Understanding Patterns of Hope and Sense of Belonging from Mentoring Through Latent Class Analysis

Youth who have safe, stable, nurturing relationships (SSNRs) are more resilient to adverse childhood experiences and have better mental health. Compared to prior generations, today’s youth feel lonelier and more socially isolated than ever, and they crave the sense of belonging and hope that comes from meaningful social connections. Mentors can play a crucial role in bolstering these attributes. Mentors help youth in different ways, depending on the mentee's characteristics, preferences, or circumstances. Despite the well-known significance of natural mentoring relationships as a SSNR, researchers have paid little attention to how and why natural mentoring benefits vary among mentees. The present study aimed to explore the characteristics of people associated with the perceived benefits of hope and a sense of belonging from their natural mentor. Using latent class analysis, I expected to identify underlying characteristic profiles and the extent to which perceived benefits of mentoring (hope and sense of belonging) are associated with membership in these latent characteristic classes. I used nationally representative, cross-generational survey data from The National Mentoring Partnership (MENTOR) for analyses (N= 935). Analyses revealed that mentees have heterogeneous perceptions around how much natural mentors foster hope, with three distinct classes emerging. Analyses also revealed no meaningful class differentiations based on sense of belonging; thus, mentees’ perceptions around how much natural mentors foster a sense of belonging remain unclear. These findings suggested that the extent to which mentees perceive that their natural mentors foster hope varies depending on the mentees’ race and ethnicity, primary language spoken, and generation. Mentees across generations who identified as Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and speak diverse languages were associated with the highest levels of hope from their natural mentors compared to English-speaking White older generations (Gen X, Baby Boomers) and English-speaking, racially diverse younger generations (Gen Z, Millennials). Mentees who were English-speaking, racially diverse, and members of the younger generations were associated with the least hope from their natural mentor. These findings provided a broad understanding of the diversity within those naturally mentored, and which personal characteristics are more likely to be associated with receiving important benefits from mentoring.