Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2024-06"
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- COVID-19 Beliefs Matter : (mis)information about COVID-19 changed the associations between well-being and engagement with sustainable developmentPublication . Pedras, Susana; Faria, Sara; Lopes, Joana Correia; Inman, Richard A.; Paulo, A. S. MoreiraAbstract: The understanding of how individuals’ beliefs, perceptions or (mis)information interact with other processes in shaping individuals’ engagement is of great important in contemporary societies. During the COVID-19 lockdown, adolescents were exposed to a huge amount of information through various channels. The formulated perceptions, beliefs and representations, including about the causes of the COVID-19, influence subjective experiences and functioning. This study aimed to examine the role that adolescents’ perceptions and beliefs about COVID-19 played in the associations among well-being, satisfaction of basic psychological needs, and engagement with sustainable development. In total, 1.649 adolescents (51.2% girls) participated in two waves of data collection (before COVID-19 and during COVID-19 lockdown). The results showed that (1) well-being was positively associated with adolescent engagement with sustainable development, (2) satisfaction of basic psychological needs was also positively associated with engagement with sustainable development, and (3) satisfaction of basic psychological needs mediated the association between well-being and engagement with sustainable development. However, and the most significant result from this study, adolescents’ perceptions of COVID-19 being a consequence of human-environment changed the direction of those associations. These results are consistent with research on misinformation and cognitive biases: in adolescents who had an understanding of COVID-19 as being a natural phenomenon, resulting from human-nature interaction, their engagement with sustainable development was less dependent on their subjective well-being and on their satisfaction of basic psychological needs. These results have important implications research, political and educational practices and for Health-related Communication and Messages.
- Interpreting the perceptions of men and women from 17 nationalities in a Portuguese context : a pretestPublication . Reese, Jonathan; Correia Dos Santos, Ana Sofia; Palma, TomásAbstract: Individuals have the propensity to attribute certain characteristics to nations or regions, and those living within, although the accuracy of this is under debate. In this pretest, Portuguese participants were asked to evaluate men and women from 17 nationalities based on dimensions which might be related to individualistic- or collectivistic-oriented nations – namely perceived masculinity, percentage of gays/lesbians in each group (PGL), and economic status. We predicted conceptualizations of nationality to trump gender triggers, resulting in general evaluations of individuals from each nation in this context-absent scenario. Results revealed strong relationships between men and women from the same nationality, and greater variability among nationalities in the evaluations of male targets, supporting the notion national stereotypes may be more representative of the men from each nation (i.e., androcentrism). Additionally, individualist-oriented nations were found to have higher PGL and economic status ratings when compared to collectivist-oriented nations, but both were perceived as equally masculine. Finally, gross domestic product per capita (GDPpc) of each nation appeared to somewhat act as a function of participants’ judgements. Findings generalize literature to a Portuguese context, providing insight into the manner in which individuals may categorize those from various nationalities.
- Perceived attachment to fathers and mothers and shame in early adolescencePublication . Gerulaitis, Sandra; Azevedo, Jussane; Fernandes, M.; Veríssimo, Manuela; Guedes, MaryseAbstract: Shame results from a set of complex ideas about the self and, when intense and prolonged, may interfere in adolescents’ socioemotional adjustment. Research with young adults found that parent-child attachment was associated with shame. Due to the limited number of studies during adolescence, this study aimed to examine the role of the perceptions of safe haven and secure base in the relationship with the mother and the father in self-reported shame in a sample of adolescents aged 10 to 15 years. A total of 312 adolescents (45% boys) aged, on average, 12 years, recruited from a school of the Metropolitan Lisbon, participated in the study. Participants answered the Portuguese version of the Security Scale Questionnaire (SSQ) and the External and Internal Shame Scale for Adolescents(EVEI-A) to assess perceptions of safe haven and secure base in the relationships with parents and total, internal, and external shame. Higher scores of secure base and safe haven in the relationships with the father and with the mother were associated with self-reports of lower levels of overall, internal, and external shame. The strength of the associations between the scores of safe haven and internal shame tended to be higher for the relationship with the mother than for the relationship with the father. These findings are consistent with research conducted with young adults and highlight the importance of assessing the role of both fathers and mothers as a safe haven and secure base.
- Respect and sympathy in Portuguese preschoolers and middle-school childrenPublication . Costa Martins, Mariana; Cardoso, Evlyne Martins; Pires, E.; Fernandes, M.; Fernandes, C.; Malti, Tina; Veríssimo, ManuelaAbstract: Recent research has revealed theorical and empirical links between respect and socioemotional outcomes such as moral emotions and prosociality, as well as negative associations with aggression. The ability to sympathize, feel concern, and be aware of other’s states has also been hypothesized to influence how children conceptualize respect and evaluate behaviors as worthy of respect. The development of respect derives from the ability to recognize others as individuals with unique needs, feelings, and desires. Similarly, like respect, sympathy has also been associated with more altruistic and kinder interactions. The present study aims to explore the link between these two socioemotional constructs – respect and sympathy – while considering possible cultural nuances. Fifty-three children answered the Respect Interview which delved into their conceptualizations, evaluations, and reasonings behind respect (the concept, expressions, and examples of feeling respect from others), and the Sympathy Scale. Parents also reported on their children’s sympathy and sociodemographic data. A positive effect between sympathy and respect was only partially confirmed. Sympathy revealed a positive effect on prosocial conceptualizations of respect (χ2=3.85, p<.05;b=.90). In contrast, children who used authority themes to define expressions of respect, were less sympathetic [t(51)=-1.86, p<.05]. Sociodemographic differences were considered and discussed when analysing both variables. Our results are in line with previous literature and contribute to knowledge in this field by replicating the study in a different culture and age range.
