Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Teacher education programs should have as one of their purposes the promotion of self-regulatory skills for learning among students who aspire to be teachers so that they can take a leading role in their learning and foster these skills in their future students. Considering the importance of knowing what students in teacher education programs do to study and learn, as well as how efficacious they feel to deal with academic demands, this study is part of a larger research and aims to investigate the learning and study strategies and self-efficacy for learning beliefs of 220 students enrolled in teacher education programs in Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics of a Higher Education Institution in the state of Piauí, and examine them in relation to age, gender, licentiate area, and course semester. Brazilian translations of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI — Third Edition) and the Self-efficacy for Learning Form were used for data collection. Scales were administered in the classrooms both through online platforms and in paper and pencil. Nonparametric inferential statistical approaches were used to test hypotheses regarding group differences. Statistically significant differences were found in LASSI in relation to gender, licentiate area, and course semester. Overall, students in Physics dealt better with anxiety; in Mathematics showed more favorable attitudes towards learning; in Chemistry reported managing their time better; in Biological Science showed significantly lower scores on many scales than did other students. Findings from this study could help inform curricular design decisions regarding teacher education programs and inform the design of interventions to strengthen the learning and study strategies and the self-efficacy for learning beliefs of future teachers.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Recent literature emphasizes how the specific stressors of the COVID-19 outbreak affect the general population and frontline professionals, including those conducting support or backup activities in health units, which can lead to vicarious traumatization. Vicarious traumatization has been used to describe negative emotional reactions in mental health professionals who assist or treat victims of traumatic events. Thus, the aim of this article is to report the actions used in the face of the psychological demands of professionals in a hospital, who were not on the frontline of COVID-19. We collected their sociodemographic information and checked the psychological impact using the depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21), which was followed by a psychoeducational program (topics related to COVID-19 control and prevention), and individual psychological care for the most severe cases. A total of 118 professionals participated in this study; they were between 20 and 67 years old. Mild to moderate anxiety was observed in 36.5% of the medical teams, 83.3% of the administrative staff, and 65.7% of general service workers, while stress symptoms were observed in 80.2%, 83.3%, and 59.9%, respectively. Depressive symptoms (35.3%) were more frequent in general service workers. The medical teams reported the benefits of primary psychological care, while the other professionals demanded more institutional support services related to the prevention and use of personal protective equipment. This study highlights relevant psychological demands that have repercussions on the daily lives of professionals. The psychoeducational program was considered positive regarding clarification actions. However, it was not perceived as effective in reducing fear, which may result from vicarious traumatization and requires other intervention modalities.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract The service-learning disciplines can offer a unique opportunity for civic development in university students, as there is a large body of research that links it to values and civic attitudes including a vast number of ecological issues and citizen variables. Moreover, one should bear in mind that these students are future generations that will face many pressing social and environmental issues. Given the need to develop instruments to measure the impact of a service-learning methodology in university students’ values as well as civic attitudes, VAL-U is proposed. As the university can be considered a learning step prior to the professional field, the main objective of this study was to analyse the internal consistency and factor structure of the proposed VAL-U scale in the Spanish population. The scale confirmed acceptable psychometric properties. Furthermore, the results have shown high reliability and optimal goodness of fit. Promising results are offered to employ VAL-U as a valuable tool for assessing Values and Civic Attitudes Scale for Spanish-speaking University Students’ Service-Learning.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract The goal of this study was to examine whether a subject's emotional competence correlates to attachment styles and parenting styles in children and their parents. The study was conducted with fifty children (9–11 years old) and their parents, both of whose emotional competence (EKF) and parenting style (PAQ) were measured. The attachment styles of parents and children were measured with the Adult Attachment Scale (AAS) and the Bochumer Bindungstest (BoBiTe), respectively. The findings provide initial support to the assumption that attachment is related to emotional competence in parents. This relationship, however, was not significantly correlated in children. In addition, authoritative parenting and permissive parenting were significantly associated with emotional competence in parents. Emotional competence in children showed to be associated with an authoritative parenting style.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Phubbing is defined as ignoring other individuals by using a mobile phone during a face-to-face conversation. The Phubbing Scale (PS) was developed to assess this practice. In this study, we analyze the psychometric properties of the 8-item version of the PS (PS-8) in the Portuguese population, providing validity evidence based on internal structure and on relationships with other variables, and examining item properties, reliability, and measurement invariance across gender. Participants were 391 Portuguese adults (132 men, 259 women) who completed a battery of questionnaires. