Danilo R. Silva

Rorschach Comprehensive System Data for a Sample of 357 Portuguese Children at Five Ages

Eighteen examiners, well trained in the Comprehensive System (CS; Exner, 2003), administered the Rorschach to 357 Portuguese children, in the first through fifth grades, attending schools located in Lisbon and the surrounding neighborhood. Coding was done by 5 of the examiners, each one having more than 5 years of experience with the CS. For this study, coding was reviewed by the authors. Five records were randomly selected from each age group to assess intercoder reliability. Janson and Olssons (2004) iota was used to assess reliability of the main variable categories. Results are high, with iota ranging from 0.87 to 0.98 across the coding categories. CS variables are presented and key data were chosen and reviewed. A discussion of some data and their comparison with corresponding American data are made, permitting some interesting developmental and cross-cultural questions to be addressed.

Psychometric proprieties of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) in Portuguese population

Objective: To study the psychometric properties of the ten item Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10), in non-patient and patient samples of the Portuguese population. Sample: Five samples of healthy persons (n = 762), and five samples of patients with physical chronic disease or anxiety disorder (n = 201). Measurements: Social-demographic data, smoking habits, Beck Depression Inventory ® (BDI®), PSS-10, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory® (STAI®-Y2), and Smoking Abstinence Self-Efficacy (SASE-12). Results: Using a principal component analysis, it was extracted one factor, that explained 47,4% of the variance. The Cronbach alpha was 0,874, and meaningful differences in stress perception were found between several population strata. There are moderate correlations between PSS-10, the BDI®, and the STAI®-Y2, and absence of association with SASE-12. Scores above percentile 80 are pathological. Conclusions: PSS-10 reveals good psychometric properties. Administration and scoring is simple, and it is a valid assessment of stress, in physical disease or psychopathological contexts.

The Evolution of Some Rorschach Variables in Portuguese Children

Previous studies have drawn attention to the occurrence of important differences between the mean scores of some Rorschach variables in Portuguese samples and the normative data published by Exner. The present paper shows the evolution in the scores of 13 Rorschach variables, during the first four school years, from protocols of a sample of 22 children of both sexes. The results obtained are consistent with those found before. The authors discuss the meaning of these differences and formulate some considerations on eventual implications, both practical and theoretical, for the use of the American Comprehensive System norms in Portugal and other countries.

One More Datum on Rorschach Form Quality

The central purpose of this work is to examine to what extent Form Quality (FQ) scoring of Rorschach responses, using Exners (2003) Table A, is the reason for lower FQ to often be found in normative data outside the United States. The Rorschach protocols of 180 Portuguese boys and girls between 6 and 10 years of age were codified with respect to Form Quality in accordance with Exners table of objects classified as ordinary, unusual, and minus, based on frequencies seen among U.S. adults and on an analogous Portuguese table (Table P) constructed from the protocols of 400 nonpatient children. Mean differences between the various FQ variables of the 2 tables were found to be insignificant. However, use of Jansons (2003) iota coefficient to evaluate agreement between the 2 approaches to scoring on the same protocols revealed that the more striking differences occurred in the FQu variable when agreement was assessed on the basis of each individual response. In view of these results, the authors recognize the possibility of Rorschach normative data to be universally applied, but still consider the possible advantage of each country or culture to build its own FQ table that will permit preservation of its particularities.

Impact of a classroom standing desk intervention on daily objectively measured sedentary behavior and physical activity in youth

OBJECTIVES We investigated the impact of a standing desk intervention on daily objectively monitored sedentary behavior and physical activity in 6th grade school students. DESIGN Cluster non-randomised controlled trial. METHOD Two classes (intervention students: n=22 [aged 11.8±0.4years]; control students: n=27 [11.6±0.5years]) from a public school in Lisbon were selected. The intervention involved replacing traditional seated classroom desks for standing desks, for a total duration of 16 weeks, in addition to performing teacher training and holding education/motivation sessions with students and parents. Sedentary behavior (ActivPAL inclinometer) and physical activity (Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometer) were measured for seven days immediately before and after the intervention. RESULTS There were no differences in baseline behaviors between intervention and control groups (p>0.05). At follow-up (16 weeks), it was observed that the intervention group had decreased time spent sitting (total week: -6.8% and at school: -13.0% relative to baseline) and increased standing (total week: 16.5% and at school: 31.0%) based on inclinometer values (p-value for interaction group*time <0.05). No significant differences in activity outcomes were observed outside school time (week or weekend) between groups. CONCLUSION We conclude that a 16 week classroom standing desk intervention successfully reduced sitting time and increase standing time at school, with no observed compensatory effects outside of school time.

The effect of color on the production of responses to Rorschach cards VIII, IX, and X in age groups of 11-12 and 15-16 years.

The effect of color on the production of responses to the Rorschach task has been considered by investigators from 2 different positions: (a) that color has little effect on the production of responses, and (b) that color increases the number of responses. Some previous results found by the current investigators have supported the first position for the last 3 fully colored Rorschach cards (VIII, IX, and X), in children from 5 to 12 years old. Other studies of ours, however, have confirmed the second position for these same cards with a group of young adults 17 to 23 years old. As there was no increase of responses up to age 12, for this study we hypothesized a developmental effect in adolescence such that there would be an increase in the production of responses to the colored Rorschach cards at the age of 15 to 16 years, and this is what the results indicate. From a pragmatic standpoint, these results imply a revision of interpretive meaning for the Color and Affective Ratio variables in childrens protocols. Our results also indicate that color cannot be regarded as a means of expression of affect at age 11 to 12 like it will be from age 15 to 16 and on.