- Self-esteem and life satisfaction among Brazilian adolescents victimized and bulliesPublication . Nunes, Sandra Adriana Neves; Paulina De Oliveira, Ana Júlia; Palma, TomásAbstract: Bullying is characterized by repeated physical or psychological intimidation, leading to harassment and abuse that can impact the well-being of both victims and perpetrators. This study investigated differences in self-esteem and life satisfaction among students who had been victims or bullies compared to those who had never experienced bullying, either as victims or aggressors. The study involved 194 adolescents, with an average age of 17.46 years (SD=1,26), from the Federal Institute of Science and Technology of Bahia, Brazil. Four scales were used: the Bullying Victimization Scale, Bullying Behavior Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and Global Life Satisfaction Scale. Results indicate that victims of verbal and relational bullying had lower life satisfaction than non-victims. Victims of relational bullying also had lower self-esteem compared to those who had never been victimized. Victims of verbal bullying showed a trend towards lower self-esteem compared to non-victims. Finally, relational bullies had lower life satisfaction than non-bullies. We concluded that bullying adversely affects the subjective well-being of both victims and perpetrators, underscoring the importance of addressing bullying behaviors among adolescents.
- The impact of COVID-19 on the well-being and satisfaction of military students : the role of COVID-19 infection, prophylactic isolation and containment measuresPublication . Pereira, Adelino António Gonçalves; Belindro, Carlos Alberto VenturaAbstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered daily life worldwide and its possible psychological consequences rapidly became a cause for concern. This study intends to analyze if COVID-19 related variables (i.e., infection, prophylactic isolation and satisfaction with the containment measures) have a significant effect on psychological well-being, life satisfaction, organizational commitment and satisfaction with military training of military students. A sample of 395 students was collected during May 2021. Participants answered four scales assessing psychological well-being, satisfaction with life, organizational commitment and satisfaction with military training. The results indicate that students who contracted COVID-19 revealed higher values of environmental mastery. Furthermore, students who agreed with the restrictions imposed by the military organization revealed higher satisfaction with life, environmental mastery, self-acceptance, affective and normative commitment, but also higher satisfaction with their military training. No significant effects were found in the scores of the other variables analyzed. These results show that the satisfaction with the virus containment measures had a significant effect on different psychological dimensions and also on the students’ relationship with the military organization.
- Testing the indirect effects of personality traits on the relationship between work overload and technostressPublication . Carlotto, Mary Sandra; Vieira, Lia Severo; Wendt, Guilherme WelterAbstract: The widespread adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) resulted in a new form of work culture in which boundaries are not clearly established. Technostress – a phenomenon partially caused by excessive technology exposure and usage – is being associated with a myriad of negative effects. However, individual differences, such as personality traits, might influence one’s experience of stress when using ICT. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the indirect effects of personality traits on the relationship between work overload and technostress. A sample of 213 ICT Brazilian workers (Mage=35.53±9.41; 64.8% males) provided information on demographic and labor-related data, as well as measurements of Technostress, Work Overload, and Personality Traits;moreover, based on a coefficient of determination (ρ2=.12), the power achieved was 99%. Adjusted for multiple comparisons, results pointed to moderate, significant links between Fatigue and Neuroticism (ρ=.32), Fatigue and Work Overload (ρ=.37), Anxiety and Work Overload (ρ=.33). Moreover, Conscientiousness exerted an indirect effect on the relationship between Work Overload and the Technostress dimension of Fatigue (95%CI: .001, .06). The study highlights the role of individual differences that might prevent workers’ experiences of technostress, particularly Fatigue.
- Depressive symptoms and self-criticism : the mediating role of self-regulation and the moderating role of non-suicidal self-injuryPublication . Gonçalves, Sónia; Moreira, C. S.; Machado, B. C.; Fernandes, Susana; Silva, JéssicaAbstract: Introduction: Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is common among college students and is best understood as a self-soothing method for dealing with aversive emotional states. Aims: To analyse the pathway that sustains the association between NSSI, depressive symptomatology, emotion dysregulation and self-criticism in college students. Method: Three hundred eighty-five students (85.2% females) between 18 and 35 years old (M=20.71;SD=2.80) were evaluated. Results: In the non-NSSI and past-NSSI groups, higher depression increases self-criticism without impairing emotional regulation, a result that was not observed in the current-NSSI group. Therefore, emotion regulation mediated the relationship between depression and self-criticism, but only for the participants with current NSSI. Discussion: NSSI constitute a public health problem during college years. Overall, depressive symptomatology, emotional dysregulation, and self-criticism seem to contribute to a risk profile for the presence and maintenance of NSSI, thus being important for prevention, identification, and clinical intervention on university campuses.