Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2022-12"
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- What could explain the psychological well-being and performance of young athletes? The role of social safeness and self-criticismPublication . Oliveira, Sara; Cunha, M.; Rosado, António Fernando; Gomes, Beatriz; Ferreira, CláudiaAbstract: Literature has highlighted that it is important to explore factors that may contribute to athletes’ well-being and also to sports performance, especially in young athletes. This study aimed to test a model that hypothesized that athlete-related social safeness (feelings of belonging to the team) has an effect on the psychological well-being and performance through self-criticism. This study sample comprised 164 Portuguese adolescent athletes of both genders, who practiced different sports. The path analysis results confirmed the proposed model’s adequacy, which explained 52% and 28% of the variance of the psychological well-being and performance, respectively. Results demonstrated that athletes who presented higher social safeness levels tend to reveal higher levels of psychological well-being and perceived performance through lower levels of self-criticism. These novel findings suggest the importance of adopting supportive and safe relationships between teammates due to their positive association with athletes’ mental health and performance.
- Evaluation of the effectiveness of a relaxation intervention on distress in university students : a randomized controlled trialPublication . Costa, Rita; C. Machado, José; Brandão, Tânia; Pereira, M.Graça; Remondes-CostaAbstract: Excessive, abusive, or inappropriate use of mobile phones can have a negative effect on interpersonal relationships. This study aims to adapt the Phubbing Scale (PS) and the Generic Scale of Being Phubbed (GSBP) for the Portuguese population, establishing the convergent validity of the instruments with others that assess approximate constructs, such as the Partner Phubbing Scale (PPS) and the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q), and investigate the differences and/or relationships between sociodemographic variables, mobile phone usage variables and the PS and the GSBP. This is a cross sectional study, including 641 participants, aged between 18-71 (M=27.91; SD=10.60). The Portuguese version of the PS kept the number of items and factors, however, distributed differently from the original version. The Portuguese version of the GSBP kept the structure proposed by the authors of the original version. The correlations obtained by both scales with other instruments ensured convergent validity. Differences were found in the values of the scales according to some sociodemographic variables and some variables regarding mobile phone use. The findings provide culturally adapted and validated two instruments and are helpful to researchers to assess this phenomenon and intervene in a timely manner.
- Do impulsivity and alexithymia predict aggressiveness in institutionalized older adults?Publication . Espírito-Santo, Helena; Abreu Paraíso Ferreira, Luís André; Vicente, Henrique Manuel Testa; Vieira Antunes da Cunha, Marina Isabel; Grasina, Alexandra; Daniel, Fernanda; Lemos, LauraAbstract: Introduction: Alexithymia and impulsivity are related and predict aggressiveness in younger adults, especially in forensic contexts. However, little is known about this relationship in older adults, especially in geriatric institutionalized settings, where aggressiveness presents a high prevalence. Thus, we aimed to analyze the impact of impulsivity and alexithymia in institutionalized older adults’ aggressiveness after examining the relationships between these variables. Relevant variables were controlled for in these relations. Methods: Ninety-seven institutionalized participants (60–94 years, 70.1% women, 59.8% nursing homes’ residents) were assessed with the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire-SF, Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20, and Barratt’s Impulsiveness Scale-15. Results: The self-reported level of aggressiveness was low in our sample. Aggressiveness correlated with and was predicted by alexithymia (R2=17.6%; β=0.24, p<.05) and impulsiveness (R2=17.6%; β=0.34, p<.01). Conclusion: Despite the low levels of aggressiveness (potentially explained by levels of medication, more supervision, and more frailty), our findings with institutionalized older adults demonstrate the relevance of alexithymia and impulsiveness for understanding aggressiveness in older adults, adding to previous studies with other types of populations. We provide directions for psychotherapeutic strategies.
- Eating disorders and non-suicidal self-injury : cluster analysis considering eating pathology, emotion dysregulation, and negative urgencyPublication . Gonçalves, Sónia; Ramalho, Sofia; Machado, Bárbara C.; Vieira, Ana IsabelAbstract: Research on the interplay between eating pathology, emotion dysregulation and negative urgency is needed to inform intervention approaches for patients with eating disorders and non-suicidal self-injury. This study aimed to investigate the characterization of patients with eating disorders and non-suicidal self-injury considering eating pathology, emotion dysregulation and negative urgency. This cross-sectional study evaluated 73 outpatients with eating disorders and non-suicidal self-injury (14-55 years; 68 women). A cluster analysis was performed using eating pathology, emotion dysregulation and negative urgency. Differences between clusters were explored on sociodemographic/ psychological variables, eating disorder diagnostics and past/current non-suicidal self-injury engagement. Three clusters were identified. Cluster 1 (n=29) (moderate severity) was characterized by high levels of eating pathology, but moderate emotion dysregulation and negative urgency. Cluster 2 (n=29) (high severity) was characterized by the highest scores in eating pathology, emotion dysregulation and negative urgency, and included more patients with current non-suicidal self-injury. Cluster 3 (n=15) (low severity) was characterized by the lowest levels of eating pathology, emotion dysregulation and negative urgency, and included more patients with past non-suicidal self-injury. These profiles highlight the importance of emotion dysregulation and negative urgency as treatment targets for eating disorders patients with current non-suicidal self-injury.
