Safe, supportive relationships are critical for helping young people thrive. These can—and ideally should—include positive relationships with peers and family members. However, they can also include relationships with supportive adults outside the family, including youth-supporting professionals. Research suggests that young people who have supportive adults in their lives benefit greatly from these relationships. For example, young people who have supportive non-parental adults in their lives tend to experience better sexual and reproductive health outcomes,[1],[2] have better social and emotional development,[3] and develop fewer depressive symptoms.[4]
This guide offers research-informed strategies for youth-supporting professionals to actively and intentionally promote young people’s mental health and help prevent unintended teen pregnancy and negative sexual and reproductive health outcomes. It is relevant to all youth-supporting professionals, including those who support youth who experiencehomelessness, the child welfare system, the justice system, and/or disconnection from school and work. Young people with these experiences are more likely to face challenges accessing mental health and sexual and reproductive health resources.[5],[6],[7],[8]
This guide:
- Describes research-informed ways of being a supportive adult to young people
- Presents common challenges young people may face and explains how supportive adults can help address them
- Provides high-level guidance for being a supportive adult
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the many contributors to this resource. Experts who informed the resource include Morrigan Hunter, MA MSW; Amandalyn Stallings; and Shakira Washington, PhD. We also thank other Activate project team members who assisted in the development of this resource, including Mindy Scott, Principal Investigator, Amy Dworsky, co-Principal Investigator; and April Wilson, Project Director. We are grateful for the contributions of Child Trends staff to this resource, including Matthew Rivas-Koehl, Kristen Harper, Alana Ward, Marta Alvira-Hammond, Olga Morales, Catherine Nichols, Brent Franklin, and Stephen Russ.
Suggested citation
Beckwith, S., Mihalec-Adkins, B. P., Huang, L. A., Smith, S., & Tallant, J. (2026). A practice guide for promoting youth mental health and sexual and reproductive health as a supportive adult. Child Trends. DOI
References
[1] Dang, M. T., Conger, K. J., Breslau, J., & Miller, E. (2014). Exploring protective factors among homeless youth: The role of natural mentors. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 25(3), 1121-1138.
[2] Ojukwu, E., Bawafaa, E., McKay, E., Grewal, H., Afsah, S., Singh, S., & Saewyc, E. (2024). Teen pregnancy involvement among African, Caribbean and Black adolescent boys and girls: A scoping review. BMJ Open, 14(6), e078085.
[3] Van Dam, L., Smit, D., Wildschut, B., Branje, S. J. T., Rhodes, J. E., Assink, M., & Stams, G. J. J. (2018). Does natural mentoring matter? A multilevel meta‐analysis on the association between natural mentoring and youth outcomes. American Journal of Community Psychology, 62(1-2), 203-220.
[4] DeWit, D. J., DuBois, D., Erdem, G., Larose, S., & Lipman, E. L. (2016). The role of program-supported mentoring relationships in promoting youth mental health, behavioral and developmental outcomes. Prevention Science, 17(5), 646-657.
[5] Beckwith, S., Rivas-Koehl, D., DeCoursey, J., Griffin, A., Naylon, K., Rivas-Koehl, M., Rust, K., & Scott, M. E. (2025). Sexual and reproductive health among youth who experience the justice system [Data summary]. Child Trends.
[6] Griffin, A.M., Rivas-Koehl, M., Rust, K. V., Beckwith, S., Naylon, K., Scott, M. E., & DeCoursey, J. (2025). Sexual and reproductive health among youth experiencing homelessness [Data summary]. Child Trends.
[7] Rivas-Koehl, M., Naylon, K., Rivas-Koehl, D., Beckwith, S., DeCoursey, J., Griffin, A., Rust, K., & Scott, M. E. (2025). Sexual and reproductive health among youth who experience the child welfare system [Data summary]. Child Trends.
[8] Welti, K., Beckwith, S. & Murphy, K. (2022). Understanding the sexual and reproductive health of opportunity youth. Child Trends. https://activatecenter.org/resource/understanding-sexual-reproductive-health-opportunity-youth