Mentoring programs for Indigenous youth at risk

This resource sheet examines evidence for the effectiveness of mentoring programs in helping to set Indigenous young people at risk of engaging in antisocial and risky behaviours on healthier life pathways. It focuses on the planned or formal form of mentoring, which often includes Elders as part of these programs. This publication draws on evidence from 45 studies. Over half were Australian studies, with additional evidence from research in other colonised nations such as New Zealand, Canada and the United States. Two-thirds of the studies were Indigenous-specific. A range of methodologies was used including evaluations, critical descriptions of programs, meta-analyses and research syntheses. The publication outlines what is known about the effects of mentoring on antisocial behaviour in an Indigenous context, what works and what doesn’t, and aspects that are as yet unknown, such as whether the benefits of youth mentoring are maintained into adulthood.

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