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- Loneliness profiles in adolescence: Associations with sex and social adjustment to the peer groupPublication . Ribeiro, Olívia; Freitas, Miguel; Rubin, Kenneth; Santos, António J.Loneliness is a complex feeling associated with socio-emotional adjustment difficulties, particularly during adolescence. Such construct is often treated as unidimensional rather than multidimensional, moreover, studies consisting of both peer and family contexts, are very scarce. Adopting a multidimensional and person-centered approach, our study aimed to identify distinct clusters of adolescents with similar patterns of social and emotional loneliness with peers and family and to examine their differences in peer reported social adjustment, controlling for sex. Self-report and peer nomination data were collected from 691 participants (48.36% boys) aged between 11 and 16 years (M = 12.95, SD = 1.15). After controlling for age and preference for solitude, results revealed four clusters with specific configurations of loneliness forms and with different associations with positive or negative features of social adjustment to peer group. Two clusters exhibited adaptive profiles (lower vulnerability to maladjustment): less-lonely, and family-related loneliness profile, in which adolescents were viewed by peers as exhibiting more prosocial behaviors. The other two clusters displayed maladaptive profiles (higher vulnerability to maladjustment): more-lonely, and peer-related loneliness profile, in which adolescents were more likely viewed by their peers as socially withdrawn, peer-excluded, and peer-victimized. Additionally, our results revealed sex differences, with girls in the more-lonely profile showing significant higher social loneliness related to peer group, and higher social and emotional loneliness in family context. Our results highlight the importance of recognizing different forms of loneliness given the differences in adjustment to social contexts observed, shedding further light on this complex construct
- Multidimensional Factor Structure of the Modified Child Rearing Practices Report Questionnaire (CRPR-Q) in a sample of Portuguese mothers : a bifactor approachPublication . Ribeiro, Olívia; Guedes, Maryse; Veríssimo, Manuela; Rubin, Kenneth; Santos, António J.Abstract: Parental attitudes toward child socialization influence their child-rearing practices, the quality of parent-child relationships, and children’s developmental outcomes. The Modified Child Rearing Practices Questionnaire (CRPR-Q) has been widely used to assess parenting practices across children’s development. However, the few studies investigating its two-factorial structure (nurturance and restrictiveness) have shown inconsistent findings and have not explored measurement invariance across children’s sex and age groups. The aims of this study were to (1) further investigate the factorial structure of the CRPR-Q, by using bifactor solutions (b-confirmatory factor analysis [B-CFA] and b-exploratory structural equation modeling [B-ESEM]) and (2) examine the measurement invariance of CRPR-Q across children’s sex and age groups. A community sample of 589 Portuguese mothers of children aged 3 to 15 years completed the CRPR-Q. Our findings revealed that the B-ESEM model best fit the data. A clear differentiation between the two a priori factors (nurturance and restrictiveness) was found. However, our findings suggest the need to control for content specificity and rely on a broader perspective regarding the nurturance factor. Measurement invariance was observed across children’s sex but not across children’s age groups. These findings contribute to a more in-depth understanding of the underlying relationships among the CRPR-Q items.
- USA and portuguese young adolescents’ perceived qualities and satisfaction in their relationships with mothers, fathers and best-friendsPublication . Guedes, Maryse; Ribeiro, Olívia; Freitas, Miguel; Rubin, Kenneth; Santos, António J.Abstract: Background: Few researchers have examined young adolescents’ perceived qualities and satisfaction in their relationships with their mothers, fathers and best friends simultaneously, using a cross-cultural perspective. This study aimed to compare the perceived qualities and satisfaction of USA and Portuguese adolescents in their relationships with their parents and best friends and to examine the influence of perceived relationship qualities on the satisfaction of young adolescents with their close relationships. Methods: The sample consisted of 347 USA adolescents (170 boys, 177 girls) and 360 Portuguese adolescents (176 boys, 184 girls) who completed the Network of Relationships Inventory Social Provision Version to assess perceived support, negativity, power balance and satisfaction in their relationships with their mothers, fathers and same-sex best friends. Results: Adolescents from both countries perceived their relationships with parents to be more negative and imbalanced in power than their relationships with friends, but the magnitude of differences was greater in the USA. Furthermore, USA adolescents reported higher satisfaction in their relationships with friends than in their relationships with parents. Country differences in the concomitants of relationship satisfaction were found. Conclusions: These findings support the notion that young adolescents’ perceived qualities and satisfaction in close relationships may differ depending on cultural norms
- Preliminary perceived intervention changes and engagement in an evidence-based program targeted at behavioral inhibition during early childhood, delivered in-person and onlinePublication . Guedes, Maryse; Maia, Rita; Matos, Inês; Antunes, Marta; Rolão, Teresa; Chronis-Tuscano, Andrea; Rubin, Kenneth; Veríssimo, Manuela; Santos, Antonio JoséIntroduction: Behavioral inhibition during early childhood is one of the strongest risk factors for the development of later anxiety disorders. Recently developed in- person interventions that target both young children who are highly inhibited and their parents (e.g., the Turtle Program), have decreased children’s anxiety and have increased social participation in the peer group. However, researchers have yet to examine the eects of intervention mode of delivery. In the present study, we compared the pre-to post-intervention changes in child and parenting functioning of families participating in the Turtle Program, delivered in-person and online with those changes made in families allocated to a waiting-list condition; compared session attendance, homework completion and satisfaction with the intervention outcomes of families involved in the Turtle Program, delivered in-person and online; and explored the predictive role of parenting and child factors in session attendance, homework completion and satisfaction with the outcomes of families involved in the Turtle Program, depending on the mode of delivery (in-person vs. online). Method: Fifty-seven parents of highly inhibited preschoolers (3–5 years), with no diagnosis of selective mutism or developmental disorders, who were randomly allocated to waiting-list (n = 20), Turtle Program delivered in-person (n = 17) and online (n = 20) conditions completed the Portuguese versions of the Behavioral Inhibition Questionnaire, the Preschool Anxiety Scale, the Social Behavior and Competence Scale, the Modified Child-Rearing Practices Questionnaire at pre- and post-intervention assessment. Parents also completed the Preschool Shyness Study Satisfaction Survey at post-intervention assessment. Results: Independent of intervention mode of delivery, generalized equation estimates revealed a reduction in children’s total anxiety symptoms and an improvement in parental nurturing behaviors. Child anxiety and social competence at pre-assessment were the most prominent predictors of session attendance and satisfaction with post-intervention child and parenting outcomes. Discussion: Overall, this study showed that parents in both intervention conditions perceived comparable positive changes in child functioning from pre- to post- intervention assessment and similar levels of session attendance, homework completion, and satisfaction. Significantly, however, perceived satisfaction with post-intervention child and parenting outcomes was higher, when children were reported to display higher SEL skills at baseline, independent of the intervention mode of delivery.
