Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

Objectives: The current study aims to test the mediating role of fears of receiving compassion from others and of current feelings of social safeness and connectedness in the association between external shame and the psychological well-being of adolescents. We hypothesize that adolescents with higher levels of external shame may have lower psychological well-being indicators due to increased fear of receiving compassion from others and decreased feelings of social safeness. Methods: A total of 361 Portuguese adolescents of both sexes (43.8% boys; 56.2% girls), aged between 12 and 18 participated in this study by completing self-report measures to evaluate feelings of shame, fears of compassion, current feelings of social safeness, and the psychological well-being of adolescents. Data were analyzed through descriptive and correlational statistics, and the suitability of the model was tested via path analysis. Results: Results seemed to demonstrate that, in both sexes, adolescents’ external shame is associated with psychological well-being. This effect was mediated by increased fear of receiving others' compassion and decreased connection and security feelings in social contexts. Specifically, results indicated that the tested model presented an adequate adjustment to the data, explaining 15.0% of the variance of fears of receiving compassion from others, 37.0% of the variance of current feelings of social safeness, and 46.0% of the variance of the psychological well-being of adolescents. Conclusions: This study contributes to a better understanding of the role that feelings of inferiority, fears of receiving compassion from others, and difficulty establishing safe and pleasurable relationships with others, in the social context, have on the psychological well-being of adolescents of both sexes.

Aim: This investigation aims to bring a reflection on the various expressions of old age heterogeneity, associated with the active participation of the older people in Residential Structures for the Older People (ERPI) and in their life project. Method: The sample involved 12 older people and five Social Workers who lived and practiced their profession in ERPI, respectively. The protocol consisted of a Sociodemographic Questionnaire, and (semi-structured) In-Depth Interviews, using a qualitative approach (content analysis methodology). Results: In the sample of older adults, the majority were "old-old" adults (> 85 years old). Concerning participation in ERPI decision-making processes, older people voluntarily refused to contribute to the decisions allocated to the institutional dynamics/strategies. Regarding the position adopted by ERPIs, even though they assume a directive pattern associated with care, provisions having a more innovative nature (e.g., older people's committee, bibliotherapy, social gatherings) begin to emerge, converging with current approaches of active aging, in which, older people are recognized as a heterogeneous group. This fact is in line with the senior citizens' fulfillment that arises from the opportunity they are given to exercise their citizenship daily. Conclusions: Institutional care tends to favor a holistic/global approach to understanding old age heterogeneity. These changes, although assuming a slow and monotonous pace, lead to operational approaches capable of privileging the knowledge and wisdom of the older people, actively involving them in decision-making processes in collective residential contexts, associated with the contemporary active aging movements.  

Background and Aim: Positive psychotherapy is conceptually based on the scientific study of positive emotions, positive individual traits, and strengths. The goal is to help people learn that they can grow due to their experiences, even if the experience is traumatic. It is a psychotherapeutic method that focuses on building positive emotions, strengths, and meaning in individuals' lives to decrease and prevent psychopathology and promote happiness. As an assessment tool, the Positive Psychotherapy Inventory (PPTI) offers mental health professionals the opportunity to see the therapeutic process's results. The present study's objective is to know the psychometric qualities of the PPTI in a Portuguese sample. Method: This is a methodological study of an exploratory and descriptive character, which aims at translation-retroversion and analysis of psychometric properties (fidelity and validity) using the administration of the PPTI, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales – 21 items, and Mental Health Continuum – Short Form. The sample consisted of 247 participants between 18 and 69 years old. Results: The translated and adapted version of the scale met the criteria of semantic equivalence and had a high level of internal consistency (Cronbach's α  = 0.97), high values of correlation between forms (r = .92), as well as a high correlation of the item with the test total. The inventory consisted of 25 items and was explained by three factors, meeting the convergent and divergent validity criteria. Conclusions: The preliminary PPTI study showed good psychometric qualities. It is suggested enlarging the sample to support the results obtained.

