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Expanding the talent pipeline of students from underrepresented backgrounds in STEM has been a priority in the United States for decades. However, potential solutions to increase the number of such students in STEM academic pathways, measured using longitudinal randomized controlled trials in real-world contexts, have been limited. Here, we expand on an earlier investigation that reported results from a longitudinal field experiment in which undergraduate female students ( N  = 150) interested in engineering at college entry were randomly assigned a female peer mentor in engineering, a male peer mentor in engineering, or not assigned a mentor for their first year of college. While an earlier article presented findings from participants’ first two years of college, the current article reports the same participants’ academic experiences for each year in college through college graduation and one year post-graduation. Compared to the male peer mentor and no mentor condition, having a female peer mentor was associated with a significant improvement in participants’ psychological experiences in engineering, aspirations to pursue postgraduate engineering degrees, and emotional well-being. It was also associated with participants’ success in securing engineering internships and retention in STEM majors through college graduation. In sum, a low-cost, short peer mentoring intervention demonstrates benefits in promoting female students’ success in engineering from college entry, through one-year post-graduation. The authors report findings from their study of female student participants interested in engineering at college entry who were randomly assigned to a female peer mentor, male mentor, or no mentor for their first year of college. The authors show that students assigned to a female peer mentor show benefits in psychological experiences in engineering, aspirations to pursue postgraduate engineering degrees, and emotional well-being, which persists up to one year after graduation.

Common sense suggests that people struggling to achieve their goals benefit fromreceiving motivational advice. What if the reverse is true? In a preregistered field experiment, we tested whether giving motivational advice raises academic achievement for the advisor. We randomly assigned n = 1,982 high school students to a treatment condition, in which they gave motivational advice (e.g., how to stop procrastinating) to younger students, or to a control condition. Advice givers earned higher report card grades in both math and a self-selected target class over an academic quarter. This psychologically wise advice-giving nudge, which has relevance for policy and practice, suggests a valuable approach to improving achievement: one that puts people in a position to give.

Although mentoring is a widely used intervention strategy, effect sizes for at‐risk youth remain modest. Research is therefore needed to maximize the impact of mentoring for at‐risk youth who might struggle to benefit from mentoring relationships. This study tested the hypothesis that different types of youth risk would have a negative impact on mentoring relationship quality and duration and explored whether mentor characteristics exacerbated or mitigated these negative effects. Results showed that elevated environmental stress at a youth's home and/or school predicted shorter match duration, and elevated rates of youth behavioral problems, such as poor academic performance or misconduct, predicted greater youth dissatisfaction and less positive mentor perceptions of relationship quality. Mentors with greater self‐efficacy and more previous involvement with youth in their communities were able to buffer the negative effects of environmental stress on match duration. Similarly, mentors' previous involvement with youth buffered the negative effects of youth behavioral problems on mentor perceptions of relationship quality. Findings have important implications for the matching of mentors and at‐risk youth in a way that improves mentoring outcomes.

Background The aim of this randomized control trial is to test the impact of providing additional training and support to volunteers who are paired with youth of color in the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) community-based mentoring program. The aim of the intervention activities is to enhance the capacity of mentors to have more culturally responsive and informed interactions with their mentees of color, thereby strengthening the youth’s ethnic/racial identity and abilities to both cope with experiences of racism and contribute to causes that advance social justice. Methods Recruitment started in June 2022, with a goal of enrolling 240 dyads (i.e., “matches”), each consisting of a volunteer mentor and a youth of color aged 9- to 17-years old with whom they were paired through BBBS. Each match is assigned randomly to receive either standard BBBS services or to services that incorporate the intervention activities (i.e., approximately 3 h of initial training that is then supplemented with booster emails and in the context of the contacts that case managers have with mentors routinely in the program). The BBBS staff who are responsible for delivering the enhancements receive preparatory training as well as ongoing support with implementation. The study has a mixed-methods design. Survey data, on outcomes (e.g., ethnic/racial identity, sense of mattering, efficacy) aligned with the theory of change, are collected at multiple time points within 12 months from mentors, youth and their parent/guardian, and BBBS staff. Multiple qualitative interviews are conducted with a subset of youth, mentors, parents and BBBS staff to examine how the intervention works and how it impacts relationship development and youth outcomes over time. Integration of quantitative and qualitative data will aim to better understand whether and how the intervention works with respect to its potential influence on mentor attitudes (e.g., cultural humility), mentor-youth interactions, and emergent identities and capacities that have well-documented importance for the resilience and well-being of youth of color. Discussion This culturally tailored training and support intervention for volunteer mentors may be one way to increase the effectiveness of mentoring programs for youth of color. Study findings will have implications for youth mentoring programs and for other settings (e.g., schools, after school programs) in which children and adolescents form relationships with adults. Trial registration www.clinicaltrials.gov —Clinical Trial #NCT05391711; original 05.21.2022; Amendment 07.01.2022: study status was updated and more details were provided on outcome measures; Amendment 11/13/2022: sample size was modified, a few mentor outcome measures were added in the 12-months survey, the timing of a mentor measure was updated.

