Background: Mentoring has drawn substantial interest from policymakers, intervention theorists, and those interested in identifying promising and useful evidence-based approaches to interventions for criminal justice and child welfare outcomes (Grossman & Tierney, 1998; Jekliek et al., 2002). Mentoring is one of the most commonly-used…

Program development evaluation should focus on articulating theoretical rationales for program design and activities. To assist the managers of 17 school-based delinquency prevention projects (School Action Effectiveness Study) in developing theories of action, the Program Development Evaluation (PDE) method was utilized. To construct the…

A study of self-esteem found no strong evidence that self-esteem is a good thing in its own right or can lead to other benefits. Self-esteem was strongly related to locus of control, self-efficacy, and a general positive attitude but relatively immune to change. Implications for outdoor education programming are discussed. (TD)

The use of undergraduates (N=57) working on a one-to-one basis with delinquent youths as the change agents in a nonprofessional program which systematically varied training/supervision/intervention components was investigated. Students and delinquents (N=73) were randomly assigned to one of four experimental training/supervision conditions or to a…

This study examines the relationships developed between elder mentors and at-risk youth in the following exemplary intergenerational programs: (1) IUE/The Work Connection (Saugus, Massachusetts); (2) Teen Moms (Portland, Maine); (3) School Volunteers for Boston (Massachusetts); (4) Teenage Parent Alternative Program (Lincoln Park, Michigan); and…