Renee Spencer
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 4226773 |
|---|---|
| NOME | Renee Spencer |
| PRENOMES | Renee |
| SOBRENOME | Spencer |
| ASSINATURA | SPENCER R |
| AFILIAÇÕES | Boston University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2876-2918 |
| VERIFICADO | Sim |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 54 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 628 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 54 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 1998 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 14 |
A Little Goes a Long Way
In the United States, military service members and their families move often. High rates of mobility in military-connected (MC) families means frequent school changes, which can take a toll on children. There is a nascent but growing literature on the role that school supports can play in helping MC children with school transitions. To better understand the role of school supports for MC students and families who frequently change schools, we int…
“I felt like that was my second home”
I wished I could have said bye
Parents’ attitudes toward and experiences with seeking informal mentors for their children
They need nurturance; they need to be seen
Do program practices matter for mentors
This study investigates how the implementation of program‐level practices by formal youth mentoring programs is associated with the quality of youth mentoring relationships as contexts for youth development and also examines whether this connection is mediated by the mentor‐staff working alliance. Using data from mentors ( n = 542) participating in multiple programs ( n = 55), multilevel path models examined hypothesized direct and mediated effec…
Going the distance
More enduring formal youth mentoring relationships tend to be more effective, but our understanding of how such relationships develop and are sustained remains limited. This prospective, qualitative study examined the development of 67 one‐to‐one, community‐based mentoring relationships over a 2‐year period. Data included interviews with mentors, youth, and the youth's parent/guardian across multiple time‐points and agency case notes. Five develo…
Core and Capital Mentoring—in Real Life
Core and capital mentoring relationships have been demonstrated to be distinct types of relationships that have different characteristics, qualities of the relationship, and are linked to different outcomes among adolescents more generally. The present study adds to this growing literature base by examining whether this typology captures well the experiences of systems-involved youth. A thematic analysis of interviews with systems-involved young …
(Not) minding the gap
This study sought to examine how social class bias may be enacted by mentors and mentoring program staff within community‐based youth mentoring relationships and how these biases may influence the mentoring relationship. A narrative thematic analysis was conducted with interviews from mentors, mentees’ parents/caregivers, and mentoring program staff representing 36 matches participating in a larger, prospective, mixed‐methods study examining fact…
“This is not your Life…and it becomes your Life”
The adverse effects of deployment‐related stress (DRS) on military service members, spouses, and children are well documented. Findings from a recent Consensus Report on Military Families by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (2019) underscore the priority of gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the diversity of today’s military families and their needs and well‐being. While social support is generally regarded …
It’s Who You Know That Matters
Ready? Set? Go
Objective: Interest in promoting more widespread use of evidence-based practice standards in mentoring programs is rising. To describe and better understand efforts to implement recommended standards, we studied a multilevel initiative by a national advocacy organization in which state-level affiliates guided local mentoring programs through a structured quality improvement process. Specifically, we examined organizational readiness for change am…
Mentors’ approach to relationship-building and the supports they provide to youth
Program staff perspectives on implementing youth‐initiated mentoring with systems‐involved youth
Youth‐initiated mentoring (YIM) is an approach to mentor recruitment that represents a significant departure from how formal mentoring typically has been conceptualized and carried out, most notably by having youth identify their own mentors. Despite enthusiasm for YIM, implementation can require significant shifts in program practices. Given the limited resources with which most mentoring programs have to work, it is important to discern staff i…
Helping Those Who Need It the Least
Although there have been calls to expand mentoring as way to redress the growing problem of economic immobility in the United States, no study to date has directly examined whether mentoring and economic mobility are related. Using multiple waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and employing a propensity score matching approach, this quasi-experimental study compares youth who report having had an informal adult …
Philosophical Approaches to Qualitative Research
This chapter reviews some of the major overarching philosophical approaches to qualitative inquiry and includes some historical background for each approach. Taking a “big picture” view, the chapter discusses postpositivism, constructivism, critical theory, feminism, and queer theory and offers a brief history of these approaches; considers the ontological, epistemological, and axiological assumptions on which they rest; and details some of their…
Freud’s Oedipus Complex in the #MeToo Era
The Oedipus complex is a child development construct developed by Sigmond Freud that asserts that all children experience sexual desire towards their opposite sex parent, and failure to accept this “truth” can lead to mental health issues. Freud also asserted that children are not harmed by acts of sexual violence. In contrast, the #MeToo movement is a global incentive aimed at creating an awareness of the harm that sexual violence can cause. In …
Web-Based Training for School-Based Mentors of Military-Connected Youth
Expanding and deepening our understanding of which young people are most likely to have an informal mentor
Deconstructing empathy
Investigating mentor commitment in youth mentoring relationships
Highly committed mentors may be less likely to end their mentoring relationships with their mentees. Theory suggests commitment is predicted by relationship satisfaction, investment, and perceptions of available alternatives. Mentoring program practices may influence commitment, but little research has investigated potential mechanisms. Using data from 537 mentors representing 55 mentoring programs, this study examined a theoretical path model in…
Coparenting across the Deployment Cycle
Contemporary service members and their partners have adapted their coparenting to respond to the specific transitions and disruptions associated with wartime deployment cycles and evolving child development. This qualitative study draws upon interviews with service member and home front parents of very young children to characterize their coparenting experiences throughout the deployment cycle. Parents described varied approaches as they consider…
Who Knows Me the Best and Can Encourage Me the Most?”
