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- Comparative analysis between condom use clusters and risk behaviours among portuguese university studentsPublication . Gomes, Alexandra; Nunes, CristinaThe research on condom use has been focused on high-risk individuals, paying less attention to those who have moderate risk or safe sexual conducts. In order to design accurate interventions, potential differences among the condom use behavior groups must be considered. The goal was to assess possible differences in individuals presenting different types of risk behavior. 140 heterosexual university students answered a self-reported questionnaire about their sexual history, condom use habits, sexual self-esteem, sexual satisfaction, sexual control, attitudes towards condoms, self-efficacy to condom use, and emotions and feelings during sexual intercourse. A cluster analysis was conducted using the results about condom use and risk behaviors. Three groups with different risk levels emerged, presenting differences over sexual self-efficacy, attitudes towards condoms, socio-demographic variables, and sexual history. The results suggest the condom use inconsistency is highly associated with other risk behaviors but the contrary does not necessarily happens. Condom use consistent users also presented risk behaviors as smoking and drinking. The group differences suggest the risks were more affected by the combination of lack of skills with a negative attitude toward condoms than by contextual or personal variables. These differences sustain the need of an intervention adjusted to the individual's risk levels, since they differ on skills and beliefs that may hinder or promote the adoption of health behaviors.
- Psychological distress symptoms and resilience assets in adolescents in residential carePublication . Lemos, Ida; Brás, Marta; Lemos, Mariana; Nunes, CristinaMost studies with institutionalised children and adolescents focus on evaluating the impact of negative life events on emotional development. However, few have investigated the relationship between resilience assets and the teenagers’ psychopathological problems. The purpose of the present study was to investigate differences in psychological distress symptoms and in resilience assets in institutionalised and non-institutionalised adolescents. A total of 266 adolescents aged between 12 and 19 years old took part in the study (60.5% female): 125 lived in residential care and 144 resided with their families. Results found a significant and inverse relation between psychopathology and the perception of individual resilience assets, specifically with self-efficacy and self-awareness in the community sample, and with empathy in the institutionalised sample. Overall, and regardless of the age group, adolescents in residential care tend to perceive themselves as significantly less resilient in perceived self-efficacy and empathy, and they report fewer goals and aspirations for the future. The importance of promoting mental health and resilience assets in adolescents, particularly in those in residential care, is discussed. This can be achieved through early interventions that may prevent emotional suffering and deviant life paths, with transgenerational repercussions.
- 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.
- A comparative study on the health and well-being of adolescent immigrants in Spain and PortugalPublication . Hernando Gomez, Angel; Nunes, Cristina; Torres, Carmen Cruz; Lemos, Ida; Valadas, Sandra T.The terms on which the integration of new generations of immigrants into Portuguese and Spanish societies happens will have a decisive influence in the future of both countries. Therefore, promoting their health, well-being, and psychosocial adaptation is a matter of strategic interest. This paper analyses psychosocial factors associated with well-being and psychological adjustment on a sample of 108 adolescents (55 males and 53 females), children of immigrants from Huelva (Spain) and Algarve (Portugal), aged between 10 and 17 years. Adolescents were assessed for demographic characteristics and perceived well-being. We used the “KIDSCREEN-5”, a self-report questionnaire that yields detailed profile information for children aged 8 to 18 years for the following ten dimensions: Physical well-being, Psychological well-being, Moods and emotions, Self-perception, Autonomy, Parental relationships and home life, Financial resources, Social support and peers, School environment, and Social acceptance(Bullying). Overall, significant differences were found between the Spanish and Portuguese samples on physical well-being, psychological well-being, mood, financial resources and social acceptance (bullying). Boys perceived themselves as having a better physical well-being than girls. Mothers’ educational level was associated with psychological well-being and mood. Also, results suggested that residence location and other socio-demographical variables were not associated with the adolescents’ well-being and psychological adjustment.
- 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.
