Search

The Self-Expressiveness in the Family Questionnaire (SEFQ) assesses an individual's emotional expressivity in the family context. However, neither the factor structure of the instrument, invariance by age and socioeconomic status (SES), nor substantial evidence for the construct validity of its short form (Self-Expressiveness in the Family Questionnaire-Short Form [SEFQ-SF]) has been established. Therefore, the goals of the present study were to: Conduct a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for the SEFQ-SF, by testing five competing factorial models; ascertain the invariance of the measurement model across age groups and socioeconomic levels; and examine its convergent validity with a parenting-specific measure. A sociodemographic form, a Portuguese translation of the SEFQ-SF, and the Parent Emotion Regulation Scale (PERS) were administered online to 506 Portuguese mothers of children aged between 1 and 12 years old. The positive-negative bifactor model showed the best fit to the data, supporting the uncorrelated two-factor structure. In multigroup analyses, the measurement model was invariant across two age groups (mothers of toddlers/preschoolers vs. mothers of school-aged children) and socioeconomic levels (low-medium vs. high). Weak to strong correlations were observed between the SEFQ-SF positive-negative dimensions and the PERS subscales in the expected direction. The SEFQ-SF appears to be a reliable and valid measure, comprising two independent factors (positive and negative self-expressiveness within the family) that should be used as distinct subscales and eventually tested for their interaction effects. The invariance of this measurement model across age groups and socioeconomic levels is suggestive of the instrument's developmental suitability and cross-contextual applicability. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

In the context of interpersonal risk models of psychopathology, little is known about the role of self-expressiveness within the family (SEF) in individual psychological distress. Therefore, the aim of this exploratory study was to examine main and interaction effects of positive and negative SEF on maternal depression and anxiety symptoms. The “Self-Expressiveness in the Family Questionnaire—Short Form” (SEFQ-SF) and the “Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale” (HADS) were administered to a sample of 403 mothers of toddlers, preschoolers and elementary school-aged children. Regression analyses and PROCESS computational tool in particular were used to examine main and interaction/moderating effects. Positive and negative SEF revealed altogether a medium-sized main effect on depressive symptoms, and negative SEF displayed a medium-sized main effect on anxiety symptoms. Positive SEF was found to buffer the association between negative SEF and maternal depressive symptoms. These preliminary findings suggest that positive and negative SEF may be differentially targeted in interventions to prevent or decrease maternal depression and anxiety symptoms. Specifically, the cultivation of positive SEF is likely to attenuate the detrimental effects of negative SEF on specific dimensions of maternal mental health.

[...]of the type and amount of technology infused in the process, teaching remains a quintessential human activity focused on learning, but always tempered by the teacher's care for students' well-being and, indeed, their joy. Before the transition to remote learning, I asked students to fill out a mid-semester questionnaire that expanded upon my regular "What has worked well/what could be improved?" series of questions. Personal Experiences As someone who strives to keep up with best practices, engages in active learning, uses some Total Physical Response strategies, and resorts [End Page 16] to physical activity in the classroom to enhance learning, transitioning to Zoom presented many limitations.1 We were suddenly imprisoned in small rectangles on the computer screen with only the ability to see each other's shoulders and heads. [...]before a three-minute timed activity, three fingers held up uncomfortably close to my cheek helped clarify the instructions. Besides the pre-transition data collection, I also added questions to the end-of-semester surveys.

This study examined the mediating role of dyadic coping (DC) in the association between internalizing symptoms and dyadic adjustment in a sample of 184 couples expecting their first child. Each partner completed self-report questionnaires assessing symptoms of depression and anxiety, dyadic adjustment and DC during the second trimester of pregnancy. An extension of the actor-partner interdependence model for testing direct and indirect effects was used. Compared to men, women presented higher levels of internalizing symptoms and dyadic adjustment and engaged more in DC by self. Significant indirect effects of internalizing symptoms on dyadic adjustment via common DC and DC by one’s partner were found. Specifically, higher internalizing symptoms were associated with lower common DC and DC by one’s partner, which, in turn, were associated with lower dyadic adjustment. This mediation occurred either within person as well as across partners and occurred similarly for women and men. These results suggest that primiparous couples may benefit from DC-enhancing interventions, such as the cognitive-behavioral couple-based programs Couples Coping Enhancement Training (CCET) and Coping-Oriented Couple Therapy (COCT), to assist them in responding sensitively to their partners’ psychological symptoms, which may have a positive effect on marital adjustment.