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded satisfactory goodness-of-fit indices for the two-factor structure (communication disturbance and phone obsession), which was invariant across gender. Item homogeneity and reliability of factor scores (McDonald's omega) were satisfactory. Validity evidence based on relationships with other variables was provided by positive associations with time spent on the Internet on weekdays and at the weekend, time spent on social networking sites, number of social networks used, Internet addiction, problematic mobile phone use, Facebook intrusion, fear of missing out, and depression. These associations show the addictive component of phubbing and its relationship with mental health. The PS-8 is a short and easy-to-administer scale with adequate psychometric properties for measuring phubbing in the Portuguese population.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Self-handicapping strategies refer to the set of choices and attitudes adopted to minimize blame for failure and increase the value of success in achievement situations. This paper aims to describe the stages of construction and the psychometric analysis of a scale to measure the self-handicapping strategies of university students. In study 1, the major steps for the construction of the scales and initial results are reported. The internal consistency indices were acceptable and the principal component analysis revealed factors with little explanation of data variance. In study 2, data from a sample of 834 students from several undergraduate courses of different Brazilian universities were subjected to exploratory factor analysis using the minimum rank factor analysis (MRFA) method and the matrix of polychoric correlations. The parallel analysis criterion for factor retention indicated the one-factor solution as the best fit to data. The importance of having a valid and reliable measure to assess self-handicapping strategies in educational contexts and the promising use of the scale in actions to improve learning in higher education are discussed.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract The traumatic event produces intolerable excitations to the psychic apparatus that searches to relief them through the production of symptoms. When established, patients with post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) may experience flashbacks, somatizations, negative emotions about themselves, and difficulty in social contact. This work seeks to understand how the psychodynamic functioning of women victims of interpersonal and urban violence, diagnosed with these disorders, is organized, identifying traumatic experiences, ways of interpersonal relationships, conflicts and psychic structures and use of defense mechanisms, and for peculiarities that may differentiate these disorders. The qualitative transversal method was used through the content analysis of clinical interviews based on the Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnosis (OPD-2). The sample of this study consisted of five women with PTSD and five with CPTSD. The following categories were created: reasons for seeking care, symptoms and desire for treatment, traumatic developmental events, and characteristics of the psychic functioning. Early trauma generates psychic organizations with greater disintegration. A new traumatic event destabilizes the psychic organization and intensifies symptoms. Relationships were marked by dependence and isolation. Participants with CPTSD presented tendency to disintegration related to the object relation regulation and the psychic conflict was of Individuation versus Dependence, with more primitive flaws in object representations, existential need for the other and direct discharge of impulses. Participants with PTSD had moderate to low level of object relation integration and the conflict was need to be care of versus self-sufficiency, with self-representations being fragile and with reduced capacity to manage impulses. Thus, it could be observed that OPD-2 is capable of assessing in a broad and deep way patients with traumatic disorders, in addition to identifying essential peculiarities to guide health professionals towards treatment in the search for better quality of life for patients.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract The transition from on-paper to on-screen reading seems to make it necessary to raise some considerations, as a greater attentional effort has been claimed for print texts than digital ones. Not surprisingly, most university students prefer this digital medium. This research aims to examine reading times by contextualizing this phenomenon into two processes: namely, word recognition and reading comprehension task on paper and on screen. Thus, two different tasks—counterbalanced into digital and print mediums—were carried out per each participant with a preference for a digital medium: a reading comprehension task (RCT) and a lexical decision task (LDT) after reading a specific story. Participants were slower reading print texts and no statistically significant differences were found in RCT accuracy. This result suggests that the task required more cognitive resources under the print medium for those with a worse comprehension performance in reading, and a more conservative pattern in digital RCT for those with a better performance.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Background: The understanding of how individuals manage their emotional experiences has flourished dramatically over the last decades, including assessing of emotion (dys) regulation. The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) is a well-validated and extensively used self-report instrument for emotion regulation problems. Despite the wide use of DERS in both clinical and research settings, its length potentially increases fatigue and frustration in respondents and limits its inclusion in brief research protocols. Consequently, a short-form version of the DERS (DERSSF) was developed, which requires cross-cultural adaptations and the study of its reliability and validity. Objectives: In order to address this issue, this study aimed to analyze the factorial structure and psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of DERS-SF and examine the DERS-SF factor structure invariance between men and women. Methods: The sample comprised 646 participants aged between 18 and 66 years (M = 29.93, SD = 11.71). Results: The correlated six-factor structure of the original version has an acceptable fit, good reliability, and convergent validity. Our results also suggested the invariance of the factor structure of the DERS-SF across genders. Conclusion: The DERS-SF has good psychometric properties, and it may be useful for future research and clinical work to use this six-factor brief version and improve emotion regulation assessment.