- Adaptation of the Phubbing Scale and of the Generic Scale of Being Phubbed for the Portuguese populationPublication . Mendes, Letícia; Reis Silva, Beatriz; Vidal, Diogo Guedes; e Sousa, Hélder Fernando Pedrosa; Dinis, M. A. P.; Leite, ÂngelaAbstract: Excessive, abusive, or inappropriate use of mobile phones can have a negative effect on interpersonal relationships. This study aims to adapt the Phubbing Scale (PS) and the Generic Scale of Being Phubbed (GSBP) for the Portuguese population, establishing the convergent validity of the instruments with others that assess approximate constructs, such as the Partner Phubbing Scale (PPS) and the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q), and investigate the differences and/or relationships between sociodemographic variables, mobile phone usage variables and the PS and the GSBP. This is a cross sectional study, including 641 participants, aged between 18-71 (M=27.91; SD=10.60). The Portuguese version of the PS kept the number of items and factors, however, distributed differently from the original version. The Portuguese version of the GSBP kept the structure proposed by the authors of the original version. The correlations obtained by both scales with other instruments ensured convergent validity. Differences were found in the values of the scales according to some sociodemographic variables and some variables regarding mobile phone use. The findings provide culturally adapted and validated two instruments and are helpful to researchers to assess this phenomenon and intervene in a timely manner.
- Positive Traits Inventory : psychometric analyses of a short formPublication . De La Iglesia, Guadalupe; Castro Solano, Alejandro; Gallagher, StephenAbstract: The aim of this paper was generating a short form of the Positive Traits Inventory (PTI-5-SF) by means of three consecutive studies, using a cross-sectional design. The first study tested the psychometric properties of the shorter version of PTI-5. Results showed that a 25-item scale was appropriate to capture the five positive traits of the Positive Personality Model (PPM). In the second study, the PTI-5-SF was used to replicate the analyses of PPM traits and different job outcomes, such as performance, satisfaction, and well-being. Here we found that the PPM traits, as measured by the short form, increased the variance explained by the normal traits in all job outcomes. The third study replicated the explicative model of academic achievement that included PPM traits as background variables. Fit indexes and effects were as expected and replicated the results found with the long form. The PTI-5-SF can be recommended as an appropriate measure of PPM traits since its psychometric properties proved to be adequate and the results obtained with the long form were appropriately replicated with the short form.
- Examination of a bifactor model of the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory- RevisedPublication . Faria, M.; Sargento, P.; Branco, Marta; Teixeira, MónicaAbstract: The current study evaluated a bifactor model for the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory Revised (OCI-R) in two samples, with (n=188) and without (n=408) obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Since the OCI-R has been traditionally conceptualized as a correlated six-factor instrument, our goal was to evaluate the fit of a bifactor model against three competing models (one general factor, six correlated factors and a hierarchical model). Results revealed that the bifactor model presented the best fit and that all OCI-R items were influenced by a general factor and by one of the six dimensions. Model-based reliability estimated via Omega hierarchical for the total score suggested that OCI-R items are multidimensional, with the general obsessive-compulsive (OC) factor accounting for little more than half of the variability in the items of the total score, with the remaining variability accounted for by the specific OC domains and other sources of variance. Measurement invariance of the bifactor model was also supported among those with and without OCD. Implications for better understanding the structure and further use of the OCI-R are discussed.
