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- Confirmatory analysis of the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) short form in a portuguese samplePublication . Martins, Cátia; Ayala Nunes, Lara; Nunes, Cristina; Pechorro, Pedro; Costa, Emília; Matos, FilomenaAn important research field in family studies relates to the role parenting practices can have on several domains of children's development. Regarding to parenting styles, it was Baumrind's conceptualization that was responsible for a relevant research boost in this area. She proposed a model contemplating three different styles: authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive. The aim of our study was to examine the factor structure, internal consistency and others psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ). The participants were 424 parents (mainly mothers, 81.2%) from Algarve (South of Portugal), that answered to PSDQ and a sociodemographic questionnaire. The instrument comprises 32 items: 12 questions regarding the authoritative style, 15 questions regarding the authoritarian style, and 5 questions regarding the permissive style. Several competing models (i.e., one and three-factorial, and another where latent variables were organized in a 1st and 2nd order factors) were tested in regards to PSDQ factor structure using confirmatory factor analysis. A fourth model, contemplating inter-correlations between item 7 and 8 was also proposed, which showed adequate fit and internal consistency. These findings support the PSDQ original structure. Implications concerning the use and contributes to social and emotional child' adjustment are discussed.
- Parents' perceived social support and children's psychological adjustmentPublication . Nunes, Cristina; Martins, Cátia; Nunes, Lara; Adelaide de Matos, Filomena; Costa, Emília Isabel; Gonçalves, AndreaPerceived social support has often been investigated due to its direct and indirect effects in reducing the impact of several risk factors on physical and psychological well-being. Moreover, many studies have revealed a link between social support and positive parenting, which in turn has an impact on children's well-being. In Portugal, there is a significant lack of studies in this area. The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between parents' perceived social support and children's psychological adjustment. The sample consisted of 409 parents (83.13% mothers) living in the region of Algarve (South of Portugal). The Duke-UNC Functional Social Support and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires were used. Findings The results showed that, on average, families had a social support network of nine people, with a balanced presence of family (M = 4.25, SD = 3.54) and friends (M = 4.36, SD = 3.17). Parents reported medium-high levels of confidant and affective support, but instrumental support was lower. However, single-parent families, immigrant families, and divorced parents were found to be more socially isolated and received less support than they needed. Affective social support showed predictive value for child psychological adjustment. Applications These findings suggest that developing universal and selective parental education and support programs that focus on strengthening informal social support networks is needed, especially for vulnerable families. Implications for social workers who intervene with families are discussed.
- The Social anxiety scale for adolescents: Measurement invariance and psychometric properties among a school sample of portuguese youthsPublication . Pechorro, Pedro; Ayala-Nunes, Lara; Nunes, Cristina; Maroco, João; Gonçalves, Rui AbrunhosaOver 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 barratt impulsiveness scale-11 among a school sample of portuguese male and female adolescentsPublication . Pechorro, Pedro; Ayala-Nunes, Lara; Ray, James V.; Nunes, Cristina; Gonçalves, Rui AbrunhosaFew personality traits are as socially relevant as impulsivity, but few self-report measures have been specifically developed for adolescents and children. The aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale version 11 (BIS-11) among a mixed-gender sample of 782 Portuguese youth (M = 15.87 years; SD = 1.72), in a school context. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed the expected 6-factor first-order structure, but the 3-factor second-order factorial structure did not present a good fit. Cross-gender measurement invariance was demonstrated only in terms of weak invariance. Nonetheless, the Portuguese adaptation of the BIS-11 demonstrated some generally acceptable psychometric properties of internal consistency, mean inter-item correlation, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and criterion-related validity of statistically significant associations with conduct disorder symptoms, alcohol abuse, drug use, and unprotected sex. The use of the BIS-11 among the male and female youth population is psychometrically justified, and it can be a useful measure to identify impulsive adolescents who are at considerable risk of personal injury and present a potential source of injury to others.
- Parenting stress predictors in mothers of families at psychosocial riskPublication . Ayala Nunes, Lara; Lemos, Ida; Nunes, CristinaIn this study we analyzed the associations between parenting stress, parental sense of competence and the contribution of socio-demographical and psychological factors to the explanation of parenting stress. Participants were 80 Portuguese mothers, recipients of the child protection services. Results showed high levels of parenting stress, especially in unemployed mothers with adolescent children, and significant associations between parenting stress and perceived parental competences. Maternal role satisfaction and employment were the most robust factors on the explanation of parenting stress, predicting 37% of the variance.
- Short Form of the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents among community and institutionalized Portuguese youthsPublication . Nunes, Cristina; Ayala-Nunes, Lara; Pechorro, Pedro; Greca, Annette M. LaBackground/Objective: Social anxiety is a common issue arising in adolescence that can cause significant impairment and have detrimental consequences for development in the absence of treatment. In this study we examined the factor structure and the psychometric properties of a 12-item short form of the Portuguese-Language Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A-SF). Method: A community adolescent sample (N = 835) and a young offender sample (N = 244) completed the SAS-A, the Basic Empathy Scale and the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency, cross gender and cross sample invariance, convergent and discriminant validity of the SAS-A-SF were analyzed. Results: The confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the 3-factor second-order model obtained the best fit. The results provided evidence that the SAS-A-SF is a psychometrically sound instrument that shows measurement invariance across genders and across samples, good reliability and positive correlations with empathy. Conclusions: The Portuguese version of SAS-A-SF is a useful, time-efficient tool for both researchers and practitioners who need to assess social anxiety, a relevant construct in adolescent psychopathology. (C) 2018 Asociacion Espanola de Psicologia Conductual. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U.
