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  • An international study of pro/antisocial behavior in young adults
    Publication . Basto-Pereira, Miguel; Garcia, Inês Queiroz; Maciel, Laura; Leal, Isabel Maria Pereira; Pereira, Maria Gouveia
    This article presents an international study of pro/antisocial behavior in young adults (SOCIALDEVIANCE1820). This is an ongoing cross-continental longitudinal research project that includes data and researchers from multiple countries across five continents. It aims to explore the intercultural universality of the risk and protective factors associated with pro/antisocial behavior and psychosocial adjustment during early adulthood. Researchers from all countries involved have already translated their questionnaires, selected an appropriate team, and started the data collection process. It is expected that this intercontinental longitudinal research project will have a tremendous social and scientific impact; this study will allow researchers to overcome many limitations of previous meta-analyses, such as limiting the applicability of data to developed countries and the bias caused by combining different assessment methods. Challenges in implementing cross-national studies, and the importance of this type of study to global policies, are discussed.
  • Teachers' legitimacy: Effects of justice perception and social comparison processes
    Publication . Pereira, Maria Gouveia; Vala, Jorge; Correia, Isabel
    Background. Teachers’ legitimacy is central to school functioning. Teachers’ justice, whether distributive or procedural, predicts teachers’ legitimacy. Aims. What is still do be found, and constitutes the goal of this paper, is whether unjust treatment by a teacher affects the legitimacy of the teacher differently when the student knows that the teacher was fair to a peer (comparative judgement) or when the student does not have that information (autonomous judgement). Samples. A total of 79 high school students participated in Study 1; 75 high school students participated in Study 2. Methods. Two experimental studies with a 2 justice valence (just, unjust) 9 2 social comparison processes (autonomous judgements, comparative judgements) betweenparticipants design were conducted. Study 1 addressed distributive justice and Study 2 addressed procedural justice. The dependent variable was teachers’ legitimacy. Results. In both studies, situations perceived as just led to higher teachers’ legitimacy than situations perceived as unjust. For the distributive injustice conditions, teachers’ legitimacy was equally lower for autonomous judgement and comparative judgement conditions. For procedural injustice, teachers’ legitimacy was lower when the peer was treated justly and the participant was treated unfairly, compared with the condition when the participants did not know how the teacher treated the peer. Conclusions. We conclude that teachers’ injustice affects teachers’ legitimacy, but it does it differently according to the social comparisons involved and the type of justice involved. Moreover, these results highlight that social comparisons are an important psychological process and, therefore, they should be taken into account in models of justice.
  • Impulsivity mediates the relationship between future orientation and juvenile deviancy
    Publication . Pereira, Maria Gouveia; Gomes, Hugo Miguel dos Santos; Silva, Filipa Maria Roncon de Vilhena e; Mendonça, Rita Duarte
    Both future orientation and impulsivity are intrinsic parts of an adolescent’s self-control, and empirical evidence clearly establishes them as crucial features on the origin of juvenile deviant behavior. However, we do not yet fully understand how these variables relate in explaining deviant conduct. In the present study, we tested a mediation model between these variables among 126 Portuguese adolescents. Findings support the mediation model in analysis, namely that impulsivity fully mediates the effect of future orientation on deviant behavior. In conclusion, our results suggest that lesser future orientated youth develop impulsive behavior which, in turn, explains their higher deviant conduct.
  • A life course approach on older portuguese gay and bisexual people: The multifactorial development of sexual identity
    Publication . Ribeiro-Gonçalves, José Alberto; Pereira, Maria Gouveia; Carvalho, R. G.; Costa, Pedro Alexandre; Leal, I.
    Research shows that successful development of sexual identity is essential for healthy and well-adjusted ageing. Gay and bisexual (GB) older people have experienced cumulative events throughout their lives that may have affected the development of their identity. In addition, the few previous studies show an alarming lack of community connectedness among older GB people in Portugal. This study assessed the factors that have contributed to the development of sexual identity in Portuguese GB older adults throughout their lives, using an inductive qualitative cross-sectional approach based on Life Course Theory. Twenty-two semi-structured interviews were carried out with older (60+ years) GB people living in the community and using the lifeline technique. The interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis with a codebook approach. Results suggest a multifactorial contribution of factors throughout the life cycle that have affected the development of GB older people’s sexual identity. These include historical–cultural factors (e.g., sexual repression and traditionalism of the dictatorship), psychosocial factors (e.g., cumulative sexual stigma), relational factors (e.g., relational clandestinity) and intrapersonal factors (e.g., concealment of sexual orientation). The existence of the Internalized Sexual Minority Disconnectedness phenomenon and its contribution to the formation of the sexual identity of older GB adults were also verified. These results reveal important clues about the development of older GB people in Portugal and the factors that may be affecting the current invisibility of these people in the social and health-related context. Relevant implications for the clinical context are also discussed.
