Paula Mena Matos

National and Gender Measurement Invariance of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS) : A 10-Nation Study With University Students

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS), a self-report measure aimed at assessing identity processes of commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment. We tested its factor structure in university students from a large array of cultural contexts, including 10 nations located in Europe (i.e., Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Switzerland), Middle East (i.e., Turkey), and Asia (i.e., China, Japan, and Taiwan). Furthermore, we tested national and gender measurement invariance. Participants were 6,118 (63.2% females) university students aged from 18 to 25 years (Mage = 20.91 years). Results indicated that the three-factor structure of the U-MICS fitted well in the total sample, in each national group, and in gender groups. Furthermore, national and gender measurement invariance were established. Thus, the U-MICS can be fruitfully applied to study identity in university students from various Western and non-Western contexts.

Psychological intervention with couples coping with breast cancer: a systematic review

Objective: Information about psychological intervention with couples coping with breast cancer is not well-disseminated. This can be explained, at least in part, by the absence of knowledge about the efficacy of this kind of intervention. The aim of the present systematic review is to identify and describe psychological interventions for couples coping with breast cancer and evaluate their efficacy. Design: Studies identified by a searching multiple literature databases related to health and psychology between 1975 and 2013. Rigorous inclusion and exclusion criteria were utilised. Results: Of 129 abstracts, 13 were extracted for further analysis and a final ten studies were deemed eligible for inclusion. Data were extracted from each study regarding study sample characteristics, design, results and methodological limitations. The results obtained were mixed in regard to efficacy, although the overwhelming majority of studies (eight studies) found benefits for both women and their partners in some dimensions, such as quality of life, psychological distress, relationship functioning and physical symptoms associated with cancer. Conclusion: Psychological interventions for couples coping with breast cancer appear to be effective for both women and their partners. However, further studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of couple-based interventions and, to identify for whom and how they are more effective.

Adolescência e institucionalização numa perspectiva de vinculação

O presente artigo procura problematizar as implicacoes da institucionalizacao de jovens em Portugal, dando relevância a qualidade das relacoes e lacos afectivos na reorganizacao interna da esfera emocional. A vinculacao e entendida enquanto processo continuo, em que as relacoes com figuras afectivamente significativas permitem reestruturar bases seguras nos jovens. A institucionalizacao em casas de abrigo ou orfanatos e geradora de sentimentos de perda e abandono, podendo a integracao ser ainda mais dificultada pela desconfianca e pelo medo do desconhecido. Sublinha-se o caracter transformador das relacoes afectivamente estaveis dentro e fora das instituicoes que poderao promover a adaptacao psicossocial e a construcao de representacoes mais favoraveis acerca de si e do mundo ao longo do ciclo vital.

Psychological adjustment after breast cancer: a systematic review of longitudinal studies

Breast cancer (BC) can be a traumatic and stressful experience for women, but there are wide‐ranging differences in the ways in which women respond and adapt to BC. This systematic review examines which sociodemographic, disease‐related, and psychosocial factors near diagnosis predict later psychological adjustment to BC.

Children's Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale (CPIC): Factor Structure and Invariance Across Adolescents and Emerging Adults

The Childrens Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale (CPIC) is based on the cognitive-contextual framework for understanding interparental conflict. This study investigates the factor validity and the invariance of two factor models of CPIC within a sample of Portuguese adolescents and emerging adults (14 to 25 years old; N = 677). At the subscale level, invariance analyses (configural and metric) showed that the three-factor model with seven subscales operated equivalently across adolescents and emerging adults, although noninvariant intercepts emerged when testing scalar invariance. Confirmatory factor analyses (at the item and subscale level) and follow-up model fit indices supported the theory-based factor structure of the CPICs original model.

Further Validation of Work–Family Conflict and Work–Family Enrichment Scales Among Portuguese Working Parents

This study aimed to develop and validate two Portuguese versions of the Work–Family Conflict Scale (WFCS) and the Work–Family Enrichment Scale (WFES), testing for its factor structure validity, reliability, and measurement invariance across gender. Both WFCS and WFES were translated according to the guidelines of the International Test Commission and tested with two Portuguese samples of working parents, involved in dual-earner relationships. The validation of these two scales was established by confirming the dimensionality of their structures (first- and second-order confirmatory factor analyses) and demonstrating the good discriminant validity, convergent validity, and internal consistency of its subscales. Finally, for both WFCS and WFES, a two-group measurement procedure allowed to demonstrate their measurement invariance across gender.