Youth-initiated mentoring (YIM), in which youth select adults from within their communities to serve as mentors in relationships that are formalized through mentoring programs, has the potential to redress problems faced by many mentoring programs that could adversely affect system-involved youth, such as volunteer attrition and premature match closures. However, only a few programs have implemented YIM, and there is little research on this appro…
A positive guiding hand”
I'm Having a Little Struggle With This, Can You Help Me Out?”
Social capital plays a key role in college and career success, and research indicates that a dearth of on‐campus connections contributes to challenges first‐generation college students face in effectively navigating the college environment. This study investigates a novel intervention that focuses on the development of skills and attitudes to empower first‐generation college students to cultivate social capital and on‐campus connections during th…
It's Not What I Expected”
Although estimates are that only about half of youth mentoring relationships established through formal programs last beyond a few months, almost no attention has been paid to understanding mentoring relationship failures. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 adult and 11 adolescent male and female participants in a community-based one-to-one mentoring program whose relationships ended early. Line-by-line coding and a narrati…
A model for the influence of mentoring relationships on youth development
Anecdotal reports of the protective qualities of mentoring relationships for youth are corroborated by a growing body of research. What is missing, however, is research on the processes by which mentors influence developmental outcomes. In this article, we present a conceptual model of the mentoring process along with a delineation of some of the current research on what makes for more effective mentoring relationships. A set of recommendations f…
Understanding the Mentoring Process between Adolescents and Adults
The popularity of mentoring programs for disadvantaged youth is on the rise, but little is known about the processes that underpin successful mentoring relationships. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with adolescent and adult pairs who had been in a continuous mentoring relationship for a minimum of 1 year. Using relational theories as the guiding framework, this study examined four relational processes, which are detailed in thi…
Qualitative exploration of relationships with important non-parental adults in the lives of youth in foster care
Youth Initiated Mentoring
This study examines youth initiated mentoring (YIM), a new approach to mentoring in which youth nominate mentors from among the non‐parental adults within their existing social networks (e.g., teachers, family friends, extended family members). YIM is currently being implemented through the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program (NGYCP), an intensive residential intervention program for youth ages 16–18 who have dropped out or been expelled from …
A steady presence in the midst of change
Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
Endings in youth mentoring relationships have received little empirical attention despite the fact that many relationships do end. The present study utilized qualitative interview data collected from participants in a longitudinal study of community-based mentoring relationships to examine how and why the relationships ended and how participants experienced these endings. Interviews with 48 pairs of mentors and youth and the youth's parent or gua…
Working to make it work
Theoretical and empirical work on youth mentoring relationships has been largely focused on the mentor‐youth dyad, with little attention to the larger context within which such relationships form and develop. The perspectives of parents have been absent for the most part from the mentoring literature to date. In‐depth, semistructured, qualitative interviews were conducted with parents ( n =13) of youth who were participating in a community‐based …
I'm Having a Little Struggle With This, Can You Help Me Out?”
