Instituto Universitário de Ciências Psicológicas, Sociais e da Vida
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Preditores desenvolvimentais do desempenho na Matemática no final do 1.º ano
No full textAbstract: This study examined the predictive role of child cognitive, social, emotional, and behavioural dimensions assessed at the age of 4½, as well as of the traditional variables related to academic school readiness before the entry to primary school, on mathematics achievement at the end of Year 1. A sample of 58 Portuguese children and their parents participated in this longitudinal study. Initial correlations indicated significant associations between child intelligence quotient (IQ), inhibitory control, set-shifting, dysregulation profile, academic school readiness, and their subsequent performance in mathematics. A hierarchical regression analysis showed that inhibitory control at 4½ years significantly predicted mathematics achievement at the end of Year 1 over and above the effect of academic school readiness before entering primary school. These results add to the existing literature by highlighting the impact of child executive functioning assessed during the preschool years on subsequent mathematics performance in early school years.Resumo: O presente estudo analisou o papel preditor das dimensões cognitivas, sociais, emocionais e comportamentais de crianças avaliadas aos 4 anos e meio de idade, bem como das variáveis tradicionalmente associadas à prontidão escolar académica antes da entrada no ensino primário, no desempenho da Matemática no final do 1.º ano. Participaram neste estudo longitudinal um total de 58 crianças Portuguesas e respetivos pais. As correlações iniciais demonstraram associações significativas entre o quociente de inteligência (QI) da criança, controlo inibitório, flexibilidade cognitiva, perfil de desregulação, prontidão escolar académica e o seu desempenho subsequente na Matemática. Através de uma análise de regressão hierárquica verificou-se que o controlo inibitório aos 4 anos e meio previu significativamente o desempenho na Matemática no final do 1.º ano, superando o efeito da prontidão escolar académica antes da entrada no ensino primário. Estes resultados contribuem para a literatura existente, salientando o impacto do funcionamento executivo da criança, avaliado durante a idade pré-escolar, no desempenho posterior na Matemática nos primeiros anos do ensino formal.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Fatores que os psicoterapeutas consideram contribuir para os resultados de sucesso
No full textDissertação de Mestrado apresentada no ISPA –
Instituto Universitário para obtenção de grau
de Mestre na especialidade de Psicologia
Clínica.Os terapeutas são considerados agentes determinantes na eficácia da psicoterapia.
Contudo, são ainda necessários estudos que explicitem a visão dos terapeutas sobre o que
mais contribui para o seu desenvolvimento profissional. Objetivos: O presente estudo
qualitativo pretendeu identificar que fatores os terapeutas consideram contribuir para
resultados de sucesso na sua prática. Método: Seis entrevistas individuais, com treze
questões orientadoras que foram analisadas segundo a metodologia qualitativa do método
fenomenológico. Resultados: Os terapeutas consideram como fatores que contribuem
para os melhores resultados terapêuticos: o bem-estar geral do terapeuta, o tempo e as
condições adequados que permitam atender a todos os encargos e responsabilidades
inerentes à prática, a partilha/o trabalho em equipa e a formação contínua. Conciliar a
vida profissional e pessoal, lidar com outros elementos relacionados com cada caso,
cumprir todas as tarefas que a profissão exige com condições desadequadas, são as
dificuldades apresentadas pelos terapeutas e, segundo eles, fatores que conduzem ao
cansaço físico e psicológico que terá implicações nos resultados terapêuticos.ABSTRACT: Therapists are considered agents that determine the effectiveness of
psychotherapy. However, studies are still needed that explain therapists' views on what
contributes most to their professional development. Objectives: This qualitative study
aimed to identify which factors therapists consider to contribute to successful results in
their practice. Method: Six individual interviews, with thirteen guiding questions that
were analyzed according to the qualitative methodology of the phenomenological
method. Results: Therapists consider the factors that contribute to the best therapeutic
outcomes to be: the general well-being of the therapist, adequate time and conditions to
meet all the burdens and responsibilities inherent to the practice, sharing/teamwork and
continuous training. Reconciling professional and personal life, dealing with other
elements related to each case, carrying out all the tasks that the profession requires under
inadequate conditions, are the difficulties presented by therapists and, according to them,
factors that lead to physical and psychological fatigue that will have implications in
therapeutic outcomes
Information literacy and critical thinking in higher education Project – Countering disinformation: training librarians