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract The Spanish version of the 5-item Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS-5) is a brief measure of the general tendency to be attentive and aware of experiences in the present moment during daily life. The MAAS-5 has been used in different countries; however, an assessment of its cross-cultural measurement invariance (MI) has not been conducted. Therefore, the study aimed to evaluate the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the MAAS-5 in university students from two countries: Peru and Mexico. A total of 1144 university students from Peru (N = 822) and Mexico (N = 322) responded online to the Spanish version of the 5-item Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS-5). A multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was performed. Measurement invariance tests the hypothesis that the model behind a set of scores is comparable between groups. The results showed that the unidimensional structure of the MAAS-5 is the same between Peruvian and Mexican university students. Therefore, it is suggested that university students from both countries conceptualize the mindfulness in a similar way. As a result, the MAAS-5 can be used to compare differences between countries. No significant differences were observed in the MAAS-5 score between Peruvian and Mexican university students. The present study contributes to a better understanding of the psychometric properties of the MAAS-5 by presenting MI results in two Latin American countries. Implications of the findings are discussed, which will facilitate a more solid and reliable use of the MAAS-5 in future cross-cultural studies.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract The role of emotions in the educational context is one of the lines of research that has generated most interest in recent years. This study explores the level of emotional intelligence (EI) and motivation towards studying of primary school (PS) students, as well as the relationship between both variables. For this, a quasi-experimental design has been used with an accidental sample of 541 students from public centers in the province of Pontevedra (Spain). The instruments used were a School Motivation Scale and an EI questionnaire for primary school students, based on the five areas of Goleman EI. The results maintain a mid to high level of EI in all of the factors (self-conscience, self-control, emotional use, empathy and social skills) and a good level of academic motivation. Therefore, they show a positive and significant correlation of both variables. Girls have a higher emotional intelligence index and there is no difference in academic motivation in terms of gender. Based on these results, it is suggested to implement programs that consolidate emotional competences given their importance in the psychoevolutionary development of students and their relationship with academic motivation.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Trust in automation plays a leading role in human-automation interaction. As there lack of scales measuring trust in automation in China, the purpose of this study was to adapt the trust between People and Automation Scale (TPAS) into Chinese and to demonstrate its psychometric properties among Chinese adults. A total of 310 Chinese adults were randomly selected as sample 1, and 508 Chinese adults as sample 2. Results of the item analysis revealed that each item had a good quality, and the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) suggested that the two-factor model with 12 items was the best fitting model. In addition, the TPAS was positively correlated with Interpersonal Trust Scale (ITS), proving good evidence based on relations to other variables to support the TPAS. In sum, the study suggested that the Chinese version of the TPAS could be used as an effective tool to assess trust in automation in the Chinese context.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Character strengths could effectively prevent negative psychological outcomes in adults. However, there was little research conducted among early adolescents. The present study aimed to explore character strengths that were independently related to fewer behavior problems in early adolescents. In total, 521 early adolescents (mean age 10.92 ± 0.04, range 10–12 years) were recruited from primary schools in Sichuan, China. Character strengths were measured using the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Youth (VIA-Youth). Behavior problems were measured using the Conners Parent Symptom Questionnaire (PSQ). The results showed that behavior problems were negatively correlated with character strengths ( r = −0.14 to −0.3, p < 0.05 Bonferroni corrected). Character strengths explained a significant proportion of additional variance (14–22%) in five types of behavior problems after controlling the effect of demographic factors (residence, left-behind experiences, maternal education level). Moreover, several specific character strengths showed an independent contribution ( β = −0.34 to −0.14 for self-regulation, perseverance, zest, humility, and leadership; β = 0.21 to 0.34, for hope; all p < 0.05) to behavior problems. Our study revealed that character strengths were protective factors against behavior problems in early adolescents.