Repositório do ISPA
Repositório Institucional do Ispa-Instituto Universitário
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The relationship between populism and national identity: A scoping review
Publication . Freitas, Gonçalo; Miranda, Mariana P.; Nascimento, Paulo; Conchinhas, Constança; Magalhães, Pedro C.; Vala, Jorge
There is growing research on the relationship between populism and national identity, but findings remain conceptually and methodologically fragmented. This scoping review synthesizes quantitative evidence from 69 manuscripts (87 studies, 232 associations). Following JBI and PRISMA‐ScR guidance, we charted study characteristics and used thematic content analysis to classify populism as demand‐side (attitudes/beliefs, sentiments/evaluations, endorsement/voting) or supply‐side, and national identity as secure versus defensive forms. Evidence is concentrated in Europe (≈69% of studies) and relies mainly on cross‐sectional designs (≈75%), with fewer experimental (≈16%) and longitudinal studies (≈7%). Across operationalizations, populism shows consistent positive links with defensive national attachments (e.g., nationalism, national narcissism), especially for voting/endorsement and affective evaluations of populist actors. In contrast, associations with secure national identification (e.g., national satisfaction/pride) are mixed, often null or negative, depending on measurement and modeling choices. Overall, the findings provide a comprehensive evidence mapping that can inform future research on populism and identity.
Bridging guidelines and practice: Questioning styles in judicial interviews with child sexual abuse victims in Portugal
Publication . Fernandes, Delfina; Gomes, João P.; Almeida, Telma Sousa; Matos, Marlene; Albuquerque, Pedro B.
central evidentiary mechanism in child sexual abuse (CSA) cases in Portugal. This procedure aims
to prevent children from testifying at trial and to collect their accounts closer in time to the
alleged events. Although evidence-based guidelines recommend open-ended, child-centered
interviewing practices, little is known about how questioning is conducted in SFU interviews.
Objective: This study examined questioning styles and children's responses in SFU interviews to
assess alignment with best-practice recommendations.
Participants and setting: The sample comprised 128 SFU interviews conducted between 2014 and
2024 with CSA victims aged 4 to 19 years.
Methods: This retrospective observational study coded interviewer utterance types and children's
responses in real-world SFU interviews. Descriptive statistics and linear mixed-effects models
were conducted.
Results: Option-posing utterances were significantly more frequent than all other utterance types.
Focused-recognition prompts were approximately twice as frequent as open or recall-based
prompts. Invitations accounted for only 6% of utterances. Because focused-recognition prompts
were used so frequently, more than half of the children's reported details were elicited through
these prompts. Although rarely used, invitations were the most productive utterance type, eliciting
the greatest number of details per utterance.
Conclusions: Despite international guidelines supporting child-centered, open-ended interviewing,
Portuguese judicial interviews rely heavily on recognition-based questioning. Children's responses
may therefore be more vulnerable to error and interviewer influence, potentially
compromising testimonial reliability. Findings highlight the need to strengthen adherence to
evidence-based interviewing protocols and child-sensitive justice practices.
What makes parents of young children stressed? A systematic review of quantitative studies
Publication . d’Orsi, Dora; Garraio, Carolina; Santos, Rita; Matias, Marisa; Verissimo, Manuela; Diniz, Eva
The arrival of a baby and the early years of a child’s life represent a critical period for parents, often marked by increased parental stress that can impact both their well-being and the child’s development. Although parental stress has been widely studied, no systematic review has yet focused specifically on early childhood. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic review synthesizing evidence on factors examined as antecedents of parental stress during the first three years postpartum. Following PRISMA guidelines, we included 108 quantitative studies published in the past 12 years that investigated variables statistically modeled as predictors of parental stress. Key determinants of parental stress were identified at three levels: (1) at the personal level, internalizing symptoms, adverse childhood experiences, and perinatal negative experiences were related to higher stress; (2) at the relational level, marital satisfaction and coparenting quality were associated with lower stress; and (3) at the contextual level, social support from friends and family served as a protective factor of parental stress, while children’s developmental problems served as risk factors. Despite the increasing number of longitudinal studies and the growing inclusion of fathers in research, few studies have focused on participants from social minority groups or from non-Western contexts. These findings may contribute to the development of effective strategies to support families during the early years of parenthood.
Portuguese teachers’ beliefs and practices about transition from preschool to primary school
Publication . Fernandes, Carla Costa; Mata, Lourdes; Santos, Natalie Nóbrega
The transition from preschool to first grade is a crucial milestone in early education, influencing children’s academic and social development. This process involves significant changes in educational settings, teaching approaches, and peer interactions. Teachers play a crucial role in shaping children’s transition experiences and understanding their beliefs and practices can provide valuable insights into improving transition support strategies. Research Findings: This study examined the beliefs and practices of 1321
preschool teachers and 918 primary school teachers in Portugal regarding the transition to first grade. Using structural equation modeling, we analyzed teachers’ perceptions about the conditions that facilitate or hinder the transition, the activities they implement, and the challenges they encounter.
Results showed that both groups of teachers largely agreed on key conditions affecting transition success. Furthermore, a relationship was found between teachers’ beliefs and the practices they adopt to support children’s adaptation. Practice or Policy: These findings highlight the need for structured transition support in schools. Professional development programs should enhance teachers’ understanding of effective transition strategies, fostering continuity in learning. Strengthening collaboration between preschool and primary school teachers can help create smoother transitions,
promoting children’s academic and social adjustment.
Placing social and emotional support at the center of school climate: A scoping review of measures for middle and secondary schools
Publication . Castro, Catarina; Barata, Maria Clara; Alexandre, Joana; Santos, Rita
School climate can be defined as the perceptions of students, teachers/staff, and families, and the patterns of experiences that guide their daily life at school. There are a multitude of largely consensual theoretical approaches that seek to define school climate, but similar constructs are often operationalized and measured with different designations. Additionally, there has been an increase in research, practice, and public policy on the social and emotional learning (SEL) of students, but the support for this domain is rarely explicitly reflected in school climate instruments. This scoping review aims to conduct an exhaustive search for existing school climate measures, and to (1) identify the ones most frequently used, and (2) critically assess the integration of support for social and emotional learning in their composition. Results reveal a proliferation of school climate measures, with 965 studies using 404 different instruments. An analysis of those used more than five times in the literature shows that approximately 5% of measures (less than 1% of all subscales) explicitly address SEL; two thirds include items operationalizing social and emotional skills in students (6% of all items); and 91% include subscales shown to be directly related to SEL in the literature (55.04% of all subscales). This study adds clarity to the conceptualization of school climate and its relationship with the support for students’ social and emotional learning, and its results contribute to increased monitoring of quality in school practices, placing students’ social and emotional development at the center.