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Used data from the Portuguese HBSC (Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children) survey, which was conducted by one of the authors who is the national representative of the European Study HBSC, a World Health Organisation collaborative study (Currie, Hurrelmann, Setterbulte, Smith, & Todd, 2000; Matos, Simoes, Carvalhosa, Reis & Canha 2000), to examine correlates of depression and anxiety in a large, representative sample of adolescents. The study had four aims: (1) to examine the relationship between feelings of anxiety and depression; (2) to examine the association of positive peer relationships, and anxiety and depression in school-age adolescents; (3) to examine the relationship between health, peer relationships, depression and anxiety; and finally, (4) to assess age and gender differences with regard to the above issues. Measures were constructed of depression, anxiety, peer relationships, and health. Consistent with previous studies, anxiety and depression were found to be significantly correlated. A MANOVA revealed that females and adolescents in grades 8 and 10 were more likely to report high anxiety and/or depressive symptoms. High anxiety and depression in adolescence was associated with poor peer relationships and poorer health. Implications of these results and directions for further research are discussed. (Contains 1 table.)

Students with chronic conditions (CC) tend to experience several barriers in terms of their school participation and performance. Therefore, the present study aims to explore the factors related to the time of diagnosis of CC (recent/non-recent), the barriers to participation and academic success (health condition, people's attitude towards CC and school physical environment), the physical and mental health (physical/psychological symptoms and concerns) and school-related variables (relationship with teachers and peers), regarding the school participation of first-year students with CC. This work is part of the HOUSE-Colégio F3 Project, University of Lisbon, which includes 1143 first-year university students from 17 Faculties and Institutes of the University of Lisbon. In this specific study, only the subsample of 207 students with CC was considered, 72.4% of which were female, aged between 18 and 54 years (M = 20.00; SD = 4.83). The results showed that students with a recent diagnosis of CC and students with school participation affected by the CC were those who presented more negative indicators regarding barriers to school participation, physical and mental health, and school-related variables. A greater impact of CC in terms of school participation was associated with having a recent diagnosis, with people's attitude towards CC and with the health condition as barriers, with more psychological symptoms and worse relationships with teachers and peers. This is a relevant message for the organization of health services for students with CC at the beginning of their university studies, especially since they are often displaced from home and managing their health conditions alone (in many cases, for the first time). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Due to the economic recession, several people in Europe became unemployed. This situation may risk their mental health. Aim: This study explored parents’ perceptions about their unemployment’s effects in daily life during the recession. Methods: A total of 59 unemployed parents (40.7% fathers and 59.3% mothers), ageing 44.4 years (±6.2), answer a question on how the unemployment affected their family lives. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Results: The findings suggest that unemployment is a source of adult and youth mental distress and of economic hardship and changes in family relations. Conclusion: Support to unemployed individuals and their families could benefit from these insights when granting the needed financial and socioemotional assistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the differences in the psychological well-being of Portuguese adolescents' (1) living with a chronic condition (CC) and (2) living with a CC and feeling it affects/not affects school participation.Methods: There were 5050 Portuguese adolescents as participants of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children/WHO.Results: Adolescents without CC often feel rarely or never ‘sad/depressed’, ‘irritated/bad humour’, ‘nervous’, ‘fearful’ or ‘so sad that it seems I can't take it’, compared with their healthy peers. Young people living with CC and feeling that it does not affect participation in school, often feel rarely or never ‘sad/depressed’, ‘fearful’ or ‘so sad that it seems I can't take it’, comparing with the ones with CC and feeling it affects school. All of these symptoms were higher in adolescents living with a CC.Conclusions: Adolescents living with a CC and feeling that it affects participation in school can be at a higher risk for a healthy psychological well-being. Future early interventions based on a ‘health assets’ approach should be implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Aim. The aim of the present work is the analysis of factors associated to positive health and well being, in a population of adolescents with special needs (ASN) facing adverse environmental situations Methodology. The sample included 494 adolescents with special needs (ASN), mean age 14 years old. Pupils attended 77 public schools from all over Portugal. Data collection was held within the HBSC (Health Behaviour in School aged Children) survey (Currie et al, 2004; Matos et al, 2006). For the purpose of this specific study, the questionnaire included questions about quality of life, internal and external resources and life events. Results. Results showed that adolescents with special needs (ASN) had a set of internal resources (personal and social competences and self-concept) and a set of external resources (family, peers, school and local community). Those are protective factors regarding their well being, when they face stressful environmental situations. However when adolescents face several different negative life events, only Family and Self-concept have a significant protective effect. Family and self-concept seem thus the most important factors for the positive development of adolescents with special needs (ASN), when they face multiple negative environmental events. Thus, when designing and implementing school-based intervention programs, it is important to include both individual mental health support and family support, as a way to help adolescents with special needs (ASN) to face daily challenges and negative life events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Depression is the most prevalent mental disorder. In the treatment of depressive symptoms, patients' religious practices and beliefs are often not considered. We carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs to analyse the effect of religious interventions on depression.Methods: A literature screening was performed on August 2021, using the Cochrane Collaboration, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Primary source articles published from 2015 to August 2021 in peer-reviewed journals were eligible for inclusion if data were presented on religious interventions' effects on depression.Results: The literature search yielded 208 potentially relevant publications. Eight articles were identified and included in the review. One of the articles was excluded from the meta-analysis because it did not report the mean data for the baseline and follow-up assessment results. From the 7 out of 8 included studies, the results consistently indicated that religious-based interventions effectively reduced depressive symptoms among vulnerable persons with chronic medical illness, pregnant women, haemodialysis patients, elderly nursing home residents, people with major depressive disorders or dysthymia, and coronary artery bypass graft surgery patients.Limitations: The definition of the religious-based intervention varied substantially among the trials. These differences can make interpretation and comparing implications on the treatment of depression difficult.Conclusion: Compared to standard/other usual therapies for treating depression, religious-based interventions provide superior effects. This review and meta-analysis strongly suggest that patients' religious beliefs should be considered when diagnosing and treating depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]