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Creativity, intelligence, and reading skills such as phonological awareness and decoding in reading can be critical to academic success, especially during childhood. Thus, this study aimed to characterize creativity, intelligence, phonological awareness, and reading decoding and verify possible relationships between creativity and these skills. The sample consisted of 75 children divided between the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades of municipal public schools in the Brazilian context. The results indicated the gradual evolution of creativity, intelligence, phonological awareness, and reading decoding in children from the 1st to the 3rd year, especially for the performance of the 3rd year. Correlations between creativity with intelligence and reading skills were also evidenced for all three classes, with the 3rd year with stronger correlations, which are promising results for these relationships. The study of creativity is still a recent field for empirical investigations and deserves future investigations for a better understanding of these constructs in this population.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract The family plays an essential role in the life of an adolescent. Hence, an acceptable understanding and an evaluation of family functioning is fundamental for effective interventions with adolescents in the psychological, social, and educational fields. The main purpose of this study is to examine the psychometric properties of the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES IV), the Family Communication Scale (FCS), and the Family Satisfaction Scale (FSS), for assessing the family functioning of Spanish adolescents. The sample was comprised of 1187 adolescents between 14 ?18 years old (49.96% boys and 50.04% girls; M = 16.17; SD = 1.31) from Castile and Leon (Spain), selected from 23 educational centers, 10 university degree courses, and 18 specific juvenile centers for adolescents with either family or behavioral problems. The scales of Balanced Cohesion, Balanced Flexibility and Disengaged showed good convergent validity, while Enmeshed, Rigid, and Chaotic did not. For this reason some items were removed, obtaining a shortened version of FACES IV, that demonstrated acceptable reliability, and good convergent and predictive validity. The FCS and FSS scales yielded excellent psychometric properties. The results confirmed the factorial structure of the FACES IV, its transcultural applicability, and its validity for different ages. The hypotheses of the circumplex model were confirmed, except for the dysfunctionality of two scales, Enmeshed and Rigid, that contrary to what was expected, showed positive correlations with Family Communication, Family Satisfaction, Balanced Cohesion, and Balanced Flexibility. In brief, our results present the FACES IV package as a useful instrument for the assessment of family functioning of Spanish adolescents. Future studies will be necessary to confirm the trend observed for the two aforementioned scales among adolescents.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Awareness of perceptual and sensory changes that might occur in visual, auditory, proprioception, and other senses, in the early stages towards the First Episode Psychosis (FEP), and their subsequent sensorial evolution as the disturb progresses deeper into an acute episode, might be a key element for interrupting the process. In the present study, we investigated hearing discomfort/tolerance to 16 given sound streams. Sixteen people diagnosed with FEP, participated in the experiment. Sixteen frequency sweeps varying in modulation envelopes (sawtooth, sine), order (ascending, descending), duration (4s, 8s), and range (50–8000 Hz, 2–8 kHz) were presented randomly, but always in the same sequence, to FEP and healthy controls (HC). The level of discomfort was estimated by the participant by making a mark across a continuous line whose extremes read “nothing bad” (left) and “too bad” (right). Results showed that ascending sine pure frequency sweeps (p < 0.01) and descending sine pure frequencies sweeps (p < 0.01) caused the maximum discomfort in FEP. Other variables also showed differences between FEP and HC, and FEP were always more intolerant to such pure frequency sweeps than HC. We conclude that this might be useful for very early assessment of people at risk, people with FEP, and people with schizophrenia.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Terapia Analítico-Comportamental (TAC) (in English, behavioral-analytic therapy, behavior therapy, or clinical behavior analysis) is a possible intervention for cases of anxiety and depression, but it still has much to advance in terms of efficacy and clinical utility evidence. This article aims to describe the effects of a semi-structured intervention in the model of TAC regarding anxiety and depression, behavior, complaints, and satisfaction indicators. Participants included three women with children, marital relationships, and work, aged between 34 and 41 with complaints compatible with anxiety and depression disorders. The intervention used Promove – Saúde da Mulher (PSM) (in English, Promote Women’s Health), which included 17 topics, most of them related to social skills. Instruments included the GAD-7 for anxiety, PHQ-9 for depression, IHS-2 Del Prette for social skills, a Complaints Checklist for monitoring clinical demands, and an Evaluation of the Therapeutic Process to describe clients’ satisfaction rates. The results from the standardized instruments were statistically analyzed via the JT method. All three participants showed reliable improvements in anxiety and/or depression, improvement in most complaints, and satisfaction with the intervention and its outcomes. Acquisition of social skills occurred in two cases. One participant dropped out and another one relapsed at follow-up. The efficacy criteria were used to evaluate the internal validity of the present study. The study collected the first evidences of outcome and satisfaction for PSM, thus enabling future investigations on the efficacy and clinical utility of this intervention program.