LET’s CONNECT Community Mentorship Program for Adolescents with Peer Social Problems: A Randomized Intervention Trial

Striving for safety, impact, and equity: A critical consideration of AJCP publications on formal youth mentoring programs

In this virtual special issue (VSI) we curate and reflect upon 22 articles on formal youth mentoring previously published in the American Journal of Community Psychology (AJCP). First, we provide historical context and highlight AJCP's 2002 special issue on mentoring, which played an important role in establishing youth mentoring as a vibrant area of research. Next, we review and discuss findings from subsequent AJCP studies in three interrelated lines of inquiry: (1) the importance of facilitating high-quality mentoring relationships; (2) associations among youth's presenting needs, relationship quality, and outcomes; and (3) program practices leading to stronger, more impactful relationships. Throughout, we highlight and expand upon critical commentary from AJCP contributors, calling on the field to move away from paternalistic models that overly localize risk with youth and families without interrogating structural oppression. Our recommendations include: (1) centering critical consciousness, racial equity, and social justice in program curricula and mentor trainings; (2) respectfully engaging grassroots programs developed for and by communities of color that are underrepresented in research; (3) making meaningful efforts to recruit mentors from marginalized communities and removing barriers to their participation; and (4) examining youth's racial, ethnic, and other areas of identity development processes during mentoring.

Cultural Consensus Modeling to identify culturally relevant reasons for and against suicide among Black adolescents

INTRODUCTION

The development of evidence-based treatments relies on accurate theoretical frameworks sensitive to the lived realities of the populations from which they are derived. Yet, the perspectives of Black youth are vastly underrepresented in extant theories of suicidal behavior. Cultural Consensus Modeling provides an evidence-based approach for developing a culturally informed understanding of suicide risk among Black youth.

METHOD

Participants were 50 Black adolescents (Mage  = 16.20 years; 76.0% male) who completed Phase 1 of a Cultural Consensus Modeling study. Participants freely listed reasons for suicide and reasons for living among similar peer Black youth. Responses were synthesized and coded for major themes.

RESULTS

The most common reasons for suicide were racism (40%), depression (32%), poverty (26%), and bullying (22%). The most common reasons for living were family (58%), having a purpose or goals (36%), friends (30%), and hope for a better future (26%).

CONCLUSION

Responses highlighted issues of racism and social justice, depression, and poverty, as well as the protective role of relationships, living for the future, and contributing to Black empowerment. Future research should utilize Cultural Consensus Modeling to elevate the voices of Black youth, improving extant theories of suicide, and identifying unique mechanisms or opportunities for prevention.

Predictors of suicide coping self-efficacy among youth presenting to a psychiatric emergency department

INTRODUCTION

Low levels of youth-reported self-efficacy to cope with suicidal urges have been shown to prospectively predict repeat emergency department (ED) visits and suicide attempts, yet little is known about how self-efficacy may change following receipt of crisis services or about factors that may strengthen self-efficacy. Protective factors (e.g., parent-reported youth competence, parent-family connectedness, and receipt of mental health services) were examined in relation to self-efficacy at the time of a psychiatric ED visit and 2 weeks later.

METHODS

Participants were 205 youth (ages 10-17), presenting to a psychiatric ED due to a suicide-related concern. Youth primarily identified as biological female (63%) and White (87%). Multivariate hierarchical linear regressions were used to examine candidate protective factors in relation to initial and follow-up suicide coping self-efficacy.

RESULTS

Self-efficacy significantly improved in the 2 weeks following the ED visit. Parent-family connectedness was positively related to suicide coping self-efficacy at the time of the ED visit. Parent-family connectedness and receipt of inpatient psychiatric care following the ED visit were associated with higher follow-up suicide coping self-efficacy.

CONCLUSIONS

During the adolescent developmental period when suicidal thoughts and behaviors notably increase, study findings highlight potential malleable intervention targets, including parent-family connectedness, that may strengthen suicide coping self-efficacy.