This study aimed to explore the role of psychological flexibility within parenting in the relationship between parenting stress and parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian and permissive) in mothers of early and middle-aged children, as well as the moderator role of global psychological flexibility. The sample comprised 250 mothers of children between 2 and 12 years old, recruited online and in-person, who answered to self-report questionnaires assessing anxiety/depression symptoms, parenting stress, psychological flexibility within parenting, global psychological flexibility and parenting styles. The mediating model presented a very good fit for the data (CFI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.07, 90% CI = 0.046/0.094) and has shown to be invariant across mothers of different age groups. Direct and indirect effects were found, with parenting stress affecting parenting styles directly, and indirectly, through psychological flexibility within parenting. The lower levels of psychological flexibility within parenting were translated into lower use of authoritative parenting style and into a higher use of authoritarian or permissive styles of parenting. Also, multigroup analyses showed that the model was variant as a function of global psychological flexibility (Δχ2(10) = 138.09, p

This study aimed to examine the (uni) dimensionality of the Parental Acceptance Questionnaire (6-PAQ) in a sample of Portuguese parents of children within the community using a bifactor model that can test the separate contribution of the dimensions and of the general score. 390 parents of children (1–11 years) recruited online and in-person completed the assessment protocol, including the 6-PAQ and other measures. The bifactor model showed the best fit to data (χ2(118) = 382.95, p

Be a Mom is a self-guided web-based intervention, grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy, delivered to postpartum women to prevent persistent postpartum depression [PPD] symptoms. We aimed to evaluate Be a Mom in terms of its preliminary efficacy, feasibility, and acceptability. A pilot randomized, two-arm controlled trial was conducted. Eligible women (presenting PPD risk-factors and/or early-onset PPD symptoms) were enrolled in the study and were randomly assigned to the intervention (Be a Mom) or to the waiting-list control group. Participants in both groups completed baseline (T1) and postintervention (T2) assessments. The 194 women presenting risk factors/early-onset PPD symptoms were allocated to the intervention (n = 98) or to the control (n = 96) group. A significant Time × Group interaction effect was found for both depressive and anxiety symptoms, with women in the intervention group presenting a larger decrease in symptoms from T1 to T2 (p .05). Less than half of the women (41.8%) completed Be a Mom. Most women (71.4%) would use Be a Mom again if needed. Results provide preliminary evidence of the Be a Mom's efficacy, acceptability and feasibility, although further research is needed to establish Be a Mom as a selective/indicative preventive intervention for persistent PPD.

SUMMARYSocratic questioning is at the core of collaborative clinical communication, with a wide array of applications in behavioural medicine and psychotherapy. This brief article describes the process of therapeutic Socratic questioning, illustrates its clinical applications in therapy and provides a brief update on its recent developments.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the direct and indirect effects of self-criticism on postpartum depressive symptoms, through postpartum cognitions, and analyse the moderating role of self-compassion in this relationship. Background: Self-criticism and self-compassion are associated with postpartum depression. However, further research is needed to understand how these mechanisms operate in the development/maintenance of depressive symptoms. Methods: 686 women in the postpartum period (up to 12 months after birth) recruited in-person and online answered a cross-sectional survey. Results: The effect of self-criticism on postpartum depressive symptoms occurred sequentially, increasing the frequency of negative automatic thoughts and subsequently the metacognitive appraisal of these thoughts. Self-compassion had a moderating effect only on the relation between self-criticism and postpartum cognitions. The effect of self-criticism on postpartum cognitions decreased in the presence of higher self-compassion. Conclusion: This study emphasises the negative effect of a self-critical thinking style and of a negative appraisal of thought's content on depression symptoms. Moreover, this work underscores the buffering role of self-compassion in the relationship between self-criticism and postpartum cognitions. These results highlight the need to address the reduction of self-criticism and the promotion of self-compassion strategies to deal with postpartum cognitions, in order to prevent and treat postpartum depressive symptoms.

