The SHIFT Research Group has announced two new peer-reviewed publications advancing scholarship on parenting engagement and integrated school-based mental health systems. Together, these publications reflect SHIFT’s ongoing contributions to research that bridges family systems, digital contexts, and cross-sector infrastructure in support of children’s and adolescents’ well-being.
Centring Parent Voice in Digital Parenting Communities
Nehal Eldeeb’s (pictured, left) dissertation research, “Centring Parent Voice: Exploring Popularized Parenting Posts to Understand Parents’ Information and Support Needs,” has been published in Child & Family Social Work. Co-authored with Jiwon Shin and Valerie Shapiro (pictured, center), the study examines the types of parenting content most frequently elevated within online forums and the interactional patterns through which parents exchange support.
Drawing on content analysis of 180 highly rated posts and comments across three major Reddit parenting forums, the study finds that parents often prioritize narrative forms of expression, sharing lived experiences of grief and social pressure and efforts to establish safety and trust over direct advice-seeking. While mother- and father-centric forums shared thematic overlap, mother-centric spaces reflected broader topical range and greater interactivity. The findings underscore the importance of incorporating storytelling, peer support structures, and role-responsive design into evidence-based parenting programs to improve relevance and participation.
Developing an Integrated Model for School-Based Mental Health
A second article, "An innovative and sustainable approach to delivering school-based mental health and wellness services," published in the Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, investigates the development of the Integrative School Based Mental Health Services (ISBMHS) Model. The study is authored by Alejandro Nuñez, Addison Duane, Jenna Greenstein, Sophia Hwang, Leslie Reider, Simonei Medina, Marieka Schotland, and Valerie Shapiro.
Based on interviews with 23 stakeholders including County Office of Education leaders, school-based clinicians, health department partners, and school administrators, the qualitative analysis identifies four central themes: (1) leveraging a multi-tiered framework to advance systemic change; (2) prioritizing equity to address disparities in access to care; (3) utilizing innovative financing mechanisms to bridge the education and health sectors; and (4) cultivating cross-system trust to sustain partnerships. By enabling schools to obtain Federally Qualified Health Center status through collaboration with county health systems, the model offers a structurally sustainable approach to delivering comprehensive mental health services in educational settings.
The acknowledgements section of the article recognizes the contributions of numerous UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare staff members whose support enabled the research, including Ariana Abramyan, Laila Akbari, Althea Bernaldo, Aliza Elkin, Raymond Fong, Lisa Fuller, Chao Guan, Michele Huff, Dana Kowalski, Kathy Leviege, Michelle Mandujano, Emiko Moran, Denise Schiller, Miho Walczak, Erica Wilson, and Tian Yu.