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- Representations of depression and schizophrenia in the community: The role of illness and risk perceptions on help-seeking intentionsPublication . Neto, David Dias; Figueiras, Maria Joao; Sebastião, RitaObjective: Illness perceptions (IPs) are important in understanding human reactions to illnesses, including mental health disorders. They influence risk perceptions and several variables relevant to the adjustment to a disorder, treatment seeking, and health outcomes. This study sought to compare IP, risk perception, and help-seeking intention for depression and schizophrenia in a community sample and to assess the mediating role of risk perception in the relationship between IP and help-seeking intention. Materials and methods: A total of 380 adults participated in this study and filled out self-report measures of IPs, risk perceptions, and help-seeking intention. The previous diagnosis of depression was used to control the comparisons between the two disorders. A structural equation model (SEM) was used to test the mediation relationship. Results: Perceived consequences, expected timeline, lack of personal control, and symptom identity were higher for schizophrenia, while lack of treatment control and concern were higher for depression. An interaction occurred with a previous diagnosis of depression for several dimensions of IP. Concerning the SEM, a valid model was obtained for depression, explaining 15.5% of helpseeking intentions, but not for schizophrenia. Conclusion: The results show that the general population represents depression and schizophrenia differently. These representations are influenced by having experienced depression, and that illness and risk perceptions contribute to explaining the intention to seek help. Considering these illness representations makes it possible to understand the general population’s emotional and cognitive reactions to mental health disorders.
- Understanding differential stress and mental health reactions to COVID-19 related eventsPublication . Sebastião, Rita; Neto, David Dias; Costa, VascoThe effects of the pandemic on mental health can be studied through different variables, such as the number of COVID-19 stressors, the stressor types, and the stress responses. Understanding the sources of mental strain is crucial for developing effective interventions. The present study analyzed the relationship between these COVID-19-related variables and positive and negative mental health. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 666 individuals from the Portuguese general population, mostly females (65.5%) between 16–93 years old. They completed self-report measures regarding the number of COVID-19 stressors, the stressor types, the stress responses (IES-R), and positive (MHC-SF) and negative mental health (BSI-18). The results demonstrated that a higher number of COVID-19-experienced stressors and more stress responses were related to worse mental health. Regarding stressor types, experiences not related to the COVID-19 infection (e.g., tension at home) presented the largest effects on mental health. The strongest predictor was the stress responses for negative (β = 0.50) and positive mental health (β = −0.17). The predictors explained more about negative mental health than positive. These findings support the idea that individual appraisals play a crucial role in mental health.
- Corrigendum: Representations of depression and schizophrenia in the community: The role of illness and risk perceptions on help-seeking intentionsPublication . Dias Neto, David; Figueiras, Maria Joao; Sebastião, RitaObjective: Illness perceptions (IPs) are important in understanding human reactions to illnesses, including mental health disorders. They influence risk perceptions and several variables relevant to the adjustment to a disorder, treatment seeking, and health outcomes. This study sought to compare IP, risk perception, and help-seeking intention for depression and schizophrenia in a community sample and to assess the mediating role of risk perception in the relationship between IP and help-seeking intention. Materials and methods: A total of 380 adults participated in this study and filled out self-report measures of IPs, risk perceptions, and help-seeking intention. The previous diagnosis of depression was used to control the comparisons between the two disorders. A structural equation model (SEM) was used to test the mediation relationship. Results: Perceived consequences, expected timeline, lack of personal control, and symptom identity were higher for schizophrenia, while lack of treatment control and concern were higher for depression. An interaction occurred with a previous diagnosis of depression for several dimensions of IP. Concerning the SEM, a valid model was obtained for depression, explaining 15.5% of help-seeking intentions, but not for schizophrenia. Conclusion: The results show that the general population represents depression and schizophrenia differently. These representations are influenced by having experienced depression, and that illness and risk perceptions contribute to explaining the intention to seek help. Considering these illness representations makes it possible to understand the general population’s emotional and cognitive reactions to mental health disorders.
