From the Editor

A qualitative exploratory study was conducted to examine the experiences of 20 immigrant Latina women using a culturally specific 11-week curriculum—Sí Yo Puedo—in psychoeducational group settings. The purpose of the program is to provide participants with education about domestic violence and self-esteem. Two follow-up groups were conducted to assess immigrant Latina women’s experiences after completing the program. Findings indicated that participants reported improved self-esteem and knowledge of healthy relationship dynamics, and the women experienced the process of empowerment. Implications for social workers include utilization of the program toward education and the promotion of healthy relationships among Latina women.     

Breaking bad: an attachment perspective on youth mentoring relationship closures

Endings in youth mentoring relationships have received little attention to date despite the frequency with which they occur. In this paper, we bring an attachment theory perspective to bear on youth mentoring relationship closures and consider how the rich empirical and theoretical literature on attachment can inform mentoring programme practice and possibly help prevent premature and poorly handled mentoring relationship endings. We consider what is known about endings in youth mentoring relationships, articulate an attachment perspective on mentoring relationships and their endings and offer recommendations informed by these literatures for how mentoring programmes can promote positive closure when relationships come to an end.     

Mentoring adolescent foster youth: promoting resilience during developmental transitions

The current exploratory study used quantitative and qualitative data from an evaluation of the ‘Advocates to Successful Transition to Independence’ programme, a mentoring programme designed to train mentors to assist older adolescent foster youth in acquiring skills and resources needed for successful transition out of foster care and into adulthood. The study was conducted in two phases over 2 years. Quantitative methods were used to describe characteristics of the older adolescent foster youth and advocates, and qualitative methods were used to describe the experiences of youth and advocates in the programme. Results suggest that the use of a mentoring programme for older adolescent foster youth represents a particularly beneficial prevention strategy that may help prevent negative outcomes as youth emancipate from the foster care system and transition into young adulthood. Implications and recommendations for developing mentoring programmes for transition‐aged youth are presented.     

Achieving high quality and long‐lasting matches in youth mentoring programmes: a case study of 4Results mentoring

Mentoring programmes show significant promise for enhancing the well‐being of youth with complex needs. Research indicates that high quality mentoring, although difficult to achieve, positively impacts youth development across behavioural, social, emotional and academic domains. The difficulty of sustaining long‐term matches between mentors and youth, however, remains an important concern for the field of mentoring, as foreshortened matches can be harmful to youth. The 4Results mentoring programme has been identified as a Promising Practice through the Washington State Inventory of child‐serving behavioural and mental health programmes and has developed a unique infrastructure to support critical programme values such as match longevity. In 7 years, the programme has successfully retained 98% of mentors for at least 1 year with an average match length of 3.7 years. The following article describes the programme's guiding philosophy and approach to recruiting and training mentors in the context of existing best practices research.     

The Interpretation of Multiracial Status and Its Relation to Social Engagement and Psychological Well-Being

This research examines how multiracial individuals chose to identify themselves with respect to their racial identity and how this choice relates to their self-reported psychological well-being (e.g., self-esteem, positive affect) and level of social engagement (e.g., citizenship behaviors, group alienation). High school students who belong to multiple racial/ethnic groups (N = 182) were asked to indicate the group with which they primarily identify. Participants were then classified as identifying with a low-status group (i.e., Black or Latino), a high-status group (i.e., Asian or White), or multiple groups (e.g., Black and White, etc.). Results showed that, compared with multiracial individuals who identified primarily with a low- or high-status group, those who identified with multiple groups tended to report either equal or higher psychological well-being and social engagement. Potential explanations and implications for understanding multiracial identity are discussed.     

Affirmative Action and Job Satisfaction: Understanding Underlying Processes

In the present article, we examine the relationship between perceptions of affirmative action and the satisfaction of racial and ethnic minority faculty members. We develop a conceptual model of factors that mediate the impact of affirmative action on the satisfaction of faculty of color, and investigate this model based on survey responses of 84 African-American, 48 Latina/o, and 59 Asian faculty. Analyses showed that the satisfaction of faculty of color is significantly related to how affirmative action is perceived to be embraced by the community, and that this effect is mediated by how supportive colleagues are seen and how much self-doubt faculty experience. Data also indicated the important role of mentoring for supporting the goals of affirmative action.     

Obamacare and the Politics of Universal Health Insurance Coverage in the United States

In the USA, universal coverage has long been a key objective of liberal reformers. Yet, despite the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) (commonly known as ‘Obamacare’) in 2010, the USA is not set to provide health care coverage to all, even if and when that reform is fully implemented. This article explores this issue by asking the following question: Why was a clear commitment to universal coverage, the norm in other industrialized countries, excluded as a core objective of the PPACA and how has post‐enactment politics at both the federal and the state level further shaped coverage issues? The analysis traces the issue of universal coverage prior to the debate over the PPACA, during the 2008 presidential race, and during consideration of the bill. The article then looks at the post‐enactment politics of coverage, with a particular focus on how states have responded to the planned use of the Medicaid programme to expand access to care. The article concludes by discussing how an explanation of the limits of the PPACA, in terms of both its commitment to universal coverage and, more importantly, the failure to provide comprehensive health insurance to all, requires an understanding of complex institutional and policy dynamics.     

