Celeste Simões

How Can Peer Group Influence the Behavior of Adolescents: Explanatory Model

The current work aims to study both the peer group and family influence on adolescent behaviour. In order to achieve the aforementioned objective, an explanatory model based on the Structural Equations Modelling (SEM)was proposed. The sample used was the group of adolescents that participated in the Portuguese survey of the European study Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC). The Portuguese survey included students from grades 6, 8 and 10 within the public education system, with an average age of 14 years old (SD=1.89). The total sample of the HBSC study carried out in 2006 was 4,877; however with the use of the SEM, 1,238 participants were lost out of the total sample. The results show that peers have a direct influence in adolescents’ risk behaviours. The relationship with parents did not demonstrate the expected mediation effect, with the exception of the following elements: relation between type of friends and risk behaviour; and communication with parent and lesser involvement in violence behaviours and increased well-being. The negative influence of the peer group is more connected to the involvement in risk behaviours, whilst the positive influence is more connected with protective behaviours.

Alcohol use and abuse in adolescence: proposal of an alternative analysis

BACKGROUND A national, representative, school-based sample of Portuguese youths was used to examine the prevalence of alcohol use in this population and to analyse differences between demographic variables such as gender and age, as well as to propose a statistical procedure that optimally quantifies categorical variables. METHODS Data on 6109 state school students from Portugal, in the 6th, 8th and 10th grades, aged 11-18, who participated in the 2002 (Health Behaviour in School-aged Children/WHO) survey of adolescent health, were analysed. Adolescents aged between 11 and 14 were placed in the younger group, and those 15-18 years old were placed in the older group. Optimal scaling was used to optimize the computation of factor scores, which were subsequently submitted to multiple regression analysis in order to analyse the impact of gender and age on alcohol use. RESULTS The results of this study show that the majority of Portuguese school-aged adolescents attending regular school at 6th, 8th and 10th grades do not drink alcoholic beverages (beer, wine or spirits) on a regular basis (at least once a month). However, about 8% of these adolescents do drink beer, 3% do drink wine and 12% do drink spirits on a regular basis. With regard to age and gender, about a quarter of the older boys stated that they drink beer or spirits regularly. The multiple regression analysis showed that age and gender had a significant impact on alcohol use. CONCLUSION Alcohol - in particular spirits - is a substance used by some Portuguese adolescents. Alcohol use and abuse is more frequent in boys and increases with age. The importance of these findings for health promotion strategies is discussed.

Health-related quality of life in portuguese children and adolescents

O KIDSCREEN e um instrumento europeu transcultural e padronizado que avalia dez dimensoes da qualidade de vida de criancas, adolescentes e seus pais. Este instrumento e usado para validar evidencias a fim de apoiar inferencias gerais sobre medidas de qualidade de vida obtidas pela versao portuguesa do KIDSCREEN-10 para criancas e adolescentes, no contexto de uma pesquisa de investigacao feita em Portugal. O presente estudo centra-se apenas na versao KIDSCREEN para adolescentes e criancas. Uma amostra de 8.072 criancas e adolescentes portugueses frequentando a 5a serie (19,3%), 6a serie (19,2%), 7a serie (20,3%), 8a serie (21,6%) e 10a serie (19,7%) em escolas do pais foram intrevistadas, com uma idade media de 13,2; DP 2,06, distribuidos aleatoriamente em relacao ao sexo. A versao portuguesa do instrumento KIDSCREEN-10 mostrou uma boa consistencia interna de 0,78. Os indices de ajuste escolhidos indicam bom ajuste aos dados. Especificamente na solucao final o RMSEA foi inferior a 0,03, o limite superior do intervalo de confianca de 90% foi inferior a 0,05 e CFI foi superior a 0,95. Resultados indicaram que a estrutura atual do item 10 e invariavel entre grupos de idade, nacionalidade e nivel socio-economico. O questionario KIDSCREEN-10 e um instrumento confiavel para estimar a percepcao da qualidade de vida em criancas e adolescentes. Orientacoes psicometricas sao apresentadas para a populacao portuguesa entre 10 e 16 anos de idade.

Educação sexual, conhecimentos, crenças, atitudes e comportamentos nos adolescentes

Resumo Introducao O aumento das ISTs, da gravidez nao planeada e de outros tantos riscos ligados a actividade sexual fazem com que os jovens sejam considerados um grupo de intervencao prioritario em termos de saude sexual e reprodutiva. Para se promover atitudes e comportamentos sexuais saudaveis e essencial a concretizacao de uma educacao sexual que tenha como objectivo desenvolver atitudes e competencias nos jovens, permitindo que estes se sintam informados e seguros nas suas escolhas. Material e metodos Este estudo (HBSC/OMS) avaliou o papel que 3331 adolescentes portugueses (1579 rapazes e 1752 raparigas), com uma media de idades de 15 anos, atribuem a educacao sexual, os seus conhecimentos e atitudes face ao VIH/SIDA. Usou-se um questionario de auto-relato que foi aplicado as turmas em sala de aula. Resultados Analisados os resultados do estudo, verificou-se que quer os factores de risco quer os de proteccao em relacao aos comportamentos sexuais de risco dos adolescentes sao inumeros. Conclusoes Sendo assim, e crucial que a educacao sexual abranja intervencoes do tipo preventivo de caracter universal, abrangendo toda a populacao escolar e respectivos contextos de vida: escola, familia e grupo de pares, mas tambem intervencoes mais especificas, em pequenos subgrupos identificados como prioritarios.