Get PDFO Projeto «Literacia da Informação e Pensamento Crítico no Ensino Superior: combater a desinformação» assenta na relevância da literacia da informação no combate à desinformação e no estímulo do pensamento crítico junto dos estudantes do ensino superior face à influência nociva da desinformação. Pretende corresponder às necessidades dos jovens, através do trabalho desenvolvido pelos bibliotecários das instituições de ensino superior, nomeadamente no apoio à prossecução dos seus trabalhos académicos e científicos, mas também na aprendizagem ao longo da vida e na resolução de problemas do quotidiano. Desenvolveram-se diversas ações dirigidas a profissionais de informação e comunidades de prática para conhecer e aplicar referenciais internacionais, como a Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (ACRL), promover o relacionamento profissional entre bibliotecários dos EUA e de Portugal, disseminar documentos orientadores e inspirar boas práticas e também capacitar o público jovem no uso e na escolha criteriosa da informação e no desenvolvimento e aprimoramento do pensamento crítico.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Estudo exploratório do conhecimento da anatomia genital feminina em homens e mulheres e dos fatores preditores do duplo padrão sexual
No full textDissertação de Mestrado
apresentada no ISPA – Instituto Universitário para
obtenção de grau de Mestre na especialidade de
Psicologia ClínicaFoi levado a cabo um estudo quantitativo exploratório com vista a explorar as
associações entre as variáveis do conhecimento da anatomia genital feminina, do ciclo
reprodutivo feminino e a adesão ao duplo padrão sexual numa amostra de homens e de
mulheres. Na subamostra de mulheres, procurou-se ainda averiguar a associação entre a
frequência da masturbação e a adesão ao duplo padrão sexual. Foram também estudadas
diferenças de género nestas variáveis bem como os fatores preditores da adesão ao duplo
padrão sexual em homens e mulheres. A amostra incluiu 737 participantes, dos quais 582
reportaram sexo feminino à nascença e 155 sexo masculino à nascença, com média de
idades de 27,85 e de 30,29 anos, respetivamente. Na subamostra de mulheres, o duplo
padrão sexual, cujos fatores preditores significativos foram a idade, a frequência da
prática religiosa e a orientação sexual, apresentou uma correlação negativa e significativa
com o conhecimento da anatomia genital feminina e a frequência da masturbação. Na
subamostra de homens, o duplo padrão sexual, cujo fator preditor significativo foi a
religião, apresentou uma correlação negativa e significativa com o conhecimento da
anatomia genital feminina e do ciclo reprodutivo feminino. A subamostra de mulheres
apresentou um maior conhecimento face à anatomia genital feminina e ciclo reprodutivo
feminino em comparação com a subamostra de homens. A subamostra de homens
apresentou uma maior frequência de masturbação e adesão ao duplo padrão sexual em
comparação com a subamostra das mulheres.ABSTRACT: The present exploratory quantitative study was carried out in order to explore the
correlations between the variables: knowledge of female genital anatomy; knowledge of
the female reproductive cycle and adherence to the sexual double standard in a sample of
men and women. In the subsample of women, we also sought to study the association
between the frequency of masturbation and adherence to the sexual double standard.
Gender differences in these variables were also studied as were predictors of adherence
to the sexual double standard in both men and women. The sample included 737
participants —582 females at birth and 155 males at birth— with age averages of 27,85
and 30,29 years, respectively. Among the subsample of women, the sexual double
standard was found to have significant predictors in age, frequency of religious practice
and sexual orientation, and presented a negative and significant correlation with
knowledge of female genital anatomy and frequency of masturbation. In the subsample
of men, the sexual double standard had as a significant predictor religion, and presented
a negative and significant correlation with knowledge of female genital anatomy and the
female reproductive cycle. The subsample of women revealed greater knowledge
regarding female genital anatomy and the female reproductive cycle compared to the
subsample of men. The male subsample also evidenced a higher frequency of
masturbation and adherence to the sexual double standard compared to the women's
subsample
Envelhecimento e música: O papel do treino musical na memória episódica e reserva cognitiva dos adultos mais velhos
No full textDissertação de Mestrado apresentada no ISPA – Instituto
Universitário para obtenção de grau de Mestre na
especialidade de Psicologia ClínicaEnquadramento: A memória episódica é uma das funções cognitivas mais suscetíveis a um
declínio precoce, no entanto alguns indivíduos preservam a função até uma idade mais tardia.
A reserva cognitiva surgiu como um conceito para explicar as diferenças individuais que
ajudam o indivíduo a manter o funcionamento cognitivo face a alterações cerebrais. Outro fator
é o treino musical, que devido aos seus benefícios cognitivos pode servir como uma forma de
preservar e melhorar a memória episódica nos adultos mais velhos.
Objetivo: Este estudo visa investigar como os fatores do treino musical contribuem para um
melhor desempenho da memória episódica numa idade tardia e avaliar a reserva cognitiva
como um mecanismo protetor no envelhecimento cognitivo.
Método: Sessenta adultos (com idades entre 45 e 77 anos) participaram neste estudo, divididos
em dois grupos: músicos e não-músicos. Foram administradas provas da Escala de Memória
de Weschler (Memória Lógica e Reprodução Visual) e o Cognitive Reserve Index
questionnaire.
