This paper reviews five empirical studies on peer mentoring in higher education, with particular attention to students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Drawing on research by Ncube et al. (2019), Siew et al. (2017), Shah et al. (2019), Morales et al. (2016), and Griffin et al. (2016), the paper traces a common finding across the literature: peer mentoring consistently produces short-term benefits—including reduced communication apprehension, improved academic performance, and greater social engagement—but fails to demonstrate lasting, long-term impacts. The paper also examines what motivates peer mentors themselves and concludes by identifying a critical gap in the literature around sustaining social support for ASD students beyond formal mentoring programs.
Ncube, Shaikh, Ames, McMorris, and Bebko (2019) point out that at the higher education level, there are few programs provided by universities that allow students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to benefit from extra-curricular options. Ncube et al. (2019) sought to examine whether an autism mentoring program (AMP) could help ASD students in college build a better social support system. The researchers had 23 students enrolled in the AMP complete a questionnaire, and the responses indicated a high degree of satisfaction with the program. However, the researchers also used standardized measures to assess whether participants had any actual increase in their social support system on campus. The problem they encountered was that even though the participants expressed satisfaction with the AMP, the program itself did not yield any significant or measurable results in terms of improving participants' social support systems.
What Ncube et al. (2019) found, therefore, was that the mentor program helped ASD students feel socially engaged for as long as they were enrolled, but once the program ended, students were no better positioned to develop their own social support systems. This finding indicates that ASD students in college need more than peer mentoring; they may need social support systems to be maintained for them on an ongoing basis, which is likely one reason the participants expressed interest in returning to the program. They wanted something in their lives that allowed them to regularly interact with another person, even if only with a mentor. This demonstrates that ASD students in college both desire and need a social life, but the central question becomes how to enable them to maintain one after the mentor program has ended. If the mentor program provides only a temporary solution without lasting impact, its effectiveness as a long-term intervention must be questioned.
The study by Siew, Mazzucchelli, Rooney, and Girdler (2017) shows that peer mentoring can help enrollees improve their communication skills and reduce apprehension about communicating in public. Communication apprehension was the biggest factor impacted by peer mentoring for this group. The researchers arrived at this finding by conducting pre-test and post-test interviews with participants. However, they did not employ a longitudinal analysis to determine whether there were any lasting effects from the peer mentoring program. Instead, the study highlighted the primary area of benefit for enrollees: a decrease in nervousness about being a student with ASD in a college environment where communication is frequently required.
When compared to the study by Ncube et al. (2019), the study by Siew et al. (2017) confirms without question that peer mentoring has positive effects on ASD students — a point that numerous studies have already established. What is needed, however, is an answer to the question raised by Ncube et al. (2019): whether there is a way to leverage peer mentoring into a more positive, long-term impact for ASD students than is currently being achieved. Siew et al. (2017) does not engage with this question. It takes a short-term, somewhat myopic view of the matter, focusing on the reduction of communication apprehension without addressing the broader challenge of maintaining a durable social support system for ASD students. That longer-term concern is raised explicitly only by Ncube et al. (2019).
One study that also points to the need for longer-term support systems is that by Shah, Mahboob, and Ullah (2019). In their study, the researchers examined the role of senior peer mentoring on undergraduate medical students, with a particular focus on stress relief for the younger learners. The researchers used purposive sampling across five different grade levels to conduct a focus group discussion. The discussion yielded significant qualitative results, distinguishing this study from those by Siew et al. (2017) and Ncube et al. (2019), which relied primarily on quantitative data. The qualitative approach taken by Shah et al. (2019) provides deeper insight into a question relevant to all peer mentoring research — namely, how to transform mentoring services into something with a genuinely long-term impact for those being mentored.
Shah et al. (2019) found that for students to feel more relaxed and less stressed, what is needed is a congenial learning environment throughout their time as undergraduate students. Peer support is helpful but limited in what it can accomplish — a conclusion that aligns closely with what Ncube et al. (2019) established. Shah et al. (2019) found that peer mentoring provides some degree of social support, but it does not change the fundamental nature of the academic environment, which remains laden with stress and anxiety-inducing factors that leave undergraduates feeling overwhelmed and fatigued. The study therefore concludes that peer mentoring has a beneficial but limited impact, and that colleges should do more to reshape their administrative practices in order to cultivate a more supportive atmosphere for all students.
"Math-focused mentoring boosts scores and self-efficacy short-term"
"Mentor motivations include values, growth, and career goals"
In conclusion, these five studies highlight different aspects of the peer mentoring process and outcomes. What they all tend to show is that peer mentoring has a positive effect on students, at least in the short term. What none of them demonstrate is how a positive long-term effect can be achieved or sustained, particularly for vulnerable student populations such as those with ASD. This gap represents the most pressing direction for future research in the field.
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