Rappaport's interests span the broad domain of community psychology, a field he first conceptualized in 1977 with the publication of Community Psychology: Values, Research and Action (Holt, Rinehart and Winston) and most recently with the Handbook of Community Psychology (see list of publications). Interests span multiple levels of analysis, including social policy. Empirical research has been concerned with alternatives to professional care, particularly for those who are outside the mainstream of economic and social power. Substantive topics include juvenile justice, prevention and empowerment, self and mutual help especially for people with a history of serious mental illness, and school consultation and community organization with attention to the education of poor and minority children. Collaborative and qualitative research, empowerment and narrative theory, and identity in the context of personal and social change are some of the theories and methods applied to current work.