Maria Calheiros

O estudo tem por objectivo analisar a importância de um conjunto de variáveis psicossociais na variabilidade das práticas parentais de mau trato e negligência. Teoricamente recorre a investigação baseada em modelos de matriz ecológica (Belsky, 1980; 1993; 1995) e transacional (Cicchetti e Rizley, 1981; Cicchetti e Lynch, 1993) sobre os determinantes do funcionamento parental. O estudo empírico foi realizado com uma amostra de 379 crianças, com idades entre os 6 e os 15 anos, que frequentam o ensino público na zona da grande Lisboa. Foram preenchidos dois questionários pelos professores. O primeiro avalia as práticas parentais abusivas de mau trato psicológico, mau trato físico e negligência física. O segundo avalia variáveis da criança e da família ao nível do contexto ontogénico, micro, exo e macro. Os resultados obtidos salientam a importância de algumas das variáveis ao nível dos quatro contextos na modulação das diferentes práticas parentais abusivas.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17...

O presente estudo tem como objectivo testar o “Jogo dos Alimentos” que tem como suporte teórico o Modelo da Probabilidade da Elaboração. Destina-se à prevenção primária da obesidade em crianças a frequentarem o ensino básico, através da mudança atitudinal face à alimentação hiper calórica e ao sedentarismo. A sua aplicação em duas escolas mostra alterações positivas e significativas nas atitudes e intenção comportamental das crianças face à alimentação e à ocupação de tempos livres. Estudos futuros podem beneficiar com o aperfeiçoamento desta técnica, no âmbito do desenvolvimento de programas de intervenção nesta área, destinados a esta e a outras faixas etárias.

In this study, we examine the associations of Multiple Autonomy Support Attunement (MASA) (corresponding to configurations of (in)consistent perceived multiple autonomy support regarding parents, teachers, and mentors) with perceived competence in learning and native language and math grades, among rural adolescents. A total of 448 ninth graders (M = 14.71; SD = .90; 58.03% girls) from The Azores Islands, a Portuguese mostly rural and isolated area participated in this study. Using Latent Class Analysis (LCA), a three-class solution for MASA presented the best fit and was more interpretable. Multivariate Analysis of Variance showed that unattuned MASA, due to low teacher support, was the most recurrent MASA configuration. While less recurrent, high MASA was associated with improvements in all educational outcomes. The effect of high MASA on improving educational outcomes among these youths was above and beyond, and more systematic, than factors that typically play a central role in rural educational trajectories, such as SES and gender. Our study shows the need to further articulate rural students’ social ecology features with the usual explanations for rural education failure.

Com base na Teoria da Seguranca Emocional, este estudo visa explorar a relacao entre o conflito interparental (CI) e as reaccoes emocionais, cognitivas e comportamentais das criancas e adolescentes ao conflito (i.e., seguranca emocional, SE), analisando o papel moderador da percepcao que estes tem da sua relacao com os pais. Neste sentido, foi solicitado o preenchimento de questionarios de autorrelato a 290 criancas e adolescentes, com idades entre os 8 e os 16 anos, a frequentar entre o 3.o e o 9.o ano de escolaridade. Os resultados mostram um efeito de moderacao significativo de algumas dimensoes da percecao da relacao pais-filhos (e.g., discordia, interacoes negativas) na relacao entre determinadas caracteristicas do CI (e.g., frequencia, intensidade, resolucao) e dimensoes da SE (e.g., representacoes destrutivas da relacao interparental, reacoes de evitamento do CI).  Based on the Emotional Security Theory, this study explores the relationship between interparental conflict (IC)...

The main goal of this study is to understand the relationship between different types of prosocial behaviors and different forms of self-regulation, as part of the adaptation and validation of the Portuguese version of the Prosocial Tendencies Measure-Revised (PTM-R). A total of 403 early adolescents (M = 11.81; SD = .92; 52.91% girls) completed self-reported measures. The evaluation of psychometric properties of the PTM-R involved a confirmatory factorial analysis, followed by the examination of factorial internal consistency and factorial invariance analyses across gender groups and school retention groups (retention vs. no-retention). The results support the premise that a 6-factor model similar to the original measure is the most appropriate factorial solution for the PTM-R Portuguese version (χ2(174) = 1.725, p < .001, CFI = .95, RMSEA = .030, SRMR = .08). The levels of internal consistency for the different subscales ranged from .67 to .78. Further convergent and divergent ...

O desenho de um centro de saúde para jovens: um exemplo de investigação participativa. O direito dos jovens à partici-pação afigura-se como um meio para exprimirem necessidades e reclamarem os seus direitos. Contudo, a perspetiva dos jovens continua sub-representada na investigação aplicada à definição das políticas e práticas no âmbito dos serviços de saúde, sendo pouco utilizada na melhoria dos mesmos. Neste artigo apre-sentam-se os resultados de uma investigação participativa, na qual os jovens identificaram alguns fatores que promovem ou inibem a utilização dos serviços de saúde, e contribuíram para o desenho de um centro de saúde ideal para jovens. Palavras-chave: participação; jovens; avaliação e desenho de serviços. The design of a health center for youth: an example of par-ticipatory research. The right of youth to participation is a means for young people to express their needs and claim their rights. However, the perspectives of youth remain underrep-resented in research a...

