Publication

Handbook of professional youth mentoring

Publication Year: 2026

Authors: J. Mark Eddy, & Kevin P. Haggerty

Link to Publication: https://link.springer.com/book/9783032055798

Abstract: This book examines professional youth mentoring, which is marked by enduring relationships throughout childhood and adolescence between youth and their adult mentors who are embedded within a formal program. It describes the ways in which these mentors – full-time, paid professionals – specialize in helping youth to build the resilience, skills, and hope that prepares them for prosocial success during emerging adulthood and beyond. The book explores the extensive initial and continuing education and skills training that professional youth mentors receive as well as ongoing supervision and support to bolster their effectiveness with children, their families, and systems (e.g., schools, health care) that they interact with regularly. It addresses the scientific and theoretical rationales and potential benefits of professional mentoring, a program model that differs from the current dominant youth mentoring paradigm (i.e., short-term volunteering).