Outcome studies of mentoring programs have demonstrated that they hold considerable promise in promoting competence across multiple developmental domains. A theoretical model of mentoring identified modification of youths’ perceptions of their interpersonal relationships as a contributor to positive outcomes. To date, however, there has not been a direct examination of the role of the mentor—youth bond in this process. The present study examines whether the quality of the mentoring relationship uniquely predicts other relationship-based outcomes at two time points. Regression analyses indicated that the quality of the mentor—youth bond significantly predicted youths’ scores in most relationship-based outcomes (i.e., friendship with and self-disclosure to adults) at 8 and 16 months. Study implications and directions for future research are discussed.
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