Date of Award

Fall 2023

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Samuel McQuillin

Abstract

Having paraprofessional providers, such as youth mentors, deliver evidence-based services, has been posited to increase the reach of youth services given the affordability and ubiquity of mentors in school settings. Further, examinations of mentor-delivered Motivational Interviewing (MI) have shown promise in increasing youth mentees’ academic performance and wellbeing. Yet, traditional methods used for training mentors to use MI effectively and sustainably can be costly and time-consuming processes. Previous work has suggested the value of asynchronous, brief, just-in-time trainings (JITTs) to help offset these challenges; however, MI JITTs for mentors have not yet been formally evaluated. As such, the present study reports a pilot study of MI JITT videos for youth mentors. Mentors in a goal-focused, time-limited program were randomly assigned to training as usual or training plus JITTs. MI attitudes, knowledge, and skills were measured via self-report pre- and post-intervention. Results indicate that assignment to the JITT video condition was associated with significantly improved reflection skills. Effect size analyses also suggest moderate improvements in understanding MI mechanisms and theory, and in other MI skills (e.g., asking open-ended questions, making affirmations) as a result of receiving JITTs. Mentors found the JITT videos acceptable, understood the content, and found using JITTs feasible. The article concludes with a discussion of considerations for future research and implementation.

Rights

© 2024, Mackenzie J. Hart

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