Repositório do ISPA
Repositório Institucional do Ispa-Instituto Universitário
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Early childhood education professionals’ beliefs and attitudes about children's right to participation: A quantitative study in Portugal
Publication . Correia, Nadine; Machado, Monique; Daniel, João; Aguiar, Cecília
Children’s participation is recommended from the earliest age,namely in early childhood education (ECE). This quantitativestudy aimed to investigate ECE professionals’ beliefs and attitudestowards this child right. Participants were 247 ECE professionalsfrom ECE settings in Portugal, namely 186 teachers, 31 assistants,and 30 coordinators, with ages ranging from 21 to 65 years old(M = 45.47, SD = 10.33). Exploratory findings suggested positiveassociations between ECE professionals’ beliefs and attitudes,their participation practices, and their modernity beliefs, as wellas with professionals’ age and years of experience. Differenceswere found between ECE professionals’ beliefs and attitudes, as afunction of their professional role. Main findings and implications,particularly the relevance of professional development initiatives,focusing on professionals’ beliefs and attitudes, are discussed
Intergenerational pathways from maternal childhood maltreatment to offspring adjustment: Mediating roles of attachment, sensitivity, and maternal psychopathology
Publication . Bravo, Patricia; Cárcamo, Rodrigo; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian; IJzendoorn, Marinus H. van; Jansen, Pauline W.
Background: Maternal childhood maltreatment might have long-lasting consequences, not only at the individual level but also within the family system. Yet few studies have used longitudinal
observational measures of mother-child interaction to explain the consequences.
Objective: This study examined the longitudinal links between maternal childhood maltreatment and offspring's emotional and behavioral problems in late childhood, and explored maternal
psychopathology, infant attachment, and maternal sensitivity as potential mediators.
Participants and setting: Using data from a large study in the Netherlands, we included 832 mothers followed from pregnancy until their children were 10 years old.
Methods: Mothers reported on their childhood maltreatment experiences (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire), and mental health problems during pregnancy and at child age 10 years (Brief
Symptom Inventory). Observational measures for attachment (Strange Situation Procedure) at 1 year and maternal sensitivity at 1, 3, 4, and 10 years (Ainsworth and Erickson scales). Maternal
reports of child internalizing and externalizing problems at 10 years (Child Behavior Checklist) were obtained. Structural equation modeling was used to test the direct and indirect effects.
Results: A direct association between mothers' experiences of maltreatment and greater behavioral and emotional problems in offspring, and an indirect association via maternal psychopathology
during pregnancy and at 10 years was found. Findings did not support mediation by infant attachment or maternal sensitivity.
Conclusions: Mothers with a history of maltreatment experienced more mental health problems over the years. Underscoring the need for mental health support may help alleviate the lifelong consequences of maltreatment experiences, ultimately reducing the intergenerational transmission of psychopathology
From fascination to fear and disgust: Cross-cultural assessment of emotional and aesthetic responses to snake imagery
Publication . Biondi, Luiz; Silva, Fábio; Gomes, Nuno; Maior, Rafael S.; Silva, Samuel; Soares, Sandra C.; Gomes, Nuno; Soares, Sandra
The primate visual system is thought to have evolved under selective pressures favouring rapid detection of snakes, ancestral predators that shaped perceptual and attentional mechanisms. Yet, the transition from visual detection to subjective fear remains poorly understood and may depend on specific morphological cues. Here, we examined how snake morphology modulates human emotional and aesthetic responses across ecological and cultural contexts. A total of 377 participants from Portugal (low snake biodiversity) and Brazil (high snake biodiversity) rated images of 92 snake species on fear, disgust, beauty, valence, arousal and perceived size. Cluster analyses revealed three consistent emotional profiles across populations: a High-Fear cluster (mainly viperids, boids and mimics with threatening traits), a High-Valence cluster (mostly harmless colubrids and dipsadids), and a smaller High-Disgust cluster (fossorial or limbless reptiles). Cluster membership was unaffected by country, indicating cross-cultural consistency in emotional evaluations of snake morphology. Species in the High-Fear cluster exhibited higher edge density. By contrast, greater exposure to snakes, particularly in natural environments, was associated with lower Snake Fear Questionnaire scores. These results support the view that humans rely on evolutionarily conserved morphological heuristics (e.g. triangular heads, keeled scales and disruptive patterns) to assess potential threats, while individual predispositions and experience modulate response intensity.
