Mentoring Functions and Outcomes: An Integrative Literature Review of Sociocultural Factors and Individual Differences

Abstract

The purpose of this article was to examine the possible roles sociocultural and individual difference variables play in fostering mentoring relationships. Using the integrative literature review method, we first identified four themes constituting sociocultural factors examined in mentoring relationships: gender, ethnicity, culture, and age. Nine broad themes constituting individual differences examined in mentoring relationships emerged: cognitive styles, personality, locus of control, attachment styles, interpersonal orientation, organizational orientation, learning goal orientation, social judgment capacity, and achievement and avoidance orientation. We found that though mentoring research has extensively studied sociocultural factors, it lacks sufficient depth in discussing mentoring functions and outcomes from the individual difference perspective. Individual differences need to be independently incorporated into future mentoring research, as well as in combination with research with sociocultural factors.