Predictors of match duration in a Big Sisters mentoring program

As society becomes increasingly plagued with crime, poverty, violence, skyrocketing divorce rates and increasing rates of drug and alcohol abuse, the need to attend carefully to our youth is evident. At the forefront of youth preventative care over the past several decades has been the mentoring movement. The Big Brothers/Big Sisters (BB/BS) organization stands as a model of effective mentoring, representing the most long-standing, widespread and structured of these efforts. Research has demonstrated that BB/BS has a positive impact on youths involved in the program, including decreased drug and alcohol use, a reduction in violent behaviour, improved school attendance and expectations of school success, and improved relationships with parents. However, these positive effects are contingent upon the formation of longstanding and meaningful relationships with youths. Unfortunately, national mentoring agencies such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters report that approximately 55% of matches terminate early and, moreover, that these premature terminations can lead to further declines in functioning for at-risk youth. The current archival study represents the first attempt to predict match duration on the basis of information available at match onset. File information obtained from multiple sources were examined for 196 Big and Little Sister matches within a Big Sisters affiliate of the national BB/BS agency. Results suggests that while the limited predictive accuracy of models does not warrant screening out potential volunteers, it is possible to enhance match formation as well as identify matches in need of extra supervision and support. In particular, attending to practical requests made by Big and Little Sisters (e.g., desire for a Big Sister with access to a vehicle; desire for a Little Sister within a particular age range) and matching dyads in terms of energy levels may prove simple and beneficial tools in matching. Factors which increased the risk of premature match termination included elements of the Little Sister’s family background (i.e., family history of illness or violence, recent move), lack of stability in Big Sister’s housing and employment, and lower Big Sister educational achievement.