Research Project Summary

• Objectives: Determine whether participating in peer mentorship is related to differences in reported use of coping strategies (acceptance of injury and fighting spirit) for adults with spinal cord injury.
• Setting: Quebec, Canada.
• Methods: A static group comparison design was used to retrospectively compare mentees (n = 68) and non-mentees (n = 63) on their reported coping strategies. Moderation analyses examined differences on coping strategies, while controlling for years since injury (significant covariate).
• Results: A significant interaction was found between years since injury and peer mentorship for acceptance of injury and fighting spirit, where mentees living with their injury for longer (~30 years) reported more use of the acceptance of injury and fighting spirit coping strategies.
• Conclusion: Peer mentorship programs could serve as a means for promoting positive coping strategies for adults with SCI. To better understand the role of peer mentorship, follow-up studies using more rigorous research methodologies such as cohort or randomized controlled trial study designs should be conducted.

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• Authors: Mark R. Beauchamp, Louisa J. Scarlett, Geralyn R. Ruissen, Catherine E. Connelly, Christopher B. McBride, Sheila Casemore & Kathleen A. Martin Ginis
• Purpose: To examine the peer mentoring experiences of adults with a SCI, and the extent to which (a) the peer mentoring behaviours used by mentors align with the transformational leadership behaviours conceptualized by Bass and Riggio, and (b) transformational leadership by mentors is associated with adaptive psychological and behavioural outcomes among mentees with a SCI.
• 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

• 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 utilised 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.

• Findings outlined effective peer mentoring behaviours, as identified by mentees with a SCI, closely align with the four behavioural dimensions encompassed by transformational leadership theory – inspirational motivation, idealised influence, individualised consideration and intellectual stimulation.
• It is imperative to match peer mentors with mentees based on lived experience rather than traditional demographic characteristics.
• The mentor’s outlook and emotional state play an important role and having a positive emotional state prior to mentoring is vital to foster a quality mentor-mentee relationship.

• Within the context of spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation, positive peer mentorship is reflected in mentors’ use of transformational leadership behaviours (idealised influence, inspirational motivation, individualised consideration and intellectual stimulation).
• When SCI peer mentors use transformational leadership behaviours, mentees report a redefined sense of their limitations, and increased self-confidence, hope, motivation, acceptance, participation and overall well-being.
• The results of this study have the potential to inform future longitudinal and experimental research concerning the (causal) effects of peer mentoring on mentee outcomes. In particular, research should examine the effects of peer-mentorship training, informed by the tenets of transformational leadership theory, in relation to the mentee outcomes assessed in this qualitative study.

Posters

• Authors: Shaw, Robert B., McBride, Christopher B., Casemore, Sheila,& Martin Ginis, Kathleen A
• Purpose: 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.
• Project lead and contact information: Robert B. Shaw, 705-477-5205 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
• Funding source:

• 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 semistructured 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.

• Mentorship behaviours align closely with the core tenets of transformational leadership theory.
• Peer mentor’s use a variety of different behaviours depending on the individual needs of the mentee.
• A unique leadership behaviour specific to SCI peer mentoring appears to be the “active promotion of achievement”.

• Peer mentorship training programs could be developed to educate mentor’s about how to use the behaviours identified in this study.
• SCI organizations could screen for potential mentors using valid transformational leadership measures as it appears effective mentors use these behaviours during interactions with mentees.

• Authors: Shane N. Sweet, Emilie Michalovic, Amy E. Latimer-Cheung, Michelle Fortier, Luc Noreau, Walter Zelaya, & Kathleen A. Martin Ginis
• Purpose: To investigate the role of spinal cord injury (SCI) peer mentorship on quality of life (QoL)/participation, and test a self-determination theory model that explains the role of SCI peer mentorship on these outcomes.
• 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: Sweet, S.N., Michalovic, E., Latimer-Cheung, A.E., Fortier, M., Noreau, L., Zelaya, W., Martin Ginis, K.A. (2018). Spinal cord injury peer mentorship: Applying self-determination theory to explain quality of life and participation outcomes. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 99, 468-476. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2017.08.487
• Funding source:

• Objective: To investigate the role of spinal cord injury (SCI) peer mentorship on quality of life (QoL)/participation, and test a self-determination theory model that explains the role of SCI peer mentorship on these outcomes.
• Design: A static group comparison design.
• Setting: Community.
• Participants: A convenience sample of mentees (n= 68) and nonmentees (n= 63) who had an SCI, were older than 18 years, and spoke either English or French.
• Interventions: Mentees: at least 4 peer mentorship sessions over the past 5 years; nonpeer mentees: 0 or 1 brief introductory session.
• Main Outcome Measures: QoL (ie, life satisfaction and positive and negative affect), participation (eg, autonomous indoor; family role), and the psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
• Results: No group differences were found, but years since injury was a moderator indicating that, generally, peer mentees living with SCI for longer (~30y) appear to benefit more from peer mentorship interactions compared with nonmentees and mentees living with SCI for approximately 6 years. Competence and relatedness mediated the peer mentorship outcome relationship for QoL and some participation variables, indicating that peer mentorship predicted competence and relatedness, which in turn were related to the outcomes.
• Conclusions: Satisfaction of competence and relatedness needs requires greater attention in SCI peer mentorship. Years since injury modified the relationship between peer mentorship and outcomes, which provided new insights on the role of SCI peer mentorship. Further studies are needed to determine SCI peer mentorship-specific outcomes that are important across the years-since-injury spectrum.

• Peer mentees living with SCI for longer (~30 years) appear to benefit more from peer mentorship interactions compared with nonmentees and mentees living with SCI for approximately 6 years.
• Peer mentorship predicted competence and relatedness, which predicted

• Peer mentors should focus on fostering relatedness and competence in their interactions with mentees, as they predict higher participation and quality of life.
• Individuals should be provided an opportunity to seek peer mentorship as the benefits of receiving peer mentorship may only be evident later in one’s life.

• Authors: Heather L. Gainforth, Emily E. Giroux, Robert B. Shaw, Sheila Casemore, Teren Y. Clarke, Christopher B. McBride, Claire V. Garnett & Shane N. Sweet
• Purpose: To develop an understanding of quality peer mentorship from the perspectives and direct experiences of people with SCI who provide or receive peer mentorship (i.e. mentors and mentees); and three Canadian SCI community organizations who provide peer mentorship services. Specifically, the study aimed to establish consensus among the SCI community regarding (1) characteristics of high- and low-quality SCI peer mentors; (2) characteristics that SCI organizations should consider when matching SCI peer mentors and mentees.
• 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.

• 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.

• The consensus-based characterization of quality peer mentorship highlights interpersonal (e.g., communication, autonomy support, and emotional intelligence) and intrapersonal (e.g., emotional state, personality, mentor outlook, reason for mentoring, and being a role model) characteristics harnessed by high-quality SCI peer mentors.
• Moving beyond traditional demographic characteristics, considering the lived experience of both SCI peer mentors and mentees should be considered when matching individuals for peer mentorship interactions.

• The use of an integrated knowledge translation (IKT) approach, coupled with a community-based Delphi methodology allowed the research team to ensure the SCI community was involved in the decision-making process, working towards the aim of shifting power and ownership in research.
• The study revealed a vast array of characteristics associated with peer mentors providing high or low quality mentorship in both hospital and community settings.
• Findings of this study are valuable for understanding the mechanisms of peer mentorship as well as for improving SCI peer mentorship programs delivered by SCI community organizations.