Color and production of responses to Rorschach: a cross-cultural study

Previous studies have shown that color increases the production of responses to Rorschach in adults but not in chil- dren. This increase is observed beginning from 15-16 years old. This developmental data, obtained from Portuguese children and young individuals, led the authors to verify whether this property of color is innate or conditioned by neuropsychological development, whether it is learned or acquired. The application of Rorschach in two groups of black children and young indi- viduals from Mozambique aged 12, 12 and 15 to 20 years following the same methodology indicated no essential differences in relation to the results obtained in Lisbon, Portugal. Differences were pronounced in the second group for females, which raises issue of the phenomenons cultural nature.Estudos anteriores revelaram que a cor aumenta a producao de respostas ao Rorschach nos adultos mas nao nas criancas e que esse aumento se observa a partir dos 15-16 anos. Este dado desenvolvimental, obtido a partir de criancas e jovens portugueses, levou os autores a verificar se esta propriedade da cor e inata ou condicionada pelo desenvolvimento neuropsicologico ou, antes, aprendida ou adquirida. A aplicacao do Rorschach, segundo a mesma metodologia, a dois grupos de criancas e de jovens negros de Mocambique, com 11-12 e 15-20 anos, proporcionou resultados que sugerem que, no primeiro grupo etario, nao ocorrem diferencas fundamentais em relacao ao obtido em Lisboa; no segundo grupo, tais diferencas sao acentuadas, em particular para o sexo feminino, levantando-se a questao da natureza cultural do fenomeno.

Color y producción de respuestas al Rorschach: un estudio transcultural

Previous studies have shown that color increases the production of responses to Rorschach in adults but not in chil- dren. This increase is observed beginning from 15-16 years old. This developmental data, obtained from Portuguese children and young individuals, led the authors to verify whether this property of color is innate or conditioned by neuropsychological development, whether it is learned or acquired. The application of Rorschach in two groups of black children and young indi- viduals from Mozambique aged 12, 12 and 15 to 20 years following the same methodology indicated no essential differences in relation to the results obtained in Lisbon, Portugal. Differences were pronounced in the second group for females, which raises issue of the phenomenons cultural nature.Estudos anteriores revelaram que a cor aumenta a producao de respostas ao Rorschach nos adultos mas nao nas criancas e que esse aumento se observa a partir dos 15-16 anos. Este dado desenvolvimental, obtido a partir de criancas e jovens portugueses, levou os autores a verificar se esta propriedade da cor e inata ou condicionada pelo desenvolvimento neuropsicologico ou, antes, aprendida ou adquirida. A aplicacao do Rorschach, segundo a mesma metodologia, a dois grupos de criancas e de jovens negros de Mocambique, com 11-12 e 15-20 anos, proporcionou resultados que sugerem que, no primeiro grupo etario, nao ocorrem diferencas fundamentais em relacao ao obtido em Lisboa; no segundo grupo, tais diferencas sao acentuadas, em particular para o sexo feminino, levantando-se a questao da natureza cultural do fenomeno.

Cor e produção de respostas ao Rorschach: um estudo transcultural

Previous studies have shown that color increases the production of responses to Rorschach in adults but not in chil- dren. This increase is observed beginning from 15-16 years old. This developmental data, obtained from Portuguese children and young individuals, led the authors to verify whether this property of color is innate or conditioned by neuropsychological development, whether it is learned or acquired. The application of Rorschach in two groups of black children and young indi- viduals from Mozambique aged 12, 12 and 15 to 20 years following the same methodology indicated no essential differences in relation to the results obtained in Lisbon, Portugal. Differences were pronounced in the second group for females, which raises issue of the phenomenons cultural nature.Estudos anteriores revelaram que a cor aumenta a producao de respostas ao Rorschach nos adultos mas nao nas criancas e que esse aumento se observa a partir dos 15-16 anos. Este dado desenvolvimental, obtido a partir de criancas e jovens portugueses, levou os autores a verificar se esta propriedade da cor e inata ou condicionada pelo desenvolvimento neuropsicologico ou, antes, aprendida ou adquirida. A aplicacao do Rorschach, segundo a mesma metodologia, a dois grupos de criancas e de jovens negros de Mocambique, com 11-12 e 15-20 anos, proporcionou resultados que sugerem que, no primeiro grupo etario, nao ocorrem diferencas fundamentais em relacao ao obtido em Lisboa; no segundo grupo, tais diferencas sao acentuadas, em particular para o sexo feminino, levantando-se a questao da natureza cultural do fenomeno.

Some Rorschach Variables from a Normative Study with 10-Year-Old Portuguese Children

A partir da analise dos dados normativos de uma amostra de 60 criancas portuguesas, 30 de cada sexo, de 10 anos de idade, vivendo na cidade de Lisboa, os autores procedem ao exame de um certo numero de variaveis cujos valores medios ou frequencia de ocorrencia se afastam, de modo acentuado, de identicos dados obtidos por Exner e Weiner, nos EUA. O objectivo nao consiste tao so em salientar a ocorrencia de diferencas, mas sobretudo em assinalar o que porventura pode constituir um conjunto de indicadores da dimensao cultural portuguesa, responsavel por tais diferencas. Apos uma breve caracterizacao da amostra, apresentam-se os resultados de uma busca de diferencas entre sexos, as quais se limitam a 5 variaveis: soma das respostas de sombreado, combinacao cor-sombredo, conteudo humano irreal, total de respostas de conteudo humano e conteudo Arte. Estas diferencas sao todas favoraveis ao sexo feminino. Apresenta-se, depois, uma tabela com os dados normativos portugueses e norte-americanos de 47 variaveis do R...