Social capital plays a key role in college and career success, and research indicates that a dearth of on‐campus connections contributes to challenges first‐generation college students face in effectively navigating the college environment. This study investigates a novel intervention that focuses on the development of skills and attitudes to empower first‐generation college students to cultivate social capital and on‐campus connections during th…
Family involvement in the youth mentoring process
Supportive Relationships Among Former System Youth With Mental Health Challenges
This study explored the supportive relationships that former system youth (FSY; e.g., foster care) with mental health challenges identified as “key” in making the transition to adulthood. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 59 FSY, ages 18 to 25, with mental health challenges. Participants were asked to reflect on their relationships with a key helper or what the literature defines as a natural mentor, “an adult that has been …
A parent's place
Mentoring Relationship Closures in Big Brothers Big Sisters Community Mentoring Programs
Previous research suggests that early mentoring relationship ( MR ) closures may have harmful consequences for the health and well‐being of youth participating in community‐based mentoring programs. However, knowledge of the factors that lead some MR s to close early has been slow to emerge. This study examined patterns and correlates of early versus on‐time MR closures among 569 youth participating in Big Brothers Big Sisters community mentoring…
Somebody Who Was on My Side
Youth initiated mentoring (YIM) is an innovative approach to mentoring being implemented by the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program in which youth identify and select their mentors. There is great interest in this approach; however, there has been little study of YIM or its implementation in ChalleNGe. Retrospective in-depth qualitative interviews with former ChalleNGe participants ( n = 30) were conducted to gain a descriptive understanding o…
Sowing the Seeds of Violence in Heterosexual Relationships
In this paper, we explore how early adolescents' descriptions of their romantic relationships produce evidence of how precursors to violence are woven into the fabric of such relationships from the very beginning of their experiences of “heterosociality.” We identified Rich's (1983) concept of compulsory heterosexuality as an interpretive framework for analyzing these relationship narratives, examining qualitative data from two samples (combined …
I just feel safe with him
This study provides an in-depth examination of close and enduring formal mentoring relationships between adolescent boys and adult men. Qualitative interviews conducted with 12 adolescent and adult pairs of participants (n 24) in a one-to-one communitybased youth mentoring program were analyzed thematically using a holistic-content approach. This yielded six major themes: (a) the importance of relationships with adult men in adolescence, (b) ment…
Who Knows Me the Best and Can Encourage Me the Most?”
Youth-initiated mentoring (YIM), in which youth select adults from within their communities to serve as mentors in relationships that are formalized through mentoring programs, has the potential to redress problems faced by many mentoring programs that could adversely affect system-involved youth, such as volunteer attrition and premature match closures. However, only a few programs have implemented YIM, and there is little research on this appro…
A positive guiding hand”
Breaking bad
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 wha…
Having It All? A Qualitative Examination of Affluent Adolescent Girls’ Perceptions of Stress and Their Quests for Success
This study sought to better understand the relationship between affluence and elevated risk for psychosocial distress among adolescent girls. In-depth qualitative interviews at two time points with three cohorts of girls (sixth-, eighth-, and 10th grade; T1 n = 57, T2 n = 58) from two independent girls schools Grades 6 to 12, along with their parents, and their teachers were conducted. Through narrative thematic analysis, four overarching sources…
Qualitative evaluation of historical and relational factors influencing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection risks in foster youth
(Not) minding the gap
This study sought to examine how social class bias may be enacted by mentors and mentoring program staff within community‐based youth mentoring relationships and how these biases may influence the mentoring relationship. A narrative thematic analysis was conducted with interviews from mentors, mentees’ parents/caregivers, and mentoring program staff representing 36 matches participating in a larger, prospective, mixed‐methods study examining fact…
Mentoring in the social context
Program staff perspectives on implementing youth‐initiated mentoring with systems‐involved youth
Youth‐initiated mentoring (YIM) is an approach to mentor recruitment that represents a significant departure from how formal mentoring typically has been conceptualized and carried out, most notably by having youth identify their own mentors. Despite enthusiasm for YIM, implementation can require significant shifts in program practices. Given the limited resources with which most mentoring programs have to work, it is important to discern staff i…
Expanding and deepening our understanding of which young people are most likely to have an informal mentor
Fostering Resistance Through Relationships in a Feminist Hospital Program
This article is a discussion of the author's experience implementing a feminist hospital-based program for women. A description of the program is provided and the differences between a hospital program based on the theories of women's psychological development and a traditional psychiatric treatment program are highlighted. The application of relational theory and the feminist principles of the importance of context, the fostering of healthy resi…
On the Listening Guide
Sowing the Seeds of Violence in Heterosexual Relationships
In this paper, we explore how early adolescents' descriptions of their romantic relationships produce evidence of how precursors to violence are woven into the fabric of such relationships from the very beginning of their experiences of “heterosociality.” We identified Rich's (1983) concept of compulsory heterosexuality as an interpretive framework for analyzing these relationship narratives, examining qualitative data from two samples (combined …