Editorial

This study aims to examine internal assets as predictors for positive emotions among at-risk youth in Malaysia. A set of questions was sent out to 1149 youth who were drawn from low-income apartments in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur. Of the 1149 participants approached, only 403 participants met the inclusion criteria and completed the questionnaires. Multiple regression analysis suggested that school engagement, self-esteem, interpersonal competence and motivation were significantly predicted positive emotions. The findings suggest that at least four predictors of internal assets are required to produce positive emotions.     

Why do the poor oppose income redistribution? An empirical test on the impacts of nationalism and fatalism

We study the poor’s psychological motivations to oppose income redistribution, relying on social identity and system justification theories. We find that national identification reduces differences between the poor and the rich in terms of attitudes toward income redistribution and self-esteem, by discouraging the poor from supporting redistribution but encouraging them to acquire greater self-esteem. Next, fatalism reduces and increases differences between the poor and the rich in terms of attitudes toward income redistribution and self-esteem, respectively. Yet, a closer look reveals that the responding patterns of the poor and the rich to fatalism are consistent only with the mechanism behind the prediction that concerns self-esteem. That is, fatalism increases support for income redistribution in both groups, whereas it reduces self-esteem only among the poor.     

Positive Action in Minority Ethnic Employment: The Role of Scottish Housing Organizations

This paper focuses on Scottish housing organizations, where the relative absence of black and minority ethnic employees is beginning to be addressed by programmes of positive action. The paper defines positive action, discusses experiences elsewhere in Europe and the USA, and identifies issues that have arisen from such programmes. Schemes targeted at the housing profession, such as PATH in both England and Scotland, are described in some detail. The attitudes and experiences of Scottish housing organizations were examined as part of an evaluation of the Scottish PATH programme carried out in 1998, and these are discussed. The paper concludes that a reservoir of goodwill exists towards positive action programmes and that there is a need for such programmes to be extended, possibly with the support of the Scottish Parliament.     

Family Life and School Experience: Factors in the Racial Identity Development of Black Youth in White Communities

Eighteen middle-class Black college students were interviewed in-depth about their experiences growing up in predominantly White communities. Using Cross's model of racial identity development as a theoretical framework for analysis, case studies of three women and two men are presented to highlight the impact of varied parental socialization practices and school experiences on racial identity development. For all, positive same-race peer relationships, information about African-American achievements, the availability of role models, and the encouragement of significant adults were important for academic success and the beginning resolution of identity conflicts. The implications of these findings for understanding aspects of school integration and for developing relevant school-based interventions are considered.     

Youth in foster care: developmental assets and attitudes towards adoption and mentoring

The present study explores the relationship between the characteristics of youth in foster care and youth attitudes about mentoring and adoption. Using a positive youth development framework, the study examines the relationship between youth risk and resilience variables (youth risk scores, youth assets and youth perception of control) and youth attitudes about mentoring and adoption. Data were collected from 54 youth, ages 10 to 17 years, through intake interviews and surveys. Participants were 25 male and 29 female adolescents; 33 were Caucasian and 21 were African American. Overall, the youth had positive attitudes about both mentoring and adoption, with Caucasian youth having more positive attitudes than African American youth. A 2 × 2 (Gender × Race) analysis of variance revealed greater feelings of control for male and Caucasian youth. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the youths' perceptions of their strengths and assets were related to how positively they viewed mentoring and adoption.     

The Impact of Self-Esteem Group Work Practice with Rural Elementary Male Students

The present pilot study examines the effect of a social work self-esteem group as a method for improving the self-esteem and classroom behavior of disruptive male students in an elementary school in rural Georgia. Teachers, educators, and administrators in school systems across the nation are continuously bombarded with a disproportionate number of students who fail to display acceptable standards for appropriate classroom behavior, particularly male students. Research efforts have been directed toward identifying effective social work practice interventions that will bring about meaningful proactive changes to elementary student populations who exhibit such behaviors. A validated outcome measure was included in an uncontrolled pretest–posttest design to determine quantifiable changes. Findings from this study show that after the social work group intervention, posttest scores tended to be lower than pretest scores, which would indicate that there was a notable improvement in elementary students’ self-esteem and class behavior between pretest and posttest assessments. Implications for social work practice are discussed.     

