Mentor Characteristics

• Common topics covered in mentoring can provide a guide for rehabilitation professionals on what to include in discussions.
• Listing and categorizing these topics can assist in ensuring that mentors have the knowledge necessary in their role.

Purpose: This study aimed to: (1) develop a coding manual to characterize topics discussed and conversation techniques used during peer mentorship conversations between people with spinal cord injury (SCI); (2) assess the reliability of the manual; and (3) apply the manual to characterize conversations.

Materials/Methods: The study was conducted in partnership with three Canadian provincial SCI organizations. Twenty-five phone conversations between SCI peer mentors and mentees were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Ten transcripts were inductively analyzed to develop a coding manual identifying topics and techniques used during the conversations. Inductive technique codes were combined and deductively linked to motivational interviewing and behaviour change techniques. Two coders independently applied the coding manual to all transcripts. Code frequencies were calculated.

Results: The coding manual included 14 topics and 3 techniques. The most frequently coded topics were personal information, recreational programs, and chronic health services for mentors and mentees. The most frequently coded techniques were giving personal information, social smoothers, and closed question for mentors; and giving personal information, social smoothers, and sharing perspective for mentees. Conclusion: This research provides insights into topics and techniques used during real-world peer mentorship conversations. Findings may be valuable for understanding and improving SCI peer mentorship programs.

Project lead and contact information: Rhyann C. McKay, School of Health and Exercise Sciences, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, Canada; b International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), Vancouver, Canada

Citation: McKay, R. C., Giroux, E. E., Baxter, K. L., Casemore, S., Clarke, T. Y., McBride, C. B., Sweet, S. N., & Gainforth, H. L. (2022). Investigating the peer Mentor-Mentee relationship: characterizing peer mentorship conversations between people with spinal cord injury. Disability and rehabilitation, 1–12. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2022.2046184

• Lived experiences is an important aspect when looking to match a mentor and mentee.
• Both interpersonal and intrapersonal skills contribute to a high-quality mentor characteristics.

Objective: To identify characteristics (1) of high- and low-quality spinal cord injury (SCI) peer mentors; (2) that should be used to match SCI peer mentors and mentees.

Design: The study was conducted in partnership with three Canadian provincial SCI organizations using an integrated knowledge translation approach. The Delphi exercise was completed in three rounds. In Round 1, people with SCI completed a thought-listing exercise to identify characteristics of high- and low-quality peer mentors and for matching. In Rounds 2 and 3, people with SCI and community organization staff rated characteristics from the previous round on an 11-point scale. After the final round, the remaining characteristics were thematically analyzed.

Setting: Community-based peer mentorship programs in three Canadian provinces.

Participants: People with SCI and SCI community organization staff (Round 1, n=45; Round 2, n=27; Round 3, n=25).
Main Outcome Measures: Consensus-based list of characteristics.

Results: Participants reached consensus on 215 characteristics of quality peer mentors and 11 characteristics for peer mentor-mentee matching (ICC=0.96). A consensus-based characterization of high- and low-quality peer mentorship was created and included six overarching themes: competencies, personality characteristics, emotional state, mentor outlook, reason for mentoring, and role model.

Conclusion: A consensus-based characterization of quality peer mentorship was co-developed with input from over 50 members of the SCI community. Findings highlight that peers have both interpersonal and intrapersonal characteristics that contribute to quality mentorship. The findings highlighted the importance of matching mentors on lived experience and shared interests. Findings will inform future research and SCI peer mentorship programs.

Project lead and contact information: Heather L. Gainforth, PhD, heather.gainforth [at] ubc.ca

Citation: Gainforth, H. L., Giroux, E. E., Shaw, R. B., Casemore, S., Clarke, T. Y., McBride, C. B., Garnett, V. C., & Sweet, S. N. (2019). Investigating characteristics of quality peer mentors with spinal cord injury. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 100(10), 1916-1923

• When a mentor allows the mentee to sense some control and flexibility it is a good step towards a quality relationship.
• Empathy is an important characteristic for a mentor, and this works when interacting with a mentee’s family as well.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand the peer mentorship experiences of adults with spinal cord injury (SCI) through a self-determination theory (SDT) lens.

Methods: Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 13 adults with SCI (i.e., mentees) who received mentorship from fellow adults with SCI (i.e., mentors) as part of an existing provincial peer mentorship program. There were two analyses conducted in this study. The first was deductive, which involved organizing relevant data as per the three basic psychological needs of self-determination theory (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness).