- Confirmatory factor analysis of the antisocial process screening device: self-report among incarcerated male juvenile offendersPublication . Pechorro, Pedro; Hidalgo, Victoria; Nunes, Cristina; Jimenez, LuciaThe main aim of the present study was to examine the factor structure, internal consistency, and some additional psychometric properties of the Antisocial Process Screening Device-Self-Report (APSD-SR) among a large forensic sample of incarcerated male juvenile offenders (N = 438). The results, based on this forensic sample, support the use of the APSD-SR in terms of its factor structure, and internal consistency despite the fact an item had to be removed from the callous-unemotional (CU) dimension. Statistically significant positive associations were found with measures of psychopathic traits, CU traits, narcissism, and aggression, as well as negative associations with a measure of empathy. Findings provide support for the use of the APSD-SR among the incarcerated male juvenile offender population.
- Psychometric properties of the negative stereotypes towards aging questionnaire (CENVE) among a sample of portuguese adultsPublication . Nunes, Cristina; Menendez, Susana; Martins, Cátia; Martins, Maria HelenaStereotyped beliefs about old age and the aging process have proven to strongly promote negative behaviors toward the elderly, with unfavorable influences on their mental and physical health. Therefore, it is important to assess negative aging attitudes with brief but reliable and validated measurement instruments. The psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Negative Stereotypes Towards Aging Questionnaire (15 items self-reported) are explored and described in a sample of 302 participants (213 females and 89 males) between the ages of 18 and 59 years old. Confirmatory Factor Analysis shows a one-factor structure, similar to the Spanish version. The internal reliability and mean inter-item correlation showed satisfactory psychometric proprieties. Factorial ANOVA reveals that differences in agism beliefs are mainly related to educational level, with lower negative stereotypes in more educated adults. No differences were found concerning gender. This instrument may be a useful tool to assess negative stereotypes toward old age and the aging process.
- Qualidade de vida e bem-estar nas crianças em AlbufeiraPublication . Nunes, Cristina; Matos, Filomena; Costa, EmíliaNeste relatório apresentamos os resultados da investigação realizada pela equipa composta pelas doutoras Cristina Nunes, Filomena Matos e Emília Costa para dar resposta ao pedido feito pela Câmara Municipal de Albufeira (CMA) à Universidade do Algarve (UAlg) na elaboração de um estudo sobre a qualidade de vida e o bem-estar das crianças em idade pré-escolar e escolar no Concelho. A utilidade deste estudo decorre do facto de que o conhecimento sobre os fatores de risco e de proteção para o bem-estar infantil contribuirá para aumentar a eficácia das intervenções pois assim estas poderão ajustar-se melhor às características e necessidades das crianças e famílias. A crise económica dos últimos anos tem tornado mais vulneráveis um considerável número de famílias e afetado o seu bem-estar. Na última avaliação sobre o bem-estar infantil, realizada pela UNICEF (2013), Portugal ocupava o 15º lugar entre os 29 países estudados. Nesta avaliação foram utilizados 26 indicadores agrupados nas seguintes dimensões: Bem-estar material, saúde e segurança, educação, comportamentos de risco, habitação e ambiente.
- Avaliação materna dos problemas cognitivos da desatenção, da actividade motora e da PHDAPublication . Medeiros, Raquel; Nunes, CristinaO presente estudo consistiu na avaliação pelas mães, de crianças com diagnóstico de Perturbação de Hiperactividade com Défice de Atenção (PHDA), dos problemas cognitivos, da desatenção, da actividade motora e da PHDA dos seus filhos. A amostra é constituída por trinta mães de crianças afectas ao Centro de Desenvolvimento Infantil do Hospital de Faro. O instrumento utilizado foi a Escala de Conners para Pais, versão revista (forma reduzida) adaptada para a população portuguesa. As mães foram contactadas no momento da consulta de desenvolvimento dos seus filhos e convidadas a participar na investigação através de consentimento informado. Os resultados permitiram confirmar o diagnóstico de PHDA na maioria das crianças da amostra estudada. Não encontrámos nenhuma associação entre as crianças que se encontravam medicadas e os valores dos índices obtidos na Escala de Conners.
- 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.