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Using a Social Work Perspective to Understand Contextual Factors Impacting Access to Informal Mentorship for Under-Resourced and Minoritized Youth

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Abstract

Informal mentoring between youth and adults in their existing social networks can help promote positive and equitable outcomes for disadvantaged young people. Yet little published research exists examining contextual factors that may impact access to this type of beneficial relationship for under-resourced and minoritized youth. Using data from the National Survey of Children’s Health (N = 32,883), a logistic regression model was run to examine the presence of an informal mentor in relation to multiple contextual factors: (1) family resources, (2) economic distress, (3) neighborhood resources, and (4) trauma. Four supplemental logistic regression models then were run testing the same relationship between informal mentorship and the identified contextual factors by race/ethnicity group. Results indicate that contextual factors matter in determining which youth have access to informal mentorship. In terms of demographic factors, there also is an indication that race/ethnicity may be more impactful than gender in determining which youth have access to informal mentorship. Several findings in the sub-sample analysis highlight the unique experiences of Black families versus families of other race/ethnicity minorities related to informal mentoring. By foregrounding a person-in-environment perspective in Critical Race Theory, the present study demonstrates how the social work perspective can be used to analyze various contextual factors of marginalization, while maintaining a focused analysis on the presence of systemic racial-inequities. In addition to these theoretical implications, identifying contextual barriers has important implications for practitioners and researchers creating interventions to expand access to informal mentoring relationships for disadvantaged youth.

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  1. Department of Social Work & Sociology, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Gibbs Hall, Office 102A, 1601 E Market St., Greensboro, NC, 27411, USA

    Grace Gowdy, M. Theresa Palmer & March Rivera

  2. University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, USA

    Monique Saastamoinen

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  1. Grace Gowdy
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Correspondence to Grace Gowdy.

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Gowdy, G., Palmer, M.T., Saastamoinen, M. et al. Using a Social Work Perspective to Understand Contextual Factors Impacting Access to Informal Mentorship for Under-Resourced and Minoritized Youth. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 41, 1–14 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-022-00838-4

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