredness, goal‐focused orientation, and closeness. The findings confirm the presence of multiple pathways of influence, including indirect effects on outcomes via transitive interactions in match support that scaffold youth‐centeredness and goal‐focused interactions in the match. Findings also suggest supervisors' evaluations of case managers may provide little information about how match support influences the nature of mentor–mentee interactions.