Alexandre Silva

Preliminary Validation of the Portuguese Edinburgh Handedness Inventory in an Adult Sample

ABSTRACT The Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (EHI) is persistently the most used inventory to evaluate handedness, being neuropsychological investigation and clinical practice. Despite this, there is no information on how this instrument functions in a Portuguese population. The objective of this study was therefore to examine the sociodemographic influences on handedness and establish psychometric properties of the EHI in a Portuguese sample. The sample consisted of 342 adults (157 men and 185 women), assessed with a battery of neuropsychological tests. The mean EHI Laterality Quotient was 63.52 (SD = 38.00). A much high percentage of ambiguous-handedness compared to left-handedness was detected. An inconsistency was found between the preference for formal education activities (writing-drawing-using scissors) and the remaining EHI activities. From sociodemographic variables, only age, area, and regions of residence showed significant influence on EHI scores. The reliability and temporal reliability of EHI were adequate. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a one-factor model (χ2/df = 2.141; TLI = 0.972; CFI = 0.979; RMSEA = 0.058). The inconsistency between formal education and nonformal activities could be an indicator of social pressure. The present data give support for the notion that handedness measured by EHI is potentially sensitive to sociodemographic and cultural influences.

Contributo para a Discussão da Avaliação da Fiabilidade de um Instrumento de Medição

Theoretical framework: The reliability of an instrument refers to the consistency of the results obtained during its administration. Nowadays, reliability as...

Predictors of Loneliness in a Population of Elderly

Introduction Living alone, limited personal social networks are, according to theliterature, factors that contribute to experience loneliness. It is known thatthe last stage of the life cycle is strongly marked by generational loss, beingmarked in this phase, beyond the network shrinkage, reducing opportunities forrenewal along with lower energy to activate, mobilize and maintain active linksof the network (Sluzki, 1996). Objectives To determine the predictors of loneliness in a resident population in centralPortugal. Methods 300 elderly people (mean age = 74.03/SD = ± 8.511) were surveyed. The sample wasassessed with the UCLA Loneliness scale, EQ5D, Lubben social networks and asmall sociodemographic questionnaire. The UCLA Loneliness presentedreliability, measured by the Cronbachs alpha coefficient (0.905). Results To determine loneliness predictors a binary logistic regression was performed, with seven independent variables “age”, “sex”, “seeyour family”, “having spouse”, “Lubben socialnetworks”, “level of education” and “EQ5 health”. Thefull model containing all predictors was statistically significant, c 2 (15, N = 300) = 86.801, p 2 Nagelkerke) variation and correctly classified84.3% of cases. Logistic regression showed that “age” ( p = 0.055), “sex” ( p = 0.091), “sees his family”( p = 0.023), “spouse” ( p p = 0.027),“level of education ”( p = 0.038)and“ health EQ5 ”( p Conclusion Given these results social intervention for active citizenship, networked, withthe elderly population is suggested.