Mentoring relationships in the lives of care leavers during the transition to adulthood: Contributions and challenges

Young people who leave out of home placements, including foster homes, group homes or residential care settings, usually share a history of abuse and neglect or suffer from lack of family care and support for various reasons. Mentors are supportive adult figures who are significant to the mentees, and such mentor/mentee relationships are considered among the most significant relationships that this vulnerable youth develop. This chapter discusses the current literature on natural and assigned mentoring relationships in the lives of care leavers in relation to the mentors' roles in the mentees' developmental tasks and outcomes before and during the transition to adulthood. It also discusses the challenges experienced by assigned mentors in establishing meaningful mentoring relationships with care leavers. The chapter also suggests ways to nurture these precious relationships so as to better support care leavers during this challenging and defining period of their lives. Emerging adulthood is described as a period of optimal opportunity for self-exploration. Comprehensive systematic reviews and meta-analyses on natural mentoring among youth in care and mentoring programs for at-risk adolescents have concluded that mentoring is a promising practice for youth in care and a beneficial intervention strategy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)