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- The youth-caregiver relationship quality in residential youth care: Professionals perceptions and experiencesPublication . Magalhães, Eunice; Ferreira, Margarida; Ornelas, Sandra; Silva, Carla; Camilo, Cláudia; Calheros, M. M.This study aimed to explore the perceptions and experiences of professionals working in residential care (RC) settings (i.e., caregivers and directors) about youth-caregiver relationship quality (YCRQ). Method: A qualitative study was developed in Portugal including 15 caregivers (73.3% women, 23–50 years) and 15 directors (73.3% women, 34– 45 years) working in 18 generalist RC units. Data were collected through six focus groups using a semi-structured interview script. Data were analyzed following a content analysis approach using NVIVO 12 software. Results: Our findings revealed that the concept of YCRQ in RC was mainly described in terms of good qualities, and the organizational determinants of YCRQ relationships were most mentioned both by caregivers and directors (i.e., organizational social context, intervention models and strategies). Individual characteristics of youth and staff were less described as determinants of YCRQ. These findings provide important insights for practice. Conclusions: efforts should be made to design interventions in RC that aim to improve its organizational social climate so as to provide caregivers with the necessary support and resources that enable them to enhance positive YCRQ.
- A COVID-19 e a sociedade Portuguesa: Uma crise sindémicaPublication . Godinho, Sandra; Calheiros, M M; Garrido, M. V.; Ferreira, Mário B.; Graça, João; Sarroeira, Ana
- Is it the child's fault? Maternal attributions in child abuse and neglectPublication . Camilo, Cláudia; Garrido, M. V.; Calheros, M. M.Among the parental cognitions explaining maladaptive parenting, attributions about a child’s misbehavior seem important. However, there is little research on neglectful parents, and the different patterns of parental attributions associated with child abuse and child neglect are still underexplained. The current study examines parental attributions associated with child abuse and child neglect. Method: Mothers (N = 218) were asked to evaluate vignettes describing child transgressions, half of which were followed by situational information. Child abuse and child neglect were evaluated through mothers’ and professionals’ reports. Results: Preliminary results indicated that the child’s age and maternal socioeconomic status were significantly correlated with attributions and child abuse and neglect scores and thus were controlled in the models. The results from hierarchical regressions indicated that dispositional attributions were associated with higher abuse scores (reported by mothers), even in the presence of situational information. Likewise, dispositional attributions were associated with higher neglect scores (reported by professionals), but the effect was no longer significant in the presence of situational information. Conclusions: These findings contribute to the current socio-cognitive approaches to child maltreatment and provide relevant input for understanding the different attributional mechanisms underlying child abuse and neglect.
- Why do I think what I think I am? mothers' and fathers' contributions to adolescents' self-representationsPublication . Silva, Carla; Martins, Ana Catarina; Calheros, M. M.This study analyzed adolescents’ self-representations construction process, relying on the Looking Glass Self Hypothesis (LGSH), within parent-child relationships – that is, the mediating role of mothers’ and fathers’ reflected appraisals (i.e., adolescents’ perceptions of their parents’ appraisals of them) in associations between parents’ actual appraisals and adolescents’ selfrepresentations. Participants were 221 adolescents, 12-16 years old, and both their parents. The standard paradigm was used to measure the LGSH elements: self-representations were measured with the Self-Representation Questionnaire for Adolescents, which was reworded to measure parents’ actual and reflected appraisals. Structural equation modeling with bootstrap estimation supported the LGSH for all self-representation domains under analysis. Results are discussed considering the specificities of the adolescent-mother and adolescent-father relationships, and the different self-representation domains analized.
- Multiple autonomy support attunement connections with perceived competence in learning and school grades among rural adolescents.Publication . Simões, Francisco; Calheros, M. M.In this study, we examine the associations of Multiple Autonomy Support Attunement (MASA) (corresponding to configurations of (in)consistent perceived multiple autonomy support regarding parents, teachers, and mentors) with perceived competence in learning and native language and math grades, among rural adolescents. A total of 448 ninth graders (M = 14.71; SD = .90; 58.03% girls) from The Azores Islands, a Portuguese mostly rural and isolated area participated in this study. Using Latent Class Analysis (LCA), a three-class solution for MASA presented the best fit and was more interpretable. Multivariate Analysis of Variance showed that unattuned MASA, due to low teacher support, was the most recurrent MASA configuration. While less recurrent, high MASA was associated with improvements in all educational outcomes. The effect of high MASA on improving educational outcomes among these youths was above and beyond, and more systematic, than factors that typically play a central role in rural educational trajectories, such as SES and gender. Our study shows the need to further articulate rural students’ social ecology features with the usual explanations for rural education failure.
- Security in the Interparental Subsystem (SIS) Scale: Psychometric Characteristics in a Sample of Portuguese AdolescentsPublication . Silva, Carla; Calheros, M. M.; Carvalho, HelenaThe Security in the Interparental Subsystem Scale (SIS) is based on emotional security theory. This study examined the psychometric properties of an adaptation of the SIS to a sample of Portuguese adolescents (60.3% girls; 10 to 18 years old; Mage = 13 years; N = 229), recruited in public schools. Discriminant and concurrent validity were assessed by analyzing SIS dimensions associations with adolescents’ exposure to interparental conflict (IC), and psychological adjustment, respectively. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the SIS supported a six-factor solution, with satisfactory internal consistency. Evidence for discriminant and concurrent validity was provided: most SIS dimensions significantly discriminated between adolescents exposed to higher vs. lower levels of IC; and a significant positive association between emotional reactivity and adolescents’ externalizing symptoms was found. These findings suggest that the SIS is a reliable tool for assessing adolescents’ emotional insecurity in the interparental relationship within the context of this sample.
- ‘Why do I think what I think I am?’: Mothers’ and fathers’ contributions to adolescents’ self-representationsPublication . Silva, Carla; Martins, Ana Catarina; Calheros, M. M.This study analyzed adolescents’ self-representations construction process, relying on the Looking Glass Self Hypothesis (LGSH), within parent-child relationships – that is, the mediating role of mothers’ and fathers’ reflected appraisals (i.e., adolescents’ perceptions of their parents’ appraisals of them) in associations between parents’ actual appraisals and adolescents’ self-representations. Participants were 221 adolescents, 12-16 years old, and both their parents. The standard paradigm was used to measure the LGSH elements: self-representations were measured with the Self-Representation Questionnaire for Adolescents, which was reworded to measure parents’ actual and reflected appraisals. Structural equation modeling with bootstrap estimation supported the LGSH for all self-representation domains under analysis. Results are discussed considering the specificities of the adolescent-mother and adolescent-father relationships, and the different self-representation domains analized.
- Maltreatment experiences and psychopathology in children and adolescents: The intervening role of domain-specific self-representations moderated by agePublication . Silva, Carla; Calheros, M. M.Background: Associations between maltreatment experiences and psychopathology symptoms in children and adolescents are well established. However, the role of domain-specific self-representations (SR) in those associations remains unexplored. Objective: This multi-informant study aimed to explore the indirect associations between maltreatment experiences and children’s and adolescents’ psychopathology symptoms (i.e., internalizing and externalizing problems), through domain-specific self-representations, and the moderating role of age in those indirect associations. Participants and setting: Participants were 203 children/adolescents (52.7 % boys), aged 8–16 years old (M = 12.64; SD = 2.47), referred to child/youth protection commissions, their parents, and case workers. Method: Case workers reported on child/adolescent maltreatment, children/adolescents reported on SR, and parents reported on psychopathology symptoms. Results: Controlling for chronicity of maltreatment and child/adolescent sex effects, multiple mediation path analysis revealed that: 1) higher levels of physical and psychological abuse were associated with less externalizing problems through more negative social SR; 2) higher levels of physical neglect were associated with more externalizing problems through more positive opposition SR; 3) higher levels of psychological neglect were associated with less externalizing problems through more negative physical appearance SR, and 4) associated with more externalizing problems through more negative opposition SR. Moreover, the indirect effects of physical and psychological abuse on internalizing and externalizing problems through instrumental SR were conditional on child/adolescent age. Conclusion: Findings signal the relevance of preventing child/adolescent maltreatment and promoting the construction of positive and, foremost, realistic and adaptive self-representations as protection against maladjustment.
- Quality of Relationships Between Residential Staff and Youth: A Systematic ReviewPublication . Pinheiro, Micaela; Magalhães, Eunice; Calheiros, Maria Manuela; Macdonald, DianaRegardless of the type of residential care context, entering in care is an impactful event that involves the separation of young people from their relatives, as well as the need to adapt to a new context. This adaptation might be facilitated by the quality of relationships with professionals in these settings, which in turn may positively impact young people’s psychological adjustment. Purpose: The current systematic review aims to identify the factors that might be associated with quality relationships in residential homes (i.e., generalist care, therapeutic care, juvenile justice settings) at different ecological levels. Method: A systematic electronic search was conducted in eight databases: Academic Search Complete, APA PsycArticles, APA PsycINFO, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, ERIC, MEDLINE, Web of Science and Scopus, using a combination of words related with quality relationship, residential care, children, and adolescent. Based on the PRISMA statement, 919 manuscripts were yielded, and thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Results: Child (e.g., gender or age), professionals (e.g., professionals’ characteristics, behaviors, and skills), organizational (e.g., Ratios of children to professionals on staff) and cross-cutting factors (e.g., time spent together, length of relationship) were found to be associated with quality relationships between professionals and young people in care. Discussion: The residential care settings should be able to provide appropriate resources and services which address young people’s complex needs. Practical implications are discussed.
- How does mothering look like: a multidimensional approach to maternal cognitive representationsPublication . Camilo, Cláudia; Garrido, M. V.; Ferreira, Mário B.; Calheiros, M MFrom a cognitive information processing perspective, parents’ cognitive schemas strongly influence the way they perceive and act toward their children. In order to explore how maternal cognitive representations about parenting are organized in a multidimensional space, mothers referred to child protection services and mothers with no such reference completed a free description task of maternal attributes and a sorting task of those attributes according to their probability of co-occurrence in the same mother. Overall, the results suggest that maladaptive parenting seems to be associated with less positive parental schemata, higher schemata rigidity, and higher external attributions regarding parenting. Using multidimensional scaling to represent the structure and content of maternal schemata constitutes an innovative contribution to the parenting domain with potential applications. These conceptual maps representing maternal schemata that shape parental responses in child-rearing situations can be used as theoretical frameworks to develop empirically based guidelines for intervention work with maltreating parents.