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Objectives: Physical activity is critical, not only for the normal growth and development of children, but also for emotional and social behavior. The purpose of the article is to determine the relationship between physical education and social and emotional development of preschool children. Methods: The study involved 366 children (188 boys and 178 girls) at the ages of 5 (N = 191) and 6 (N = 174), who study in public kindergartens in Beijing (China). Within 3 months, additional physical education and fitness classes were held. Before and after the study, a test was conducted: Ages & Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE), which was completed by the parents. The research process did not affect the performance or development of children participants. Results: As a result of the study, the main regularities of the influence of physical education on social and emotional behavior of children were established. Based on the results of the study, it was determined that there is a positive correlation between age, physical education, and social-emotional behavior (r +—= 0.668). Conclusion: Gender differences are not statistically significant when it comes to physical activity’s effect on social and emotional behavior (p-value = 0.004). The results can be applied to programs for the prevention of psychosocial and social-emotional development delays of children in kindergartens.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Loneliness has emerged as a public health concern. Previous research has reported its deleterious effects on physical and mental health; however, some specific psychophysiological mechanisms in healthy adults remain to be elucidated. The aim of the current study is to investigate whether self-reported social support and social touch (giving and receiving social touch), as well as resting heart rate variability (HRV), are significant negative predictors of loneliness in healthy adults. The study sample consists of 120 healthy students (50% female) with a mean age of 21.85 years old (DP= 2.21). The students were asked to complete a psychiatric screening questionnaire utilizing loneliness, social support, and social touch scales. HRV was derived from an electrocardiographic signal recorded for 15 min, with the participant relaxed in a supine position. Linear regression analyses were conducted to evaluate loneliness as a function of social support, social touch (giving or receiving touch), and resting HRV. The results show that social support (p< 0.001) and social touch, specifically receiving touch (p< 0.002), accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in loneliness. However, neither giving touch nor resting HRV was a significant predictor of loneliness. The current study highlights specific psychosocial factors in healthy adults that should be considered as promising pathways in order to reduce or work toward preventing loneliness, thus promoting better health and well-being.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT The Mood Disorders Questionnaire (MDQ) is a 3-item scale that is frequently used in bipolar disorders (BD) screening and questions the symptoms of BD, its effect on functionality, and the coexistence of symptoms. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of positive screening of the MDQ among general population and to investigate the associated risk factors. In this cross-sectional study, the sample was randomly selected from household data to represent the city population. A total of 432 participants were asked to fill in MDQ, CAGE (cutting down, annoyance by criticism, guilty feeling, and eye-openers) questionnaire, which consists of four clinical interview questions proven to aid in the diagnosis of alcoholism, and clinical and sociodemographic data form. The Cronbach’s alpha value of our current study was 0.813 for MDQ. The prevalence of MDQ positivity was found 7.6%. The estimated prevalence rate of bipolar disorders varied between 0.3 and 13.4% according to different cut-off values. Multivariate logistic regression models showed that the presence of possible alcohol addiction, shift work history, and body mass index (BMI) were statistically significant predictors of MDQ positivity. The prevalence of MDQ positivity found is similar to studies in literature. Keeping in mind that psychometric properties of the MDQ, positive screen results should be cautiously interpreted due to the presence of other risk factors and comorbidities.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract The study explored the mediating effect of number sense between nonverbal intelligence and children's mathematical performance. The sample consisted of 131 pupils in Shaoxing City of China from grades 1, 3, and 5. The students completed measures of nonverbal intelligence, number sense, basic arithmetic ability, mathematical performance, rapid automatized naming, and working memory. Results show that although all variables significantly relate with each other (all p < .01), only nonverbal intelligence, number sense, and basic arithmetic ability significantly affect children's mathematical performance (all p < .01). According to multiple-mediation model, nonverbal intelligence significantly predicts children's mathematical performance through number sense and basic arithmetic ability. These findings suggest that domain-specific mathematical skills play a prominent role in children's mathematical performance in primary school, rather than domain-general cognitive functions. Educators should pay attention to develop children's number sense in order to improve children's mathematical ability.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract In sports context, the motivational climate has been widely studied since 2000, when the Perceived Motivational Climate in Sports Questionnaire-2 (PMCSQ-2) was published. Evaluating athletes’ perceptions of the motivational climate created by the coach, this questionnaire has been validated and adapted for different countries, including Brazil. However, important psychometric properties of the Brazilian version present problems, such as poor fit indices and the almost exclusively male samples, make it unfeasible for use in future research. Thus, this study aimed to achieve a new process of cross-cultural adaptation, and search for validity evidence of the PMCSQ-2 for the Brazilian sports context to correct distortions, expand the sources of evidence of validity and ecological validity, and make it suitable for application in future research. The sample consisted of 501 athletes (349 males, 152 females) from different sports. The findings of the current study support the multidimensional hierarchical characteristic of the instrument, its factorial structure, and internal consistency. We concluded that the 33-item PMCSQ-2BR, distributed in two high-order scales (ego-involving and task-involving) with three subscales each, can be used to assess athletes’ perceived motivational climate in the Brazilian sports context.