4.2.1. The Role of Mentoring in Providing Emotional and Social Support

Psychological and emotional well-being is a concept that refers to aspects of psychological and behavioural functioning that involve a person's interpersonal relationships and mental health [68]. Social support is seen as a central element of well-being in young people, being strongly associated with mental health [69] due to the perception of being cared for promoting health in a person [70]. The young mentees of this study frequently

mentioned having received support in general terms from mentors and, more specifically, emotional support, which, in mentoring, is usually related to the capacity of the mentor to empathise with and listen to the mentee [71]. The case of Nordin illustrates how young people can feel better emotionally thanks to the support of these mentors. This young man, born in Morocco, explained that when he had negative feelings, he talked to his mentor, and that this mere act of talking to or meeting with the mentor had a positive effect on his emotions:

*If I don't feel good—I'm feeling bad one day, or I'm angry—I ask him if he can meet to talk and he says yes. If I have something important, he asks me if I want to stay, no problem. He's a really nice guy [* . . . *] Because I always feel good when I am with him. He's a good person, he treats me well.* (Nordin, mentee)

As we will see, the conversations with the mentors about aspects that worry or generate some kind of distress in the young people were recurrent. However, the mentors, thanks to a greater ability to express themselves in Spanish, were able to explain in greater depth the nature of these conversations with the young people. Below is a quote related to the social support provided by Mar (one of the mentors), who talked about one of the conversations she had with her mentee about managing negative emotions generated by adversity:

*We were talking about patience, about how difficult it is sometimes to get these things, to trust the people who are around helping him, that nobody wants him not to get them and that he knew there were a lot of people working on this, and that if he had any doubts or something was not being done properly or he wasn't being told about, that he should ask or speak to the director of the centre* . . . *And well, I think that was important because he let it all out and I saw he was very affected by it.* (Mar, Aliou's mentor)

Studies that have focused on young migrants have identified that perceived support, provided by adults, can improve a person's psychological well-being and, in particular, have emphasised the positive effects it had on the self-esteem of young migrants [23]. Perceived social support was evaluated from the recipient's perception of the availability of and satisfaction with the support provided [72]. The support from the mentors to deal with problems and overcome difficulties was mentioned as a very positive aspect of the mentoring relationship. The availability of social support by the mentors and the satisfaction of the mentees with this support were aspects that were identified in several interviews with the mentees. Below, Aliou and Dawda commented on the support they perceived from their mentors and their satisfaction with it. Dawda, furthermore, mentioned that, before his participation in the mentoring programme, such support was not available:

*If I have problems, at any time I can call her and explain my problem and, if she can, she helps me. [* . . . *] This helps me because I explained this about my papers and she gave me advice.* (Aliou, mentee)

*You may have a problem and this person (the mentor) can help you fix the problem you have, and as I am not from here, the people from here know much more than I do about here, and they can tell me things that in the future can help me. [* . . . *] Actually, I didn't have an older person who I could talk about my things with in Spain, by now I have the mentor and I talk about my things with her.* (Dawda, mentee)

#### 4.2.2. Access to Social Capital

Another element that the academic literature has highlighted as favourable for the development and psychological well-being of young people is an increase in resilience [31]. Specifically, actions that favour the relationship with parents, teachers, or mentors that can increase access to resources and social capital have been recommended to facilitate resilience [18,29]. Linking relationships that connect young people with social or economic resources and that can foster greater opportunities in education, training, and work have been highlighted as important for promoting active participation in social and civic

life [73,74]. These relationships result in the structures of the host society becoming more open and socially inclusive, so they are seen as key strategies to promote psychological well-being and a good settlement of the young migrants [13]. Access to new resources was mentioned by the participants in the mentoring programme. Hakim, for example, spoke to us about the different resources he accessed together with his mentor during his participation in the programme. This young mentee responded as follows when he was asked what the benefits of participating in the mentoring programme were:

*Many things* . . . *for example to be patient and to know very many things* . . . *many places. For example, a design place in Glorias, the Sagrada Familia library, Barcelona Activa (a public employment service)* . . . *To know more places, or courses, for example [* . . . *] talk about things that worry me* . . . *she can also help me with these things.* (Hakim, mentee)

The mentors also talked about certain activities carried out with the mentees that could facilitate access to new resources. For example, Ariadna, Dawda's mentor, also told us how she helped her mentee to find resources that could be important for him:

*This civic centre also has a job bank, well, an employment centre where a couple of people help you find work or make a CV* . . . *And one day I passed by and we wanted to see what they had for young people. A girl attended us and immediately* . . . *"look, here there are people who can help you make a CV, we do concerts, activities, football and many things for young people". And yes, I took him to a place where they can really offer him the chance of broadening his social environment.* (Ariadna, Dawda's mentor)

These resources can also help young people to better plan the pathways designed to achieve their goals in their new social environment. The creation of these connections with the mentors and with other resources of the environment can help to create feelings of hope in young people [75–77]. It can make them feel like they have the capacity and possibility to accomplish their future goals, since they have the agency and can create pathways to achieve them. The planning of alternative pathways that enable the creation of routes towards one's goals is a significant component of hope [34]. In this regard, not only can the knowledge of resources be favourable, but also the conversations with the mentors that enabled the young people to reflect on their pathways were important during the mentoring. Amadou explained that, for him, it was important to be in contact with other people, because, in that way, he could share ideas related to his own career. Moreover, participating in these types of projects helped him to feel more relaxed, which allowed him to plan his future under less pressure. After being asked why he decided to participate in this mentoring programme, he responded as follows:

*Because I like having relationships with a lot of people. Because a memory is a memory, but your memory and my memory, if we work together, there will be two ideas that are worked on. If it's only my idea, I can't do anything. [* . . . *] Well, since I came here with many projects, collaborating with them, I began to forget my stuff, I began to relax with my stuff* . . . (Amadou, mentee)

#### 4.2.3. Promoting the Mentees' Interest in Formal Educational Paths

The social support that mentoring can provide in terms of advice can have an effect not only on the level of hope and psychological well-being of the youths, but could also have an effect in terms of their educational futures. Previous studies with young migrants have highlighted that educational aspirations and expectations are fundamental for accomplishing futures goals in their new context [45,46]. Self-defined paths for young people are usually based on the need to find a job in order to be independent in the new setting and not dependent on the support of philanthropic or care organisations. In addition, the added pressure of wanting to help their family drives them to choose educational paths with quick access to the labour market. The case of Hassan illustrates that, if conditions are optimal to be able to continue studying, it is easier for the youths to make this decision, since, in this way, they can acquire a professional path that allows them to access better paid jobs:

*It depends. I want to work and help my family a little and myself. If I am fine here, I would like to continue studying. [* . . . *] I want to get an 8.7 to do vocational education and training [...]. Cooking, hairdressing* . . . *Then the higher education as well, if I can. And continue studying.* (Hassan, mentee)

Once these conditions are met, the difficulty is in the choice of career path that fits their interests, or understanding the differences between different educational levels, among others. This is where the mentor can provide assistance, promoting the young person's interest in educational paths that enable them to achieve higher levels of education. Hakim explained that, thanks to his mentor, he understood what path he could follow after completing the PFI, instead of entering the job market, as well as explaining the disorientation he felt regarding his educational future:

*Because when I wanted to do the first course, I did a course in waitering and didn't know what courses there were* . . . *you know? I did a course for work as a waiter and as a cook because everybody does that [* . . . *] She (the mentor) explained to me that, for example, if you don't not have ESO, you can study a PFI to do an Intermediate vocational training diploma, and when you pass the Intermediate vocational training you can do the Advanced vocational training diploma and then, if you want, you can go to university.* (Hakim, mentee)

We observed that the more informal conversations with mentors could help consolidate a more prolonged educational path within formal education. In this regard, Antonia (Hassan's mentor) and Elisabeth (Hakim's mentor), explained what these conversations were like:

*Poor thing* . . . *I think he is very lost* . . . *and the fact that he told me "I want to work, I want to work" and that I told him to take advantage of the time now and study* . . . *it could be that saying to him "don't worry now about money, you could be some time without work* . . . *", but of course, I suppose that also behind this he feels the pressure of "I have to comply".* (Antonia, Hassan's mentor)

*Sure, he did the waitering course* . . . *the practical training* . . . *this and that, but then he was going to do a cooking course, but in the end he was going to do one in maintenance* . . . *but he wants to do English* . . . *he is very disoriented. [* . . . *] We went to a place with technological stuff because he really likes everything related to computers and they give free courses on all things related to technology and you can sign up* . . . (Elisabeth, Hakim's mentor)