The Mentoring FAN: A Promising Approach to Enhancing Attunement within the Mentoring System

ABSTRACT

Youth mentoring is a popular tool in positive youth development, with most programs utilizing a model through which youth and non-parental adults are “matched.” Using an adaptation of the Facilitating Attuned Interactions framework, this study sought to explore the effectiveness of the Mentoring FAN in enhancing interpersonal attunement among mentoring staff at two youth mentoring programs in the U.S. Upon completion of the Mentoring FAN training, quantitative (n = 28) and qualitative (n = 15) data were collected from program staff at both sites. Open-ended data from a subset of mentors (n = 27) was also gathered. Results revealed that mentoring staff experienced significant increases in empathy following the Mentoring FAN intervention. Participant interviews revealed increased attunement, increased listening ability, and increased collaboration in the supervisory relationship. Findings support the continued delivery and rigorous testing of Mentoring FAN training, with great promise for enhancing attunement across the mentoring system as a means of strengthening the relationships so critical to this intervention. The study also has important implications for the development of mentor support practices within mentoring organizations, as well as policies designed to meet the needs of youth served by mentoring programs in the U.S.     

‘He told me to calm down and all that’: a qualitative study of forms of social support in youth mentoring relationships

The worldwide growth in formal youth mentoring programmes over the past two decades is partly a response to the perception that young people facing adversity do not have access to supportive relationships with adults and positive role models in their communities to the degree they once had. Formal mentoring programmes facilitate the development of a friendship or ‘match’ between an older volunteer and a young person, with the objective of supporting the young persons’ personal and social development. Drawing on 66 semi‐structured interviews with young people, parents, mentors and caseworkers associated with nine youth mentoring matches in the Big Brothers Big Sisters Programme in Ireland, this paper analyses the forms of social support evident in the mentor–mentee relationships and highlights how the mentoring relationship was perceived to have impacted on the well‐being of the young people participating. The findings reflect the consensus in the mentoring literature that close, well‐established mentoring relationships have the potential to bring about meaningful change in the lives of young people.     

Structural Relationship Analysis Among Variables of Mentoring Network Characteristics,Mentoring Functions,and the Working Attitudes of North Korean Defectors

This study was conducted with a purpose to examine the structural relationship among mentoring network characteristics, mentoring functions, and the work attitudes of North Korean defectors. One hundred twenty-one North Korean defectors participated in the study, who were involved in settlement programs in Seoul, Korea. Amos 20.0 and SPSS 21.0. were used for statistical analysis. According to the developmental network theory, mentoring network characteristics include: network range, number of networks, and network intimacy. Mentoring functions include: career function, role function, and psychosocial function. The results are as follows. Mentoring network characteristics have a positive (+) effect on mentoring functions (β?=?0.267, C.R.?=?2.329, p?<?.05) and mentoring functions have a positive (+) effect on work attitude (β?=?0.703, C.R.?=?6.748, p?<?.001). Mentoring characteristics also have an indirect effect on work attitude through mentoring functions (β?=?0.188). The results of this study implicate the need for expanding mentoring networks and developing mentoring functions for North Korean defectors in both formal and informal social network areas.     

Positive youth development in Māori and New Zealand European adolescents through an adventure education programme

Within Aotearoa New Zealand there is growing interest in positive youth development (PYD). A PYD approach provides balance to narratives surrounding outcomes for youth and broadens our views of what we consider beneficial developmental outcomes. In the current study we used sail training as a method to promote PYD in Māori and New Zealand European adolescents. Specifically, 54 Māori and 37 New Zealand European adolescents completed the 7-day youth-development voyage on-board the gaffed rigged schooner, R. Tucker Thompson. We demonstrate that, for both Māori and New Zealand European adolescents, psychological resilience, self-esteem, and positive outlook on life increased from the first day to the last day of the voyage. In addition, we demonstrate that the increases in psychological resilience were driven by the social/collective identity adolescents formed with their group over the course of the voyage.     

The influence of perception of school principal’s leadership on teachers’ job satisfaction in the interior of Sabah,Malaysia: a case study in Beaufort

This study investigates the relationship between teachers’ perceptions of the school principal’s leadership and their job satisfaction in Beaufort, a multiethnic semirural area in the interior of Sabah, Malaysia. Results of the research showed that there is a significant positive relationship between the perceived leadership of the school principal and job satisfaction among the teaching staff, and the relationship is not influenced by the demographic attributes of the study participants. The results accentuate the importance of developing the leadership of principals in public schools to enhance the commitment and job satisfaction of the teaching staff, which indirectly affects the overall performance of schools and students.     

Racial identity attitudes and self-esteem of black adolescents in residential care: an exploratory study

Summary The study examined and compared the racial identity attitudesand self-esteem of 40 African Caribbean adolescents in residentialcare in a city in the West Midlands and a comparison group of40 African Caribbean adolescents attending a multiracial comprehensiveschool in the city. The respondents were administered the Rosenberg(Rosenberg, 1965) Self-Esteem Scale, the Racial Identity AttitudeScale (Parham and Helms, 1981) and a Demographic Questionnaire.Multiple regression analysis and analysis of variance were usedto analyse the data. Both respondents in residential care andthe comparison group primarily endorsed positive racial attitudes.Self-esteem and racial identity attitudes were positively related.The study assessed the implications of the findings for socialworkers working with black children and adolescents.