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract The Positive Mental Health (PMH) scale has been shown to be a reliable and valid tool for assessing positive mental health and well-being in different languages and cultures. However, the PMH scale has not yet been translated into Arabic and validated for the Saudi Arabian population. Therefore, the current study aimed to translate the English version of the PMH scale into Arabic for the Saudi Arabian context and validate the translated scale. A total of 1148 adult participants from Saudi public universities took part in the study. Based on exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses in different subsamples, the results of the current study revealed that the unifactorial model satisfactorily fits the data. Additionally, the Arabic version of the PMH scale demonstrated sufficient levels of reliability and had a high negative correlation with the Beck Depression Inventory-II, indicating convergent validity. Taken together, the findings of the current study suggest that the Arabic version of the PMH scale has appropriate levels of validity and reliability for the Saudi Arabian population.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Language learners can rely on phonological and semantic information to learn novel words. Using a cross-situational word learning paradigm, we explored the role of phonotactic probabilities on word learning in ambiguous contexts. Brazilian-Portuguese speaking adults (N = 30) were exposed to two sets of word-object pairs. Words from one set of labels had slightly higher phonotactic probabilities than words from the other set. By tracking co-occurrences of words and objects, participants were able to learn word-object mappings similarly across both sets. Our findings contrast with studies showing a facilitative effect of phonotactic probability on word learning in non-ambiguous contexts.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Positive thinking is a form of positive cognition and a coping strategy. The Positive Thinking Scale (PTS) is used to measure positive thinking, but the reliability and validity of the PTS-Chinese have yet to be tested. This study aims to examine the psychometric properties of the PTS-Chinese. A total of 154 patients post-hip fracture surgery completed the questionnaire in a hospital in Taiwan between April 2020 and December 2020. The scales in the questionnaire included the PTS, Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire-Positive, Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire-Negative, Barthel Index, and items related to happiness, demographics, and disease treatment. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis and average variance extracted show that the PTS-Chinese version exhibits construct validity. Scores on the PTS-Chinese version are positively related to scores on the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire-Positive and happiness items and negatively related to scores on the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire-Negative. This finding indicates that the PTS-Chinese demonstrates concurrent, predictive, and discriminant validity. The scale also presents acceptable reliability and test–retest reliability. Overall, the PTS-Chinese can be used to evaluate and track the positive thinking of patients. Further studies are needed to assess the psychometric properties of the PTS-Chinese in different cultures and ethnic groups.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract The Multidimensional Psychological Flexibility Inventory (MPFI) is a new 60-item self-report scale developed to assess the specific components of psychological flexibility and inflexibility proposed in the Hexaflex model of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). The present study sought to examine the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the MPFI-60 in a community sample of 307 Iranian adults. The original study supported a 12-factor second-order structure consisting of 6 dimensions for psychological flexibility and 6 dimensions for psychological inflexibility. The Persian MPFI-60 demonstrated acceptable semantic and test content, internal structure, correlations with other variables, and internal consistency. It also evidenced in relation to anxiety, stress, depression, and self-compassion. Overall, the results indicate that the Persian MPFI-60 is a psychometrically sound measure in the Iranian context that enables researchers and clinicians to comprehensively assess the components of psychological flexibility and inflexibility within the Hexaflex model.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Purpose: Pandemic-induced lockdowns disrupted sport training and competition. We aimed to identify the impact on the mental health of high-level athletes and clarify whether the effects differ for team-based and individual athletes. Methods: This cross-sectional survey, stratified by sex and sport type, collected demographic data and mental health measurements from 274 Brazilian high-performance athletes (142 from team sports and 132 from individual sports) involved with the Brazilian Olympic Committee program for the Tokyo Olympics 2021. Depression, disturbed sleep, and anxiety were assessed by the 9-Item Patient Health Questionnaire, 7-Item Insomnia Severity Index, and 7-Item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale respectively. Responses were analyzed dichotomously according to published threshold values, characterizing the relative frequency distribution of prevalence (PCRS) or non-prevalence of clinically relevant symptoms (NPCRS). Results: Out of all participants, 47 [17.1%], Z(274) = 15.38, p = .001, 32 [11.7%], Z(274) = 17.94, p = .001, and 49 [17.9%], Z(274) = 15.04, p = .001 had PCRS of anxiety, insomnia, and depression, respectively. There were no significant differences in the PCRS among genders. Compared with individual sport athletes, team sport athletes were more likely to report PCRS of insomnia (12 [37.5%] vs 20 [62.5%], Z(274) = −2.00, p = .046), and depression (18 [36.7%] vs 31 [63.3%], Z(274) = −2.63, p = .009) but not for anxiety. Conclusion: Athletes reported high levels of mental health problems during the lockdown. Team sport athletes reported worse symptoms of insomnia and depression than individual sport athletes, possibly due to the impact of unaccustomed social isolation and lack of social team activity. Therefore, it becomes relevant to consider psychological support to team sport athletes who for some reason, such as a pandemic, enduring crisis even injury rehabilitation needs to be isolated.