Objective: To present the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of a social anxiety vignette in adolescents into European Portuguese and the consequent integration in the Mental Health Literacy Assessment Questionnaire — QuALiSMental. Method: A methodological study of translation and cross-cultural adaptation of a social anxiety vignette in adolescents into European Portuguese was carried out, according to the stages: 1) translation; 2) synthesis of translations; 3) back-translation; 4) synthesis of back-translations; 5) panel of experts with eight professionals from different areas of health; 5) cognitive debriefing integrating six adolescents with an average age of 14.33 years (SD = 0.52); 6) review and final report. Throughout this process, we have taken into account the ethical considerations. Results: A vignette of social anxiety was obtained in the teenagers “João” and “Joana” in the European Portuguese. We highlight the results related to the stages: the panel of experts and cognitive debriefing. Consensus criteria were obtained among experts for semantic and idiomatic equivalence, experiential and cultural equivalence, and conceptual equivalence. In the cognitive debriefing, a 100% agreement was found regarding the clarity of the vignette's content in European Portuguese. Conclusions: This vignette can be used in clinical practice at different levels of care, education/training, and research. Integrated with QuALiSMental allows the assessment of mental health literacy on anxiety in adolescents in different contexts and/or assessments of psychoeducational interventions' effectiveness in this area.

Background: Adolescence is a developmental stage with biological, psychological, and social changes that will influence the individual functioning in adulthood. Recently, research on borderline personality disorder (BPD) has been focusing on dysfunctional and inflexible features in early ages, since a personality disorder does not appear suddenly in adulthood. The developmental path should be better understood and explored. Objective: Accordingly, the current study aimed at analyzing the contribution of psychological processes, specifically impulsivity, self-disgust, and self-compassion, for understanding borderline features in adolescence. Methods: This study had a cross-sectional design and a sample of 440 adolescents from the general population (278 girls and 162 boys), with ages ranging between 14 and 17 years. In SPSS, we conducted Student’s t-tests, Pearson correlations, and linear regressions. Results: Girls presented higher levels of self-disgust and borderline features in comparison with boys and lower levels of self-compassion. Regression models to test the predictive value of impulsivity, self-disgust and self-compassion on borderline features were significant. The model explained 43% of borderline features for boys and 57% for girls. For girls, all variables (impulsivity, self-compassion, and self-disgust) presented a significant contribution, and for boys, only impulsivity and self-compassion were significant predictors. Conclusions: These results added evidence of important variables to understand better borderline features in adolescents and identified sex differences in these psychological mechanisms. This study has important implications for research, clinical practice, and prevention.

Objectives: The present study aimed to explore orthoretic behaviors (an attitudinal and behavioral style that reflects an intense and persistent concern with healthy foods consumption) as a possible risk factor for developing disordered eating and binge eating behaviors. In Study 1, differences between moderate/severe levels and lower levels of orthoretic behaviors were tested concerning experiences of shame (general and body-image focused) and disordered eating indicators (general and binge eating). In Study 2, a theoretical model was tested in which it was hypothesized the association between orthoretic behaviors, general shame, and body-image as risk factors for disordered eating and binge eating in women from the general population. Method: The sample consisted of 307 women from the general population, aged between 18 and 63 years old (M = 33,62; DP = 11,73), who responded to an online protocol with a set of self-report measures of orthoretic behaviors, general and body-image shame, disordered eating and binge eating. Results: Participants with moderate/severe levels of orthoretic behaviors revealed significantly higher levels of general shame, body-image shame, disordered eating, and binge eating when compared to participants with lower levels of orthoretic behaviors. The path analysis results indicated that orthoretic behaviors, general shame, and body-image shame explain 51.0% of the variance of disordered eating and 47.0% of binge eating variance. Conclusions: The present study suggests orthoretic behaviors as a possible risk factor for Eating Disorders' development. The present study's data is important for clinical purposes, showing that orthoretic behaviors seem to contribute to greater severity of disordered eating, both restrictive and binge eating types, despite being considered socially acceptable behaviors associated with general experiences and body-image shame.

