Dealing with Disaffection

One of the most talked about forms of intervention with disaffected youth has been 'mentoring', believed by many to hold much promise in reducing crime and antisocial behaviour, whilst promoting social inclusion and attachment to mainstream social values. Although mentoring has become very popular there is surprisingly little evidence as to its effectiveness.This book aims to address this gap by reporting on the findings of the largest study of mentoring yet conducted in the UK. It examines the lives of a large group of 'disaffected' young people, and considers the impact that involvement in a mentoring programme had on them. It discusses the experience of mentoring and sets out empirical evidence about the effectiveness of the programme, while also providing vivid insight into the nature of youth disaffection and the realities of contemporary social exclusion among young people. It contains vital lessons for the future development and direction of mentoring and for work with disaffected young people more generally.

Tim Newburn is Professor of Criminology and Social Policy and Director of the Mannheim Centre for Criminology at the London School of Economics.