The present study presents an analysis of the beliefs of a sample of Portuguese parents on the causes of child maltreatment as well as an analysis of the variability factors of such beliefs. A sample of 358 Portuguese parents answered to a questionnaire concerning beliefs on causes of child maltreatment. The questionnaire was based on a review of literature on etiological models of maltreatment. The results show that parents� beliefs on the causes of child maltreatment have a multifactorial structure which integrates the ontogenic, interactionist, social and cultural factors, proposed by most theoretical models on the etiology of child maltreatment. Analyses performed on the beliefs� factors showed that the variability of these beliefs was mainly due to socioeconomic status and parental experience of the respondents.

Na analise do equilibrio trabalho-familia, tem-se salientado o efeito de extravasamento (spillover). Neste estudo, realizado por entrevista semiestruturada a uma amostra de 102 maes portuguesas (incluindo 79 sinalizadas por mau trato e negligencia), abordam-se os impactos da situacao profissional das maes nas praticas parentais abusivas. Os resultados sugerem, como previamos, que a relacao da situacao profissional (estatuto e horas de trabalho) com a parentalidade abusiva nao e directa, mas moderada por algumas variaveis psicossociais. Encontraram-se efeitos de extravasamento negativo para o mau trato materno em condicoes de fracos recursos pessoais percebidos e de insatisfacao laboral; o extravasamento negativo para negligencia materna ocorre apenas quando ha pouco controlo percebido sobre a situacao de trabalho ou atribuicoes internas de incapacidade. Por outro lado, o efeito de extravasamento pode ser positivo quando as maes atribuem os problemas laborais a factores externos (e.g...

Individuals’ perceptions of their social images [i.e., meta-representations (MR)] and perceived stereotyping threat create involuntary stress responses that may affect important outcomes, such as self-esteem, academic achievement, and mental health. This study aimed to (1) analyze the indirect associations between residential care youth’s MR and their psychological adjustment (i.e., externalizing and internalizing problems) through their self-representations (SR) and (2) test the moderating role of youth’s age and residential unit size in those associations. A sample of 926 youth aged between 12 and 25years old filled out self-report questionnaires regarding their representations about how people in general perceive them (i.e., MR) and their SR. Residential care professionals filled in the socio-demographic questionnaires and the Child Behavior Checklist. Data were analyzed through multiple mediation models and moderated mediation models. Results showed that (1) youth’s behavioral M...

An information-processing approach to maladaptive parenting suggests that high-risk and maltreating parents are likely to hold inaccurate and biased preexisting cognitive schemata about child development and child rearing. Importantly, these schemas, which may include values, beliefs, expectations, and attitudes, are known to influence the way parents perceive and subsequently act toward their children. However, the few studies specifically addressing parental attitudes only considered global maltreatment, not distinguishing abuse from neglect. Moreover, few have considered dual-process models of cognition, relying mostly on the explicit level of parental attitudes that can be prone to various biases. Based on the Social Information Processing (SIP) model of child abuse and neglect, this study examines the association of parents preexisting cognitive schemata, namely explicit and implicit parental attitudes, and child abuse and neglect. A convenience sample of 201 mothers (half with...

The capabilities approach provides a rich evaluative framework to guide transformative change in the community mental health system. This study reports the content and construct validity and psychometric properties of a contextualized measure of the extent to which mental health programs foster achieved capabilities. The Achieved Capabilities Questionnaire for Community Mental Health (ACQ-CMH), adapted from Nussbaum's capabilities framework, was developed previously with consumer collaboration. Content validity was assessed through a collaborative process, involving a panel of eight consumers, staff members, and senior researchers. The resulting shorter version (ACQ-CMH-98) was completed by 332 community mental health consumers sampled throughout Portugal. Factor (PCA) analysis, internal consistency reliability, and test-retest reliability over 2 weeks (N = 33) showed good psychometric properties. The resulting six-factor structure with 48 items explains 48.88% of the total vari...

There have been calls for uncovering the "black box" of residential care services, with a particular need for research focusing on emergency care settings for children and youth in danger. In fact, the strikingly scant empirical attention that these settings have received so far contrasts with the role that they often play as gateway into the child welfare system. To answer these calls, this work presents and tests a framework for assessing a service model in residential emergency care. It comprises seven studies which address a set of different focal areas (e.g., service logic model; care experiences), informants (e.g., case records; staff; children/youth), and service components (e.g., case assessment/evaluation; intervention; placement/referral). Drawing on this process-consultation approach, the work proposes a set of key challenges for emergency residential care in terms of service improvement and development, and calls for further research targeting more care units a...

