Findings indicate an association between participation in online peer mentorship programs and improved caregiver-perceived outcomes across all 10 measured domains, suggesting its potential as a supportive tool for youth with learning differences.
Key Findings
Results
Caregivers reported significant improvements across all 10 measured outcomes following their child's participation in an online peer mentoring program.
Caregivers retrospectively reported on their child's status both prior to and since receiving online mentorship.
The study population consisted of youth with learning differences, including specific learning disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Results were described as 'significant caregiver-reported improvements across all outcomes following online mentorship.'
Background
Youth with learning differences experience exacerbated psychological and behavioral challenges compared to typically developing peers.
The population of interest includes youth with specific learning disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
These challenges served as the rationale for investigating peer mentoring as a supportive intervention.
Prior research has shown peer mentoring to be beneficial in addressing such challenges, but limited research exists on online formats for this population.
Methods
The study employed a retrospective design without a control group, which limits interpretation of the findings.
Caregivers retrospectively reported on outcomes prior to and since receiving online mentorship, introducing potential recall bias.
The absence of a control group means causal attribution of improvements to the mentoring program cannot be established.
Authors explicitly noted that 'interpretation of the findings is limited by the study's retrospective design and absence of a control group.'
Results
Online peer mentoring was associated with caregiver-perceived improvements in mental health, well-being, and behavior in youth with learning differences.
Improvements were observed across both internalizing outcomes (anxiety, depression, fear, sleep difficulties, self-esteem/self-confidence) and externalizing/functional outcomes (behavioral concerns, executive function, cognitive challenges, self-care, interpersonal skills).
The authors characterize findings as indicating 'an association between participation in online peer mentorship programs and improved caregiver-perceived outcomes.'
The study suggests online peer mentoring holds 'potential as a supportive tool for youth with learning differences.'
What This Means
This research suggests that online peer mentoring programs may offer meaningful benefits for children and teenagers with learning differences such as dyslexia or ADHD. The study asked caregivers (such as parents) to look back and compare how their child was doing before and after participating in an online mentoring program, rating 10 different areas including anxiety, depression, behavior, sleep, self-confidence, and social skills. Caregivers reported improvements in all 10 areas following their child's participation in the program.
This research suggests that connecting young people who have learning differences with peer mentors through an online format could be a useful supportive tool, particularly given that this population often faces greater mental health and behavioral challenges than their peers. The online format may make mentoring more accessible for families who face barriers to in-person programs.
However, the findings should be interpreted with caution. Because the study asked caregivers to reflect back on past experiences without a comparison group of children who did not receive mentoring, it is not possible to conclude that the mentoring program itself caused the improvements. Factors like the passage of time or other interventions may also have contributed. Future research using more rigorous designs, such as randomized controlled trials, would help confirm whether these promising results hold up under stronger scientific scrutiny.
Mercier A, Paquette B, Hoeft F, Richter C. (2026). Caregiver perceptions of online peer mentoring for youth with learning differences.. Scientific reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-44538-w