Renato Gil Gomes Carvalho

Future time perspective as a predictor of adolescents’ adaptive behavior in school

Future time perspective (FTP) has been associated with positive outcomes in adolescents’ development across different contexts. However, the extent to which FTP influences adaptation needs additional understanding. In this study, we analysed the relationship between FTP and adolescents’ behavior in school, as expressed in several indicators of achievement, social integration, and overall satisfaction. We also considered the mediating role of FTP in the association between socioeconomic status, defined by parental education, and adolescents’ behavior in school. The sample consisted of 349 Portuguese adolescents, ranging in age from 14- to 18-years-old. We used a self-report measure of FTP and a school life survey. Regression analyses and bootstrapping procedures revealed that FTP was a significant predictor of school adaptation and a mediator of parental education influence on several adaptation variables. We discussed the results regarding the broader role of FTP in adaptive behavior as well as the importance of school counseling services aimed at fostering adolescents’ FTP.

The Relationship between Structural Dimensions of Personality and School Life in Adolescence

In this cross-sectional study, we analyse the relationship between personality, which was operationalized in the PSY-5 dimensions of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - Adolescent (MMPI-A) and the way students live their lives at school, expressed through indicators of achievement, integration, and overall satisfaction. A total of 351 students, aged 14-18 years, participated in the study. The instruments were the Portuguese version of the MMPI-A and the School Life Questionnaire. Results show a pattern of significant relationships between personality traits and school life, being Disconstraint and Introversion the personality dimensions that stood out mostly in the explanation of school life variables results. Results are analysed considering the importance of personality for the development of more or less adaptive pathways in adolescence.

Personalidade e comportamentos problema: um estudo comparativo com adolescentes em contexto escolar

In this cross-sectional study we analyzed the relationship between problem behaviors in school context, such as indiscipline, disrespect or conflictuality, and personality and psychopathology, which were operationalized in the PSY-5 dimensions of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A). Participants were 351 students from 9th to 12th grades, aged from 14 to 18 years old, and distributed in three different groups, according to their report of problem behavior frequency. Instruments were the Portuguese experimental version of the MMPI-A and a questionnaire on several school dimensions, including problem behaviors. Multivariate statistical analysis of variance indicates significant differences between the groups in PSY-5 dimensions, in a pattern in which the group presenting the highest frequency of problem behaviors has higher results in the MMPI-A. Results are interpreted under a perspective that underlines the importance of personality in the comprehension of adaptation to school, as well as the relevance of psychological assessment techniques that make possible to detect, within normality contexts, students at risk of developing non-adaptive developmental pathways.