Resumo: Na análise do equilíbrio trabalho-família, tem-se salientado o efeito de extravasamento (spillover). Neste estudo, realizado por entrevista semiestruturada a uma amostra de 102 mães portuguesas (incluindo 79 sinalizadas por mau trato e negligência), abordam-se os impactos da situação profissional das mães nas práticas parentais abusivas. Os resultados sugerem, como prevíamos, que a relação da situação profissional (estatuto e horas de trabalho) com a parentalidade abusiva não é directa, mas moderada por algumas variáveis psicossociais. Encontraram-se efeitos de extravasamento negativo para o mau trato materno em condições de fracos recursos pessoais percebidos e de insatisfação laboral; o extravasamento negativo para negligência materna ocorre apenas quando há pouco controlo percebido sobre a situação de trabalho ou atribuições internas de incapacidade. Por outro lado, o efeito de extravasamento pode ser positivo quando as mães atribuem os problemas laborais a factores externos (e.g., condições de trabalho). Palavras-chave: trabalho-família, maternidade abusiva, factores de bem-estar. Abstract: The analysis of work-family balance has highlighted the spillover effect. This study, implemented through semi-structured interviews with a sample of 102 Portuguese mothers (including 79 referred for maltreatment and neglect), addresses the impacts of the mother's professional situation on abusive parenting practices. The results suggest, as predicted, that the relationship between the professional situation (work status and work hours) and abusive parenting is not direct, but moderated by some psychosocial variables. We have found effects of negative spillover to maternal practices of maltreatment in conditions of perceived low personal resources and dissatisfaction with work; negative spillover to maternal practices of neglect occurs only when there is little perceived control over the work situation or internal attributions of inability. Moreover, the effect of spillover can be positive when mothers attribute the problems in the work domain to external factors (e.g., working conditions). Extravasación trabajo-familia: Cuando las condiciones de trabajo contribuyen a prácticas maternas abusivas? Resumen: El análisis del equilibrio entre trabajo y familia ha subrayado el efecto de extravasación (spillover). En este estudio, mediante entrevistas semi-estructuradas con una muestra de 102 madres portuguesas (79 de ellos marcados por el maltrato y la negligencia), se abordan los impactos de la situación profesional de las madres en las prácticas parentales abusivas. Los resultados sugieren, tal como se predijo, que la relación de la situación laboral (estatuto y horas de trabajo) con las practicas maternas abusivas no es directa pero moderada por algunas variables psicosociales. Hemos encontrado efectos de extravasación negativo para el maltrato materno en de condiciones

This article presents the development and validation of the child Maltreatment Severity Questionnaire (MSQ), aiming to contribute to increase the quality and efficiency of evaluation processes in the Child Protection System (CPS). To obtain a valid and reliable instrument, a set of studies was developed: Study 1—Based on two previous studies, the questionnaire was developed and the severity level of the items within maltreatment subtypes was assigned by 93 professionals from the welfare and CPS system. Consensus about the severity levels was assessed and described in terms of within-item reliability rankings; Study 2—The MSQ was filled out for 253 children and adolescents referred to the CPS. To ensure that the items within different subtypes of maltreatment were homogenous and had internal consistency, a reliability analysis was performed; Study 3—The MSQ was filled out for 1,000 children and adolescents referred to the CPS. This study involved testing validity evidence through an ...

Adolescents' signs of emotional insecurity in the context of interparental conflict (IC) - emotional reactivity, internal representations (i.e., constructive/destructive; spillover) and behavioral responses (i.e., withdrawal; inhibition; involvement) - were examined as mediators in the relation between IC and adolescents' self-representations. Self-reported measures were filled out by 221 Portuguese adolescents (59.3% girls; Mage = 12.91), attending public elementary and secondary schools. IC predicted less favorable self-representations. Adolescents' emotional reactivity and withdrawal mediated the relation between IC and emotional and physical appearance self-representations, while conflict spillover representations and constructive family representations mediated associations between IC and instrumental self-representations. This study emphasizes the importance of interparental conflict and adolescent emotional insecurity in the construction of their self-representati...

The study examined whether the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood, Revised Edition (DC: 0-3R; ZERO TO THREE, 2005) Parent-Infant Relationship Global Assessment Scale (PIR-GAS) is applicable to six European countries and contributes to the identification of caregiver-infant/toddler dyads with abusive relationship patterns. The sample consisted of 115 dyads with children's ages ranging from 1 to 47 months. Sixty-four dyads were recruited from community settings without known violence problems, and 51 dyads were recruited from clinical settings and already had been identified with violence problems or as being at risk for violence problems. To classify the dyads on the PIR-GAS categories, caregiver-child interactions were video-recorded and coded with observational scales appropriate for child age. To test whether the PIR-GAS allows for reliable identification of dyads with abusive relationship patterns, PIR-GAS ratings were compared with scores on the the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect's (ISPCAN) Child Abuse Screening Tool-Parental Version (ICAST-P; D.K. Runyan et al., ), a questionnaire measuring abusive parental disciplinary practices. It was found that PIR-GAS ratings differentiated between the general and the clinical sample, and the dyads with abusive patterns of relationship were identified by both the PIR-GAS and the ICAST-P. Interrater reliability for the PIR-GAS ranged from moderate to excellent. The value of a broader use of tools such as the DC: 0-3R to promote early identification of families at risk for infant and toddler abuse and neglect is discussed.