Results: Concerning autonomy, mentees expressed they were able to make their own decisions and their mentors’ personalized their sessions. Specific to relatedness, the mentees discussed that their mentors cared and empathized with them, which helped them connect with their mentor. In terms of competence, mentees explained that their mentors provided verbal encouragement and helped them realize they were capable of successfully completing tasks. Some mentees also highlighted how the mentors did not listen to their needs, indicating need thwarting behaviours. The second analysis was inductive and focused on the participants’ descriptions of their experiences. Mentees expressed the importance of their SCI community organization, the impact of mentoring on their families, and the positive outcomes they associated with peer mentorship, such as participation in daily and social activities.

Conclusion: Taken together, the present findings extend our understanding of SCI peer mentorship from the perspective of the mentee and particularly from an SDT angle.

Project lead and contact information: Shane N. Sweet, 514-398-4184 x09903, shane.sweet [at] mcgill.ca, @ShaneNSweet(Twitter), or www.mcgill.ca/tielab/

Citation: Chemtob, K., Caron, J. G., Fortier, M. S., Latimer-Cheung, A. E., Zelaya, W., & Sweet, S. N. (2018). Exploring the peer mentorship experiences of adults with spinal cord injury. Rehabilitation Psychology, 63(4), 542

https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/articles/m613n299w?locale=en

• While a variety of behaviors are used depending on mentee needs, they are seen to be closely aligned with transformational leadership theory.
• Training programs could be developed to encourage use of this style as a move to more effective mentoring.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the leadership behaviors of spinal cord injury (SCI) peer mentors and examine whether behaviors of peer mentors align with the tenets of transformational leadership theory.

Method: A total of 12 SCI peer mentors aged 28–75 (M=49.4) who had between 3 and 56 years (M=13.9) of mentoring experience were recruited for the study. Utilizing a qualitative methodology (informed by a social constructionist approach), each mentor engaged in a semi-structured interview about their experiences as a peer mentor. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and subjected to a directed content analysis.

Results: SCI peer mentors reported using mentorship behaviors and engaging with mentees in a manner that closely aligns with the core components of transformational leadership theory: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, individualized consideration, and intellectual stimulation. A new subcomponent of inspirational motivation described as ‘active promotion of achievement’ was also identified and may be unique to the context of peer mentorship.

Conclusions: SCI peer mentors inherently use behaviors associated with transformational leadership theory when interacting with mentees. The results from this study have the potential to inform SCI peer mentor training programs about specific leadership behaviors that mentors could be taught to use and could lead to more effective mentoring practices for people with SCI.

Project lead and contact information: Robert B. Shaw, or shawrb1 [at] mail.ubc.ca

Citation: Shaw, R. B., McBride, C. B., Casemore, S., & Martin Ginis, K. A. (2018). Transformational mentoring: Leadership behaviors of spinal cord injury peer mentors. Rehabilitation Psychology, 63(1), 131-140. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/rep0000176

• This study help identify effective behaviours, which can be used to guide mentors when working with a mentee.
• These results can guide future studies considering transformational leadership theory when providing mentor training.

Purpose: Drawing from the tenets of transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this study was to examine the nature of effective peer mentoring of adults with a spinal cord injury (SCI) from the perspective of mentees.

Methods: The study utilized a qualitative methodology (informed by a social constructionist approach), involving 15 adult mentees with a SCI (mean age: 47.2; mean time since injury:14.5 years), in which data were obtained via semi-structured interviews.

Results: The results revealed that effective mentoring, as used by mentors with SCIs, closely aligns with the core components of transformational leadership. Specifically, all four dimensions of transformational leadership (idealised influence, inspirational motivation, individualised consideration and intellectual stimulation) as displayed by mentors with a SCI were evident in their interactions with mentees. Participants who perceived their mentors to use transformational leadership behaviours reported increases in motivation, self-confidence, hope and overall wellbeing, relatedness with their mentor, greater comfort/acceptance of their situation, a redefined sense of their limitations, as well as greater engagement in various life pursuits.

Conclusions: Displays of transformational leadership by peer mentors (i.e. transformational mentoring) were reported by mentees to be associated with a range of adaptive psychological and behavioural outcomes. The results have the potential to inform the development and dissemination of peer mentor-based interventions and initiatives.

