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Does social–behavioral adjustment mediate the relation between executive function and academic readiness?
Publication . Baptista, Joana; Osório, Ana; Martins, Eva Costa; Veríssimo, Manuela; Martins, Carla
Research shows that executive function and social–behavioral adjustment during the preschool years are both
associated with the successful acquisition of academic readiness abilities. However, studies bringing these constructs
together in one investigation are lacking. This study addresses this gap by testing the extent to which social
and behavioral adjustment mediated the association between executive function and academic readiness.
Sixty-nine 63–76month old children, enrolled in the last semester of the preschool year, participated in the present
study. Tasks were administered to measure executive function and preacademic abilities, and teachers rated
preschoolers' social–behavioral adjustment. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that social–behavioral adaptation
was a significant mediator of the effect of executive function on academic readiness, even after controlling
for maternal education and child verbal ability. These findings extend prior research and suggest that
executive function contributes to early academic achievement by influencing preschoolers' opportunities to be
engaged in optimal social learning activities.
The social anxiety scale for adolescents : measurement invariance and psychometric properties among a school sample of portuguese youths
Publication . Pechorro, Pedro Fernandes dos Santos; Ayala-Nunes, Lara; Nunes, Cristina; Maroco, João; Gonçalves, Rui Abrunhosa
Over the last decades there has been an increased interest in assessing social anxiety in adolescents. This study aims to validate the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A) to Portuguese youth, and to examine its invariance across gender as well as its psychometric properties. The participants were 782 Portuguese youths (371 males, 411 females), with an average age of 15.87 years (SD = 1.72). The results support the original three-factor structure of the SAS-A, with measurement invariance being found across gender, with females scoring higher than males on two subscales. High levels of internal consistency were found. Positive associations with empathy demonstrated that high socially anxious adolescents have elevated empathy tendencies. Mostly null or low negative associations were found with measures of psychopathic traits, callous-unemotional traits and aggression. Study findings provide evidence that the SAS-A is a psychometrically sound instrument that shows measurement invariance between genders, good reliability and positive correlations with empathy.
The social anxiety scale for adolescents : Measurement invariance and psychometric properties among a school sample of portuguese youths
Publication . Pechorro, Pedro Fernandes dos Santos; Ayala-Nunes, Lara; Nunes, Maria Cristina de Oliveira Salgado; Maroco, João; Gonçalves, Rui Abrunhosa
Over the last decades there has been an increased interest in assessing social anxiety in adolescents. This study aims to validate the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A) to Portuguese youth, and to examine its invariance across gender as well as its psychometric properties. The participants were 782 Portuguese youths (371 males, 411 females), with an average age of 15.87 years (SD = 1.72). The results support the original three-factor structure of the SAS-A, with measurement invariance being found across gender, with females scoring higher than males on two subscales. High levels of internal consistency were found. Positive associations with empathy demonstrated that high socially anxious adolescents have elevated empathy tendencies. Mostly null or low negative associations were found with measures of psychopathic traits, callous-unemotional traits and aggression. Study findings provide evidence that the SAS-A is a psychometrically sound instrument that shows measurement invariance between genders, good reliability and positive correlations with empathy.
A brief measure of narcissism among female juvenile delinquents and community youths: The narcissistic personality inventory–13
Publication . Pechorro, Pedro Fernandes dos Santos; Maroco, João; Ray, James V.; Gonçalves, Rui Abrunhosa; Nunes, Maria Cristina de Oliveira Salgado
Research on narcissism has a long tradition, but there is limited knowledge regarding its application among female youth, especially for forensic samples of incarcerated female youth. Drawing on 377 female adolescents (103 selected from forensic settings and 274 selected from school settings) from Portugal, the current study is the first to examine simultaneously the psychometric properties of a brief version of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI-13) among females drawn from incarcerated and community settings. The results support the three-factor structure model of narcissism after the removal of one item due to its low factor loading. Internal consistency, convergent validity, and discriminant validity showed promising results. In terms of criterion-related validity, significant associations were found with criterion-related variables such as age of criminal onset, conduct disorder, crime severity, violent crimes, and alcohol and drug use. The findings provide support for use of the NPI-13 among female juveniles.
Advancing knowledge about lifelong crime sequences
Publication . Basto-Pereira, Miguel; Farrington, David
This article aims to describe the most prevalent, lifelong sequences of crime, to identify developmental
patterns of crime, and to evaluate the impact of childhood characteristics on each pathway.
Convictions up to age 56 in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development are analyzed. The
prevalence of the most frequent sequences of convictions is presented. Optimal matching dissimilarity
and partitioning around medoids analyses are conducted to identify types of sequences. The
most common sequences of convictions involve types of stealing. Four different types of sequences
are identified and are predicted using childhood characteristics. It is concluded that different types
of childhood vulnerabilities predict different types of conviction sequences.
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Funding agency
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Funding programme
5876
Funding Award Number
UID/PSI/01662/2013