Online Mentoring
A model for the influence of mentoring relationships on youth development
Anecdotal reports of the protective qualities of mentoring relationships for youth are corroborated by a growing body of research. What is missing, however, is research on the processes by which mentors influence developmental outcomes. In this article, we present a conceptual model of the mentoring process along with a delineation of some of the current research on what makes for more effective mentoring relationships. A set of recommendations f…
Understanding the Mentoring Process between Adolescents and Adults
The popularity of mentoring programs for disadvantaged youth is on the rise, but little is known about the processes that underpin successful mentoring relationships. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with adolescent and adult pairs who had been in a continuous mentoring relationship for a minimum of 1 year. Using relational theories as the guiding framework, this study examined four relational processes, which are detailed in thi…
I just feel safe with him
This study provides an in-depth examination of close and enduring formal mentoring relationships between adolescent boys and adult men. Qualitative interviews conducted with 12 adolescent and adult pairs of participants (n 24) in a one-to-one communitybased youth mentoring program were analyzed thematically using a holistic-content approach. This yielded six major themes: (a) the importance of relationships with adult men in adolescence, (b) ment…
It's Not What I Expected”
Although estimates are that only about half of youth mentoring relationships established through formal programs last beyond a few months, almost no attention has been paid to understanding mentoring relationship failures. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 adult and 11 adolescent male and female participants in a community-based one-to-one mentoring program whose relationships ended early. Line-by-line coding and a narrati…
Mentoring relationships from early adolescence through emerging adulthood
She Gives Me a Break from the World”
A steady presence in the midst of change
Qualitative exploration of relationships with important non-parental adults in the lives of youth in foster care
Working to make it work
Theoretical and empirical work on youth mentoring relationships has been largely focused on the mentor‐youth dyad, with little attention to the larger context within which such relationships form and develop. The perspectives of parents have been absent for the most part from the mentoring literature to date. In‐depth, semistructured, qualitative interviews were conducted with parents ( n =13) of youth who were participating in a community‐based …
Youth Initiated Mentoring
This study examines youth initiated mentoring (YIM), a new approach to mentoring in which youth nominate mentors from among the non‐parental adults within their existing social networks (e.g., teachers, family friends, extended family members). YIM is currently being implemented through the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program (NGYCP), an intensive residential intervention program for youth ages 16–18 who have dropped out or been expelled from …
Breaking bad
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 wha…
Supportive Relationships Among Former System Youth With Mental Health Challenges
This study explored the supportive relationships that former system youth (FSY; e.g., foster care) with mental health challenges identified as “key” in making the transition to adulthood. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 59 FSY, ages 18 to 25, with mental health challenges. Participants were asked to reflect on their relationships with a key helper or what the literature defines as a natural mentor, “an adult that has been …
Mentoring in the digital age
Family involvement in the youth mentoring process
Mentoring in the social context
Having It All? A Qualitative Examination of Affluent Adolescent Girls’ Perceptions of Stress and Their Quests for Success
This study sought to better understand the relationship between affluence and elevated risk for psychosocial distress among adolescent girls. In-depth qualitative interviews at two time points with three cohorts of girls (sixth-, eighth-, and 10th grade; T1 n = 57, T2 n = 58) from two independent girls schools Grades 6 to 12, along with their parents, and their teachers were conducted. Through narrative thematic analysis, four overarching sources…
Qualitative evaluation of historical and relational factors influencing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection risks in foster youth
A parent's place
Stressed and Losing Sleep
This study examined the relationship between stress and sleep duration for adolescent females from affluent backgrounds. Participants were 218 students attending two independent single-sex secondary schools. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression models (cross-sectional and longitudinal) were run to examine the association between stress and sleep duration and to determine whether any associations lasted from the beginning to the end of the acad…
Mentoring Relationship Closures in Big Brothers Big Sisters Community Mentoring Programs
Previous research suggests that early mentoring relationship ( MR ) closures may have harmful consequences for the health and well‐being of youth participating in community‐based mentoring programs. However, knowledge of the factors that lead some MR s to close early has been slow to emerge. This study examined patterns and correlates of early versus on‐time MR closures among 569 youth participating in Big Brothers Big Sisters community mentoring…
Somebody Who Was on My Side
Youth initiated mentoring (YIM) is an innovative approach to mentoring being implemented by the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program in which youth identify and select their mentors. There is great interest in this approach; however, there has been little study of YIM or its implementation in ChalleNGe. Retrospective in-depth qualitative interviews with former ChalleNGe participants ( n = 30) were conducted to gain a descriptive understanding o…
Psychology (50 obras) · Mentoring and Academic Development (34 obras) · Social Psychology (34 obras) · Developmental psychology (33 obras) · Youth Development and Social Support (27 obras) · Medicine (25 obras) · Sociology (24 obras) · Qualitative research (21 obras) · Social Psychology (20 obras) · Adolescent and Pediatric Healthcare (14 obras)