Understanding patterns of hope from informal mentoring through latent class analysis

Bailey R. Dow, Samuel D. McQuillin, Savannah B. Simpson and E. Scott Huebner

Children and Youth Services Review, 2026, vol. 180, issue C

Abstract: Mentoring is associated with positive youth outcomes and functions as a safe, stable, nurturing relationship that can buffer against adversity and mental health challenges. Such relationships also promote hope, a key protective factor associated with reduced loneliness and enhanced wellbeing. Specifically, informal mentors have flexible, unstructured relationships that can help youth in different ways, depending on the circumstances of their relationship and mentees’ characteristics and preferences. Despite the recognized significance of informal mentoring relationships, little research has examined how and why mentees differ in the benefits they derive from these relationships. Thus, this study explored how hope from informal mentoring relationships varied among mentees. We used latent class analysis (LCA) to identify underlying characteristics of mentees and the extent to which hope is associated with membership in those classes. Data were drawn from the National Mentoring Partnership’s (MENTOR) nationally representative, cross-generational study (N = 2,400), with current analyses limited to participants who reported having an informal mentor during childhood (n = 935). Analyses revealed three classes–the Hopefuls, the Younger Less Hopefuls, and the Older Less Hopefuls–that were primarily distinguished by racially and ethnically marginalized identities and generation. The results suggest that mentees’ perceptions around how much informal mentors foster hope are heterogenous. Future research should further explore these differences in informal mentoring benefits to uncover the nuances within these relationships and how they can be used to support youth.

Keywords: Informal mentoring; Hope; Positive youth development; Latent class analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:180:y:2026:i:c:s0190740925005432

DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108660

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