The Project YES! clinic-based peer mentoring program was a randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted among 276 youth from four HIV clinics to test the impact of the program on promoting HIV self-management and reducing internalized stigma among youth living with HIV (ages 15–24 years) in Ndola, Zambia. We conducted a qualitative sub-study involving in-depth interviews with 40 intervention youth participants (21 female, 19 male) to explore their experiences with Project YES! which included: an orientation meeting led by a healthcare provider, monthly individual and group counseling sessions over six months, and three optional caregiver group sessions. Using baseline RCT data, we used maximum variation sampling to purposively select youth by sex, age, change in virologic results between baseline and midline, and study clinic. A four-person team conducted thematic coding. Youth described their increased motivation to take their HIV care seriously due to Project YES!, citing examples of improvements in ART adherence and for some, virologic results. Many cited changes in behavior in the context of greater feelings of self-worth and acceptance of their HIV status, resulting in less shame and fear associated with living with HIV. Youth also attributed Project YES! with reducing their sense of isolation and described Project YES! youth peer mentors and peers as their community and “family.” Findings highlight that self-worth and personal connections play a critical role in improving youths’ HIV outcomes. Peer-led programs can help foster these gains through a combination of individual and group counseling sessions. Greater attention to the context in which youth manage their HIV, beyond medication intake, is needed to reach global HIV targets.

This random assignment impact study of Big Brothers Big Sisters School-Based Mentoring involved 1,139 9- to 16-year-old students in 10 cities nationwide. Youth were randomly assigned to either a treatment group (receiving mentoring) or a control group (receiving no mentoring) and were followed for 1.5 school years. At the end of the first school year, relative to the control group, mentored youth performed better academically, had more positive perceptions of their own academic abilities, and were more likely to report having a \"special adult\" in their lives. However, they did not show improvements in classroom effort, global self-worth, relationships with parents, teachers or peers, or rates of problem behavior. Academic improvements were also not sustained into the second school year.

Background The transition period is a critical phase that affects career maturity and the development of professional identity. Although previous studies have suggested that peer mentoring may serve as a supportive strategy, empirical evidence on its effectiveness remains limited. This study aims to examine the effects of structured peer mentor programs on nursing students’ career maturity and career decision-making self-efficacy. Methods This study adopted a quasi-experimental mixed-methods design. A total of 78 final-year undergraduate nursing students were recruited and randomly assigned to two groups. Group A completed a traditional internship before serving as peer counselors. Group B received peer guidance before undertaking an independent internship. Quantitative data were collected at three time points: pretest, posttest, and follow-up. The Career Maturity Inventory and the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale were used to assess changes over time. Repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to evaluate the intervention effects. In addition, qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis to explore students’ subjective experiences. Results Peer mentor programs had positive effects on both career maturity and career decision-making self-efficacy at different stages. Group A showed a statistically significant increase in scores during the mentoring phase, indicating that guiding others contributed to role reflection and experience integration. Group B demonstrated a notable improvement in confidence and clearer career direction after receiving guidance. Interview findings revealed improvements in emotional support, professional identity, and sense of responsibility. Both peer counselors and peer trainees reported positive developmental experiences. Conclusion Peer mentor programs support both psychological and professional growth for nursing students during the transition period. Equal interaction and role transformation help students enhance their professional identity and competencies, whether through providing or receiving support. It is recommended to integrate structured peer support into nursing internship programs.

