(PS3-28) Accessing Mentors as a Pathway to More Resilient Mental Health Outcomes in First Generation College Students

Social support, and in particular social capital (or the resources accessed through one’s social connections and relationships; Ferguson, 2006), has been tied to reduced internalizing and externalizing symptoms during adolescence (Bryan et al., 2017; Ferguson, 2006). Access to a naturally-occurring mentoring relationship with a non-parental adult is one type of social capital that is relatively understudied, but has been found to be especially critical to mental health during adolescence and the transition to adulthood. In particular, access to at least one mentor predicts lower depressive symptoms and engagement in risky behaviors and heightened optimism and life satisfaction (Dubois & Silverthorn, 2009; Miranda-Chen et al., 2016). However, studies have repeatedly highlighted reduced access to mentoring among marginalized youth (Raposa et al., 2016). The present study therefore focuses on exploring predictors of accessing mentors among youth transitioning to college with marginalized identities, and the influences of these mentors on youth emotional well-being. 

 Analyses utilized a sample of 358 first-generation college students with a range of intersecting minority identities with (73.5% BIPOC, 74.6% female, 51.7% income below $49,200). Students were aged 17-23 (m=17.95, SD= .63). A series of measures were distributed to students and the following questionnaires were utilized in analyzing the data for this project: questions regarding the presence of mentorship, current depression symptoms (Eaton et al., 2004), worrying (Meyer et al., 1990) and youth’s attitudes and beliefs about the usefulness of seeking support from others (Vaux, Burda & Stewart, 1986).

Analyses demonstrated that 55.9% of the participants identified having at least one mentor as they entered college.  A bootstrap mediation analysis indicated that having at least one mentor significantly partially mediated the relationship between more positive attitudes towards seeking support and reduced depressive symptoms (b=0.08, 95% CI [0.009, 0.17], p=.026). However, there was no significant mediation when examining worry as an outcome. 
These findings suggest that accessing naturally-occurring mentors may be one important protective factor against common mental health concerns among youth with marginalized identities transitioning to college, and that help-seeking attitudes may play a key role in shaping who accesses mentoring support. Results can help to inform prevention or intervention programs designed to improve mental health outcomes among marginalized youth. Our poster will discuss these implications, as well as the ways in which future research should explore programs that empower youth to grow their social capital in ways that can redress disparities in the mental health outcomes of marginalized youth.