Wagner de Lara Machado

Evidências de validade de marcadores reduzidos para a avaliação da personalidade no modelo dos cinco grandes fatores

Brief psychometric measures for personality assessment have received increasing attention in the psychological literature. Up to date, however, there was a lack of brief personality measures in Brazil. The present study explored the psychometric properties of Big Five mini-markers derived from an instrument originally composed of 64 items. Participants were 674 undergraduate students (mean age = 23.5 years; SD = 6.46). Exploratory factor analyses as well as theoretical-semantic criteria were used to select a brief set of personality markers. The final factor solution was composed of 25 markers, five for each Big Five dimension, explaining 53.9% of the variance. Finally, we discuss the need to investigate the convergent validity of the measure, and considerations regarding its potential usefulness.

Bem-estar psicológico: definição, avaliação e principais correlatos

Abstract Psychological well-being is a construct based on psychological theory about positive or optimal functioning. The convergence po ints betweendefinitions from theories of human development, humanistic-existential psychology and mental health are its dimensions: self-ac ceptance,positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life and personal growth. The aim of this paper is to present theconcept of psychological well-being from a selective literature review. The origins and development of the concept and approach es to theirassessment are examined. Psychosocial, sociodemographic and neurobiological correlates of psychological well-being are briefly describedand discussed. psychological well-being is associated with positive processes related to health. It indicates the need for stud ies about theconstruct in Brazil.Uniterms : Psychological well-being. Subjective well-being. Mental health. O Bem-Estar Psicologico (BEP) e um construtobaseado na teoria psicologica, agregando conheci-mentos de areas como psicologia do desenvolvimentohumano, psicologia humanista-existencial e saudemental, a respeito do funcionamento psicologico posi-tivo ou otimo (Ryff, 1989). Os pontos de convergencia

Dimensionalidade da Escala de Estresse Percebido (Perceived Stress Scale, PSS-10) em uma Amostra de Professores

The present study aimed to investigate the dimensionality of the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) in a sample of school teachers (N = 517). An exploratory factor analysis done by the extraction method of minimum rank factor analysis, using polychoric correlation matrix and parallel analysis criterion for factor retention, indicated a one-factor solution as the best fit to the data. The items showed adequate factor loadings and the retained factor explained 67% of common scores variance, presenting internal consistency (a = .80). This study provides validity evidences of the PSS-10 for the Brazilian context.

Análise Fatorial Confirmatória do Instrumento de Avaliação Neuropsicológica Breve Infantil - NEUPSILIN - Inf

Se examino la estructura interna del Instrumento de Evaluacion Neuropsicologica Breve Infantil - NEUPSILIN-Inf a traves de Analisis Factorial Confirmatorio (AFC). Participaron del estudio 840 ninos (421 de la ciudad de Sao Paulo, 419 de Porto Alegre, RS-Brasil), con edades entre seis y 12 anos (M=8,98, DE=1,98), entre el primer y sexto ano de primaria, de escuelas publicas y privadas. Se testaron modelos teoricos hipoteticos considerandose la organizacion original del instrumento y la literatura neuropsicologica. Se verifico adecuacion empirica de cinco de los siete modelos primeramente pensados: praxis constructivas, memoria verbal, memoria episodica y semantica, procesamiento visual y desempeno academico. Contrariamente a las hipotesis, el lenguaje se ajusto como un modelo de un factor, mientras memoria de trabajo, atencion y funciones ejecutivas fueron mas bien explicadas por un modelo de dos factores correlacionados. Se concluyo que el NEUPSILIN-Inf presenta evidencia de validez basada en la estructura interna y puede ser utilizado en la evaluacion neuropsicologica de ninos para examinar esos grupos de componentes neurocognitivos.

Marcadores reduzidos para a avaliação da personalidade em adolescentes

Los Marcadores Reducidos para la Evaluacion de la Personalidad mensuran los Cinco Grandes Factores (CGF) mediante 25 adjetivos comunmente utilizados para describir diferencias individuales en portugues brasileno. Todavia, hasta ahora, sus propiedades psicometricas con adolescentes no habian sido investigadas. De esa manera, el presente estudio tuvo como objetivo evaluar la estructura factorial del instrumento en dos muestras de estudiantes adolescentes. El primer estudio conto con 208 estudiantes (promedio de edades=15,97; DP=1,00). Analisis de componentes principales del instrumento revelaron una estructura de cinco componentes oblicuos con apenas 20 marcadores. Ese modelo fue testado en una segunda muestra con 280 estudiantes (promedio de edades=15,53; DP=1,00) de forma confirmatoria contra modelos alternativos. Los indices de ajuste tambien favorecieron un modelo de cinco factores oblicuos. Los resultados, en conjunto, sugieren la adecuacion de una version del instrumento con solo 20 marcadores para uso con adolescentes.Brazilian Mini-Markers of Personality measure the Five-Factor Model with 25 adjectives frequently used for describing individual differences in Brazilian Portuguese. However, up to date, there were no studies focusing on its psychometric properties in adolescent groups. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the factor structure of the instrument in two adolescent student samples. The Study I used data from 208 high school students (mean age=15.97; SD= 1.00) and showed an oblique solution composed of five principal components and 20 markers. This structure was then tested with confirmatory factor analysis using data from 280 school and high school students (mean age=15.53; SD= 1.00). Fit indexes showed that an oblique five-factor model performed better than theoretically-derived concurrent structures. Results showed that a 20 marker version of the instrument is adequate for use with adolescents in Brazil.

Psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS)

INTRODUCTION Emotion regulation can be defined as the process by which individuals manage their emotional experience. It has been demonstrated that deficits in this ability are associated with various psychiatric disorders. In this direction, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) was developed to measure difficulties in emotion regulation. OBJECTIVE To examine the psychometric properties of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the DERS. METHOD A total of 377 individuals from the general population, selected by convenience, completed a sociodemographic form, the adapted Brazilian Portuguese DERS and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). Factor structure, reliability, and concurrent validity of the adapted version of the instrument were investigated. RESULTS The confirmatory factor analysis replicated the six-factor structure originally proposed for the instrument and confirmed the acceptability of a hierarchical model where all DERS subscales loaded on a general emotion dysregulation factor. Internal consistency indicators had adequate values for the general factor and subscales. The positive association between DERS and DASS-21 scores supports the instruments concurrent validity. CONCLUSION These results suggest that the Brazilian version of the DERS is reliable both as a general measure of difficulties in emotion regulation and as a measure of the constituents of this construct. Future research should investigate the psychometric properties of the scale in clinical and nonclinical populations, with equal gender proportions and diverse backgrounds, and preferably employing longitudinal designs.

Jovens Insatisfeitos com a Imagem Corporal: Estresse, Autoestima e Problemas Alimentares

Resumo Jovens correm riscos para transtornos alimentares. Este estudo verificou as relações entre imagem corporal (IC), estresse percebido, autoestima, comportamento alimentar e Índice de Massa Corporal (IMC) em 238 adolescentes e jovens (14-20 anos; 62,2% meninas), respondendo ao Eating Atittudes Test, Escala de Estresse Percebido, Silhouette Matching Task e Inventário de Autoestima, medindo-se peso e altura (IMC). Meninas apresentaram riscos para distúrbios alimentares, maior preocupação com IC, mais estresse e menor autoestima; meninos desejam ser mais musculosos. Pela análise de redes, comportamento alimentar e IMC não se associaram, divergindo de outros estudos. Houve relações positivas entre IC e IMC e, entre fator dieta e fator bulimia; foram negativas as relações entre autoestima e estresse, e entre IC e sexo. Foram identificadas relações que podem subsidiar intervenções preventivas e centradas em variáveis, como a preocupação em emagrecer, estresse e autoestima em meninas, e o desejo de aumentar a massa corporal nos meninos. Palavras-chave: comportamento alimentar, imagem corporal, autoestima, estresse, jovens

What neuropsychological functions best discriminate performance in adults post-stroke?

ABSTRACT This study aimed to develop a short version of an instrument to detect cognitive impairment in stroke patients, investigate which cognitive dimensions best discriminate between stroke patients and healthy adults and to graphically analyze the relationships among the neuropsychological variables and groups. This pilot study included 94 adults (49 post-stroke and 45 neurologically healthy) who answered the Brief Neuropsychological Assessment Battery NEUPSILIN for patients with expressive aphasia (NEUPSILIN-Af) to assess orientation, perception, memory, praxis, executive functions, oral language, and academic achievement (written language and arithmetic). The IRT Rasch model for dichotomous data indicated the exclusion of items that could not be used to discriminate performances. ROC curves indicated that only the orientation, oral language, academic achievement, and executive function dimensions could be used to differentiate between the clinical and healthy groups. Graphical analysis indicated that independently of the relation among variables, orientation and executive functions tasks are essentials in the neuropsychological assessments. This study contributes to the development of specific and sensitive neuropsychological instruments to assess stroke patients and to better understand the common deficits present in this clinical population.

Development of the Self-Regulatory Scale in Work-Related Interactions

Social interactions at work require constant monitoring of skills and self attributes to help individuals adapt to contextual demands. Four self-regulatory processes (SRPs) are responsible for such adjustment: self-enhancement (SE), self-verification (SV), self-assessment (SA) and self-improvement (SI). This study introduces a measure of the SRPs in typical social interactions with peers and supervisors at work - the Work- Related Self-regulatory Process Scale (WR-SRPS). An exploratory (268 professionals, 59.5% women) and another confirmatory study (205 participants, 56.6% women) were conducted. Results show that the scale evaluates SE, SA and SI satisfactorily. Additionally, they indicate the need of different versions of the WR-SRPS to evaluate the relationship with peers and supervisors. Despite the limitations, results demonstrate that it is a promising measure to assess SRPs at work.

Effects of statistical models and items difficulties on making trait-level inferences : a simulation study

Researchers dealing with the task of estimating locations of individuals on continuous latent variables may rely on several statistical models described in the literature. However, weighting costs and benefits of using one specific model over alternative models depends on empirical information that is not always clearly available. Therefore, the aim of this simulation study was to compare the performance of seven popular statistical models in providing adequate latent trait estimates in conditions of items difficulties targeted at the sample mean or at the tails of the latent trait distribution. Results suggested an overall tendency of models to provide more accurate estimates of true latent scores when using items targeted at the sample mean of the latent trait distribution. Rating Scale Model, Graded Response Model, and Weighted Least Squares Mean- and Variance-adjusted Confirmatory Factor Analysis yielded the most reliable latent trait estimates, even when applied to inadequate items for the sample distribution of the latent variable. These findings have important implications concerning some popular methodological practices in Psychology and related areas.