Background Adolescents with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) are at risk for physical, emotional, social and role challenges that negatively impact quality of life. Peer mentoring has been shown to improve positive health behaviours in adolescents with chronic disease while simultaneously providing social support. The objectives of this paper are to examine the feasibility and acceptability of an online peer mentoring program (iPeer2Peer Program) for adolescents with JIA. Methods The iPeer2Peer program was examined using a waitlist pilot randomized control trial (RCT). Participants were randomly allocated to the intervention or wait-list control group via a secure, web-based randomization service. Health care providers and investigators were blinded to participant group allocation. Trained peer mentors (16–25 years; successfully managing their JIA) were matched to participants (12–18 years; diagnosed with JIA) randomized to the intervention group to provide peer support and education for effective self-management of JIA. Participant-mentor pairings connected ten times over 8 weeks using Skype video calls. Primary outcomes focused on implementation (i.e. measures of feasibility and acceptability). Secondary outcomes focused on effectiveness (i.e. measures of self-management, self-efficacy, pain, social support and quality of life). Results Thirty adolescents (mean age 14.3 ± 1.7 years, 97 % female) completed the RCT (intervention n  = 16, control n  = 14). Primary outcomes: One third (32 %) of adolescents approached agreed to participate, completed baseline measures and were randomized. Half of pairings completed ten calls within 8 weeks. Average call length was twice the required amount with call lengths of 44.72 ± 15.76 min. Participants reported satisfaction with the program and all reported that they would recommend it to their peers. Participants’ mean engagement level with the program was 8.53/10 (range = 7–10). Secondary outcomes: Participants who completed the iPeer2Peer Program demonstrated improvements in their perceived ability to manage JIA ( p  < 0.04), compared to controls. No adverse events were reported. Conclusion The iPeer2Peer Program is a promising intervention that improves acceptability of self-management and peer support treatments for adolescents with JIA. By using the Internet to connect mentors to adolescents with JIA it may also improve accessibility to these resources. Findings will be used to adapt the program and refine the methodology for a full-scale RCT. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01986400 . Registered November 11, 2013.

This study aimed to measure the feasibility and acceptability of a theory-driven hybrid online-offline mentorship program and determine its impact on transition of newly graduated nurses. Excessive transition shock for newly graduated nurses can harm their well-being and increase nursing mistakes and patient issues. Therefore, helping newly graduated nurses in transitioning is crucial. A parallel 2-arm randomized controlled trial design was used. The study randomly assigned 90 newly graduated nurses to receive either mentorship intervention or usual training. Two of them lost at the first follow-up and their data were not included in the outcome analysis. Outcomes included transition shock, job satisfaction and intent to stay. Generalized Linear Mixed Model was conducted to compare outcomes at baseline to follow-up. Semi-interviews with mentees and mentors were conducted for the qualitative part. Thematic analysis was used to code the qualitative responses. This report adheres to the CONSORT. At 6 months post-intervention, participants in the intervention group showed significant mitigation of rising levels of transition shock (Coef.=-0.223, p < 0.001) compared with the control group. Moreover, participants showed significant mitigation of declining of job satisfaction (Coef.=0.075, p < 0.05) and intent to stay (Coef.=0.435, p < 0.01). Qualitative findings showed participants' positive experience with the program. The study showed that the intervention not only effectively mitigated the transition shock for newly graduated nurses but also slowed the decline in job satisfaction and intent to stay, offering valuable insights for future nursing research, education and management.

Sexual and Gender Diverse Youth (SGDY) are at increased risk for suicide due to unique experiences including discrimination, family or friend rejection, and low positive affect. Peer mentors (PMs) may offer a unique opportunity for intervention but are underutilized for suicide prevention among SGDY. Little is known about the training needed for PMs when working with SGDY at risk for suicide. We developed an intervention, Supporting Transitions to Adulthood and Reducing Suicide (STARS), to improve suicide prevention among SGDY and increase social support, coping, and positive effects. PMs were trained by a licensed clinical therapist and provided a manual. PMs meet virtually for 6 weeks, providing social support, strategies to diminish the impact of discrimination, connection to safe spaces, and reinforcement of intentions to use Safety Plans with mentees. To understand PMs' experiences in their role, including distress, fidelity to the manual, and perceptions of feasibility and acceptability of STARS and mentees' Safety Plan, we collected survey data from mentees and PMs as well as in-depth interviews with PMs after the completion of the intervention. As of September 2024, all peer mentees (N=64) have completed the study and all PMs have finished providing sessions for peer mentees. PMs (n=5) reported overall high comfort (8.52) and low distress (1.93) during sessions. All 5 PMs had high fidelity (>90%) to the PM intervention training. All 5 PMs reported high feasibility (17.50), acceptability (20), and appropriateness (20) of the STARS intervention. Mentees (n=27) reported high confidence ratings (3.54) in speaking with their PMs. Peer mentorship for SGDY who are at risk for suicide was feasible and acceptable by PMs and mentees alike. PMs reported that they felt comfortable and confident during the sessions. Mentees also reported confidence in working with their PMs. Future research should explore the optimal strategies to support PMs and mentees as they engage in suicide prevention work as well as incorporate feedback from the PMs in this study to ensure optimal outcomes. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05018143; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05018143. RR2-10.2196/48177.