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practices by the Centers for Disease Control along with family-based, home-visiting, and

social-cognitive strategies (CDC, 2000). The Search Institute (2002) named the presence

of a caring relationship with an adult as one of the key developmental assets for

adolescents.

 One of the most scientifically rigorous program evaluations was done in

association with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (Grossman & Tierney, 1998). Big

Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) is the oldest and largest organized mentoring program in the

United States. The program is unique because of the extensive supervision of matched

youths and mentors by case managers. Mentors are thoroughly screened and trained prior

to any contact with the youths. Mentors are also required to have consistent, regular

contact for an extended period of time with the mentee.

 A sample of 959 7 to 14 year olds was randomly assigned to community-based

mentoring or a wait-list comparison group (Grossman & Tiemey, 1998). Measures were

taken at baseline and after 18 months of mentoring. Participants in the experimental

group had increases in positive attitudes toward school and increased perceived trust in

their familial relationships. Girls had improved academic performance. Those that had a

mentor also had reductions in aggressive behavior, substance use initiation, and school

truancy (Grossman & Tiemey).

 Rhodes, Grossman, and Resch (2000) also examined a mediation model using the

data from this longitudinal evaluation of BBBS. Mentoring was found to have significant

indirect effects on valuing school and academic achievement via improvements in

parental relationships. The authors theorized that the mentoring relationships might have

been corrective relationships that influenced the adolescents' working models about