- Perceptions of Portuguese parents about the acceptability of a multicomponent intervention targeted at behavioral inhibition during early childhoodPublication . Guedes, Maryse; Matos, Inês; Almeida, Telma; Freitas, Miguel; Alves, Stephanie; José dos Santos, António; Verissimo, Manuela; Chronis-Tuscano, Andrea; Rubin, KennethHigh and stable behavioral inhibition during early childhood is a risk factor for later anxiety disorders. The few available interventions targeted at behavioral inhibition have not yet been implemented in European countries. Evaluating intervention acceptability is essential when introducing interventions in new cultures. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of parents about the acceptability of the multicomponent Turtle Program in Portugal. Participants were 12 parents (from seven families) of children with a positive screening on the Behavioral Inhibition Questionnaire and no diagnoses of developmental disorders/selective mutism. Children's mean age was 55.86 months and most children were female and first-born. Parents and children participated in the eight-sessions Turtle Program. After each session, parents completed weekly satisfaction checklists. Following completion of the full intervention, parents were invited to participate in individual qualitative in-depth interviews. The thematic analysis revealed that both parents perceived the intervention objectives and contents as relevant. Both parents suggested the introduction of follow-up sessions, the discussion of practical experiences, the need to be sensitive to cultural differences in positive language, and the provision of more feedback about children's activities. These findings support prior research on the acceptability and cultural tailoring needed for parenting and child socioemotional learning interventions.
- Distinct profiles of relationships with mothers, fathers, and best friends and social‐behavioral functioning in early adolescence: A cross‐cultural studyPublication . Oh, Wonjung; Bowker, Julie C; Santos, António J.; Ribeiro, Olívia; de Melo Guedes, Maryse; Freitas, Miguel; Kim, Hyoun K.; Song, Seowon; Rubin, KennethAdolescents’ dyadic relationships are likely influenced by the cultural context within which they exist. This study applied a person-oriented approach to examine how perceived support and negativity were manifested across youths’ relationships with mothers, fathers, and best friends, simultaneously, and how distinct relationship profiles were linked to adaptive and maladaptive functioning (aggression, anxious-withdrawal, prosociality) within and across cultures. Participants resided in metropolitan areas of South Korea, the United States, and Portugal (10–14 years; N = 1,233). Latent profile analyses identified relationship profiles that were culturally common or specific. Additional findings highlighted commonality in the relations between a high-quality relationship profile and adaptive functioning, as well as cultural specificity in the buffering and differential effects of distinct relationship profiles on social-behavioral outcomes.
- Perceções das famílias portuguesas acerca do impacto da participação no turtle programPublication . Guedes, Maryse; Matos, Inês; Almeida, Telma Sousa; Freitas, Miguel; Alves, Stephanie; Santos, António J.; Verissimo, Manuela; Chronis-Tuscano, Andrea; Rubin, Kenneth
- Loneliness and social functioning in adolescent peer victimizationPublication . Almeida, Telma Sousa; Ribeiro, Olívia; Freitas, Miguel; Rubin, Kenneth; Santos, António J.Interpersonal adversity such as peer victimization has been shown to have complex associations with other socio-emotional difficulties, particularly during adolescence. We used a multidimensional peer nomination measure on a sample of 440 (52% girls) 11- to 17-year-old (M = 13.14 years, SD = 1.26) Portuguese youths to identify three groups, classified by peers as (1) victimized adolescents who showed anxious withdrawn behaviors in the context of the peer group (n = 111), (2) victimized adolescents who did not exhibit anxious withdrawn behaviors (n = 104), and (3) non-victimized adolescents (n = 225). We compared these groups on their peer-reported social functioning and on their self-reported feelings of social and emotional loneliness (with peers and family). Anxiously withdrawn victims were viewed by peers as more excluded, less aggressive, less prosocial, and less popular than non-withdrawn victims and non-victims. Non-anxiously withdrawn victims were considered more excluded than non-victims, and more aggressive than both anxiously withdrawn victims and non-victims. Finally, anxiously withdrawn victims reported feeling less integrated and intimate with their peers than non-withdrawn victims and non-victims, which is indicative of greater feelings of social and emotional loneliness at school. Youths in the current study did not report feeling lonely in their family environment. Our findings thus provide further evidence that victimized youths constitute a heterogeneous group, which differ in the way they behave toward their peers and experience loneliness.