Christensen, K., Assink, M., van Dam, L., and Stams, G. , Poon, Y.S., Astesano, J., & Rhodes, J. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal. (2023)
Supervised practice pairs behavioral rehearsal (i.e., the practice of skills) with constructive and supportive feedback so that learners can enact new skills accurately and develop the motivation to consistently apply these skills. The current review study takes stock of the literature on supervised practice through second-order meta-analysis, a rigorous quantitative method used to aggregate overall effects from previous meta-analyses.

Hull, T., Krishnan, K., & Rhodes, J. Journal of Applied Business and Economics. (2023)
Authors study whether student debt impacts individuals’ ability to adequately prepare for the labor market. Using no-loans financial aid policies as an exogenous shock to student loans, we find that student loans negatively impact students’ ability to have an internship that is related to the student's chosen major.

Stelter, R. L., Stump, K. N., Rhodes, J. E., & Kupersmidt, J. B. Journal of Community Psychology. (2023)
Parental incarceration is an adverse childhood experience that is associated with heightened risk for negative outcomes in youth. Mentoring programs seek to mitigate this risk by providing children of incarcerated parents (COIP) with a supportive relationship that fosters positive outcomes. The current study presents findings from a longitudinal evaluation of enhanced mentoring program practices designed for supporting COIP.

Rhodes, J. E., Lowe, S., R., Schwartz, S. E., & Jasman, M. Reference Collection in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Psychology. (2023)
Despite its global popularity as an intervention strategy, research on mentoring has yielded mixed results. Overall effects tend to be modest, and the impact of mentoring relationships can vary based on adolescent, mentor, relationship, and contextual characteristics, as well as quality and practices of programs. In this article, the authors review the empirical literature on mentoring for adolescents and make recommendations for the field.

Hagler, M., & Rhodes, J. The Future of Youth Violence Prevention: A Mixtape for Practice, Policy, and Research. (2023)
This book features scholars anchored in applied practices who can ground these forward-thinking strategies in the substantive base of research and theory that has produced successful interventions across multiple disciplines.

Schwartz, S., Parnes, M. Browne, R. Austin, L., Carreiro, M. Rhodes, J., Kupersmidt, J., Kanchewa, S. American Educational Research Journal. (2023)
The study evaluates the impacts of a one-credit college course aimed at enhancing student help-seeking behaviors and social capital within a racially diverse college student sample. The course was designed to shift students' attitudes towards help-seeking and to foster their ability to identify, initiate, and maintain relationships with mentors and other sources of social capital.

Werntz, A., Jasman, M., Simeon, K., Gunasekaran, H., Yowell, C., & Rhodes, J. Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science. (2023)
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted college administrators to re-evaluate approaches to student support. The authors advocate for technology-enhanced mentoring to provide targeted peer support for young adults transitioning into their first year at college.

Werntz, A., Amado, S., Jasman, M., Ervin, A, & Rhodes, J. Journal of Medical Internet Research. (2023)
Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) have demonstrated efficacy across various evaluations for improving mental health symptoms. However, user retention rates are low, minimizing DMHIs' full impact. In this paper, the authors aimed to evaluate the effects of providing human support for digital mental health intervention (DMHI) use.

Werntz, A., Poon, C. Y. S., & Rhodes, J. E. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. (2023)
The study delves into the benefits of goal- and youth-focused approaches in youth mentoring relationships. While targeted, goal-focused mentoring has shown to improve behavioral and mental health outcomes compared to more recreational, non-specific approaches, it's essential to balance this with mentees' preferences. The research emphasizes the importance of considering the mentee's perspective in these relationships.

Deconstructing “Risk” in Youth Mentoring Programs: How Environmental Stressors and Presenting Challenges Shape Mentoring Relationship Outcomes Journal of Early Adolescence. (2022)
This research explores the variability in challenges faced by youth referred to mentoring programs. The study aims to understand the patterns of these challenges and their implications for mentoring outcomes.

Ben-Eliyahu, D., Sykes, L. A. Y., & Rhodes, J. E. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning. (2021)
A survey of 1,860 15-year-olds from across the United States found that mentees’ perceived positive regard from caring adults was associated with a range of personal, school, and civic outcomes. A structural equation modeling analysis found that for youth who have a mentor or other caring adults that they feel gets them, this perceived positive regard was positively related to youth’s sense of purpose and effort in school.