Resultados: Os músicos superaram os não-músicos nas tarefas de memória visual, incluindo
Reprodução Visual I e Reprodução Visual II (Evocação, Cópia e Discriminação). Fatores do
treino musical como tocar múltiplos instrumentos, uma maior duração de aulas de música e um
maior número de horas dedicadas à prática do instrumento demonstraram uma relação positiva
com as tarefas de Reprodução Visual. O CRIq demonstrou uma boa validade concorrente,
apoiando assim a sua pertinência na avaliação da reserva cognitiva. Os músicos demonstraram
uma maior reserva relacionada com a experiência de trabalho do que os não-músicos.ABSTRACT: Background: Episodic memory is one of the cognitive functions most susceptible to early
decline, however some individuals preserve this function until a later age. Cognitive reserve
has emerged as a concept to explain the individual differences that help an individual maintain
cognitive function in the face of brain changes. Another factor is musical training, which, due
to its cognitive benefits, can serve to preserve and enhance episodic memory in older adults.
Objective: This study aims to investigate how factors related to musical training contribute to
an improved episodic memory at an older age and to evaluate cognitive reserve as a protective
mechanism in cognitive aging.
Method: Sixty adults (age between 45 and 77) participated in this study, divided into two
groups: musicians and non-musicians. They completed tests from the Wechsler Memory Scale
(Logical Memory and Visual Reproduction) and the Cognitive Reserve Index questionnaire.
Results: Musicians outperformed non-musicians in visual memory tasks, including Visual
Reproduction I and Visual Reproduction II (Recall, Copy, and Discrimination). Factors related
to musical training, such as playing multiple instruments, longer music lesson duration, and
more hours dedicated to instrument practice, showed a positive relationship with Visual
Reproduction tasks. The Cognitive Reserve Index questionnaire demonstrated good concurrent
validity, thus supporting its relevance in assessing cognitive reserve. Musicians exhibited a
greater reserve related to work experience than non-musicians.
The polygenic and reactive nature of observed parenting
Get PDFIn Wertz et al. (2019), parents' polygenic scores of educational attainment (PGS-EA)
predicted parental sensitive responses to the child's needs for support, as observed
in a dyadic task (i.e., observed sensitivity). We aimed to replicate and expand these
findings by combining longitudinal data, child genotype data and several polygenic
scores in the Generation R Study. Mother–child dyads participated in two developmental
periods, toddlerhood (14 months old; n = 648) and early childhood (3–4 years
old, n = 613). Higher maternal PGS-EA scores predicted higher observed sensitivity
in toddlerhood (b = 0.12, 95% CI 0.03, 0.20) and early childhood (b = 0.16, 95% CI
0.08, 0.24). Child PGS-EA was significantly associated with maternal sensitivity in
early childhood (b = 0.11, 95% CI 0.02, 0.21), and the effect of maternal PGS-EA was
no longer significant when correcting for child PGS-EA. A latent factor of PGSs based
on educational attainment, intelligence (IQ) and income showed similar results. These
polygenic scores might be associated with maternal cognitive and behavioral skills
that help shape parenting. Maternal PGSs predicted observed sensitivity over and
above the maternal phenotypes, showing an additional role for PGSs in parenting
research. In conclusion, we replicated the central finding of Wertz et al. (2019) that
parental PGS-EA partially explains parental sensitivity. Our findings may be consistent
with evocative gene–environment correlation (rGE), emphasizing the dynamic
nature of parenting behavior across time, although further research using family trios
is needed to adequately test this hypothesis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Criterion and construct validity of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) to measure depression in patients with cancer: The contribution of somatic items
Get PDFBackground/Objective: Screening for depression in patients with cancer can be difficult due to overlap between
symptoms of depression and cancer. We assessed validity of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) in this
population.
Method: Data was obtained in an outpatient neuropsychiatry unit treating patients with and without cancer. Psychometric properties of the BDI-II Portuguese version were assessed separately in 202 patients with cancer, and
376 outpatients with mental health complaints but without cancer.
Results: Confirmatory factor analysis suggested a three-factor structure model (cognitive, affective and somatic)
provided best fit to data in both samples. Criterion validity was good for detecting depression in oncological
patients, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.85 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.760.91). A cut-off
score of 14 had sensitivity of 87% and specificity of 73%. Excluding somatic items did not significantly change the
ROC curve for BDI-II (difference AUCs = 0.002, p=0.9). A good criterion validity for BDI-II was also obtained in
the non-oncological population (AUC = 0.87; 95% CI 0.810.91), with a cut-off of 18 (sensitivity=84%;
specificity=73%).