Measuring emotion regulation and emotional expression in breast cancer patients: A systematic review.

The important role of emotion regulation and expression in adaptation to breast cancer is now widely recognized. Studies have shown that optimal emotion regulation strategies, including less constrained emotional expression, are associated with better adaptation. Our objective was to systematically review measures used to assess the way women with breast cancer regulate their emotions. This systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Nine different databases were searched. Data were independently extracted and assessed by two researchers. English-language articles that used at least one instrument to measure strategies to regulate emotions in women with breast cancer were included. Of 679 abstracts identified 59 studies were deemed eligible for inclusion. Studies were coded regarding their objectives, methods, and results. We identified 16 instruments used to measure strategies of emotion regulation and expression. The most frequently employed instrument was the Courtauld Emotional Control Scale. Few psychometric proprieties other than internal consistency were reported for most instruments. Many studies did not include important information regarding descriptive characteristics and psychometric properties of the instruments used. The instruments used tap different aspects of emotion regulation. Specific instruments should be explored further with regard to content, validity, and reliability in the context of breast cancer.

Separation-individuation of Portuguese emerging adults in relation to parents and to the romantic partner

Separation-individuation is one of the main developmental tasks for emerging adults in the transition to adulthood and can be defined as the ability to gain autonomy within relatedness in attachment relationships. The aim of this study is to explore the current relationship dynamics of parent–child separation-individuation and to examine the links between this developmental task of emerging adults and the ability to establish an autonomous and differentiated self in an intimate relationship with a romantic partner. Separation-individuation was measured with the Munich Individuation Test of Adolescence (MITA), a self-report instrument that allows the assessment of individuation dimensions towards mother, father, and romantic partner. Participants were 463 Portuguese emerging adults between 18 and 30 years of age, mostly university students. Results point to the existence of different individuation styles that reflect distinct relationships dynamics, as well as gender, age and parental figure differences in the development of an autonomous sense of self within close relationships. In addition, results showed an articulation between individuation dynamics concerning parents and the romantic partner that is associated with participants’ individuation style and relationship length, thus supporting the main hypothesis.

Identity in University Students: The Role of Parental and Romantic Attachment.

In this study with 236 Portuguese university students, we examined two competing models for understanding identity. In the first model, the direct independent effects of parental and romantic attachment on identity were tested. The second model examined the mediating role of romantic attachment representations in the link between parental attachment and identity. The participants completed measures of parental and romantic attachment at the beginning of the freshman year (Wave 1), and a measure of identity development 18 months later (Wave 2). Structural equation modeling for the independent model indicated that identity is exclusively predicted by romantic attachment at this life stage, and not by parental attachment. Regarding the second model, our mediational hypothesis was supported, since the association between parental attachment and identity was totally mediated by romantic attachment representations. Both models presented adequate indices of adjustment, and provided a complementary understanding of the differential role that romantic relations play in contributing to explaining identity development.

Apego, Conflito e Auto-Estima em Adolescentes de Famílias Intactas e Divorciadas

This study aimed to analyze the differential contribution to adolescent’s self-esteem concerning family structure (intact and divorced families), interparental conflict, and attachment to parents and peers. The sample consisted of 403 adolescents, aged from 14 to 19. Univariate ANOVA showed that family structure does not predict self-esteem, but adolescents from intact families with higher levels of interparental conflict presented lower self-esteem. Parental attachment patterns derived from cluster analysis and based on Bartholomew bi-dimensional model were associated with self-esteem, namely, with higher levels for adolescents with a secure style. An ANOVA showed no moderation role in predicting adolescents’ self-esteem, when attachment to parents and peers were considered as independent factors. On the other hand, multiple regression results indicated that high quality bonds to parents and peers are predictors of self-esteem.