Mentoring Relationship Quality and Maltreated Children\u27s Coping

Coping strategies are believed to protect against the harmful effects of maltreatment on children\u27s psychosocial outcomes. Caregivers are thought to be critical in helping children develop adaptive coping strategies, yet many maltreated children have poor and/or insecure relationships with their parents. A quality relationship with a caring, non-parental adult (e.g., a mentor), however, may be one strategy to promote healthy coping among maltreated children. Children (N = 154) in this study participated in a mentoring and skill-based program for maltreated preadolescents placed in foster care. Hierarchical regression was used to assess the association between children\u27s reports of their relationship with their mentor at the end of the intervention and four coping strategies (i.e., Active, Support-seeking, Avoidance, and Distraction) 6 months following the intervention, while accounting for baseline coping strategies and other demographic factors. Above and beyond the covariates, better mentoring relationship quality was associated with children\u27s greater use of Active and Distraction coping 6-month post-intervention. Mentoring relationship quality was not significantly associated with children\u27s Avoidance or Support-seeking coping. The findings suggest that mentoring programs may be a fruitful approach to improving vulnerable children\u27s coping skills. Healthy coping is hypothesized to protect against the harmful effects of maltreatment and to promote resilience in the face of multiple stressors (Banyard & Williams, ; Boxer & Sloan-Power, 2013; Cicchetti & Rogosch, 2009). It remains unclear, however, how best to promote positive coping among maltreated children, who are disproportionately exposed to numerous adverse childhood experiences (Raviv, Taussig, Culhane & Garrido, 2010). Theories of coping emphasize the importance of coping socialization through quality parent-child relationships (Kliewer et al., 2006; Skinner & Wellborn, ). Unfortunately, many maltreated children are exposed to poor quality and/or inadequate caregiving (Baer & Martinez, 2006), which may place them at risk for engaging in unhealthy or inappropriate forms of coping. It is reasonable to expect that positive relationships with other non-parental adults (e.g., mentors) would affect coping behaviors given the positive impact that quality relationships have on a myriad of emotional and behavioral child outcomes (DuBois, Portillo, Rhodes, Silverthorn & Valentine, 2011; Keller & Pryce, 2012; Thomson & Zand, ). Because children in foster care often transition in and out of schools and home environments, a quality relationship with a mentor (a consistent presence in the child\u27s life) may be well suited to promote healthy coping strategies

Maltreated Children in Out-of-Home Care: The Relation between Attachment Quality and Internalizing Symptoms

Maltreated children in out-of-home care are at high risk for poor relationships with caregivers (i.e., biological parents and substitute caregivers) and high levels of internalizing symptoms. It is unclear if these poor relationships are related to, and account for a large portion of the variance in maltreated children’s internalizing symptoms, above and beyond maltreatment type and out-of-home care factors. This study examined the relation between attachment quality with both biological parents and substitute caregivers and children’s internalizing symptoms within a sample of 493 maltreated children (aged 9–11; 51.0 % male) recently placed in out-of-home care. A series of hierarchical regression models indicated that greater child-reported attachment quality with both biological parents and substitute caregivers was associated with fewer child-reported anxiety (β = −.15, p \u3c .01; β = −.29, p \u3c .001, respectively) and depression symptoms (β = −.14, p \u3c .01; β = −.28, p \u3c .001, respectively) as well as fewer child internalizing symptoms (β = −.12, p \u3c .05; β = −.14, p \u3c .01, respectively). Attachment quality with the biological parent and substitute caregiver each explained a significant proportion of the variance in children’s internalizing symptoms, above and beyond child demographics, maltreatment type, and out-of-home care variables. The study also examined whether children’s attachment with substitute caregivers moderated the relationship between children’s attachment with biological parents and children’s internalizing symptoms. No statistically significant moderation effects were found. Future clinical work should focus on enhancing attachment quality between children and both biological parents and substitute caregivers, as these relationships appear to individually relate to the children’s internalizing symptomology

Mentor Response to Youth Academic Support–Seeking Behavior

Mentoring-based interventions for adolescent offenders are promising strategies for reducing the likelihood of academic underachievement, truancy, and school dropout. Program effectiveness, however, varies widely. Investigation into factors that strengthen the impact of mentoring on academic-related outcomes is warranted. One factor might be academic attunement, or the degree to which a mentor’s emphasis on academics is consistent with youth’s academic support–seeking behavior and desire for academic help. This within-group study examined the relationship between mentor attunement and academic outcomes among youth (N = 204; ages 11-18; 54.5% male) who participated in a time-limited mentoring program. Latent profile analysis identified three distinct groups: attuned mentors, overfocused mentors, and underfocused mentors. In general, youth with attuned mentors reported better postintervention scores as compared with youth with misattuned (i.e., overfocused or underfocused) mentors on perception of school usefulness and importance, academic self-efficacy, and truancy, but not grade point average. Findings suggest the importance of monitoring academic attunement