Project lead and contact information: Mark Beauchamp, mark.beauchamp [at] ubc.ca

Citation: Mark R. Beauchamp, Louisa J. Scarlett, Geralyn R. Ruissen, Catherine E. Connelly, Christopher B. McBride, Sheila Casemore & Kathleen A. Martin Ginis (2016) Peer mentoring of adults with spinal cord injury: a transformational leadership perspective, Disability and Rehabilitation, 38:19, 1884-1892, DOI: 10.3109/09638288.2015.1107773

• A variety of reasons to be a mentor that mentors shared, as well as their approaches can provide valuable insight when creating a mentorship program.
• Support from the organization as well as careful planning will have an effect on the program’s ability to succeed.

Study design: The study used a generic qualitative design.

Objectives: This article set out to garner knowledge of peer mentorship programs delivered by SCI community-based organizations by interviewing people who are directly and in-directly involved with these programs.

Setting: Four provincial community-based SCI organizations across Canada. An integrated knowledge translation approach was applied in which researchers and SCI organization members co-constructed, co-conducted, and co-interpreted the study.

Method: Thirty-six individuals (N = 36, including peer mentees, mentors, family members of mentees, and organizational staff) from four provincial SCI community-based organizations were interviewed. The participants’ perspectives were combined and analyzed using a thematic analysis.

Results: Two overarching themes with respective subthemes were identified. Mentorship Mechanics describes the characteristics of mentors and mentees and components of the mentor-mentee relationship (e.g., establish a common ground). Under the theme Peer Mentorship Program Structures, participants described the organizational considerations for peer mentorship programs (e.g., format), and organizational responsibilities (e.g., funding; creating a peer mentorship team).

Conclusion: This study provides an in-depth look at the characteristics of peer mentorship programs that are delivered by community-based organizations in Canada and highlights the complexity of delivering such programs. Spinal Cord

Project lead and contact information: Shane N. Sweet, 514-398-4184 x09903, shane.sweet [at] mcgill.ca, or www.mcgill.ca/tielab/

Citation: Sweet, S.N., Hennig, L., Pastore, O.L. et al. Understanding peer mentorship programs delivered by Canadian SCI community-based organizations: perspectives on mentors and organizational considerations. Spinal Cord 59, 1285–1293 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41393-021-00721-6

• A more intensive transformational leadership training program may be needed to support inexperienced SCI peer mentors.
• Community-based mentorship programs in this study are mostly delivered through electronic communications (e.g., email, text), which might facilitate greater autonomy among mentors and mentees. 
• Some topics discussed by the mentors and mentees were about community living (e.g., volunteering, immigration), which may be priorities for these individuals who are dwelling in the community. 

Study design: Experimental, pragmatic design.

Objectives: (1) To determine the effects of a transformational leadership (TFL) training program on spinal cord injury (SCI) peer mentors and their mentees; (2) To document characteristics of mentorship within a community-based SCI peer mentor program.

Methods: In total 23 SCI peer mentors (70% male; M age = 47.4 ± 12.1) were randomly allocated to an Experimental or Control condition. Experimental condition mentors received a half-day TFL workshop and bi-weekly emailed information on using TFL in SCI peer mentorship. Sixteen SCI mentees (50% male; M age = 49.1 ± 12.9) enrolled in the study and 9 completed measures of self-efficacy and their mentors’ use of TFL and supportiveness at 3 and 6-months. Mentors completed monthly reports of mentorship activities.

Setting: Community-based peer mentorship program in British Columbia, Canada.

Results: There were no between-groups differences in mentee self-efficacy, mentor use of TFL or mentor supportiveness. In the Experimental condition only, total mentorship time and sessions were positively correlated with mentors’ use of TFL and supportiveness. Mentorship occurred in-person, by phone, text, and email and mentors discussed an average of 11 topics.

Conclusions: The intervention did not increase SCI peer mentors’ use of TFL relative to a Control condition. Nevertheless, there may be merit in coaching SCI peer mentors to use TFL given the positive correlations between mentorship time and sessions, TFL use, and perceived supportiveness of the mentor. Although inherently challenging, research involving community-based SCI peer mentorship programs provides opportunities for scientists and community organizations to extend knowledge of peer mentorship beyond the context of hospital-based programs.

Project lead and contact information: Kathleen A Martin Ginis, Phone: +1-250-807-9768, Email: ac.cbu [at] sinig.nitram_neelhtak

Citation: Martin Ginis, K. A., Shaw, R. B., Stork, M. J., Battalova, A., & McBride, C. B. (2018). Pilot study of a training program to enhance transformational leadership in Spinal Cord Injury Peer Mentors. Spinal cord series and cases, 4, 34. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41394-018-0065-8