A number of other studies have focused on cross-age peer mentoring, in which an older student (typically a high schooler) mentors an elementary or middle school student. Such approaches
appear to tap into younger students’ tendency to hero-worship those just a few years older; the older students’ relative proximity in age to their mentees lends them more credibility than adults
(Frieman SI Frieman, ZOOO). Cross-age mentoring benefits both mentees and mentors. For mentees, benefits include more connectedness to their peers and school, feelings of competence, academic achievement, and prosocial behavior; mentors report improved connectedness to school, self-esteem, empathy, conflict-resolutionskills, and student-parent relationships
(Garringer 811 MacRae, 2008).