- Recalled parental emotion socialisation and psychological distress: The role of emotional schemasPublication . Sebastião, Rita; Neto, David Dias; Nunes da Silva, AnaRecalled parental emotion socialisation has been associated with psychological distress in adulthood. Since emotional schemas develop from interpersonal interaction and can result in pathological reactions, they can be an important mechanism. The present study analyses the mediator role of emotional schemas in the relationship between recalled parental emotion socialisation and psychological distress. A community sample of 246 Portuguese adults, between 18 and 73 years old (M = 34.3, SD = 13.32), completed the following self-report measures: Emotional (In)Validation Experiences Scale; Leahy Emotional Schema Scale; and Brief Symptom Inventory 18. Two mediation models were estimated, one for each parent. Emotional schemas mediated the relationship between recalled parental emotion socialisation and psychological distress. Negative evaluation of emotion was the strongest mediator in the relationship between emotional invalidation and psychological distress while difficulties in reappraisal was the strongest mediator in the relationship between emotional validation and psychological distress. Differences were observed between the mother’s and father’s models. Results highlight the importance of emotional schemas in understanding the role of parental emotion socialisation in psychological distress, which may have important implications for intervention and prevention.
- Longitudinal association of stress with mental health in the context of COVID‐19: The mediating role of psychological flexibility and emotional schemasPublication . Sebastião, Rita; Neto, David DiasStress is a known contributor to psychosocial pathologi-cal conditions and reduction of well-being. The literaturehas highlighted the role of emotional schemas and psy-chological flexibility as psychological processes underly-ing this relationship in the short term. This two-wavelongitudinal study analyses the mediating role of psycho-logical flexibility and emotional schemas in the relation-ship between stress responses to COVID-19-relatedevents and mental health 6 months later. Two hundredand seventy-six individuals were included in this study,completing measures of stress responses, emotionalschemas, psychological flexibility and positive and nega-tive mental health. Negative evaluation of emotions wasa significant mediator in the longitudinal relationshipbetween stress responses and negative mental health.Valued action and openness to experience mediate thelongitudinal relationship between stress responses andpositive mental health. This study underscores theimportance of the different dimensions of psychologicalprocesses, suggesting that over time, more maladaptivepsychological processes play a significant role in eluci-dating the relationship between stress responses and negative mental health. Similarly, it suggests that moreadaptive processes may help explain the relationshipbetween stress responses and positive mental health.This contributes to a better understanding of the stabilityof these processes, which is important for determiningwhich intervention targets should be prioritised
- The psychological impact of COVID-19 in the general population: A review and reflection in Portuguese Speaking CountriesPublication . Sebastião, Rita; Costa, Vasco; Neto, David DiasDespite being a global condition, the COVID-19 pandemic, has differential impacts, expressed in different number of cases, deaths, information, political and cultural issues. We review and summarized the literature related to the pandemic of COVID-19 in Portuguese speaking countries. The goal of our review was: 1) summarize the research that reported the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic disorder, and other indicators of psychological impact in the general population from Portuguese speaking countries, in specific Portugal and Brazil; 2) focus on the COVID-19 related experiences that can be associated with psychological issues; 3) reflect on risk and protective factors that may be associated with psychological distress; and 4) present some reflections about psychological processes that can explain the association between the pandemic and mental health.
- Stress and mental health: The role of emotional schemas and psychological flexibility in the context of COVID-19Publication . Sebastião, Rita; Neto, David DiasStress has been associated with mental health. During the COVID-19 pandemic, stress responses were identified as an important factor affecting mental health. However, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. Following a process-based approach, emotional schemas and psychological flexibility seem to be promising processes for understanding these impacts. The present study aims to evaluate the role of two potential processes – emotional schemas and psychological flexibility – in the relationship between stress responses and (positive and negative) mental health. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 583 individuals from the Portuguese population (M age = 44.8, 64.3% females). They completed measures of stress responses, emotional schemas, psychological flexibility, positive and negative mental health. The results demonstrated that emotional schemas and psychological flexibility significantly mediate the relationship between stress responses and mental health. Our findings highlight the importance of attending to emotional schemas and psychological flexibility within stressful contexts. Furthermore, it stresses the need to develop individualised intervention programs that target emotional schemas and psychological flexibility to promote and protect mental health, ultimately decreasing symptoms and increasing well-being.