Browsing by Author "Ferreira-Valente, Alexandra"
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- COVID-19 Pandemic in Portugal: Psychosocial and Health-Related Factors Associated with Psychological DiscomfortPublication . Pais-Ribeiro, José; Ferreira-Valente, Alexandra; Jarego, Margarida; Sánchez-Rodríguez, Elisabet; Miró, Jordi: The COVID-19 pandemic is a stressful long-lasting event with an increasingly negative impact upon individuals. This study aimed at assessing the magnitude of depression, anxiety, and stress among adults living in Portugal during the first mandatory lockdown of 2020, and the psychosocial and health-related factors associated with these symptoms. A sample of 484 adults (73% women) with an average age of 40 years old (Standard Deviation, SD = 14.03) responded to an online survey. The survey included measures of depression, anxiety, stress, social support, COVID-19 interference in daily life, attitudes towards COVID-19, and health perception. The impact of the lockdown on psychological well-being was large, with up to 36% of the participants showing signs of at least mild psychological discomfort (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress). Social support, COVID-19 interference on daily life, health perception, and age, explained all the dependent variables. Education level, income, attitudes towards COVID-19, and gender explained some of the dependent variables. These results suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has a serious impact on the psychological health of Portuguese adults. The role of the procedures to control the pandemic on the mental health of Portuguese adults should not be underestimated.
- How we survived: older adults’ adjustment to the lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemicPublication . Jarego, Margarida; Tasker, Fiona; Costa, Pedro Alexandre; Pais-Ribeiro, José; Ferreira-Valente, AlexandraOlder adults were found to be the most susceptible group to suffer the physical health consequences of a COVID-19 infection and were considered vulnerable to the negative effects of the lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, yet unlike many young adults did not generally experience an increased rate of mental health problems. Our study explored the strategies older adults in Portugal deployed during the mandatory lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. Qualitative interview data were collected with 22 older adults in relatively good health (aged between 66 and 92 years old; 36% women). Three main themes were identified via thematic analysis: (1) Finding things to do and activities that can protect me; (2) Identifying how my thoughts can protect me; and (3) Counting myself lucky – me and my home advantages. Some of the thematic strategies identified by older adults to manage pandemic and lockdown-related stresses related to meaning-centered coping could be further developed via cognitive behavioral therapies of the third wave.
- Psychometric properties and measurement invariance of a European Portuguese version of the fear of COVID-19 scalePublication . Jarego, Margarida; Ferreira-Valente, Alexandra; Costa, Rui Miguel; Tavares, Mafalda; Pais-Ribeiro, JoséThe prevalence of burnout among university students is increasing with consequences for their academic performance. Attachment theory, as a theory of affect regulation and interpersonal relationships, may be an important framework that helps to explain why some students experience academic burnout while others do not. This study aims to examine the links between attachment orientations and levels of academic burnout and to explore the mediating role of emotion regulation strategies in this relationship. This cross-sectional study included 205 students from different Portuguese universities. Multiple mediation models conducted in PROCESS showed that both attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance were associated with higher levels of personal and academic-related burnout. Additionally, rumination and suppression mediated the association between attachment anxiety and burnout while putting into perspective and suppression mediated the association between attachment avoidance and burnout. Results are discussed in the light of attachment theory and clinical implications are provided to prevent academic-related burnout. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
- Social support for functional dependence, activity patterns, and chronic pain outcomes: A cross-lagged mediation panel studyPublication . Bernardes, Sónia F.; Brandão, Tânia; de Matos, Marta Osório; Ferreira-Valente, AlexandraObjective: Received social support undermining engagement in life activities of individuals with chronic pain (e.g., solicitousness, support for functional dependence) is consistently correlated with worse physical functioning, pain severity and disability. Whether such responses lead to worse pain outcomes (operant model of pain) or the latter lead to more supportive responses undermining activity engagement (social communication and empathy models of pain) is unknown, given the lack of crosslagged panel studies. Furthermore, the mediating role of activity patterns in such relationship over time is entirely unclear. This study aimed to bridge these gaps. Methods: This was a three-month prospective study with three waves of data collection (T1-T3; six-week lag in-between), including 130 older adults (71% women; Mage=78.26) with musculoskeletal chronic pain attending day-care centers. At every time point, participants filled out self-report measures of staff social support for functional dependence, activity patterns, physical functioning, pain severity and interference. Scales showed good/very good test-retest reliability (ICC=.74-.96) and internal consistency (all α>.90). Results: Parsimonious crosslagged panel mediation models showed the best fit (χ²/df<2.44; CFI>.96; GFI>.93; RMSEA<.09). Bidirectional effects were found over time, but poorer pain outcomes at T1 (higher pain severity/interference, lower physical functioning) more consistently predicted higher social support for functional dependence than vice versa. Poorer pain outcomes (T1) predicted more avoidance/less overdoing (T3), via increased received support for functional dependence (T2). Conclusion: Further research on the cyclical relationships between the study variables across chronic pain trajectories is needed to harness the power of interpersonal relationships in future self-management interventions.