Jean Rhodes' research is focused on two main areas: adolescents' mentoring relationships and young adults' responses to trauma and natural disaster. Rhodes and her students are currently involved in a range of research projects that address the role of both formal and informal mentors in vulnerable groups including children of prisoners, community college students, high school dropouts, and low-income children in after-school settings. Rhodes and students are also examining the life course of low-income parents who were exposed to Hurricane Katrina. Drawing from a unique panel dataset that follows individuals from more than a year before the hurricane to several years afterwards, they are documenting changes in the physical and mental health of study participants.