Social inclusion and social justice: A resilience curriculum for early years and elementary schools in Europe

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the development of a resilience curriculum in early years and primary schools to enhance social inclusion, equity and social justice amongst European communities, particularly amongst disadvantaged and vulnerable ones, through quality education. It defines educational resilience in terms of academic, social and emotional growth in the face of life challenges; discusses the conceptual framework and key principles underpinning the curriculum; and presents the six major content areas of the curriculum. Finally, it presents the preliminary findings of a pilot project on the implementation of the curriculum in more than 200 classrooms in about 80 early and primary schools in six European countries. Design/methodology/approach – The curriculum was first drafted collaboratively amongst the six partners on the basis of the existing literature in the promotion of resilience in early years and primary schools, with a particular focus to European realities. Once it w...

Saúde e felicidade na adolescência: factores individuais e sociais associados às percepções de saúde e de felicidade dos adolescentes portugueses

Perceptions of health and happiness are generally associated. Several personal and social factors influence these perceptions. Since adolescence is a critical period in health chronology it is important to analyze which factors influence the adolescent’s health and well-being. To analyze the relations between health and happiness as well as the factors allied to each of these features, we developed an explanatory model. The data used in this study are part of a cross-national research study Health Behaviours in School-aged Children conducted by the “Social Adventure” team from the Faculty of Human Kinetics in collaboration with the WHO Regional Office for Europe (n=6131). The data were collected through self-completion questionnaires. Descriptive analyses as well as multivariate analyses were conducted, namely structural equations modeling. The results showed a positive relation between the perceptions of health and happiness. It was also possible to verify that there are several personal and social features associated to these perceptions. Personal features have more impact on health perception while social features have more impact on happiness perception. The importance of these findings for the intervention with adolescents is discussed.

Dream Teens: Adolescents-Led Participatory Project in Portugal in the Context of the Economic Recession

This article describes the implementation process of a nationwide project to enhance young people’s participation and active citizenship in the context of Portugal’s economic recession. This project used an innovative Positive Youth Development approach that engaged Portuguese youth (aged 11-18 years) through social media tools to facilitate their civic engagement and development. Participants from all over the country were empowered (1) to design and conduct research activities on topics of their choice and about their life contexts and (2) to create ways to improve youth civic participation in their communities, while developing supportive interactions with adults and peers. Overall, youth were engaged in their activities, felt their voices were heard, and felt that they were viewed as experts of their own well-being and living contexts. Youth research actions and preliminary findings were then compiled in a set of recommendations that was formally received by a high commissioner of the Ministry of Health. The article concludes with a discussion of the next steps for the project and its limitations so far.

Impact of Alienation on Portuguese Adolescentsâ Well-being

Objective: The present work aims to analyze the influence of alienation in different areas of adolescent health. Methods: The sample used was a group of adolescents that participated in the Portuguese survey of the European study Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC). The Portuguese survey included students from grades 6, 8 and 10 within the public education system, with an average age of 14 years (SD=1.85). The total sample of the HBSC study carried out in 2010 was of 5050. For this study, only adolescents from the 8th and 10th grades were included in the sample, comprising 3494 students. Results: The results show some health risks in adolescents with higher levels of social alienation. There is a positive association between social isolation and risk behaviours to adolescents’ health, such as bullying victims. The feeling of unsatisfaction with life seems to have a lot of influence to feelings of powerlessness, while the biggest association is between normlessness and relationship with family. Be satisfied with life and have a good relationship with family is important assets in adolescent mental health. Conclusion: These findings highlight the importance of further explore the influence that social alienation may have on the health of adolescents.

Facing the Adversity: the Role of Internal Assets on Well-Being in Adolescents with Special Needs.

Negative life events are one of the major threats to well-being. Some adolescents are more vulnerable, namely adolescents with special needs that face special challenges for growing up healthy and happy. Nevertheless, internal assets can act as protective factors. The aim of this study is to analyze the factors that moderate the impact of negative life events, among adolescents with special needs, on well-being. The sample included 472 adolescents with special needs, mean age 14 years old. Pupils attended 77 public schools in Portugal. Sample was collected within the HBSC (Health Behavior in School aged Children) Portuguese survey. Questions used in this study, covered well-being, internal assets and life events. Results showed that the well-being of adolescents with special needs who had a set of internal assets (personal and social competences) was protected, even when they faced negative life events. However when several negative life events were present, the assets that continued to be protective were problem solving, F(4, 383) = 3.79, p = .005, η2 = .04, and self-efficacy, F(4, 377) = 3.39, p = .010, η2 = .04, suggesting the resilience properties of these factors.

Friendships Quality and Classmates Support: How to influence the well-being of adolescents

The purpose of this study is to analyze the influence of quality friendship and classmates support on risk behaviour and well-being of Portuguese adolescents. The sample was composed by individuals that participated in the study in continental Portugal, integrating the European study HBSC – Health Behaviour in School – aged Children. The study included a total of 4877 students from the 6th, 8th and 10th grades from Portuguese public schools, with an average age of 14 years. The results revealed the trend towards classmates’ more protection for involvement in risky behaviour, than to have high quality friends. The quality of friendship comes as the protector factor to other areas just as important, as happiness, life satisfaction and quality of life.