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Occupational identity is a central concept of career development, by providing a sense of direction and meaning across career development. This study aimed to examine how this concept can be associated with career processes through model formed by a set of socio-cognitive factors. The participants were 358 college students at a Brazilian university who completed measures of occupational identity, environmental supports and barriers, self-efficacy, goal progress, and academic satisfaction. Analysis indicates that the occupational identity status was partially well predicted by the combination of self-efficacy to cope with barriers, supports, academic satisfaction, and goal progress. These results highlight that students with a positive sense of competencies to deal with barriers and adequate levels of academic satisfaction would easily establish an occupational identity.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Background: The influence of education on cognition has been extensively researched, particularly in countries with high levels of illiteracy. However, the impact of low education in all cognitive functions appears to differ. Regarding to language, the effects of education on many linguistic tasks—supported by different processing— remain unclear. The primary objective of this study was to determine whether oral language task performance differs among individuals with no formal and low-educated subjects, as measured by the Brazilian Montreal-Toulouse Language Assessment Battery (MTL-BR). This is the only language battery available for use in Brazil, but lacks normative data for illiterate individuals. The secondary objective was to gather data for use as clinical parameters in assessing persons with aphasia (PWA) not exposed to a formal education. Methods: A total of 30 healthy illiterate individuals aged 34–60 years were assessed. All participants underwent the MTL-BR Battery, excluding its written communication tasks. The data obtained in the present study were compared against results of a previous investigation of individuals with 1–4 years of education evaluated using the same MTL-BR instrument. Results: Statistically significant differences in performance were found between non-formal education and the low-educated (2–4 years) groups on the tasks Auditory Comprehension, Repetition, Orthographic/Phonological Fluency, Number dictation, Reading of numbers and also on simple numerical calculations. Conclusion: The study results showed that individuals with no formal education/illiterate had worse performance than low-education individuals on some of the language tasks of the MTL-Br Battery, suggesting that each year of education impacts cognitive-language performance. Also, data were obtained which can serve as a guide for PWA not exposed to a formal education.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Teamwork skills are considered essential for personal, academic and professional achievement, so universities are increasingly integrating them into their syllabuses. However, little is known about how some specific features of students and their educational development can affect their acquisition. Accordingly, this study aims to fill this gap and describe higher education students’ mastery of teamwork skills and its relation to certain socio-academic variables (gender, academic year and grade point average—GPA). With the aim of determining the level of teamwork skills among university students, an observational, transversal descriptive study was designed with an intentional sample of Spanish university students. The sample is made up of 615 social science degree students. The results suggest significant gender differences, highlighting that female students outdid their male counterparts in most teamwork skills, except leadership. Likewise, students’ skills improved as they progressed in their studies, particularly those skills related to adaptability and decision-making. Finally, a positive relationship was observed between teamwork skills and GPA, except for interpersonal development. A regression analysis confirmed the influence of both academic year and GPA for women whilst no effect was detected in the case of men. Based on these results, it is suggested to make changes in university education programmes to compensate for the influence of socio-academic factors and benefit from the most positive features of each gender regarding teamwork to achieve an equal and fair higher education.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Background: Pregnancy is a period when women are particularly vulnerable to suicidal ideation and a great opportunity for suicide risk prevention. Aims: This study aimed to establish a comprehensive understanding of suicidal ideation prevalence, risk factors, screening tools, consequences and management during pregnancy. Method: A literature search was performed in MEDLINE and PsycInfo databases from 2016 to 2021. A narrative synthesis of the literature and a critical overview of the current issues/questions to be addressed within the topic of suicidal ideation during pregnancy was performed. Results: The prevalence of suicidal ideation during pregnancy was between 2.73 and 18% internationally. The risk factors identified were major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, difficulties with sleep, previous suicide attempts, high rumination, low incomes, being black, being young, low educational level, partner violence, having poor support, food insecurity, history of child abuse, high obstetric risk, multiparity, previous induced abortion and exposure to tobacco or human immunodeficiency virus diagnosis. The screening tools used for suicidal ideation during pregnancy were item 10 of the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale and item 9 of the Patient Health Questionnaire. Results showed that suicidal ideation during pregnancy is associated with poor cognitive development in children and low birth weight. No case management studies on suicidal ideation were found. Limitations: The main limitation of the available studies was the lack of articles with a high degree of methodological rigour on this subject. Conclusions: This narrative review is a state-of-the-art paper about suicidal ideation during pregnancy. Further research is needed, and researchers should carry out systematic reviews and meta-analyses, leading to Clinical Practice Guidelines in this area. This effort would improve our evidence-based practice in Perinatal Psychology and prevent associated suicidal behaviour.