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(Information provided by Big Brothers Big Sisters of America)
In 1992 and 1993, some 959 boys and girls in eight states, ages 10 through 16, entered into a historic experiment. Half the children were matched with a Big Brother or Big Sister, while the other half were assigned to a waiting list, or control group. On average, the matched children met with their Big Brothers or Big Sisters about three times a month for at least a year.
And the results? Researchers found that 18 months later, the Little Brothers and Little Sisters were:
- 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs
- 27% less likely to begin using alcohol
- 53% less likely to skip school
- 37% less likely to skip a class
- more confident of their performance in schoolwork
- less likely to hit someone
- getting along better with their families
"These dramatic findings are very good news, particularly at a time when many people contend that 'nothing works' in reaching teenagers," said Gary Walker, president of Public/Private Ventures (P/PV), the group which conducted the study. "This program suggests a strategy the country can build on to make a difference, especially for youth in single-parent families."
In this, the first nationwide impact study of a mentoring organization, P/PV researchers provide scientifically reliable evidence that one-to-one adult mentoring "works" as a strategy for supporting children at risk.
Public/Private Ventures, based in Philadelphia, is a national research organization with 15 years of experience in studying child development and social service issues. This independent research study by P/PV was funded by a $2 million grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc.; an anonymous donor; The Commonwealth Fund, and the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Participants in the study included Big Brothers Big Sisters (BB/BS) agencies in Phoenix; Wichita; Minneapolis; Rochester; Columbus; Philadelphia, Houston and San Antonio. P/PV researchers say these eight agencies were selected for large size and geographic diversity, although they were otherwise typical of BB/BS agencies.
Most youth taking part in the study were between the ages of 10 to 14. More than 60 percent were boys; more than half were minorities. Most came from low-income households. Many lived in families with histories of substance abuse and/or domestic violence. Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteers had the greatest impact in the area of alcohol and substance abuse prevention. For every 100 youth in this age group (10-16) who use drugs, only 54 similar youth who have a Big Brother or Big Sister will start using drugs, based on P/PV results. Minority boys and girls were the most strongly influenced: they were 70 percent less likely than their peers to initiate drug use.
What
makes these One-to-One matches such a powerful force for influencing children's
behavior? The answer lies in Big Brothers Big Sisters of America's (BBBSA)
trademark approach to mentoring, P/PV researchers say:
*A BB/BS match is carefully administered and supported by rigorous standards and trained personnel. BB/BS staff strives for matches that are not only safe and suited to the child's needs but also harmonious and built to last. That's why they take such care in selecting volunteers, orienting them and matching them with children. But BB/BS staffs are more than just "matchmakers." They provide ongoing support, consultation and supervision to the Big, Little and the Little's family, and in many cases the Big receives training - which helps all parties get through rough spots in the relationship.
The federation of 514 BB/BS agencies, in turn, draws guidance from a uniform set of standards and procedures. These standards, as well as training and consultation, are provided by the BBBSA national office.
This web of BBBSA supports helps maximize the chance that a Big Brothers Big Sisters relationship will "take root" and flourish. These children and adults consistently spend more time together, and continue as a match for longer periods, than do their peers in non-BBBSA programs P/PV has studied, including those using college students and older adults as mentors. "In mentoring programs without this infrastructure, we have found that relationships evaporate too soon for effects to be possible," Walker says.
Making a Difference was the culmination of a four-part P/PV series on BBBSA. The first three reports were, in order of publication, A Study of Program Practices (Winter 1993); A Study of Volunteer Recruitment and Screening (Fall 1994); and Building Relationships with Youth in Program Settings (May 1995).
Taken together, these four reports make a case for BBBSA's One-to-One service as the model for other mentoring programs to follow.
*BB/BS offers a positive, broad-based program "that focuses less on specific problems after they occur, and more on meeting youth's most basic developmental needs," in P/PV's words. Aside from their participation in the study, the Big/Little matches monitored by P/PV were no different from the others. They did the usual things together: eating out, hanging out, playing sports or attending sports events, going to movies, sightseeing, chores and the like.
In the eyes of these children, what mattered was that they had a caring adult in their lives, someone to confide in, relax with and look up to. But as a result, they were doing better in school and at home, and avoiding violence and substance abuse - this at a pivotal time in their lives when even small changes in behavior, or choices made, can change the course of their future. To obtain the research findings in Making a Difference, researchers interviewed children and their parents in the Littles group and the control group on two occasions: first when they applied for a Big Brother or Big Sister, and again 18 months later.
"We are very pleased that this program model that Big Brothers Big Sisters has built over 91 years really pays off for young people," said Thomas M. McKenna, former BBBSA national executive director. "And I know the volunteers will feel the same way. They make a serious commitment of meeting with their 'Littles' for several hours, two to four times a month, for at least a year. Now they have proof that it's well worth it.
"This also gives us a powerful response to some popular misconceptions, one, that social programs don't work, two, that services to children are a waste of money, and three, that the teen and pre-teen years are too late to intervene in a child's life," McKenna said.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is the premier mentoring organization in America, comprising more than 450 agencies in all 50 states. It has served millions of children since 1904, primarily through One-to-One, professionally supported relationships with caring adult volunteers.
© 2002-2008 Big Brothers Big Sisters of McHenry County
