Abstract
In prevention science, much of the training occurs outside of a formal graduate program and mentorship is invaluable to early-career individuals. A sample of the Society for Prevention Research (SPR) membership (N = 97) from a wide range of career levels completed an online questionnaire in spring 2010. Almost 20% identified as mentors, 32% as protégés, and 49% as both a mentor and a protégé. Most mentoring relationships were established in graduate school, but professional organizations such as SPR facilitated nearly one in five mentoring relationships. Qualitative results suggested that participants value their professional organization’s support of mentoring and would support initiatives to increase mentoring relationships specifically among SPR members. Although all mentor functions and protégé responsibilities were rated as important, professional support was the highest ranked mentor function and taking initiative the highest ranked protégé responsibility. Additionally, the qualitative results revealed that interpersonal skills and commitment to the mentoring process were seen as key to positive mentoring relationships. We also found that formal documentation of mentoring agreements was rare and a slight preference for a match on gender or ethnicity was observed for protégés from nondominant groups. The discussion includes implications for individuals and implications for promoting high-quality mentoring within professional organizations.
References
Allen, T. D. (2007). Mentoring relationships from the perspective of the mentor. In B. R. Ragins & K. E. Kram (Eds.), The handbook of mentoring at work: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 123–147). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Allen, T. D., Poteet, M. L., & Burroughs, S. M. (1997). The mentor’s perspective: A qualitative inquiry and future research agenda. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51, 70–89. doi:10.1006/jvbe.1997.1596.
Allen, T. D., Eby, L. T., Poteet, M. L., Lentz, E., & Lima, L. (2004). Career benefits associated with mentoring for proteges: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 127–136. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.89.1.127.
American Psychological Association Women’s Programs Office. (2006). Women in the American Psychological Association. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Baugh, S. G., & Fagenson-Eland, E. A. (2007). Formal mentoring programs: A “poor cousin” to informal relationships? In B. R. Ragins & K. E. Kram (Eds.), The handbook of mentoring at work: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 249–271). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Busch, J. W. (1985). Mentoring in graduate schools of education: Mentors’ perceptions. American Educational Research Journal, 22, 257–265. doi:10.2307/1162843.
Campbell, C. D. (2007). Best practices for student–faculty mentoring programs. In T. D. Allen & L. T. Eby (Eds.), The Blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach (pp. 325–343). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Campbell, T. A., & Campbell, D. E. (1997). Faculty/student mentor program: Effects on academic performance and retention. Research in Higher Education, 38, 727–742. doi:10.1023/A:1024911904627.
Clark, R. A., Harden, S. L., & Johnson, W. B. (2000). Mentor relationships in clinical psychology doctoral training: Results of a national survey. Teaching of Psychology, 27, 262–268. doi:10.1207/S15328023TOP2704_04.
Cronan-Hillix, T., Gensheimer, L. K., Cronan-Hillix, W. A., & Davidson, W. S. (1986). Students’ views of mentors in psychology graduate training. Teaching of Psychology, 13, 123–127. doi:10.1207/s15328023top1303_5.
Dansky, K. H. (1996). The effect of group mentoring on career outcomes. Group and Organization Management, 21, 5–21. doi:10.1177/1059601196211002.
Eby, L. T., & Lockwood, A. (2005). Protégés’ and mentors’ reactions to participating in formal mentoring programs: A qualitative investigation. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 67, 441–458. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2004.08.002.
Eddy, J. M., Martinez, C., Morgan-Lopez, A., Smith, P., & Fisher, P. A. (2002). Diversifying the ranks of prevention scientists through a community collaborative approach to education. Prevention and Treatment, 5, no pagination specified. doi:10.1037/1522-3736.5.1.53a
Eddy, J. M., Smith, P., Brown, C. H., & Reid, J. B. (2005). A survey of prevention science training: Implications for educating the next generation. Prevention Science, 6, 59–71. doi:10.1007/s11121-005-1253-x.
Forehand, R. L. (2008). The art and science of mentoring in psychology: A necessary practice to ensure our future. American Psychologist, 63, 744–755. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.63.8.744.
Green, S. G., & Bauer, T. N. (1995). Supervisory mentoring by advisers: Relationships with doctoral student potential, productivity, and commitment. Personnel Psychology, 48, 537–561. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.1995.tb01769.x.
Hollingsworth, M. A., & Fassinger, R. E. (2002). The role of faculty mentors in the research training of counseling psychology doctoral students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 49, 324–330. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.49.3.324.
Jackson, V. A., Palepu, A., Szalacha, L., Caswell, C., Carr, P. L., & Inui, T. (2003). “Having the right chemistry”: A qualitative study of mentoring in academic medicine. Academic Medicine, 78, 328–334. doi:10.1097/00001888-200303000-00020.
Jayakumar, U. M., Howard, T. C., Allen, W. R., & Han, J. C. (2009). Racial privilege in the professoriate: An exploration of campus climate, retention, and satisfaction. The Journal of Higher Education, 80, 538–563. doi:10.1353/jhe.0.0063.
Johnson, W. B. (2007). Student–faculty mentorship outcomes. In T. D. Allen & L. T. Eby (Eds.), The Blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach (pp. 189–210). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Johnson, W. B., Rose, G., & Schlosser, L. Z. (2007). Student–faculty mentoring: Theoretical and methodological issues. In T. D. Allen & L. T. Eby (Eds.), The Blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach (pp. 49–69). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Kelly, S., & Schweitzer, J. H. (1999). Mentoring within a graduate school setting. College Student Journal, 33, 130–148.
Kram, K. E. (1985). Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman.
Monroe, K. R., & Chiu, W. F. (2010). Gender equality in the academy: The pipeline problem. PS: Political Science and Politics, 43, 303–308. doi:10.1017/S1537592708080572.
Mullen, C. A. (2007). Naturally occurring student–faculty mentoring relationships: A literature review. In T. D. Allen & L. T. Eby (Eds.), The Blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach (pp. 119–138). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Paglis, L. L. (2006). Does adviser mentoring add value? A longitudinal study of mentoring and doctoral student outcomes. Research in Higher Education, 47, 451–476. doi:10.1007/s11162-005-9003-2.
Ragins, B. R. (2007). Diversity and workplace mentoring relationships: A review and positive social capital approach. In T. D. Allen & L. T. Eby (Eds.), The Blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach (pp. 281–300). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Ragins, B. R., & Cotton, J. L. (1999). Mentor functions and outcomes: A comparison of men and women in formal and informal mentoring relationships. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84, 529–550. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.84.4.529.
Tenenbaum, H. R., Crosby, F. J., & Gliner, M. D. (2001). Mentoring relationships in graduate school. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 59, 326–341. doi:10.1006/jvbe.2001.1804.
Yetter, G., & Capaccioli, K. (2010). Differences in responses to Web and paper surveys among school professionals. Behavior Research Methods, 42, 266–272. doi:10.3758/BRM.42.1.266.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Funding was provided in part by NIDA Center grant P50-05605. The authors thank Drs. Rex Forehand and J. Mark Eddy and the Early Career Preventionist Network Steering Committee for their feedback on the data collection instrument. We also thank Jennifer Lewis for facilitating the data collection and the Society for Prevention Research (SPR) members who responded to the survey and attended the luncheon meeting at the SPR Annual Meeting as well as the members who participated as panelists at the luncheon. This article is dedicated to the memory of Dr. John R. Z. Abela former mentor of the first author.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Véronneau, MH., Cance, J.D. & Ridenour, T.A. Mentoring Early-Career Preventionists: Current Views from Mentors and Protégés. Prev Sci 13, 493–503 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-012-0276-3
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-012-0276-3