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A análise temática tem se notabilizado como um dos métodos qualitativos mais utilizados na pesquisa em Psicologia. O objetivo deste artigo é situar a análise temática na diversidade inferencial que caracteriza o conjunto de métodos qualitativos de pesquisa. Para isso, as escolas de análise temática são apresentadas com suas respectivas lógicas inferenciais, enfatizando os procedimentos lógicos e analíticos que subsidiam a constituição de temas. Com o intuito de exemplificar aspectos da técnica, o artigo apresenta os passos da análise temática em uma pesquisa narrativa com egressos do sistema prisional sobre os impactos do encarceramento em suas vidas, com destaque para o processo lógico de formulação dos temas a partir das narrativas dos egressos. Por fim, o artigo apresenta uma descrição de diferentes passos analíticos integrantes do processo de tematização e propõe uma nova classificação dos passos de identificação de temas em pesquisa qualitativa, a fim de garantir maior qualidade analítica. Thematic analysis is one of the qualitative methods most widely used in psychological research. The aim of this paper is to situate the thematic analysis within the inferential diversity that characterizes qualitative research methods. We first present the schools of thematic analysis and their respective inferential logics, emphasizing the logical and analytical procedures that support the constitution of themes in these modalities of analysis. Secondly, in order to exemplify aspects of the technique, the article presents the steps of a thematic analysis conducted in a narrative study regarding impacts of incarceration on the lives of people released from the Brazilian prison system. We then highlight the logical process of formulating the themes from the participants’ narratives. Finally, the article presents a description of the different analytical steps involved in the thematization process and proposes a new classification of the steps of identification of themes in qualitative research to develop higher analytical quality. El análisis temático se ha señalado como uno de los métodos cualitativos más utilizados en investigación en psicología. El objetivo de este artículo es situar el análisis temático en la diversidad inferencial que caracteriza el conjunto de métodos de investigación cualitativa. Para esto, las escuelas de análisis temático son presentadas con sus respectivas lógicas inferenciales, enfatizando los procedimientos lógicos y analíticos que apoyan la constitución de temas en estas modalidades de análisis. Con el fin de ejemplificar aspectos de la técnica, el artículo presenta los pasos del análisis temático en una investigación narrativa con egresos del sistema penitenciario sobre los impactos del encarcelamiento en sus vidas, destacando el proceso lógico de formulación de los temas basado en las narrativas de los participantes. Finalmente, el artículo presenta una descripción de los diferentes pasos analíticos que forman parte del proceso de tematización y propone una nueva clasificación de los pasos de identificación de temas en la investigación cualitativa, a fin de garantizar una mayor calidad analítica.

The dynamics between risk and promotive factors within ecological contexts of development in emerging adulthood may influence the self-concepts and involvement in problem behaviors of young individuals. To investigate associations of risk (exposure to domestic and community violence; prejudice) and promotive factors (family, college, and community connectedness) with self-concepts (self-esteem, self-efficacy) and problem behaviors (licit drug use, sex risk behavior, and antisocial behavior). A total of 547 socioeconomically diverse emerging adults from a Brazilian urban context (64% female) aged 18–29 years filled in the Brazilian Youth Questionnaire (Dell’Aglio et al. 2011) as part of a national investigation developed by the group “Youth and Resilience” of the National Association of Post-Graduation in Psychology. Structural equation modeling analysis indicated that family connectedness was associated with increased self-esteem, and college connectedness with self-esteem and self-efficacy, whereas community connectedness was associated with decreased levels of antisocial behavior. A combination of programs and policies that engage schools, families and communities are the most promising to yield long-term beneficial effects in interventions towards positive development of emerging adults in Brazil.

This manuscript aims to present and discuss challenges regarding naturalistic observation of adolescent mothers and their infants throughout the first postpartum year. Case illustrations were the object to discuss methodological options and issues faced during an observational and longitudinal research. The participants live in vulnerability in a metropolitan area in Southern Brazil. Data collection challenges led to reflections about naturalistic observation and methodological procedures, which were affected by setting characteristics and by the need of adapting to them. Most methodological difficulties were linked to naturalistic observations of mothers and their infants. Personal and contextual aspects of these settings must be taken into account in order to enhance result reliability and the knowledge about cultural idiosyncrasies.

A global North-South divide in research, and its negative consequences, has been highlighted in various scientific disciplines. Northern domination of science relevant to climate change policy and ...

This study aimed to investigate the extent to which two widely used psychometric instruments (i.e., MLQ-Presence and SoMe-Meaningfulness subscales) measure the same meaning in life latent trait. Participants were 3,020 subjects (63.9 % women), ranging in age from 18 to 91 years old (M = 33.92; SD = 15.01), sampled from 22 Brazilian states. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the unidimensionality of MLQ-Presence scale, but suggested that two distinct latent variables explained the items of SoMe-Meaningfulness scale. This result was further supported by a bi-factor exploratory structural equation modeling, which showed that items 4 and 5 of the SoMe-Meaningfulness scale were primarily influenced by a second latent trait rather than by MIL. Further analyses showed that this second latent trait was more closely related with self-transcendence issues (generativity and spirituality, specifically) instead of MIL.

