Abstract

Mentoring programs enjoy considerable empirical support as a strategy for supporting the positive development of youth, particularly those with marginalized identities (e.g., minoritized racial identities) and/or from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. There tends to be considerable variability, however, in both the quality of the mentor–mentee relationships established through programs and whether these relationships are sustained for intended periods of time. Research indicates these features of relationships can be significant influences on the outcomes of participating youth, thus making it imperative to better understand the factors that may contribute to mentoring relationship quality and duration. To expand inquiry in this area, the current study draws on an intersectionality framework and the statistical technique of classification and regression tree (CART) analysis to explore the potentially interacting role of multiple sociodemographic aspects of both the mentee and mentor—specifically age, gender, race/ethnicity, and economic status—in shaping the quality and duration of mentoring relationships (n = 806) established through the Big Brothers Big Sisters community-based mentoring program. Findings suggest that mentor age, mentor income, mentee family income, and mentee race have complex associations with indicators of mentoring relationship quality.

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