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- Portuguese adaptation of the Behavioral Inhibition Questionnaire (BIQ)Publication . Cova Fernandes, Catarina; Martins, A.T.; Faisca, LuisBehavioral inhibition (BI) is a temperamental trait characterized by a consistent pattern of behavioral and emotional responses to unfamiliar people and novel situations. BI exhibits moderate stability across development and is considered a risk factor for the emergence of emotional disorders in adolescence and adulthood, making early assessment crucial for understanding this behavioral pattern. In the Portuguese context, there is a paucity of measures specifically designed to assess BI in childhood. To address this gap, we aimed to adapt and examine the psychometric properties of the Behavioral Inhibition Questionnaire (BIQ) in Portuguese children. We obtained BIQ ratings from both parents and teachers of 435 children (average age = 57.1 months; SD = 13.8). Confirmatory factor analysis supported a six-factor measurement model, each factor loading onto a higher-order BI factor. Additionally, we included a method factor to account for reversed items. Full scalar measurement invariance across gender and age groups was supported. Parents and teachers showed good agreement in their ratings of BIQ scores. Comparisons with other instruments revealed good convergent validity. The BIQ scores showed acceptable reliability, although the subscales exhibited limited sensitivity in discriminating between different contexts where BI may manifest. This study suggests that the BIQ is a reliable and valid tool for assessing BI in Portuguese children.
- A atenção face a estímulos emocionais na ansiedade social: um estudo com eye trackingPublication . Fernandes, Catarina Isabel Cova; Martins, Ana Teresa; Silva, SusanaAlguns autores têm vindo a sugerir que sujeitos com ansiedade social (AS) apresentam um viés atencional para o processamento de informação ameaçadora conduzindo a interpretações inadequadas do contexto social. Porém, os modelos teóricos atuais explicativos deste viés não são convergentes porque os resultados dos estudos são pouco consensuais. Neste contexto, o objetivo do nosso estudo foi, num primeiro momento, avaliar a relação entre o percurso atencional face a estímulos emocionais e os sintomas de AS e, num segundo momento, perceber se a atenção face a estímulos emocionais era influenciada pelos traços de personalidade dos participantes com sintomas de AS. Para o efeito, foram avaliados 55 participantes da população geral (43 mulheres e 12 homens) com uma média de idade de 21.25 (±2.723) anos e uma média de escolaridade de 14.00 (±1.61) anos. Todos os sujeitos responderam a um instrumento de sintomatologia ansiosa social e a um instrumento de personalidade e psicopatologia (Inventário Clínico Multiaxial de Millon-III) sendo posteriormente distribuídos por dois grupos (AS vs. Controlo), de acordo com o nível clinico (alto e baixo) de ansiedade social. Todos os participantes responderam a uma tarefa visual onde eram expostos a estímulos faciais emocionais (alegria e raiva) e neutros. O registo da atenção foi obtido com recurso ao dispositivo de eye-tracking. Os principais resultados revelam que o grupo com AS apresenta uma maior dificuldade em retirar a atenção dos estímulos emocionais (positivos e negativos) comparativamente ao grupo controlo. Os resultados da segunda análise sugerem que sujeitos com AS com traços dependentes aparentam dificuldade em retirar a atenção de estímulos positivos. Em contrapartida, sujeitos com traços depressivos e fóbicos aparentam evitar os estímulos alegres. Os resultados são discutidos à luz da literatura atual acerca do estudo dos componentes atencionais nos sujeitos com AS.
- Behavioral inhibition in childhood: European Portuguese adaptation of an observational measure (Lab-TAB)Publication . Faisca, Luis; Ferreira, Laura Inês; Fernandes, Catarina; Gagne, Jeffrey R.; Martins, Ana T.The assessment of behaviorally inhibited children is typically based on parent or teacher reports, but this approach has received criticisms, mainly for being prone to bias. Several researchers proposed the additional use of observational methods because they provide a direct and more objective description of the child's functioning in different contexts. The lack of a laboratory assessment of temperament for Portuguese children justifies the adaptation of some episodes of the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery (Lab-TAB) as an observational measure for behavioral inhibition. Method: In our study, we included 124 children aged between 3 and 9 years and their parents. The evaluation of child behavioral inhibition was made by parent report (Behavioral Inhibition Questionnaire) and through Lab-TAB episodes. Parental variables with potential influence on parents’ reports were also collected using the Social Interaction and Performance Anxiety and Avoidance Scale (SIPAAS) and the Parental Overprotection Measure (POM). Results and Discussion: The psychometric analyses provided evidence that Lab-TAB is a reliable instrument and can be incorporated in a multi-method approach to assess behavioral inhibition in studies involving Portuguese-speaking children. Moderate convergence between observational and parent report measures of behavioral inhibition was obtained. Mothers’ characteristics, as well as child age, seem to significantly affect differences between measures, being potential sources of bias in the assessment of child temperament.
- The influence of parental variables and child behavioral inhibition on social anxiety in preschool children: The moderator effects of genderPublication . Fernandes, Catarina; Martins, A.; Santa-Rita, Andreia; Faisca, LuisThe main objective of this study was to examine how parental characteristics, such as social anxiety (SA) and parental overprotection, and child's behavioral inhibition (BI) interact and contribute to the manifestation of SA symptoms in preschoolers. Parents (Mothers: n= 319; Fathers: n= 263) of children aged between 3 and 6 years answered to self-report measures of overprotection and SA and measures of SA and BI about their children. A positive moderate direct association was observed between children's BI and children's SA, independently of gender. Overprotection arises as a mediator of the effects of the parents' social anxiety on children's SA; however, this mediation depends both on the child's and parents' gender. Only mother's SA was directly related to children's SA, independently of the gender of the child. Overall, these findings extend to preschool children the previous studies that consider parents' overprotective styles and social anxiety, as well as child's BI, the main variables underlying the SA in childhood. In addition, our results highlight the importance of considering the moderator role of gender in the origin and maintenance of SA symptoms in preschoolers.
- Ectopic expression of CITED2 prior to reprogramming, promotes and homogenises the conversion of somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cellsPublication . Charneca, João; Matias, Ana Catarina; Escapa, Ana Luisa; Fernandes, Catarina; Alves, Andre; Santos, João; Nascimento, Rita; Bragança, JoséCited2 plays crucial roles in mouse embryonic stem cells self-renewal, the initiation of the somatic reprogramming process into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) and the suppression of cell senescence. Here, we investigated the potential of CITED2 expression in combination with the Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc factors for reprogramming of primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) at passage 2 and 4. The ectopic CITED2 expression in primary MEF prior to the onset of the reprogramming process, generated iPSC with less variability in the expression of endogenous pluripotency-related genes. In contrast, part of the MEF reprogrammed without ectopic expression of CITED2 at passage 4 originated partially reprogrammed iPSC or pre-iPSC. However, the overexpression of CITED2 in the pre-iPSC was insufficient to complete the reprogramming process into iPSC. These results indicated that ectopic CITED2 expression at the onset of the reprogramming process in combination with the reprogramming factors promotes a complete and homogeneous conversion of somatic cells into iPSC.