Anxiety, depression and coping: CDI, MASC and CRI-Y for screening purposes in schools

This study used depression (CDI - Kovacs, 1981), anxiety (MASC - March, 1997) and coping strategy (CRI-Y - Moos, 1993) scales and studied the fitness and discriminant validity of reduced versions. The sample consisted of 916 Portuguese pupils, 54.3% feminine, aged 10 to 21 years old. The participants were selected from a set of public schools nation-wide. Two classes were chosen from the 5th to the 12th grades. A set of principal component analyses was carried out in a randomly chosen sample (n = 394) and all the three reduced measures were found to be strongly correlated with the previous. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) using the other part of the sample (n = 522) revealed adjustment indexes suggesting a good fit for both the whole model and gender and age groups separately. All scales revealed a good internal consistency. Globally, girls were more anxious and developed more coping strategies than boys. Older students tended to be less depressed, while younger adolescents present higher scores in depression and anxiety and less coping strategies. Reduced scales are sensitive to gender and age differences and can be used in school settings in order to establish a baseline and roadmaps for both universal and selective mental health school based programs.     

Early emotional memories and well-being in adolescence: The roles of shame and self-critical attitudes

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Some studies have demonstrated the link between the recall of early affiliative experiences and psychopathological symptoms in adolescence. However, literature...     

Validation Study of the Portuguese Version of the Family Problem Solving Communication (FPSC) Index

Within family stress theories, the way in which families communicate about their hardships and issues is crucial for the family’s stress management and functioning. In the current study, we sought to validate the Portuguese version of the Family Problem Solving Communication (FPSC) Index and examine its psychometric properties. Developed within the context of the resiliency model of family stress, adjustment and adaptation, the FPSC is a ten-item self-report measure that assesses the family communication patterns that are likely to play a role in the family’s coping with hardships and difficulties. The participants were 332 individuals between 18 and 76 years who completed the FPSC and self-report measures of family hardiness and family functioning. A confirmatory factor analysis supported the original FPSC bifactorial structure, indicating the presence of two dimensions, Affirmative Communication and Incendiary Communication. Correlations between the scale’s total score and its dimensions with the measures of family hardiness and family functioning attested to its convergent validity. Furthermore, the index demonstrated respectable to very good internal consistency and temporal stability. In conclusion, the Portuguese version of the FPSC is a valid and reliable instrument that can support the development of future empirical studies focused on family problem solving communication, especially with regard to family adaptation in different contexts of adversity.     

Alexithymia Predicts Posttraumatic Growth and Distress After Trauma

The present study sought to investigate how alexithymia (a deficit in identifying and describing emotions) may hinder the development of posttraumatic growth (PTG) and contribute to ongoing distress. Participants were 250 undergraduate college students who had experienced a highly stressful event in the past six months. Regression analyses were conducted to examine how alexithymia contributes to PTG and distress in addition to other known predictors. Analyses revealed that alexithymia was a significant negative predictor of PTG, and a significant positive predictor of distress. It was also found that Difficulty in Identifying Feelings was the alexithymia component that best predicted PTG and distress.     

Development of the Parent Emotion Regulation Scale (PERS): Factor Structure and Psychometric Qualities

This study aims to develop a self-report measure based on a multidimensional conceptualization of the regulation of negative emotions in the context of parenting. We examined the factor structure, factorial invariance, internal consistency and construct validity of the newly developed measure, the Parent Emotion Regulation Scale (PERS). The sample was composed of 254 mothers of children aged 3 to 15 years old (M?=?8.54, SD?=?3.53) who participated in an online study. Exploratory factor analysis of the PERS yielded a four-factor structure with the following factors: parents’ orientation to the child’s emotions, parents’ avoidance of the child’s emotions, parents’ lack of emotional control and parents’ acceptance of the child’s and their own emotions. Confirmatory factorial analysis supported the four-factor model, showing an adequate fit for this structure. Additionally, the model displayed configural, metric, scalar and residual invariance across the children’s sex groups. Cronbach’s alpha values and mean inter-item correlations indicated an adequate internal consistency. Correlations between the PERS scale and the Coping with Children’s Negative Emotions Scale (CCNES) indicated that the different dimensions of parents’ emotion regulation were significantly associated with both positive and negative reactions to the children’s negative emotions. Furthermore, the emotion regulation dimensions showed incremental validity in the prediction of the child’s adjustment. This study provides preliminary support for the adequacy of this newly developed measure, although further studies are needed to establish its psychometric qualities in more diverse populations.