- Entre a espada e a parede: As dificuldades de regulação e supressão emocional na relação entre o suporte social, os comportamentos autolesivos e a ideação suicidaPublication . Teles, Ana Isabel de Sousa; Pereira, Maria GouveiaNo presente estudo procurou-se investigar em que medida a relação entre o suporte social, os comportamentos autolesivos e a ideação suicida poderia ser mediada pelas dificuldades de regulação emocional e pela supressão emocional. Esperava-se que os indivíduos que relatassem maiores níveis de suporte social revelassem um menor envolvimento em comportamentos autolesivos e menores níveis de ideação suicida como resultado das menores dificuldades de que disporiam em termos de regulação e supressão emocional. Foram recolhidos dados de 277 participantes pertencentes a duas escolas secundárias do distrito de Lisboa, com idades compreendidas entre os 14 e 21 anos, através da Escala de Satisfação com o Suporte Social (ESSS), a Escala de Dificuldades de Regulação Emocional (DERS), o Questionário de Auto-Regulação para Crianças e Adolescentes (ERQ-CA), o Inventário dos Comportamentos Autolesivos (ICAL) e o Questionário dos Comportamentos Suicidários – Revisto (SBQ-R). Os resultados apoiaram um efeito mediador significativo tanto das dificuldades de regulação emocional, como da supressão emocional, na relação entre o suporte social e os comportamentos autolesivos. Contudo, apesar das dificuldades de regulação emocional terem mediado a relação entre o suporte social e a ideação suicida, a supressão emocional não foi, na presente pesquisa, um mediador significativo desta relação. Os resultados demonstraram como níveis mais baixos de suporte social estão associados a mais dificuldades de regulação emocional e, consequentemente, a mais comportamentos autolesivos e ideação suicida. Assim, salientam-se os benefícios que tanto o suporte social como as capacidades de autorregulação emocional podem assumir para a promoção da saúde mental e prevenção de comportamentos de risco.
- Comportamentos protetores da transmissão do vírus sars-cov-2: estudo por inquéritoPublication . Lira, Margarida Pinto; Marques, Marta MoreiraIntrodução: No combate a uma pandemia é crucial a realização de estudos populacionais que avaliem os comportamentos individuais de prevenção da transmissão do vírus à luz dos modelos explicativos dos comportamentos. Objetivo: Este trabalho teve como objetivo principal avaliar, com base no modelo COM-B (capacidade, oportunidade e motivação), as principais barreiras e facilitadores da adoção ou não dos comportamentos protetores da transmissão do SARS-CoV-2. Método: Quanto à metodologia, tratou-se de um estudo transversal. Foi utilizado como instrumento um questionário online, construído com base no modelo COM-B, através da plataforma Microsoft Forms, aplicado a uma amostra da população portuguesa recolhida por conveniência. Participaram 353 indivíduos, sendo 261 (74%) do sexo feminino, 89 (25%) do sexo masculino e 3 preferiram não responder a essa questão (1%). A média de idade da amostra foi de 37,75% anos, com idades entre 18 e 72 anos. Foram realizadas análises descritivas e correlações bivariadas. Resultados: O comportamento de prevenção ao vírus relatado como mais difícil de realizar foi o distanciamento social (43,3%) e o comportamento indicado por um maior número de indivíduos como mais fácil de realizar foi o uso da máscara (56,1%). O fator do modelo COM-B que atua como barreira para a execução dos comportamentos de saúde parece ser a Capacidade Psicológica e os principais facilitadores a Capacidade Física e a Capacidade Psicológica. Conclusão: O conhecimento sobre os determinantes comportamentais da adoção ou não adoção dos comportamentos de prevenção de transmissão de vírus é essencial para o desenvolvimento de intervenções de saúde pública adequadas.
- Long-snouted seahorse, Hippocampus guttulatus, behaviour and physiology under global warmingPublication . Costa, Ana Beatriz dos Santos Oliveira; Faria, Ana Margarida da SilvaOs oceanos fornecem serviços inestimáveis ao planeta. A libertação de CO2 para a atmosfera desde a Revolução Industrial levou à aceleração das alterações climáticas, aumentando a temperatura da atmosfera e dos oceanos. Para os organismos ectotérmicos, como os peixes, a temperatura é um fator determinante para vários processos comportamentais, fisiológicos, e metabólicos, que são otimizados dentro de uma gama limitada de temperaturas. A compreensão de como o aquecimento dos oceanos terá impacto nestas espécies é, portanto, da maior relevância para fins de gestão e conservação. O objetivo deste trabalho consistiu em avaliar os efeitos do aquecimento no crescimento, taxas de ingestão e comportamento do cavalo-marinho, Hippocampus guttulatus. Os indivíduos foram recolhidos antes da época de reprodução, no estuário do Sado, e expostos durante um período de 8 semanas a três temperaturas diferentes: 17ºC, 20ºC e 24ºC. Três vezes por semana, foram realizadas observações comportamentais. A taxa de ingestão foi contabilizada diariamente e os indivíduos pesados uma vez por semana. Os resultados do presente estudo indicam diferenças nas respostas comportamentais e fisiológicas dos cavalos-marinhos expostos a condições de aquecimento durante um período de longa duração (8 semanas). Em condições de temperatura extrema (24 ºC), os peixes estavam mais ativos, alimentavam-se mais, mas este aumento de energia através da alimentação não se traduziu num aumento de peso. No conjunto, estes dados podem indicar que esta população de cavalos-marinhos pode vir a estar sob stress térmico quando expostos, por um longo período, a condições de aquecimento que se esperam no final do século