  • Development and Factorial Validation of the Inventory of Deliberate Self-Harm Behaviours for Portuguese Adolescents
    Publication . Duarte, Eva; Pereira, Maria Gouveia; Gomes, Hugo S.
    Deliberate self-harm (DSH) is a public health problem that mainly affects adolescents and young adults. Evidence suggests that multiple methods are used with a self-aggressive intent. The present article focuses on the development and factorial validation of the Inventory of Deliberate Self-harm Behaviours for Portuguese adolescents. This instrument assesses the lifetime frequency of 13 DSH methods, with and without suicidal intent. Study 1 consisted of an exploratory factor analysis with a sample of 131 adolescents with a reported history of DSH. Results revealed a three-factor structure with acceptable internal consistency: High Severity DSH, Mild Severity DSH, and Substance Use DSH. After item reduction, this structure was tested in Study 2 through a confirmatory factor analysis with an independent sample of 109 adolescents also with a history of DSH. Results showed an acceptable model fit. This instrument presents a solid structure and acceptable psychometric properties, allowing its use in further research.
  • Normas de desejabilidade e unicamente humano de características de moralidade
    Publication . Henriques, Patrícia; Pereira, Maria Gouveia; Miranda, Mariana Pires
    Este artigo teve como objectivo pré-testar um conjunto de características associadas à dimensão moralidade. Neste sentido, foram avaliadas 102 características associadas a esta dimensão, em duas dimensões de avaliação, desejabilidade e unicamente humano, por uma amostra de 106 estudantes universitários. As médias, as medianas, os desvios-padrão, os desvios médios da mediana, os intervalos de confiança de 95% são apresentados para cada característica em cada uma das dimensões de avaliação, assim como a indicação da uni ou bi-modalidade de cada distribuição. Os resultados permitem a selecção das características por desejabilidade ou por distribuição na dimensão unicamente humano. Foi possível verificar uma mais estreita e menos simétrica distribuição das características de moralidade na dimensão humanidade, ao contrário do que acontece na dimensão desejabilidade.
  • Coesão e flexibilidade familiar : Validação do pacote FACES IV junto de adolescentes portugueses
    Publication . Gouveia Pereira, M.; Gomes, Hugo; Miranda, Mariana; Candeias, Maria de Jesus
    A Escala de Avaliação da Coesão e Flexibilidade Familiar, desenvolvida no âmbito do estudo do Modelo Circumplexo dos Sistemas Conjugais e Familiares, permite avaliar o funcionamento familiar através de um diagnóstico relacional. Este instrumento está subdividido em seis subescalas que permitem uma avaliação dos níveis equilibrados e disfuncionais (extremamente baixos e extremamente elevados) das dimensões de coesão e flexibilidade familiar. O Pacote FACES IV inclui ainda dois questionários que permitem a avaliação da comunicação e satisfação familiar. O presente artigo analisa as propriedades psicométricas dos instrumentos incluídos no Pacote FACES IV junto de uma amostra de adolescentes portugueses em dois estudos. No primeiro estudo, incluímos um grupo comunitário de 757 estudantes e um grupo clínico de 67 adolescentes que recorrem a consultas psiquiátricas. Os resultados deste estudo revelaram um modelo fatorial de 24 itens com qualidades psicométricas satisfatórias, permitindo concluir um ajustamento aceitável à nossa amostra. No segundo estudo, a solução fatorial obtida no estudo anterior foi replicada junto de uma amostra independente de 707 jovens estudantes. Os resultados desta validação apresentam o FACES IV como um instrumento útil para o diagnóstico familiar junto de adolescentes portugueses.
