Through the eyes of African-American girls: Mentoring impact through photovoice

Background: Adolescent drop-out rates, in addition to teenage pregnancy and participation in risky behaviors is growing. During adolescence, youth can be more influenced by their peers than their parents, resulting in harmful decisions and behaviors, and leading them to health and social disadvantage. Mentors can counteract the peer pressure and lack of positive adult involvement that adolescents may experience. The purpose of this exploratory study is to first examine the contextual realities faced by adolescent girls, both personal and physical. Second, we examine the impact of mentoring relationships and how these affect and counteract those realities. The Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST) will guide this study, as it incorporates multiple levels of influence with five adaptation components, and was created specifically for youth research. Methods: We applied a qualitative research design, segmented into three phases that ensured rigorous triangulation of data. Phase I consisted of mentee photovoice activities. The girls took photographs of people, places, and things that expressed positive and negative experiences within their communities and then described and discussed their photos. Phase II then consisted of one-on-one interviews with each girl's mentor. Finally, Phase III included one-on-one interviews with program staff. Results: Upon completion of Phase I, photos were contextualized through videotaped storytelling using SHOWeD root caused questioning. Verbatim narratives were coded and common themes detected for all three phases. A comprehensive code book was applied to all data units and a comprehensive iterative analysis was completed. Themes such as needs for emotional support, needs for new skills, and ways to combat isolation and stress emerged. Among mentors themes of ‘mirrored experiences' and ‘active reflections' were detected. Mentor's perception of youth culture improved as positive effects of mentoring spanned across different aspects of the girl's everyday life. Conclusions: The realities faced by adolescent girls are related to their growth and resilience. By understanding the realities identified by the girls, mentors are better able to negotiate the mentoring exchange. This study emphasizes the need for non-parental adult relationships among today's youth in enhancing their overall competency.