Mapping developmental resilience: Examining mentorship as a protective factor for ACEs using large language models

This study explores how mentors support people who experienced Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) using 3,635 open-ended responses from the Add Health dataset. ACEs shape long-term health and behavior, yet many studies overlook relational context. Drawing on mentoring and ACEs frameworks, this project views mentorship as a protective factor that promotes coping and recovery. Responses were reviewed with ChatGPT4o, ChatGPT-4.5, and human coders, compared in SPSS, and thematically analyzed. Twenty-nine ACE-related results and six mentoring roles emerged: provider of socio-emotional support and validation, provider of safe and stable environment, surrogate caregiver, trauma and adversity guide, developer of life skills and resilience, and stabilizer of continuity and consistent presence. These findings highlight how supportive adults can influence resilience and inform youth-development policy.