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Stephanie A. Shepard-Umaschi Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior (Research)

Dr. Shepard received her M.A. in developmental psychology from Arizona State University and her Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Oregon. She completed her child clinical internship at the Boston Consortium in Clinical Psychology and a T32 postdoctoral research fellowship in developmental psychopathology at Brown Medical School. She joined the faculty at Brown Medical School (Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior) in 2007. She conducts program evaluation and research in the Bradley/Hasbro Children's Research Center and works in the Center for Evidence-Based Practices, providing organizational assessment, training, coaching, and consultation to community programs to facilitate the adoption, delivery, and sustainability of evidence-based programs for children and families.

Brown Affiliations

research overview

Dr. Shepard Umaschi's research interests include the prevention and early intervention of externalizing behavior problems in young children, as well as the development and community dissemination of evidence-based practices. She also has an ongoing program of research to study predictors of parent engagement in preventive parenting interventions and to identify strategies to build parent engagement.

research statement

Selected Publications

Herman, K., Reinke, W., Frey, A., & Shepard, S (in press). Motivational Interviewing in Schools: Strategies for engaging parents, teachers and students. NY: Springer Publishing.

Shepard, S, Armstrong, L., Silver, R., Berger, R., & Seifer, R. (2012). Embedding the Family Check Up and evidence-based parenting programs into Head Start to increase parent engagement and reduce conduct problems in young children. Advances in School Mental Health Promotion, 5, 194-207.

Shepard, S.A. & Dickstein, S. (2009). Preventive interventions for early childhood behavioral problems: An ecological perspective. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics, 18(3), 687-706.

funded research

Grants (Awarded)

1. Engaging Low-Income Caregivers in Preventive Interventions for Conduct Problems; 5K01MH077097-02; NIH/NIMH; 9/07-8/12; Principal Investigator
2. Enhancing Self Regulation as a Strategy for Obesity Prevention in Head Start Preschoolers; 2010-04785; USDA; 3/11-3/16; Consultant.
3. Rhode Island Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting; D89MC23156; Human Resources and Services Administration; 8/1/12 – 7/31/14; Rhode Island Department of Health, PI; R. Seifer, subcontract PI; S. Shepard, subcontract Co-Investigator.
4. We are a Village; U411C120033; US Department of Education; 1/1/13-12/31/2015; Central Falls School District, PI; Subcontract