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Browsing by Author "Nunes, Lara Ayala"

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  • Coping and social support as moderators: relationship between financial threat and negative psychological outcomes
    Publication . Viseu, João; Jesus, Saúl; Leal, Ana Rita Cavaco; Pinto, Patrícia; Nunes, Lara Ayala; Matavelli, Rafaela
    Between 2011 and 2014 Portugal faced an economic crisis. During a crisis, individuals develop threat perceptions regarding their financial situation. When individuals perceive that their financial situation worsens, negative psychological outcomes emerge. The present study assessed the relationship between financial threat and three negative psychological outcomes (stress, anxiety, and depression), and tested the moderating role of proactive coping and social support, individually and combined, on this relationship. The moderating role of sociodemographic variables (age, gender, marital status, and professional situation) was also considered. A sample of 729 participants, 33.9% males and 66.1% females, was collected online between March–June 2013. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the obtained data. Financial threat was positively and significantly associated with stress, anxiety, and depression. Proactive coping moderated the relationship between financial threat and depression. Social support, individually and combined with proactive coping, did not moderate the relationship between financial threat and any of the negative psychological outcomes. Age moderated the relationship between financial threat and stress. The main implications of this study are presented, as well as its limitations and suggestions for future works.
    2019Journal article Restricted access Show more
  • Social support and parenting stress in at-risk Portuguese families
    Publication . Nunes, Lara Ayala; Nunes, C.; Lemos, Ida
    A Summary: Families that are at psychosocial risk live under personal and contextual circumstances that hinder their parenting skills. They frequently lack the resources necessary for addressing the challenges of parenting and encounter multiple stressful life events. Social support may help diminish the parenting stress that is experienced from living in a disadvantaged environment by enhancing coping strategies. However, previous research examining the associations between parenting stress and social support among at-risk families has been inconclusive. This study analyzed the psychosocial profile of at-risk Portuguese families, the size and composition of their social support networks and the associations between social support and parenting stress. Participants consisted of 167 parents (80% mothers) who received assistance from Child Protection Services. Measures included the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, the Arizona Social Support Interview Schedule and a socio-demographic questionnaire. Findings: Parenting stress levels were extremely high, with 44.51% of parents showing clinically significant levels. Emotional support was the type of support that was most closely related to parental distress, namely the network size available for providing emotional support (r=-.27, p=.000) and satisfaction with the emotional support received (r=-.24, p=.006). Applications: The size of the emotional support network was significantly smaller among parents who reported clinically significant levels of parenting stress. Hence, having the opportunity to express feelings and concerns as well as engaging in social interactions during leisure time may serve as protective factors against parental stress in at-risk families. Implications of for the interventions of professionals who work with at-risk families are discussed.
    2017-03Journal article Restricted access Show more
  • Stresse, competências percebidas e aliança parental em mães de famílias multiproblemáticas
    Publication . Nunes, Lara Ayala; Lemos, Ida
    Os pais que, no exercício das suas funções parentais, sofrem de elevados níveis de stresse, se percebem como pouco eficazes e têm uma fraca aliança com o seu parceiro tendem a adoptar práticas com efeitos adversos sobre o desenvolvimento infantil. As famílias multiproblemáticas têm de enfrentar várias adversidades que comprometem a sua capacidade de exercer uma parentalidade adequada e são um grupo social pouco estudado em Portugal. Neste trabalho estudámos o stresse parental, as competências parentais percebidas e a aliança parental de mães de famílias multiproblemáticas, a forma como se associam entre si e com diversas características sócio-demográficas. Finalmente explorámos os preditores do stresse parental. Foram entrevistadas 80 mães de famílias algarvias em risco psicossocial. Para avaliar as dimensões em estudo utilizámos a versão reduzida do Parenting Stress Index (Abidin, 1995), o Parenting Alliance Inventory (Abidin & Brunner, 1995), o Parental Sense of Competence (Johnston & Mash, 1989) e um questionário de dados sócio-demográficos e familiares (Nunes, Lemos, Costa, Nunes, & Almeida, 2011). Os resultados mostraram a existência de níveis clínicos de stresse parental em 55% das mães. Observámos que o stresse parental estava negativamente relacionado com as competências parentais percebidas e que estas estavam positivamente associadas à aliança parental. As mães desempregadas e com filhos adolescentes sentiam-se menos competentes e menos satisfeitas na tarefa de educar os seus filhos e sofriam mais stresse parental. As mães com mais filhos e com famílias instáveis apresentaram níveis significativamente inferiores de aliança parental. Finalmente, o trabalho materno e a satisfação com a maternidade foram as variáveis mais robustas para explicar o stresse parental.
    2011Master thesis Restricted access Show more