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- 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.
- Vulnerability to suicide ideation: Comparative study between adolescents with and without psychosocial riskPublication . Brás, Marta; Elias, Patrícia; Ferreira Cunha, Francisca; Martins, Cátia; Nunes, Cristina; Carmo, CláudiaAdolescents are characterized as a risk group for suicide, being the fourth leading cause of death in young people. The main aim was to compare vulnerability to suicidal ideation in a sample of young people with and without psychosocial risk. The total sample consisted of 137 adolescents, aged between 10 and 19 years (M = 14.76; SD = 1.40), and it was composed of two groups—the psychosocial risk group (n = 60) and general population group (n = 77). In both groups, suicidal ideation correlated positively with negative events and negatively with self-esteem and social support satisfaction. When comparing the two groups, the psychosocial risk group presented significantly higher mean values of negative life events (mainly separations/losses and physical and sexual abuse) and significantly lower mean values of satisfaction with social support (particularly with family and social activities). It was also found that, in the psychosocial risk group, negative life events were the only significant predictors of suicidal ideation. This study allowed identifying the role of risk and protective factors in suicidal ideation, according to the psychosocial risk of adolescents. The practical implications of the findings on adolescents’ mental health and the promotion of their well-being are discussed.
- The adapted DUKE-UNC functional social support questionnaire in a community sample of portuguese parentsPublication . Martins, Silvana; Martins, Cátia; Almeida, Ana; Ayala-Nunes, Lara; Gonçalves, Andrea; Nunes, CristinaPurpose: Social support measures have generated empirical evidence of helping relationships and their role in family functioning and well-being. Social support networks affect parental practices and the ways in which families overcome stressful life events. Thus, it is important to gather knowledge about the different forms of support that families can benefit from. The aim of this study was to translate, adapt, and validate the Portuguese version of the Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire (FSSQ), a three dimension measure (confidant support, affective support, and instrumental support), Method: 1058 Portuguese parents participated in the study. They were mostly married/cohabiting and employed mothers. The Portuguese version of the FSSQ contained 13 items distributed into 3 subdimensions. The data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and the study of Pearson correlations. Results: The FSSQ original three-factor structure was supported by confirmatory factor analysis and the instrument showed good internal consistency. Confidant support and Instrumental support were negatively associated with Permissive parenting and Affective support was negatively associated with Authoritative parenting and Permissive parenting. All three dimensions showed low and positive correlations with Authoritarian parenting. Discussion: The Portuguese version of the FSSQ met adequate psychometric criteria and can be confidently used in family assessments of social support, whenever a brief, self-administered questionnaire would be useful for community services providers