An exploratory study of a mentoring project for African Caribbean boys with behavioural and emotional difficulties

It is increasingly recognised that the African Caribbean community are disadvantaged in
multiple domains including health, education, housing and employment. Indeed, statistics
relating to the penal system and the mental health system indicate that Black boys and men
are over-represented in both. This highlights the need to work with young Black boys with
emotional and behavioural difficulties, deemed 'at-risk' of developing difficulties in later
life.
Mentoring schemes, aimed at working with disaffected youth, are becoming increasingly
popular throughout the UK. There is a body of evidence suggesting that the presence of an
adult mentor, particularly for those boys who lack a father or a father figure, is valuable in
helping young people through the transitions from adolescence to adulthood. However, this
literature is largely quantitative and focuses on the teachers' and parents' reports of the
impact of mentoring schemes that are aimed at fostering adolescent academic ability and
potential employment.
This thesis considers boys' and their mothers' individual experiences of a mentoring project
called boys2MEN for African Caribbean boys aged 8 to 13 with emotional and behavioural
difficulties who lack a father figure. The research was concerned with exploring the impact
of the project on behaviour and identity and the interpretations of the mentee-mentor
relationship. Semi-structured interviews were carried out individually with eight boys and
six mothers and the data analysed by means of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.
The analysis of the boys' interviews revealed two superordinate themes: the relationship to
the project and developing self-regard. The superordinate themes to emerge from the
mothers' interviews were forming relationships with help providers and the role of
boy2MEN. The participants' experiences of boys2MEN were frequently contrasted strongly
with their experience with professionals at a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service
(CAMHS) for which the accounts suggest a more negative experience. The theoretical and
clinical implications of these findings are discussed and suggestions are made for future
research and practice within CAMHS.

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