Ana Isabel Pereira

Cognitive errors and anxiety in school aged children

Cognitive models of emotional disorders emphasize the role of biased information processing in the psychological functioning of anxious individuals. So far, the role of cognitive errors in problems of childhood anxiety disorders has received little empirical attention. This study analyzes the relations between cognitive errors and symptoms of anxiety in a sample of school aged children. The sample, comprised by 205 children (8 to 13 years old), answered the Childrens Negative Cognitive Errors Questionnaire (CNCEQ) and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders - Revised (SCARED-R). Results show a positive and statistically significant relationship between cognitive errors and symptoms of anxiety, suggesting the importance of modifying these cognitive processes for prevention and intervention targeting anxiety problems in school aged children.

Parental Involvement in Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Anxious Children: Parents’ In-Session and Out-Session Activities and Their Relationship with Treatment Outcome

Abstract The present study explored the role of parents’ in-session and out-session involvement in CBT for anxious children. Fifty 8- to 12-year-old children with a principal DSM-IV anxiety disorder participated in a group CBT program. Parental involvement in the therapy was assessed by the clinician and the children and parents completed a standardized anxiety scale as the main therapy outcome measure, at pre- and post-intervention. In addition, the parents completed questionnaires to evaluate a number of possible correlates of parental involvement, namely, child’s anxiety symptoms intensity and interference, parental beliefs about anxiety, expectancies regarding the efficacy of the intervention, and parental anxiety. The results indicated that the parents were moderately involved in the therapy and that socio-economic status and parental beliefs about anxiety were significant correlates of parental involvement. Finally, partial support was found for the idea that parents’ involvement in the therapy might have a positive impact on therapy outcome.

Examining the Mechanisms of Therapeutic Change in a Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Anxious Children: The Role of Interpretation Bias, Perceived Control, and Coping Strategies

This study examined the role of theoretically meaningful mediators of therapeutic change—interpretation bias, perceived control, and coping strategies—in a cognitive-behavioral intervention for anxious youth. This is one of the few studies that examined the change in potential mediator and outcome variables by means of a longitudinal design that included four assessment points: pretreatment, in-treatment, post-treatment, and at 4-months follow-up. Forty-seven 8- to 12-year-old children with a principal DSM-IV diagnosis of anxiety disorder participated in the study. On each assessment point, questionnaires assessing the mediator variables and a standardized anxiety scale were administered to the children. The results showed that perceived control and interpretation bias (but not coping strategies) accounted for a significant proportion in the variability of various types of anxiety symptoms, providing a preliminary support for the notion that these cognitive dimensions’ act as mechanisms of therapeutic change in cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxious children.

International child abuse prevention: insights from ACT Raising Safe Kids

BACKGROUND Evidence-based practices are often viewed as lofty goals endorsed by wealthy academics in developed nations, but impossible to implement in other contexts. This article will provide evidence suggesting that, to the contrary, we can indeed scale up western-developed parenting interventions that can be both effective and warmly received by parents in diverse cultural and economic contexts. METHODS/RESULTS This paper gives a brief overview of the ACT Raising Safe Kids Program and summarizes the results of evaluation studies done with parents around the world. It discusses specific strategies facilitators use to modify the program as necessary to fit cultural contexts while also maintaining fidelity, implementing the manualized curriculum under varied, and complex circumstances. CONCLUSIONS It is hoped that the lessons learned from our work will inspire practitioners to adapt ACT or other programs to diverse contexts, evaluate those programs, and thereby improve the mental health and life trajectories of children and families around the world.

Envolvimento parental na escola e ajustamento em crianças do 1º ciclo do ensino básico

O presente trabalho tem por principal objectivo o estudo da relacao entre o envolvimento parental na escola, percebido por pais e por professores, e o ajustamento de criancas do primeiro ciclo do ensino basico. A amostra e constituida por 563 criancas dos 3o e 4o anos de escolaridade, pelos seus pais e pelos seus professores. O envolvimento parental na escola foi avaliado atraves das duas versoes, para pais e para professores, do Questionario de Envolvimento Parental na Escola (QEPE-VPa e QEPEVPr). Foram considerados dois indicadores de ajustamento das criancas, o seu desempenho academico, avaliado pelos professores e a sua autoestima global, avaliada pelas criancas. Na primeira parte do trabalho apresentam-se, ainda, alguns estudos psicometricos da versao para pais do Questionario de Envolvimento Parental na Escola (QEPE-VPa), cujos resultados apoiam a fiabilidade e a validade desta versao. Os resultados revelam uma associacao positiva entre o envolvimento parental na escola e o ajustamento das criancas, mesmo quando controlado o efeito do nivel socio-economico das familias das criancas. No entanto, verifica-se alguma variabilidade das associacoes encontradas em funcao da fonte que avalia o envolvimento parental e em funcao dos indicadores de ajustamento. Concretamente, a percepcao dos professores do envolvimento parental na escola e a que apresenta associacoes mais elevadas com o desempenho academico. Por outro lado, e o envolvimento parental percebido pelos pais que apresenta associacoes mais elevadas com a autoestima global da crianca.