Burton, S., Raposa, E.B., Poon, C.Y., Stams, G, & Rhodes, J. American Journal of Community Psychology. (2021)
The study delves into the growing trend of cross-age peer mentoring programs, which leverage the availability of youth mentors to foster positive outcomes in their younger counterparts. The research employed a multilevel meta-analytic approach to gauge the efficacy of these programs and to identify potential factors that might influence their effectiveness.

McQuillin, S. D., Hagler, M. A., Werntz, A., & Rhodes, J. E. American Journal of Community Psychology. (2021)
The article addresses the growing demand for child mental health services, which currently surpasses the supply. To bridge this gap, the authors propose a framework for paraprofessional youth mentors.

Hagler, M. A., Christensen, K. M., & Rhodes, J. E. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice. (2021)
First-generation college students are characterized as college students in which neither of their parents completed a Bachelor’s/4-year degree, increasing their risk for dropout and other undesirable educational outcomes. Mentoring relationships may provide first-generation students with support and social networks as they transition to college.

van Dam, L., Blom, D., Kara, E., Assink, M., Stams, G., Schwartz, S., & Rhodes, J. E. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. (2021)
Youth-Initiated Mentoring (YIM) is a mentoring approach that empowers mentees to identify and recruit natural mentors within their existing social networks. This method aims to target the benefits of informal mentorships while maintaining the structure and support of formal mentoring programs. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between YIM programs and various mentees outcomes.

Raposa, E., Hagler, M., Liu, D., & Rhodes, J. E. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. (2020)
Faculty-student relationships may promote students' development and academic success, particularly for first-generation college students and those attending larger institutions. This study investigates the factors that influence the formation of student college mentoring relationships.

Christensen, K., Hagler, M., Raposa, M., Stams, G. J., & Rhodes, J. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. (2020)
The study delves into the effectiveness of youth mentoring programs, comparing non-specific, relationship-focused approaches to targeted, problem-specific interventions. Historically, mentoring programs have emphasized the importance of the mentor-mentee bond, suggesting that a strong relationship alone can foster positive developmental change. This research evaluates this presumption.

Christensen, K., Assink, M., van Dam, L., and Stams, G. , Poon, Y.S., Astesano, J., & Rhodes, J. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal. (2020)
The study reviews the literature on supervised practice through a second-order meta-analysis, a method used to aggregate overall effects from previous meta-analyses. Supervised practice pairs behavioral rehearsal (practice of skills) with constructive and supportive feedback, enabling learners to enact new skills accurately and develop the motivation to consistently apply these skills.

Christensen, K., Raposa, E., Hagler, M., Erikson, L., & Rhodes, J. E. Applied Developmental Science. (2019)
Many youth participate in organized sports, with many sports coaches becoming mentors to the young athletes. This research delves into the potential of athletic coaches as mentors in promoting academic success among youth.

Raposa, E. B., Rhodes, J., Stams, G.J., Card, N., Burton, S., Schwartz, S., Sykes, L.Y., Kanchewa, S., Kupersmidt, J., & Hussain, S. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. (2019)
Formal mentoring programs pair youth mentees with supportive adults to foster positive youth outcomes. While such programs can increase access to supportive services, more research is needed to fully understand its level of effectiveness, and what conditions make it most effective.

Hagler, M. A., & Rhodes, J. E. American Journal of Community Psychology. (2018)
Overall, this article delves into the enduring effects of natural mentoring relationships on mentees. While previous research has shown that such relationships can lead to improved functioning across several domains, this study aims to understand the long-term impact of these relationships beyond early adulthood.

Raposa, E., Eli-Yahu, A., Olsho, L., & Rhodes, J. Journal of Community Psychology. (2018)
Length of mentor-mentee match may influence mentee outcomes, some studies demonstrating negative consequences, suggesting the need for programs to find ways to increase the likelihood of long-lasting mentoring relationships. In response, this study investigates the influence of mentor-youth similarities on the duration of mentoring relationships.