Article 2008

Mentoring, competencies, and adjustment in adolescents: American part-time employment and European apprenticeships

VA
Vazsonyi, Alexander T.
 SJ
Snider, Jeromy Blake
International Journal of Behavioral Development
Journal · Vol. 32 · Issue 1 · pp. 46-55
Abstract

Based on the conceptual argument that the European apprenticeship might explain cross-national variability in adolescent adjustment, the current investigation tested the relationships between mentoring experiences, namely joint activities with mentors as well as perceived mentoring behaviors by unrelated adults in the work setting, and measures of both psychosocial competencies (job skills, self esteem, and well-being) and measures of adjustment (alcohol use, drug use, and deviance). Data were collected from n = 2735 Swiss apprentices and n = 368 U.S. part-time employees who attended high school. Findings provide evidence that perceived mentoring behaviors by unrelated adults in the work setting in both developmental contexts were associated with both psychosocial competencies and adjustment indicators. Contrary to the idea that the European apprenticeship may provide a unique "protective" developmental experience for youth in comparison with U.S. adolescents who work part-time, adolescents in both contexts benefited equally from good mentoring experiences. © 2008 Sage Publications.

Keywords

Author Keywords

Mentors Job skills USA Adolescents/youth Cross-cultural/cross-national Developmental context Swiss/Switzerland

Index Keywords

adult female human male adolescent Article educational status controlled study work environment professional competence Switzerland experiential learning self esteem Social psychology wellbeing cultural factor Caucasian alcohol consumption parttime employment job experience behavior disorder child behavior drug use European American race difference
Author Affiliations
Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States
East Tennessee State University, Johnson, TN, United States
Funding & Acknowledgements
No funding information
References 10 References
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8 When Teenagers Work the Psychological and Social Costs of Adolescent Employment, (1986)
9 American Journal of Education, (1987)
10 Apprenticeship for Adulthood Preparing Youth for the Future, (1990)
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