What Does Mentoring Do To Prevent or Reduce Crime?

For many children, having an older youth to talk to and spend time with -- someone who provides encouragement and friendship -- can mean the difference between dropping out of school and graduating, or between getting involved with drugs and developing the strength and self-confidence to resist such pressures. Youth involved in mentoring programs, in fact, have been shown to be less likely to experiment with drugs, less likely to be physically aggressive, and less likely to skip school than those not involved in such programs.¹ Peer mentors provide the important extra support that many younger people need to make it through a difficult period in their lives -- when peer pressure and the desire to fit in are strong influences.

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1 For more information on the study showing these results or on other effects of mentoring, get a copy of Mentoring -- A Proven Delinquency Prevention Strategy, an Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Bulletin, available at no charge from the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse (JJC), listed in the Resources section.

Source: http://www.ncjrs.gov/html/youthbulletin/9907-4/mentor-2.html