DEVELOPMENT, AND RISK: MENTORING AND THE CONSIDERATION OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

Individual differences shape the needs and characteristics of protégés, the processes through which mentoring may influence protégés ’ developmental trajectories, and the social networks into which the mentors enter. The literature on the influences of gender, ethnicity, and age on mentoring is reviewed and discussed as examples of how mentoring programs may have different influences on, and outcomes for, specific groups of youth. A focus on individual differences will help facilitate the development of mentoring programs that create a close fit between the needs of protégés and the services offered by the programs, as well as greater insight into what are the key elements of program effectiveness. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. At its core, the mentoring movement tries to foster relationships that promote positive developmental trajectories in protégés and, potentially, in mentors as well. Mentoring relationships are shaped by the unique qualities each partner contributes to the dyad. Recollections of mentoring experiences reveal their idiosyncratic nature—one protégé talking about how mentoring fostered her interest in dance, another how it sparked a