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT A scoping review of systematic reviews was carried out to identify evidence of efficacy, effectiveness, and costeffectiveness of universal and selective suicide prevention programs among university students worldwide. Five databases were reviewed using terms in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. The following were the inclusion criteria: systematic review or meta-analysis or meta-synthesis, suicide prevention in college students, evaluation of the efficacy, effectiveness and/or cost-effectiveness of interventions, and peer-reviewed studies. The quality of reviews was assessed. The field of study features three decades of publication in high-income countries. The strategy used, the components of the program, and the target audience to which they are delivered interfere with efficacy. In the psychoeducation strategy, the experiential and didactic components are more efficacious in the knowledge about suicide. And the motivational enhancement component promotes greater self-efficacy in suicide prevention. Programs that take a multimodal approach are effective in increasing short-term attitudes related to suicide and reducing rates of completed suicide. The gatekeeper strategy delivered to peer counselors is the most effective one in the outcomes, including short-term and long-term knowledge about suicide and its prevention and self-efficacy in suicide prevention. A greater number of evaluated studies of gatekeeper interventions were identified, indicating a trend in this research field. No review addressed the effects on subgroups that were classified based on sex, racial or sexual minorities, and special (indigenous) populations. Only one study addressed cost-effectiveness, pointing out that the psychoeducation and gatekeeper strategies have relevant net benefit rates, but the gatekeeper strategy has a higher cost–benefit ratio compared to the psychoeducation strategy. The findings indicate that psychoeducation and gatekeeper interventions tend to be more efficacious when they combine education and skills training to intervene in suicidal behavior. The components of the intervention and the target audience to which it is delivered influence efficacy. Multimodal interventions evaluate completed suicide outcomes, but require greater implementation efforts, in terms of human and financial resources and more time for the evaluation.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Recommendations for using evidence-based practices have become increasingly common in services for individuals diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). The aim of this study was to conduct a narrative literature review to identify differences and similarities in evidence-evaluation criteria for group and single-subject designs that empirically support interventions for people with ASD. Data sources used in this analysis were reports and articles elaborated by different clearinghouses (i.e., National Autism Center, National Professional Development Center, and the National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice). The criteria for evaluating evidence, as defined by these documents, contained specific components or quality indicators for each type of study design. The different criteria for evaluating evidence and for classifying the interventions (once evidence was evaluated) were identified and described. This manuscript discusses the need for (a) expanding the analysis beyond the evidence identified by different researchers and organizations such as the clearinghouses, (b) proposing interventions that are based not only on scientific evidence but also on social validity — which is directed by client idiosyncrasies, and (c) attention to the fact that EBPs should not be seen as static information regarding interventions with empirical support: evidence-based practices are the result of constant analysis of the intervention implementation data added to professional training and client values and context. Some additional issues and the study limitations are also presented.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract The literature on extrinsic emotion regulation or the intention to modify other people's emotions has grown in recent years, accompanied by proposals in which its definition is made more precise, the way to understand it in relation to other related processes is delimited, and the consequences of its use in the quality of close relationships are evidenced. Conceptual reviews on this topic recognize the importance of examining the affect and dyadic dynamics that arise between those who regulate each other extrinsically. This dynamic refers to emotional interdependence, the potential of the members of a dyad to shape each other's emotions reciprocally, particularly in those who share a close bond, such as that of a romantic couple. There is little theoretical development regarding the relevance of this characteristic in relation to EER. This article has two objectives: (1) to make a narrative synthesis of the characteristics that define EER and (2) to expand and complexify the existing model by including the emotional interdependence as a vital component in the understanding of the functioning of EER. Lastly, the role of emotional interdependence in the emergence, maintenance, and satisfaction concerning couple relationships is made explicit through phenomena such as shared reality.