Objective: The study aimed to analyze the mediation between healthcare and informal social support in the continuing healthcare process. Participants: fifty-seven patients were referred in 2019 by a hospital to the Rede Nacional de Cuidados Continuados Integrados in Portugal (a continuing healthcare services network). The sample was mostly female (63.2%; n = 36), with an average age of 80 years old (DP = 9.2), predominantly from rural areas (64.9%; n = 37), married (56.1%; n = 32), and 35.0% lived alone (n = 20).  Methods: Descriptive study with univariate quantitative analysis and categorical content analysis of social work data. Results: Of the 57 patients referred to the Network, deaths and cancellations were registered in 32 cases (56.1%). Of the 25 patients discharged from the Network in the post-discharge period, all needed informal and/or formal support, while at the hospital referral date, only 20.0% of the sample needed support (p < .001). Of those who had support, about a third had support from the primary social network, mostly from their sons or daughters, and about half of the patients had emigrant children. At post-discharge 64.0% (n = 16 out of 25) had informal support. We also found that 8.8% of the patients were caregivers and began to require care. Conclusion: The study confirms the importance of ensuring continued care for citizens who have seen their vulnerability increased by illness, as well as the centrality of the informal support system for patients.

The high scientific standards maintained by the Portuguese Journal of Behavioral and Social Research in its papers owe much to the effort reviewers, who gave their time freely, and knowledge. Thus, the Editors of the Portuguese Journal of Behavioral and Social Research acknowledge with particular gratitude the following reviewers who have reviewed papers during the period November 2019–November 2020.

Podocarpacea are the only native conifers of Peru, a country that contains one of the most important South American populations of one of its member species: Retrophyllum rospigliossi Pilger, which lives in the rainforests, where it is only preserved in small relics; due to this and the difficulties for reproduction and conservation in-situ is considered a vulnerable species. Among the microorganisms of the soil, the mycorrhizal fungi stand out for their symbiotic activity by allowing efficient nutrition, being beneficial for many species of trees, providing them with the necessary conditions for their survival. The objective of this work was to characterize the mycorrhizal colonization of Retrophyllum rospigliossi Pilger in the categories of saplings, latizal and fustal, and for this purpose, samples were collected in five georeferenced plots. The roots were colored with trypane blue for the observation of hyphae, vesicles, and shrubs. Soil samples were sifted for spore count. Mycorrhizal structures were found in all three categories, with significant differences for spores and vesicles. The behavior of these per gram of soil was variable (hyphae: 39.2 % to 53 %, spores 30.8 % to 57.6 %, vesicles: 35 % to 51.4 %, shrubs: 0 to 2 %). Colonization of roots ranged from 85 % to 96.2 %. Three mycorrhizal genera were identified: Glomus, Entrophospora and Acaulospora. It is concluded that, for a vegetative propagation of woody species, it is necessary to consider the use of arbuscular mycorrhizae to guarantee an adequate nutrition.

The management of forest seeds in Ecuador, in relation to their storage, is still insufficient, in particular the Cinchona pubescens Vahl. The objective was to determine the quality of the seeds and the best methods of seed storage of C. pubescens, using different times, containers and conditions. Seed collection was in Intag, Imbabura. The factors under study were: storage time, types of packaging and storage conditions. The quality of the seeds was determined at the time of harvest and in each treatment. Purity reached 76.5 %, the weight of 1,000 seeds was 0.31 g and the humidity content was 14 %. In the first storage trial, no germination was observed in any treatment from the first month. In the second trial, the best storage method was transparent cover stored in refrigeration for one week, which showed 9.25 % germination power. Cinchona pubescens seeds lose their viability quickly, which becomes null after one month of storage.