Theresa N Melton
Biographic Data
| ID | 4370301 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Theresa N Melton |
| GIVEN NAMES | Theresa N |
| FAMILY NAME | Melton |
| SIGNATURE | MELTON T N |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Virginia |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6114-9349 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 10 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 10 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Adolescent Peer and Adult Relationships Across Time and Transition
Accessing a network of supportive relationships is critical to adolescent development, yet many peer relationships shift across adolescence, and little is known about changes in non-parental youth-adult relationships over time. This study examined how and why relationships with peers and adults end or persist during adolescence, specifically across school transitions. Participants ( n = 35; 17 middle school-aged, 18 high school-aged) completed eg…
Engaging evaluation champions
Experiential Education Programs
Background: Understanding how contextual elements within educational environments relate to identity formation can help educators design experiences intended to support identity formation processes. Purpose: This study examined identity formation among students enrolled in immersion semester high schools and how contextual elements and identity formation actions influence identity formation process profiles. Methodology: Data were collected from …
Identifying predictors of psychological well‐being among volunteer mentors in Big Brothers Big Sisters
Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) facilitates mentoring relationships between youth and volunteer mentors. Although research has examined outcomes for youth in BBBS, relatively less investigation has been undertaken for volunteer outcomes. This study explored factors associated with changes in psychological well-being among BBBS volunteer mentors. Participants included 593 mentors (Mage = 31) surveyed at study baseline and 15-month follow-up. A cla…
“Pick your team wisely”
Putting Parental Supervision Into Context
Studies of parental supervision often fail to consider the broader ecology in which youth are developing. In this paper, moderation and mediation analysis were utilized to examine parental supervision along with the ecological asset of supportive relationships, which have been identified as especially powerful assets, in a sample of 289 adolescents from the United States. These factors are considered in relation to positive indicators that have s…
How group experiences influence mentor–mentee relational development in a combined group and one-on-one mentoring program for early adolescent girls
Group mentoring programs offer multiple routes for influencing development, through both one-on-one relationships and relational processes in the group context. Less explored is how the group context impacts one-on-one relationships. This study investigated how the group influences the development of the mentor–mentee relationship in a group and one-on-one mentoring program serving early adolescent girls. Qualitative analyses of interviews with m…
Broadening the perspective on youth's systems of support
This study applies the theory of positive youth development (Lerner et al., 2010) and the youth systems framework (Varga & Zaff, 2018) to the examination of supportive peer and adult relationships across multiple contexts in which youth develop. Results of egocentric social network analysis indicated that high school‐aged youth nominated significantly more adults than middle school‐aged youth. Peers and adults both acted as important sources of s…
Quality is Critical for Meaningful Synthesis of Afterschool Program Effects
It's like all of his attention is on you”
The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the relationship between attachment, supportive nonparental youth‐adult relationships, and self‐esteem during adolescence. First, in a quantitative path analysis, we found that perceived social support from nonparental adults partially mediated the relationship between adolescent attachment and self‐esteem. In our follow‐up mixed methods analysis, we analyzed youth reflections of support expe…
It's like all of his attention is on you”
The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the relationship between attachment, supportive nonparental youth‐adult relationships, and self‐esteem during adolescence. First, in a quantitative path analysis, we found that perceived social support from nonparental adults partially mediated the relationship between adolescent attachment and self‐esteem. In our follow‐up mixed methods analysis, we analyzed youth reflections of support expe…
Broadening the perspective on youth's systems of support
This study applies the theory of positive youth development (Lerner et al., 2010) and the youth systems framework (Varga & Zaff, 2018) to the examination of supportive peer and adult relationships across multiple contexts in which youth develop. Results of egocentric social network analysis indicated that high school‐aged youth nominated significantly more adults than middle school‐aged youth. Peers and adults both acted as important sources of s…
It's like all of his attention is on you”
The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the relationship between attachment, supportive nonparental youth‐adult relationships, and self‐esteem during adolescence. First, in a quantitative path analysis, we found that perceived social support from nonparental adults partially mediated the relationship between adolescent attachment and self‐esteem. In our follow‐up mixed methods analysis, we analyzed youth reflections of support expe…
Quality is Critical for Meaningful Synthesis of Afterschool Program Effects
How group experiences influence mentor–mentee relational development in a combined group and one-on-one mentoring program for early adolescent girls
Group mentoring programs offer multiple routes for influencing development, through both one-on-one relationships and relational processes in the group context. Less explored is how the group context impacts one-on-one relationships. This study investigated how the group influences the development of the mentor–mentee relationship in a group and one-on-one mentoring program serving early adolescent girls. Qualitative analyses of interviews with m…
Broadening the perspective on youth's systems of support
This study applies the theory of positive youth development (Lerner et al., 2010) and the youth systems framework (Varga & Zaff, 2018) to the examination of supportive peer and adult relationships across multiple contexts in which youth develop. Results of egocentric social network analysis indicated that high school‐aged youth nominated significantly more adults than middle school‐aged youth. Peers and adults both acted as important sources of s…
“Pick your team wisely”
Putting Parental Supervision Into Context
Studies of parental supervision often fail to consider the broader ecology in which youth are developing. In this paper, moderation and mediation analysis were utilized to examine parental supervision along with the ecological asset of supportive relationships, which have been identified as especially powerful assets, in a sample of 289 adolescents from the United States. These factors are considered in relation to positive indicators that have s…
Experiential Education Programs
Background: Understanding how contextual elements within educational environments relate to identity formation can help educators design experiences intended to support identity formation processes. Purpose: This study examined identity formation among students enrolled in immersion semester high schools and how contextual elements and identity formation actions influence identity formation process profiles. Methodology: Data were collected from …
Identifying predictors of psychological well‐being among volunteer mentors in Big Brothers Big Sisters
Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) facilitates mentoring relationships between youth and volunteer mentors. Although research has examined outcomes for youth in BBBS, relatively less investigation has been undertaken for volunteer outcomes. This study explored factors associated with changes in psychological well-being among BBBS volunteer mentors. Participants included 593 mentors (Mage = 31) surveyed at study baseline and 15-month follow-up. A cla…
Engaging evaluation champions
Adolescent Peer and Adult Relationships Across Time and Transition
Accessing a network of supportive relationships is critical to adolescent development, yet many peer relationships shift across adolescence, and little is known about changes in non-parental youth-adult relationships over time. This study examined how and why relationships with peers and adults end or persist during adolescence, specifically across school transitions. Participants ( n = 35; 17 middle school-aged, 18 high school-aged) completed eg…
Psychology (7 works) · Developmental psychology (5 works) · Social Psychology (5 works) · Youth Development and Social Support (4 works) · Positive Youth Development (3 works) · Sociology (3 works) · Adolescent development (2 works) · Child Welfare and Adoption (2 works) · Clinical Psychology (2 works) · Computer Science (2 works)