These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Natural Mentors, Social Class, and College Success.
    Author: Reynolds JR, Parrish M.
    Journal: Am J Community Psychol; 2018 Mar; 61(1-2):179-190. PubMed ID: 29219194.
    Abstract:
    Natural mentors provide advice, moral support, and assistance to adolescents who aspire to obtain a postsecondary degree, but past studies of the benefits of having an informal adult mentor have yet to resolve several issues. Our analyses of a national sample of high school graduates test three hypotheses: (H1) natural mentoring increases the odds of college attendance and completion, (H2) guidance and career advice are more important for college success than encouragement or role modeling, and (H3) students from poor and working-class families benefit more from mentoring than students from middle- and upper-class families. Hypotheses 1 and 3 are clearly supported when examining the odds of attending college, while Hypothesis 2 was not supported-encouragement and role modeling boost attendance, not advice or practical help. None of the hypotheses is supported when predicting degree completion among those who matriculated. As natural mentors do not appreciably increase the odds of completing college, we conclude past studies have overstated the postsecondary educational benefits of natural mentors.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]