- Calidad de vida y competencias sociales: un estudio comparativo entre adolescentes nativos e inmigrantes de España y PortugalPublication . Romero-Oliva, Cristina; Nunes, Cristina; Montilla Coronado, Cecilia; Lemos, Ida; Hernando Gomez, Angel; Ayala Nunes, LaraThis research aims to determine the relationship between social skills and quality of life (QoL) in native and immigrant adolescents of Spain and Portugal, in order to understand the importance of these variables in the adolescents' development and adjustment. In order to accomplish this, 1151 adolescents, aged between 12 and 18 years, were assessed through two questionnaires: the KIDSCREEN-52 and the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS). The results indicate that immigrants have a lower QoL index than natives in the dimensions of feelings, relationship with parents, economic resources and social acceptance. Academic performance correlates with the dimensions of QoL and social skills, although there are differences between natives and immigrant adolescents.
- Características psicométricas e estrutura fatorial da FACES III numa amostra de famílias em risco psicossocialPublication . Nunes, Cristina; Ayala-Nunes, Lara; Ferreira, Laura Inês; Martins, CátiaEste estudo visou a adaptação e exploração das características psicométricas da Escala de Avaliação da Coesão e Adaptabilidade Familiar (FACES III) com uma população de famílias portuguesas em risco psicossocial. Esta medida é a mais utilizada para a avaliação do funcionamento familiar de acordo com as dimensões do Modelo Circumplexo dos Sistemas Familiares. Participaram 388 pais de crianças com medidas de apoio e proteção, residentes no Algarve. A FACES III foi aplicada em conjunto com medidas de stresse parental, aliança parental e sentimento de competência parental para testar a validade de constructo. A análise fatorial exploratória confirmou a solução original de dois fatores. A Coesão demonstrou alta consciência interna e boa validade de constructo, podendo ser considerada uma medida fiável desta dimensão. A Adaptabilidade apresentou resultados insatisfatórios em todos os indicadores psicométricos, pelo que se aconselha a revisão desta subescala. Os resultados são discutidos considerando as diversas versões do instrumento.
- Psychometric properties of an adapted version of the parental sense of competence (PSOC) scale for Portuguese at-risk parentsPublication . Nunes, Cristina; Jimenez, Lucia; Menendez, Susana; Ayala-Nunes, Lara; Hidalgo, VictoriaParental sense of competence is one of the central dimensions targeted on psychosocial interventions aimed at supporting at-risk families. Researchers and practitioners need reliable instruments to assess the parental role adapted for these families. Although the parental sense of competence (PSOC) scale has been frequently used to assess this construct, there is still no adapted version for Portuguese parents. In this study, the reliability, validity and factor structure of the PSOC scale is examined with a clinical sample of 146 mothers from at-risk families receiving psychosocial interventions for family preservation from Child Protective Services. Results show that the Portuguese version of the PSOC measures three distinct constructs with acceptable psychometric properties: efficacy, dissatisfaction and controllability. As expected, the obtained factors were significantly and positively related to parenting alliance and family cohesion, and negatively associated with parenting stress. In sum, the proposed Portuguese version shows reliability and validity evidences to measure three relevant dimensions of parental self-evaluation, and it constitutes a cost- and time-effective instrument suited for at-risk mothers.
- Quality of life of portuguese and spanish adolescents. A comparative study between natives and immigrantsPublication . Nunes, Cristina; Hernando Gomez, Angel; Lemos, Ida; Ayala-Nunes, Lara; Romero Oliva, Cristina; Montilla Coronado, CeciliaThe aim of this study was to analyse differences in quality of life (QOL) between Spanish and Portuguese immigrant and native adolescents. In total, 475 native and immigrant adolescents (52% boys) from Algarve (Portugal) and Huelva (Spain), aged between 12 and 17 years old, were assessed with the KIDSCREEN-52. QOL dimensions were not related to most academic variables, with the exception of number of school failures, Financial Resources and Social Support from Peers. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to examine statistical differences in adolescents QOL. Age differences in QOL levels were not found. Girls reported worse QOL levels on Physical Wellbeing than boys (F = 10.32, p = .001, eta(2) = .02). Immigrant Portuguese adolescents scored higher on Mood (F = 17.57, p = .000, eta(2) = .11), and native Portuguese adolescents scored higher on Social Acceptance (F = 4.87, p = .002, eta(2) = .033). Immigrant and native adolescents had similar levels of perceived QOL. Overall, it seems that in both countries, the living contexts for immigrant and native adolescents are fairly homogeneous.