  • Adolescents’ perceptions about non-suicidal self-injury, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts
    Publication . Duarte, Eva; Silva, Sofia; Pereira, Maria
    Introduction: Non-suicidal self-injury, suicidal thoughts and behaviors present high prevalence rates in adolescence. Aims: This study aimed to describe adolescents’ perceptions about these phenomena, and to analyze and compare the differences of these perceptions among adolescents with and without a history of non-suicidal selfinjury, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. Methods: The convenience sample consisted of 452 adolescents in ages between 12 and 18 (M(SD) = 15.59(1.50), 48% male and 52% female. For data collection, the Free Association Test was used in a survey, and data was analyzed through content analysis. Results: Results showed that 10.8% of the participants presented a history of non-suicidal self-injury, 19.9% suicidal ideation, and 2.7% suicide attempts. Perceptions were grouped into eight dimensions: Consumption of Psychoactive Substances; Death/Suicide; Interpersonal Factors; Intrapersonal Factors; Moral Judgments; Negative Emotions; Psychological Functions; and Self-Injurious Methods. Further analysis revealed that adolescents with and without a history of non-suicidal self-injury, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts presented differences in their perceptions of these phenomena. Conclusions: These findings contribute to the understanding regarding the perceptions of adolescents about these phenomena and might have implications regarding their prevention and intervention.
  • Unpacking the contribution of deliberate self-harm diversity to suicide risk among adolescents
    Publication . Fuschini, Beatriz; Basto-Pereira, Miguel; Duarte, Eva; Pereira, Maria
    Suicidality is a multifaceted phenomenon affected by several multisystemic vulnerabilities, including demographic, psychopathological, and family factors. However, few studies have explored the contribution of specific features of deliberate self-harm (DSH) to suicide risk, particularly DSH diversity, while also accounting for other relevant explanatory family and mental health dimensions. The main goal of this study was to examine if DSH diversity predicts the risk for suicide in adolescents in the presence of sociodemographics, depressive symptoms, and family relationship characteristics. This study consisted of 437 Portuguese adolescents (53.8% male, 42.8% female, 3.4% non-binary; Mage= 15.2, SD = 1.87), of which 220 confirmed having a lifetime history of DSH. The participants completed a self-report questionnaire measuring depressive symptomatology, interparental conflicts, family communication, DSH, and suicidal ideation. A logistic regression analysis was conducted. Our multivariate model revealed that depressive symptoms, family communication, and DSH diversity are predictors of suicide risk in adolescents. The strongest predictor was depressive symptoms. The analyses indicated that our global model has excellent predictive validity to discriminate between those with and without suicide risk, and the inclusion of DSH diversity enhances the identification of these vulnerable youth. In addition, our results suggest that non-binary gender adolescents are particularly at risk. The set of characteristics we found that predict suicide risk highlights the multisystemic nature of this phenomenon: individual/ psychopathological and relational dimensions. We also underscore the need to be vigilant of adolescents’ number of used DSH behaviors. Our findings provide valuable information for developing multisystemic targeted interventions aimed at preventing and reducing suicide risk among adolescents.
  • Efeitos individuais e familiares em crimes : abuso sexual, violência conjugal e homicídio
    Publication . Lopes, Rita Freire; Pereira, Maria Gouveia
    Resumo: Entre as diversas explicações sobre o crime e a delinquência a família ocupa um lugar de eleição. Para além da literatura demonstrar que a família assume um papel crucial, existem outros autores que nos dão conhecimento da Teoria Geral do Crime, que pretende explicar que o autocontrolo é a variável central na delinquência e no comportamento criminal em geral. Ainda, outros investigadores evidenciam também que a falta de aprendizagem de um repertório emocional adequado, nomeadamente a inteligência emocional, pode estar associada à origem do comportamento criminal. Assim, este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar se existem diferenças ao nível do funcionamento familiar (rácio total, coesão, flexibilidade e comunicação), do autocontrolo e da inteligência emocional em função de três crimes: abuso sexual, violência conjugal e homicídio. Participaram 92 sujeitos, reclusos, do sexo masculino, com idades compreendidas entre os 20 e os 73 anos de idade. Os resultados mostram que os participantes, independentemente do tipo de crime, têm uma perceção semelhante sobre o funcionamento familiar, ou seja, não existem diferenças ao nível da coesão e da flexibilidade. Contudo, no que se refere à comunicação na família, os abusadores sexuais apresentam indicadores comunicativos inferiores. Relativamente à expressão emocional e à capacidade para lidar com as emoções também foram os abusadores sexuais que apresentaram maiores défices emocionais. Foram igualmente os abusadores sexuais que apresentaram maiores níveis de autocontrolo. Limitações e implicações práticas e teóricas deste estudo são discutidas com base na literatura.