Pediatric Immunization Distress: A Cluster Analyses of Children's, Parents', and Nurses' Behaviors During the Anticipatory Phase.

Objective:Using cluster analysis, we aimed to identify a typology of nurses’, parents’, and young children’s behaviors during the anticipatory phase of pediatric immunizations to explore the associations between these different typologies and to determine whether these groups differed with respect to the child’s procedural distress as rated by the child and the parents and with respect to the adults’ self-rated distress. Materials and Methods:Immunizations given by 23 nurses to 220 children aged 3 years and 10 months to 7 years were recorded with behaviors being scored according to Child-Adult Medical Procedure Interaction Scale-Revised, to which 3 new codes were added, and rated with a 6-point Likert scale. Parents’ and nurses’ ratings of their own distress and of the child’s distress, in addition to children’s self-rating of distress were obtained. Nine adult and 12 child behavioral codes were submitted for cluster analysis. Results:A solution with 4 clusters for children, 5 clusters for parents, and 5 clusters for nurses was retained. Our results show high consistency between child and adult clusters. During the anticipatory phase, less distressed children, characterized by either low activity or high coping, interacted with adults who showed low activity or high coping support patterns. More distressed children, characterized by resistance and behavioral distress, interacted with adults who displayed either low activity or less efficient support behaviors, such as reassurance and criticism. Discussion:The results confirm previous dimensional studies and add relevant knowledge concerning typologies of participant behaviors that may be useful in understanding such behaviors and in helping providers in their management of child immunizations.

Preliminary Analysis of the Portuguese Version of the Child Anxiety Life Interference Scale

As perturbacoes de ansiedade sao altamente prevalentes entre criancas em idade escolar. Estas perturbacoes tendem a seguir um curso cronico e interferem significativamente no funcionamento diario dos jovens. O objetivo principal deste estudo foi examinar as propriedades psicometricas da versao Portuguesa da Escala de Interferencia da Ansiedade na Vida da Crianca - versoes para Pais e Criancas (CALIS-P e CALIS-C). Participaram 132 criancas, com idades entre os 7 e 12 anos, com diagnostico principal de ansiedade, e seus respetivos pais. A analise fatorial da CALIS-P revelou tres fatores que coincidem com as subescalas hipotetizadas: Interferencia Em Casa, Fora de Casa e na Vida da Familia. Para a CALIS-C, a analise fatorial revelou dois fatores que dizem respeito a Interferencia nas Relacoes Proximas e no Desempenho, que nao correspondem as subescalas da versao original. Os estudos psicometricos mostraram uma boa consistencia interna para as varias subescalas da CALIS e boas qualidades na validade convergente e divergente. Foi observada ainda uma correlacao significativa entre os resultados da CALIS e outra medida de interferencia. Estes resultados sugerem que a versao portuguesa da CALIS e uma medida confiavel e valida para a avaliacao do impacto da ansiedade na crianca e no funcionamento familiar.

Parenting stress and preschoolers’ socio-emotional adjustment: the mediating role of parenting styles in parent–child dyads

ABSTRACT This study examined the mediating effect of parenting styles in the relationship between parenting stress and children’s socio-emotional adjustment through Structural Equation Modeling. The moderating role of parent and child gender was also examined by means of a multi-group analysis. A sample of 552 mothers and 501 fathers of Portuguese families with preschoolers participated in the study. Mothers and fathers independently completed self-report measures to evaluate parenting stress, parenting styles and the child’s socio-emotional adjustment (children’s social skills, internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems). Results regarding direct effects indicated that mothers’ and fathers’ stress contributed to the child’s social skills. Additionally, results showed indirect effects: fathers’ authoritative parenting mediated the link between fathers’ stress and social skills, regardless of the gender of the child, while for mothers, the corresponding mediation effect was only observed for daughters; fathers’ authoritarian parenting mediated daughters’ externalizing problems while fathers’ permissive parenting mediated daughters’ internalizing problems. Overall, this study emphasizes the importance of both parents for the adjustment of their children, in addition to the need to examine dyadic parent–preschooler relationships, given that the results suggest some specificity in the processes responsible for direct and indirect effects.