Tell me how: Teaching science with narration vs exposition
Publication . Soares, Sara; Santos, João O.; Simão, Cláudia; Gonçalves, Matilde; Barata, Raquel; Jerónimo, Rita; Kolinsky, Régine
Background: Narrative texts can support science comprehension. Yet, it remains unclear under which conditions
they are beneficial.
Aims: We compared the comprehension benefits of science narrative versus expository texts across comprehension
levels and retention intervals and identified reader and activity characteristics predicting science
comprehension.
Sample: A sample of 125 university students with low prior knowledge of the content of the texts volunteered to
participate.
Methods: Participants read both a narrative and an expository text and then completed comprehension questions
targeting different levels of comprehension. The contents were related to math or chemistry. Participants
completed the comprehension items on that session, and one week after reading the texts. We also assessed
participants' pre-reading perceived prior knowledge of the science topics and their post-reading perceptions of
the texts’ difficulty and interest.
Results: Comprehension scores were higher for the narrative than for the expository text only with the chemistry
topic, at all comprehension levels. Scores were higher in immediate comprehension assessments than in delayed
assessments. Exploratory analyses suggest that narrative texts support comprehension in part by increasing
perceived interest and lowering perceived difficulty.
Conclusion: The narrative advantage was specific to the less familiar content, boosting comprehension across all
levels of representation, partly by reducing perceived difficulty and increasing interest — underscoring the
importance of aligning text type with learners' prior knowledge and task demands.
A person-based approach to planning and developing “EmOcean”: A transdiagnostic digital intervention for stress and emotion management
Publication . Sebastião e Sebastião, Rita Maria; Ribeiro, Pedro Rodrigues; Sardinha, Eduardo; Castro, Cátia Martins; Dias Neto, David Manuel
This paper constitutes an intervention development paper, illustrating the application of the person-based approach to planning and developing a digital transdiagnostic intervention to support Portuguese adults in managing their stress and emotions, thereby enhancing their mental health.
A multi-method intervention development study following the person-based approach (Phase I: collating and analysing evidence; Phase II: creating the intervention plan). Evidence from three quantitative studies, examining emotional schemas, psychological flexibility, and mental health in the context of stress, a qualitative study, exploring stress-coping experiences, and a scoping review of digital interventions designed for stress, were combined with experts’ consultation to facilitate the creation of the guiding principles and the logic model. This guided the development of prototype intervention.
Community-based recruitment across Portugal, collected online and at hospitals, senior universities and patient organisations.
Quantitative studies used a convenience sample (Study 1, n=666; Study 2, n=583; Study 3, n=276). 29 adults purposively sampled from the Study 3’ highest and lowest stress quartiles took part in semi-structured interviews. In the scoping review, 5867 articles were identified, and 131 studies of digital psychological interventions for stress were included. Six experts in stress, cognitive behavioural therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, emotional schema therapy, digital interventions, intervention development and public health reviewed the draft intervention plan.
Results Stress responses, more than stressor type, were the strongest predictor of both positive and negative mental health, with emotional schemas (negative evaluation of emotions, difficulties in reappraisal) and psychological flexibility (behavioural awareness, valued action, openness to experience) acting as mediators. Qualitative interviews highlighted maladaptive thoughts as the main barrier and emotional management as the main facilitator to coping, alongside preferences for intervention content and delivery. The scoping review found common components in existing digital interventions for stress, but none integrated the emotional schemas model. Together with expert consultation, these findings led to the development of EmOcean prototype, a guided self-help digital intervention comprising eight integrated and five optional modules, tailored to users’ needs, characteristics and preferences, which are completed sequentially on a weekly basis. Modules include psychoeducation and exercises on topics such as stress, emotions, cognitive reframing, mindfulness, acceptance, values, activities, problem-solving, time management, physical exercise, sleep, social support, assertiveness and emotional management. Conclusions: Combining empirical, theoretical and person-based evidence supported the development of EmOcean, an intervention hypothesised to support stress and emotion management and enhance mental health. Its acceptability, feasibility and efficacy will be evaluated in future studies.