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IntroductionMany people think that people with mental disorders might be dangerous or unpredictable. These patients face various sources of disadvantages and experience discrimination in job interviews, in education, and housing. Mental health-related stigma occurs not only within the public community, it is a growing issue among professionals as well. Our study is the first that investigates the stigmatising attitude of psychiatrists across Europe.ObjectivesWe designed a cross-sectional, observational, multi-centre, international study of 33 European countries to investigate the attitude towards patients among medical specialists and trainees in the field of general adult and child and adolescent psychiatry.MethodsAn internet-based, anonymous survey will measure the stigmatising attitude by using the local version of the Opening Minds Stigma Scale for Health Care Providers. Data gathering started in July this year and will continue until December 2020.ResultsThis study will be the first to describe the stigmatising attitude of psychiatric practitioners across Europe from their perspectives.ConclusionsThe study will contribute to knowledge of gaps in stigmatising attitude towards people with mental health problems and will provide with new directions in anti-stigma interventions.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Psychological reactions to pandemics and their constraints depend heavily on personality. Although perfectionism is consistently associated to depression, anxiety and stress, its role in the pandemics' psychological impact has not been yet empirically studied. Our aim was to analyze the role of perfectionism in psychological distress during the pandemic of COVID-19, testing whether it is mediated by fear of COVID-19 and repetitive negative thinking/RNT. Participants (N = 413 adults; 269.2% women) were recruited from September until December 2020, via social networks. They completed self-report validated questionnaires to evaluate perfectionism dimensions (self-critical, rigid and narcissistic perfectionism), fear of COVID-19, RNT and psychological distress (sum of anxiety, depression and stress symptoms). As women had significantly higher levels of self-critical perfectionism, RNT, fear of COVID-19 and psychological distress, gender was controlled in mediation analysis. The three perfectionism dimensions correlated with RNT, fear of COVID-19 and psychological distress. The effect of self-critical perfectionism on psychological distress was partially mediated by fear of COVID-19 and RNT whereas the effect of rigid and narcissistic perfectionism was fully mediated. Perfectionism influences emotional and cognitive responses to the COVID-19 and therefore should be considered both in the prevention and psychological consequences of the pandemic.

IntroductionBurnout occurs in every stage of a medical graduation and career. In the first years of graduation, is affects 35-45% of medical and dentistry students. This has severe consequences, such as: higher levels of suicidal ideation, substance abuse, medical errors and medical neglect; lower levels of empathy and self-compassion - essential to the quality of healthcare. Students with certain personality traits (e.g., neuroticism and, particularly, perfectionism) are more vulnerable to emotional dysregulation when facing stressors of daily life. Our recent studies proved that mindfulness and self-compassion can attenuate the effect of perfectionism on psychological distress.ObjectivesTo present the rational, materials, methodology and preliminary results of our project COMBURNOUT, aimed to develop, implement and assess the efficacy of a mindfulness and self-compassion-based intervention to prevent burnout in medical and dentistry students.MethodsStudents with high levels of burnout, psychological distress and perfectionism will be randomly assigned to intervention (8 weekly sessions) or control groups. The sessions will be composed by psychoeducation about burnout, mindfulness and self-compassion practices, within and between sessions. The follow up will include three assessment moments until a year after the intervention.ResultsWe expect that the experimental group will present significantly lower levels of burnout, psychological distress and perfectionism, and higher levels of emotional regulation skills.ConclusionsThe facilitators training and the manualization are guaranties of standardization and sustainability. If the positive impact of COMBURNOUT is verified, we intend to provide the program to medical/dentistry students from all over the country.

IntroductionCo-occurrence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) features is well stablished. Diagnosis of OCD increases the risk of a later diagnosis of ASD, and vice versa. Moreover, a recent combined genome-wide association study identified a shared polygenic risk between the two disorders. Our preliminary results also indicate that OCD patients have higher levels of autistic traits than individuals from the community.ObjectivesTo determine which autistic dimensions (social skill, communication, attention switching, attention to detail imagination) are predictors of OC symptoms.Methods39 OCD patients (52,5% female; 19 to 64 years old) answered the Portuguese versions of the Autism-Spectrum Quotient for Adults and Obsessive Compulsive Inventory – Revised (OCI-R). Spearman correlation and linear multiple regression tests were performed using SPSS.ResultsThe OCI-R global score showed positive correlations with some AQ dimensions (attention switching, attention to detail and communication). The regression model showed that attention to detail (β = .43, p = .01) and attention switching (β = .33, p = .038) explained 36% of obsessive-compulsive symptoms variance.ConclusionsOur results are in line with a dimensional perspective of psychopathological continua and indicate that the overlap between OCD and ASD occurs through shared neurocognitive processes. We suggest that, besides being a predisposing factor for social difficulties (e.g.: facial/emotion recognition) in ASD, attention to detail and deficits in attention switching may also lead to difficulties to dismiss repetitive thoughts or extinguish behaviours in OCD. Future studies should investigate the distinctive features and underlying processes between OCD/ASD.

Introduction More than in other conditions, fear is associated with infectious diseases, and is directly associated with its transmission rate, morbidity and mortality. High levels of fear can affect the individual’s ability to think clearly, react proportionately and make rational decisions in the context of COVID-19. Recently, Mertens et al. (2020) developed the Fear of Covid-19 Scale (FCV-19S) to measure this construct.ObjectivesTo analyse the psychometric properties of the FCV-19S Portuguese version, namely construct validity, internal consistency and convergent validity.Methods A community sample of 234 adults (75.6% women; mean age= 29.53±12.51; range:16-71) completed an on-line survey with the Portuguese versions of the FCV-19S, the Covid-19 Perceived Risk Scale (CPRS) and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21).The total sample was randomly divided in two sub-samples: sample A (n=117) was used to perform an exploratory factor analysis/EFA; sample B (n=117) to make a confirmatory factor analysis/CFA.Results EFA resulted in one component. CFA revealed that the unifactorial model presented acceptable fit indexes (X2/df=3.291; CFI=.977; GFI=.932; TLI=.919; p[RMSEA≤.01]=.091). Cronbach alpha was α=.855. The total score significantly correlated with Covid-19 Perceived Risk (r=.529, pConclusionsThis study provides preliminary evidence for the validity and reliability of the Portuguese version of FCV-19S, which will be used in an ongoing research project on the relationship between fear of Covid-19, personality, cognitive processes and adherence to public health measures to contain the pandemic.

IntroductionMentalization (MZ) is the capacity by which people make sense of their own’s and others’ mental states; when compromised, it is associated with several mental disorders (Bateman & Fonagy, 2010). A valid instrument to assess MZ is missing and required for the Portuguese population.ObjectivesTo develop and validate a Portuguese version (Questionário de Mentalização – QMZ) of the Mentalization Questionnaire (MZQ) (Hausberg et al., 2012).MethodsA sample of 184 Portuguese medical students (mean age = 21.6 ± 2.47 years, 59.8% female) was used to explore the psychometric properties of the scale, using reliability and factor analysis (varimax rotation method).ResultsThe QMZ exhibited a Cronbach’s alpha score of .80. All items contributed to its reliability. Based on the scree plot of Cattell and interpretability of items, a 2-factor and a 5-factor structures were further explored. The former explained 38.8% of the total variance (VE) and included a regulation of affect (VE= 27.3%, α=.79) and a self-reflection and emotional awareness (VE= 11.5%, α=.62) factors. The latter explained 60.6% of the total variance and incorporated the following dimensions: self-control (VE= 27.3%, α=.74), daily relationships (VE= 11.5%, α=.67), self-comprehension (VE= 8.1%, α=.54), close relationships (VE= 7.0%, α=.41) and self-monitoring (VE= 6.7%, α=.52). The 5-factor structure was closer to the dimensional concept of mentalization.ConclusionsThe QMZ has proved to be a promising instrument, with adequate psychometric properties, confirmed by its acceptable construct, criterion and factorial validity and reliability to assess mentalization in Portuguese language.

During pregnancy, obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms and disorder are underdiagnosed and undertreated. The Prenatal Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (PreOCS; Lord, Rieder, Hall, Soares, & Steiner, 2011) is the only self-report questionnaire that evaluates the severity and interference of specific pregnancy-related obsessions and compulsions. We aimed to analyze the validity and reliability of the PreOCS Portuguese version and to describe the prevalence, content, severity, interference, and onset of OC symptoms in pregnancy. Three hundred fifty-five pregnant women completed the PreOCS and other self-report instruments to evaluate perinatal anxiety and depression. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed that a second-order model presented an acceptable fit. Cronbach's alphas were ≥.75 for the Severity and the Interference subscales and both were moderately correlated with depression and anxiety measures. Nearly 10% of the women presented OC symptoms with relevant severity. Co-occurrence of obsessions and compulsions (44.4%) was associated with significantly higher PreOCS scores. Obsessions about contamination, harm to the baby, others' judgment and baby's health presented the highest prevalence and increased the odds of having at least one compulsion. Searching for information, asking for reassurance, checking, and cleaning were the most reported compulsions. The Portuguese version of PreOCS has good psychometric properties, presenting itself as a valid and reliable instrument.

IntroductionThe main risk factor for dental anxiety is previous traumatic experiences of pain in the dental office. Other consistent etiologic factors are trait-anxiety and preparedness (genetic predisposition to increased sensitivity to pain and aversive stimuli). However, there is a wide inter-individual diversity in the anxiety experience – not all individuals with traumatic experiences at the dentist will develop dental anxiety anxietyObjectivesTo explore potential paths by which a traumatic experience at the dentist (TRAUMA) can lead to dental anxiety.MethodsA community sample of 552 adults (68.2% women; mean age= 35.15±15.790) completed the Portuguese validated versions of: Dental Fear Survey/DFS, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Sensitivity to Pain Traumatization/SPT Scale, Fear of Dental Pain/FDP Questionnaire and Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire–15.Results140 participants (25.2%) had TRAUMA; it was significantly (p.01). Our model was significant (R2=17.15%; pConclusionsThis study underlines the importance of avoiding traumatic experiences in the dental office and of good clinical communication in pain management. If trauma still occurs, dentist should learn how to reduce its impact on the sensitivity and fear of pain and on the RNT.

IntroductionRisk perception of COVID-19 is potentially a significant determinant of the pandemic evolution and the public’s response to it. Acceptable levels of risk perception can be considered good for people to effectively fight the pandemic and adopt preventive health behaviors while high levels of risk perception may be damaging. Recently, Yıldırım&Güler (2020) developed the Covid-19 Perceived Risk Scale (C19PRS) to measure this construct.ObjectivesTo analyze the psychometric properties of the C19PRS Portuguese version, namely construct validity, internal consistency and convergent validity.MethodsA community sample of 234 adults (75.6% women; mean age= 29.53±12.51; range:16-71) completed an on-line survey with the Portuguese versions of the CPRS and the Fear of Covid-19 Scale (FCV-19S; Cabaços et al. 2020). The total sample was randomly divided in two sub-samples: sample A (n=117) was used to perform an exploratory factor analysis/EFA; sample B (n=117) to make a confirmatory factor analysis/CFA.ResultsEFA resulted in three components. CFA revealed that the second-order model with three factors presented good fit indexes (X2/df=1.471; CFI=.959; GFI=.948; TLI=.932; p[RMSEA≤.01]=.065). CPRS Cronbach alphas was α=.687; for F1 Worry, F2 Susceptibility to Covid-19 and F3 Susceptibility to Overall Morbimortality were α=.747, α=.813 and α=.543, respectively. The total and dimensional scores significantly correlated with FCV-19S (r>.30, pConclusionsThis study provides evidence for the validity and reliability of the Portuguese version of CPRS, which will be used in an ongoing research project on the relationship between Covid-19 perceived risk, perfectionism, cognitive processes and adherence to public health measures to contain the pandemic.

IntroductionMotherhood-related beliefs are characterized by themes of failure and maternal role idealization. Recent studies found that postpartum depression/PPD is both predicted and a predictor by/for dysfunctional beliefs/DB. Additionally, it is possible that when contextual factors (eg. lack of social support) are present, women may anticipate the parenting experience as being of isolation, which in turn can lead to more dysfunctional attitudes.ObjectivesTo explore psychosocial risk factors for motherhood-DB.Methods233 women were evaluated in the second trimester (17.05±4.82 weeks) of pregnancy and in the third month (12.08±4.25 weeks) postpartum sociodemographically and psychosocially (years of education, previous children and social support) and the Portuguese validated self-report questionnaires to assess: perinatal depression; perinatal anxiety; perfectionism; negative affect; self-compassion; and repetitive negative thinking (all in T0). The Attitudes Towards Motherhood Scale was administered in the postpartum. When Pearson/Spearmen correlation coefficients proved significant (pResultsMotherhood-DB correlated significantly with all the variables, except for years of education, Other-oriented-Perfectionism and Common-Humanity. Motherhood-DB were significantly higher in women without previous children (pConclusionsOur results highlight the need for preventive approaches to help women understand the origins of their dysfunctional beliefs (perfectionism, the myths of perfect motherhood) and for the promotion of positive cognitions.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

IntroductionFear associated to infectious diseases is directly related with their transmission rate, morbidity and mortality. High levels of fear associated with COVID-19 can affect people’s ability to act and think rationally. In a time of pandemics, it is essential to understand individual factors that might be associated to higher vulnerability to stress and fear.ObjectivesTo analyse: a)correlations between Fear of Covid-19 and clinical and sociodemographic characteristics; b)the mediator role of repetitive negative thinking on the relationship between personality traits and Fear of Covid-19.Methods 234 adults (75.6% women; mean age=29.53±12.51) completed an on-line survey with the Portuguese version of the Fear of Covid-19 Scale (FCV-19S) and other questionnaires to evaluate clinical and sociodemographic characteristics (years of education, perceived physical and mental health and infection by Covid-19), Personality (NEO-FFI-20) and Repetitive negative thinking (PTQ-15). SPSS and Process Macro (Hays, 2020) were used.ResultsFCV-19 mean scores were significantly higher in women and significantly correlated with years of education (r=-.14) (p.20, pConclusionsThis study provides preliminary evidence on individual factors that might be associated to the emotional response to the Covid-19 pandemics, aiming to facilitate public health initiatives to ease people’s fears in a near future.

IntroductionResearch following the Covid-19 pandemics has shown that psychological reactions to the pandemic and its constraints can vary significantly depending on personality. One of the traits that has not been studied yet, but can play a harmful role in the COVID-19 psychological impact is perfectionism. This trait, characterized by setting excessively high standards of performance and striving for flawlessness, has increased in recent years and is considered a transdiagnostic process involved in several (mental) health problems (Curran & Hill 2019).ObjectivesTo analyze the role of Perfectionism in the levels of fear of COVID19 and of perception of infection risk by COVID-19.Methods234 adults (75.6% women; mean age=29.53±12.51) completed an on-line survey with the Portuguese validated versions of Covid-19 Perceived Risk Scale (C19PRS; Pereira et al. 2020), Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FC19S; Cabaços et al. 2020) and Big Three Perfectionism Scale (BTPS; Garrido et al. 2020). SPSS was used to perform correlation and regression analysis.ResultsPerceived Risk and Fear of COVID-19 were significantly correlated with perfectionism (.243, .228, respectively) (both, pConclusionsThis study provides preliminary, but completely innovative evidence that perfectionism contribute to the psychological impact of Covid-19 pandemics. In the near future we will test the hypothesis that the nature of unpredictability and the limitations imposed by the global crisis may be exacerbating the already high levels of psychological distress that affect negative perfectionists.

IntroductionPostpartum depression (PPD) is the commonest postpartum psychiatric condition, with prevalence rates around 20%1. PPD is associated with a range of adverse outcomes for both the mother and infant2. Therefore, identifying modifiable risk factors for perinatal depression is an important public health issue3.ObjectivesTo explore the role of dysfunctional attitudes towards motherhood in postpartum depressive symptoms and disorder.Methods247 women were evaluated in the third (12.08±4.25 weeks) and sixth months (31.52± 7.16 weeks) postpartum with the Attitudes Towards Motherhood Scale4, the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale5 and the Diagnostic Interview for Psychological Distress-Postpartum6. Correlation analysis was performed followed by linear/logistic regression analysis when the coefficients proved significant (pResultsDysfunctional beliefs towards motherhood concerning judgement by others and maternal responsibility positively correlated with depressive symptoms at the third (.528; .406) and the sixth months (.506; .492) postpartum. Those dysfunctional beliefs were predictors of depressive symptoms at the third (ß=.440; ß=.151) and sixth months (ß=.322; ß.241) explaining 29.4% and 30.2% of its variance, respectively. Having dysfunctional beliefs at the third month significantly increase the likelihood of being diagnosed with Major Depression (DSM5) both in the third (Wald=9.992, OR=1.169; Wald=16.729, OR=1.231) and sixth months (Wald=5.638, OR=1.203; Wald=7.638, OR=1.301) (all pConclusionsCognitive distortions should be included in the assessment of risk factors for PPD. Early identification of women presenting motherhood-specific cognitive biases may be crucial for implementing preventive interventions favoring a more positive and healthier motherhood experience.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

IntroductionPersonality traits like neuroticism and trait-anxiety, as well as the predisposition to a greater sensitivity to pain, are risk factors for dental anxiety. Although perfectionism has been associated with both anxiety and pain, particularly when mediated by repetitive negative thinking/RNT (Macedo et al. 2015; Albuquerque et al. 2013), its role in dental anxiety has not yet been studied.ObjectivesTo analyze the role of perfectionism and RNT in dental anxiety.MethodsA community sample of 552 adults (68.2% women; mean age=35.15±15.79 years) completed the Portuguese versions of:Hewit and Flett Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale–13, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Sensitivity to Pain Traumatization/SPT Scale, Fear of Dental Pain/FDP Questionnaire, Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire and Dental Fear Survey/DFS.Results Trait-anxiety (r=.225), socially prescribed perfectionism/SPP (r=.177), SPT (r=.286), FDP (r=.509) and RNT (r=.274) were significantly (pConclusionsThis study shows for the first time that negative perfectionism is a predictor of dental anxiety; its influence operates through the increase in levels of sensitivity to pain, DPA and RNT. We suggest that when intervening in this health problem it is important to evaluate perfectionism and try to mitigate its negative impact, namely diminishing RNT and the focus on pain and fear.

IntroductionBoth original Big Three Perfectionism Scale (BTPS; Smith et al. 2016), and the Portuguese version validated with a sample of university students (Lino et al. 2018) evaluates three second-order factors (rigid, self-oriented and narcissistic perfectionism) and ten facets.ObjectivesTo confirm the BTPS three-factors-ten-dimensions’ structure in a sample of Portuguese adults from the general population.MethodsA sample of 467 adults (70.7% females; Mean age=38.44±12.27; range: 25-82) answered the BTPS Portuguese version and other validated perfectionism measures (Multidimensional Perfectionism Scales from Frost and Hewitt & Flett; Self-Presentation Perfectionism Scale). To study the temporal stability a sub-sample of 132 participants completed the BTPS again after approximately five weeks. SPSS and AMOS software was used.ResultsThe second order model presented an acceptable fit (X²/df=3.115; TLI=.811; CFI=.825; RMSEA=.067). There was also evidence of a general factor comprising all the 45 items (X²/df=3.127; TLI=.809; CFI=.823; [JA1] RMSEA=.068). The Cronbach alphas of the three factors ranged from a=.88 to a=.92; and facets had a>.70 showing a total of a=.94. Total and dimensional scores showed significant positive and moderate to high correlations with the other perfectionism measures and their test-retest correlation coefficients were r=.85 (pConclusionsThis study confirms the validity and reliability of the Portuguese BTPS underlying three-factors structure. Additionally, we found, for the first time, that BTPS can also be validly and reliably used to measure a global perfectionism construct. It is our intention to develop a shorter version the Portuguese BTPS in the near future.

IntroductionPsychological entitlement can be conceived as a disposition to believe that one deserves or is entitled to more than others. This pervasive sense has a wide impact on social behaviour, namely undesirable social outcomes. Given these theoretical implications on self-concept and interpersonal functioning, Campbell and Bonacci developed a shorter questionnaire of the Psychological Entitlement Scale (PES) to evaluate this construct by reducing from the original version from 57 to 9 items.ObjectiveTo investigate the psychometric properties of Psychological Entitlement Portuguese version.MethodsA community sample composed of 286 university students (69.2% females; mean age = 21.09 ± 2.133; range: 17–33) answered the Portuguese preliminary versions of the PES, of the Dirty Dozen and of the honesty-humility dimension from the HEXACO-100.ResultsThe PES Cronbach alpha was “very good” (a = 0.75). Following Kaiser and Cattel Scree Plot criteria, only one factor was extracted (explained variance = 35.46%), meaning that the scale is unidimensional. Pearson correlation coefficient of between PES and narcissism (r = 0.36), psychopathy (r = 0.21) and Machiavelism (r = 0.24) were positive, moderate and significant (P < 0.01). Pearson correlation between PES and honesty-humility was negative, moderate and significant (r = −0.43 P < 0.05).ConclusionsThe Portuguese version of PES present good internal consistency and convergent-divergent validity. Because we consider that psychological entitlement reflects a stable disposition, it is our intent to analyze PES temporal stability within the ongoing research project on the relationship between perfectionism and other personality traits. PES could be very useful both in clinical and research contexts.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

IntroductionThe Dark Triad is a term used to describe a constellation of three socially undesirable personality traits: narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. Contrary to Altruism (the desire to help others with no personal reward or gain), these traits are harmful to others. Given the increased scientific interest on the dark triad, Jonason and Webster developed a shorter questionnaire to evaluate these three independent-yet-related constructs with only 12 items – Dirty Dozen (D12).ObjectiveTo investigate the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Dirty Dozen.MethodsA community sample composed of 286 university students (69.2% females; mean age = 21.09 ± 2.133; range: 17–33) answered the Portuguese preliminary versions of the Dirty Dozen and of the Altruism dimension from HEXACO-100. To study the temporal stability, 30 participants (66.7% females) answered the D12 again after six weeks.ResultsThe EA Cronbach alpha was “very good” (a = 0.72). Following Kaiser and Cattel Scree Plot criteria, three meaningful factors were extracted which explained variance (EV) was of 54.64%: F1 Machiavellianism (EV 32.07%; a = 0.73), F2 Narcissism (13.665%; a = 0.74), F3 Psychopathy (8.90%; a = 0.64). The test-retest correlation coefficients were high, positive and significant for the total D12 and its dimensions (r > 0.70; P < 0.001). Pearson correlations of D12 total and dimensional scores and Altruism were negative, moderate and significant (r@ − 0.30).ConclusionsThe Portuguese version of Dirty Dozen has good reliability and validity. It could be very useful both in clinical and research contexts, namely in an ongoing project on the relationship between dark triad and perfectionism traits.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.