This study assessed HIV prevalence and associated factors in 284 male-to-female transsexuals from southern Brazil. Seroprevalence was 25 %. Seroprevalence was higher and associated with older age, residence in the metropolitan area, history of diagnosis of other STDs, and reported history of sex work. The year of diagnosis showed no significant relationship with the prevalence of HIV nor the fact of being in a stable relationship, a history of drug use, years of education, and race/ethnicity. The odds of HIV infection compared with the general Brazilian population was 55.55 (95 % CI 38.39-80.39). Changes in the views of the vulnerable groups to HIV/AIDS in Brazil and efforts in the construction of strategies of prevention and in the guarantee of human rights are required.

The Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS) was developed to screen four types of personality risk types related to substance use disorders (hopelessness, anxiety sensitivity, impulsivity, and sensation seeking). In this study, we evaluated the psychometric proprieties and reliability of the Brazilian Portuguese adaptation of the SURPS. It was also explored in this study whether the four personality types measured by the SURPS would differentially associate with motivation for specific psychoactive substance use. A cross-sectional design study was adopted in which 325 Brazilian participants took part (mean age of 27.82, SD = 5.65). Internal consistency and factor model evaluation of the scale were carried out. Results indicated the SURPS Brazilian version has good internal consistency and is a valid instrument for measuring four distinct personality dimensions within the Brazilian population (RMSEA = .05; SRMR = .07; CFI = .90). Additionally, results suggested that the hopelessness, anxiety sensitivity and sensation seeking subscales were associated with preferential substances of use.

Recent findings have shown that existential experiences are complex and, at least theoretically, it could be separated into several different categories (meaningfulness, crisis of meaning, existential indifference, and existential conflict). In this study, we sought to examine in a large Brazilian sample (N = 3,034 subjects, from 22 Brazilian states) the plausibility of existence of these categories and how people inserted on them would differ in terms of sociodemographic variables and psychological functioning (engagement with sources of meaning and scores on a set of dispositional and well-being constructs). Our results showed the existence of all four categories of meaning. Men were more frequently classified into the existentially indifferent and crisis of meaning groups. The meaningfulness group presented higher scores in all sources of meaning when compared to other groups, whereas the existentially indifferent group presented the lowest scores. A highly diverse pattern of relationships between the sources of meaning and the levels of meaningfulness for the different categories of meaning was found. Significant differences between the existential indifference and the existential conflict groups were found for subjective happiness, life satisfaction and self-esteem but not found for optimism, pessimism, hope (agency and pathways), and self-efficacy.

This study aimed to refine the Brazilian Positive and Negative Affect Scale for Children (PANAS-C34). A total of 1,160 children, between seven and 16 years of age (M = 11.2; SD = 1.92), from public elementary schools in eight Brazilian southern cities participated in the study. Four studies were conducted for this project. Study I (n = 370) evaluated the factorial structure of the PANAS-C34 (the original 34-item version). Ten potential items were selected for the instrument’s refined version. Employing an independent sample (n = 340), Study II assessed the utility of this ten-item version. Exploratory factor analysis, parallel analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis supported a bi-factorial solution. However, significant modification indices emerged for two items (happy and sad) regarding their respective factors and thus they were excluded. In Study III, using another independent sample (n = 450), it was demonstrated that the eight-item version (PANAS-C8) had better fit indices than the ten-item version. In Study IV (N = 1,160) a multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to evaluate the measurement invariance of the factorial solution across gender. Moreover, convergent validity was also evaluated using the Child Depression Inventory (CDI) and the General Life Satisfaction Scale for Children (GLSS-C). Measurement invariance was obtained for the PANAS-C8 across all the investigated model parameters. The correlations between the PANAS-C8 and both the CDI and the GLSS-C were of similar magnitude to those obtained using the PANAS-C34. The PANAS-C8 had adequate validity indices, demonstrating its usefulness in evaluating positive and negative affect in children.

The purpose of this study was to examine gender- and age-related patterns of friendship preferences among Brazilian children. In particular, we examined: (a) children's same-sex friendship preference, and its greater intensity among older children; (b) higher exclusivity among girls and higher inclusiveness among boys; and (c) generally higher exclusivity and inclusiveness among older children. Participants were 210 (110 boys, 100 girls) public school students from Brazil who ranged in age from 3.0 to 10.5 years of age. Children were asked to nominate their best friends and to rate how much they liked and disliked each of their other classmates. Children generally nominated more of same-sex peers as best friends and gave more negative ratings to their cross-sex peers. These same-sex preferences were more intense at the older age groups. Girls and older children gave more negative peer ratings and nominated fewer best friends than boys and younger children. However, the oldest age group gave significantly fewer negative peer ratings than did the younger groups—both in their same-sex and overall negative peer ratings. Results are generally consistent with patterns found in prior studies with children from the United States, but unique gender and age-related patterns also emerged.