Mentoring high-risk minority youth: Evaluation of the brothers project

Mentoring as an intervention for at-risk teens is becoming increasingly popular despite sparse evidence of its effectiveness. This research, part of a larger evaluation effort, reports on a four-year mentoring project developed specifically for African-American adolescents. Self-esteem, attitudes toward drugs and alcohol, grades, school attendance, and disciplinary infractions were examined using an experimental design. No significant differences were found between the control and intervention groups. However, multiple explanations are offered to account for why it is so difficult to document the positive benefits of mentoring.