Conclusions: The BDI-II demonstrated good psychometric properties in patients with cancer, comparable to a population without cancer. Exclusion of somatic items did not affect screening accuracyFundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - FCTinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Crises social sensing: Longitudinal monitoring of social perceptions of systemic risk during public health crisis
Get PDFMonitoring how different people – as ‘social sensors’ – evaluate and
respond to crisis such as pandemics, allows tailoring crisis communication
to the social perceptions of the situation, at different moments. To gather
such evidence, we proposed a index of social perceptions of systemic
risk (SPSR), as an indicator of a situational threat compromising risks to
physical health, psychological health, the economy, social relations, health
system, and others. This indicator was the core of a social sensing
approach applied to crisis situations, implemented during the COVID-19
pandemic through a content analysis of more than 130.000 public comments from Facebook™ users, in COVID-19 related publications. This
content coding allowed creating a SPSR index monitored during a
one-year descriptive longitudinal analysis. This index correlated with
co-occurring events within the social system, namely epidemiological
indicators across measurement cycles (e.g. new deaths; cumulative number of infection cases; Intensive Care Unit hospitalizations) and tended
to reflect the epidemiological situation severity (e.g. with the highest
level registered during the worst pandemic wave). However, discrepancies
also occurred, with high SPSR registered in a low severity situation, i.e.
low number of hospitalizations and deaths (e.g. school year beginning),
or low SPSR in a high severity situation (e.g. 2nd pandemic wave during
Christmas), showing other factors beyond the epidemiological situation
contributing to the social perceptions. After each ‘crisis period’ with SPSR
peaking, there was a ‘restoration period’, consistently decreasing towards
average levels of the previous measurement cycle. This can either indicate
social resilience (recovery and resources potentiation) or risk attenuation
after a high-severity period. This study serves as preliminary proof of
concept of a crises social sensing approach, enabling monitoring of social
system dynamics for various crisis types, such as health crisis or the
climate crisis.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - FCTinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Perceived discrimination based on the symptoms of covid-19, mental health, and emotional responses–the international online COVISTRESS survey
Get PDFBackground
Despite the potential detrimental consequences for individuals’ health and discrimination
from covid-19 symptoms, the outcomes have received little attention. This study examines
the relationships between having personally experienced discrimination based on the symptoms of covid-19 (during the first wave of the pandemic), mental health, and emotional
responses (anger and sadness). It was predicted that covid-19 discrimination would be positively related to poor mental health and that this relationship would be mediated by the emotions of anger and sadness.
Methods
The study was conducted using an online questionnaire from January to June 2020 (the
Covistress network; including 44 countries). Participants were extracted from the COVISTRESS database (Ntotal = 280) with about a half declaring having been discriminated due to
covid-19 symptoms (N = 135). Discriminated participants were compared to non-discriminated participants using ANOVA. A mediation analysis was conducted to examine the indirect effect of emotional responses and the relationships between perceived discrimination and self-reported mental health.
Results
The results indicated that individuals who experienced discrimination based on the symptoms of covid-19 had poorer mental health and experienced more anger and sadness. The
relationship between covid-19 personal discrimination and mental health disappeared when
the emotions of anger and sadness were statistically controlled for. The indirect effects for
both anger and sadness were statistically significant.
Discussion
This study suggests that the covid-19 pandemic may have generated discriminatory behaviors toward those suspected of having symptoms and that this is related to poorer mental
health via anger and sadness.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Face recognition ability is manifest in early dynamic decoding of face-orientation selectivity - Evidence from multi-variate pattern analysis of the neural response
Get PDFABSTRACT: Although humans are considered to be face experts, there is a well-established reliable
variation in the degree to which neurotypical individuals are able to learn and recognise
faces. While many behavioural studies have characterised these differences, studies that
seek to relate the neuronal response to standardised behavioural measures of ability
remain relatively scarce, particularly so for the time-resolved approaches and the early
response to face stimuli. In the present study we make use of a relatively recent methodological advance, multi-variate pattern analysis (MVPA), to decode the time course of the
neural response to faces compared to other object categories (inverted faces, objects).
Importantly, for the first time, we directly relate metrics of this decoding assessed at the
individual level to gold-standard measures of behavioural face processing ability assessed
in an independent task. Thirty-nine participants completed the behavioural Cambridge
Face Memory Test (CFMT), then viewed images of faces and houses (presented upright and
inverted) while their neural activity was measured via electroencephalography. Significant
decoding of both face orientation and face category were observed in all individual participants. Decoding of face orientation, a marker of more advanced face processing, was
earlier and stronger in participants with higher levels of face expertise, while decoding of
face category information was earlier but not stronger for individuals with greater face
expertise. Taken together these results provide a marker of significant differences in the
early neuronal response to faces from around 100 ms post stimulus as a function of
behavioural expertise with faces.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - FCTinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio