PSICOLOGIA

Firefighters under alert: psychological morbidity, empathy and alexithymia between firefighters and non-firefighters

2022-07-28T15:06:29-07:00

Firefighters have high exposure to traumatic events and have an increased risk of developing symptoms related to trauma. The current study assessed the psychological morbidity, empathy and alexithymia of volunteer firefighters compared to career firefighters and to non-firefighter comparators from the general population. Group differences were assessed using multivariate comparisons and univariate tests and discriminant analysis for individual measures. A total of 1062 individuals completed the protocol. Considering firefighters as the focus of analysis, data suggested that both career and volunteer firefighters presented higher trauma than the comparison group. In subscales of empathy, compared to the comparison group, career firefighters scored higher on the perspective-taking scale, while firefighters showed less personal discomfort and less fantasy. Firefighters showed less alexithymia, in the outward-oriented style of thinking than the comparison group. The findings suggest the need for more prevention and treatment efforts for firefighters, with the introduction of educational and therapeutic interventions.

Social Media Addiction Scale validation in a Portuguese sample

2022-11-08T05:23:09-08:00

This study aims to validate a scale to measure addiction to social media (SMAS) for the Portuguese population (SMAS-PV). The original 14 items’ SMAS was translated and back-translated from English to Portuguese. Psychometric scale validation procedures were followed. SMAS-PV’s properties were assessed in a sample of 605 Portuguese university and high-school students. A Parallel Analysis was carried out as a criterion for extracting factors in Exploratory Factorial Analysis (EFA), EFA for ordinal data, with unweighted least squares (ULS). This was followed by confirmatory factor analysis to examine whether the structure pattern fitted the Portuguese context. The resulting scale, with eight items in a two-component structure, compulsive feelings, and social consequences, demonstrated high reliability and validity. The Portuguese version of the social media addiction scale presented good psychometric qualities, constituting a credible instrument for assessing social media addiction. Participants with the highest addiction levels spend more time connected to social media.

Psychometric analysis of the teacher support scale with higher education students

2022-12-21T04:05:00-08:00

The Teacher Support Scale has been used to assess students’ perceived teacher support in compulsory school years. However, the literature requires attention to perceived teacher support in higher education and to the referred measure’s psychometric properties. This study examines the factorial structure, invariance for sex, relations to other variables, and reliability of the Teacher Support Scale with a sample of 262 Portuguese higher education students (M_age = 24.36, SD = 7.46), 133 (50.8%) women and 129 (49.2%) men. Results from confirmatory factor analyses suggested that a two-factor measurement model yielded a good fit to the data. Multi-group analyses indicated configural and metric invariance for women and men. Positive correlations among perceived teacher support and students’ academic experiences were found. The Teacher Support Scale might be useful to assess students’ perceived academic and social teacher support, as well as to sustain psychological practices in higher education.

The Hands Project: monitoring and evaluation of a pilot prevention program for teen dating violence

2023-01-16T01:33:01-08:00

This study evaluated the implementation and efficacy of the Hands Project – a prevention program for teen dating violence among middle and high school students, implemented during the pandemic. The Hands Project is a brief in-class intervention, targeting the attitudes, personal skills, and the role of bystanders in abusive dating situations with youth. A monitoring process was conducted with 11 classes, and a quasi-experimental evaluation was carried out with 61 students (intervention group n = 45; comparison group n = 16), with pre-test and post-test administration of the Attitudes Toward Dating Violence Scales (ATDV). Program responsiveness and implementation quality were high, and positive significant results were found for female physical violence, indicating a decrease in tolerance for the intervention group, when compared to the comparison group. Discussion reflects on the implications of this study for the implementation and evaluation of teen dating violence programs, and future research regarding this phenomenon.

Predicting well-being at work during Covid-19: Examining the incremental validity of core self-evaluations and the mediating effect of perceived strengths use

2023-01-03T01:18:19-08:00

The Covid-19 pandemic affected work dynamics across economies, creating a need to map which individual and job-related resources organizations should rely on to support their workforce in dealing with challenging job demands, while preserving positive levels of performance and well-being. The current study is carried out with this purpose and empirically tests whether core self-evaluations play a relevant role over proactive personality in predicting occupational well-being, operationalized through thriving at work. Results from a sample of N = 94 incumbents from different jobs and organizations, surveyed during the fourth wave of the pandemic, revealed that core self-evaluations yield a significant contribution to predicting thriving, over proactive personality. Mediation analyses showed that core self-evaluations impact upon this criterion via perceived strengths use, both directly and indirectly, when the effects of proactive personality are accounted for. Major implications for human resources management in the Covid-19 pandemic and analogous work crises are discussed.

Studies on student engagement in adolescence: A scoping review

2023-01-18T08:53:41-08:00

Research over recent decades has confirmed the critical role of student engagement in adolescent learning, achievement, and development. However, studies quantity and diffusion make further up-to-date systematization necessary. This study aims to contribute to this effort by focusing on multidimensional student engagement research, published in the last decade, focusing on adolescence. Following a previous protocol, a scoping review was conducted using eight scientific literature databases. From an initial set of 849 studies, 135 were selected. Results showed the increase of research in quantity and geographical breadth, the strive for consistency, the relevance of the threefold approach (behavioral, emotional, and cognitive), the value of student engagement for adolescents’ health and school adjustment, and the key role played by teacher-student relations, school environment, and individual strengths. In addition, suggestions highlighted methodological improvements, the study of new variables, and, regarding promotion, the balance between wide school approaches and attention to students’ specific needs.

Psychometric properties of the Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ) from a sample of Ecuadorian college students

2023-01-03T09:42:20-08:00

Cognitive Fusion is related to psychological problems, such as anxiety and depression, and is assessed through the Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ). Aim: to confirm the unidimensional structure of the CFQ, its internal consistency reliability, and convergent and divergent validity in a sample of Ecuadorian college students. Method: instrumental design using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to estimate convergent and divergent validity of the CFQ. Participants: 356 college students (59.1% women) aged between 18 and 58 years (M = 25.52, SD = 7.51) from several universities in Ecuador (43.9% public institutions). Results: the unidimensional structure of the CFQ is confirmed, through adequate fit indices. Its reliability is excellent (ω = .954) and, regarding convergent and divergent validity, it correlates positively with Experiential Avoidance (AAQ-II) and negatively with Satisfaction with Life (SWLS). Conclusion: The Psychometric properties of the CFQ are adequate for its application in Ecuadorian college students.

Disentangling perceptions of social support and social capital as social determinants of mental health: COVID-19 personal networks of immigrants and non-migrants in Portugal

2023-07-12T01:59:24-07:00

Social network changes may occur during disruptive events (e.g., COVID-19), especially with immigrants who need to rebuild networks, undermining their mental health. Study 1 (N =18) investigates immigrants' perceived changes before and during the pandemic in their networks, mental health, social support and social capital. Study 2 (N =53) examines the same in a sample of non-migrants. Convenience samples were collected online between July and November 2020, addressing participants' perceived health networks and mental health through name generators (alters’ names), name interpreters (attributes), position generator (social capital), and the Mental Health Inventory-5. E-net software assessed the network's efficiency and homophily. Study 1 results revealed immigrants reduced their mental health, and network changes by decreasing social support, efficiency and social capital. In study 2, non-migrant network changes were small, not compromising their efficiency and social capital. Contributions suggest the importance of health crisis management with actions to support migrant social networks.

Ficha técnica e Editorial

2023-12-15T08:10:26-08:00