OBJECTIVE Exploring a wide range of factors associated with flourishing and with the absence of depressive symptoms among postpartum women. METHODS A sample of 661 postpartum women completed a set of questionnaires assessing sociodemographic and infant-related data, flourishing, psychological flexibility, self-compassion, resilience, and maternal confidence. RESULTS Younger infant age, higher levels of maternal confidence, and resilience increased the likelihood of flourishing. In turn, higher income, fewer problems with an infant's sleep, perceiving an infant's temperament as easy, and higher psychological flexibility increased the likelihood of not having depressive symptoms. Appraising the support received by others as good and having higher self-compassion increased the likelihood of both outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Our results support positive mental health and mental illness being related but distinct dimensions. Promoting positive mental health in the postpartum period should be an additional goal in public health care as it may efficiently complement the prevention of psychopathology.

The Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire-Kids (CERQ-Kids) is a self-report questionnaire that assesses cognitive emotional regulation strategies that children may employ when they face traumatic or stressful events. However, its psychometric properties were only analyzed among participants from the general community. The goal of this study is to examine the factor structure of the Portuguese CERQ-Kids and to explore its psychometric properties in a sample of children/adolescents exposed to a potentially traumatic event (wildfires). The sample included 488 children/adolescents (Mage = 13.02, SD = 2.5, range = 8–17) who lived in the areas affected by the 2017 Portugal wildfires and who did not receive a diagnosis of a mental disorder, and a clinical group of 50 children/adolescents (Mage = 12, SD = 2.62, range = 8–16) who lived in the same areas and who were diagnosed with a mental disorder. All participants completed the CERQ-Kids and measures of emotion regulation strategies, mental health, and quality of life. The best fitting model was the original nine-factor correlated model. This model was invariant across gender and age groups. With the exception of the Acceptance subscale, the remaining subscales presented adequate internal consistency. Participants from the clinical group scored higher on Self-blame, Rumination, Catastrophizing, and Acceptance than participants from the non-clinical group. Significant correlations were found between the CERQ-Kids subscales and measures of cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, prosocial behavior, mental health, and quality of life. The Portuguese version of the CERQ-Kids proved to be a psychometrically adequate measure of cognitive emotion regulation strategies that children and adolescents may use when exposed to a potentially traumatic event.

This study aimed to investigate the factor structure of the Mental Health Continuum–Short Form (MHC-SF) in the postpartum context using a single-factor model, a correlated three-factor model, and a bifactor model. The reliability and validity of the MHC-SF were also examined. The total sample consisted of 882 postpartum Portuguese women. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the bifactor model yielded a significantly better fit to the data than the other models. The unidimensionality strength indices (explained common variance = .76, percentage of uncontaminated correlations = .69) and the ω H values supported the general factor of positive mental health, which accounted for 91.5% of the reliable variance in the total score. Additionally, the MHC-SF showed high reliability (ω = .96), and its total and subscale scores were significantly correlated with other measures related to mental health. The results of this study suggest a strong general factor of positive mental health and support the use of its total score in this context.

Objective: We assessed (1): the factorial and convergent validity of the Portuguese version of the Stress Appraisal Measure (SAM); (2) maternal primary and secondary appraisals of the birth of a child; and (3) the influence of appraisals on stress.Background: Parental stress is common during transition to parenthood and may be detrimental for parents and infants. Following Lazarus and Folkman's transactional model, the degree of stress is influenced by cognitive appraisals of an event, which are assessed by the SAM.Methods: This was an observational, cross-sectional study. Two hundred and forty-five women with a child of up to 24 months of age filled out several self-report measures, in an online platform.Results: The SAM factorial structure included three primary (Threat, Centrality, and Challenge) and two secondary (Controllable-by-Self and Controllable-by-Others) appraisals. All subscales had adequate internal consistency. The birth of a child was mainly perceived as a challenge, and seldom appraised as a threat. Threat and centrality appraisals positively predicted stress.Conclusion: Assessing maternal appraisals of the birth of a child is relevant to foster adaptation to parenthood. The SAM is an adequate assessment tool. As cognitive appraisals are modifiable, women with higher threat appraisals should be targeted for psychological interventions.

Natural disasters are potentially traumatic events due to their disruptive nature and high impact on social and physical environments, particularly for children and adolescents. The present study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Children’s Revised Impact of Event Scale (CRIES-13) in a sample of Portuguese children and adolescents exposed to a specific type of natural disaster (i.e., wildfire). The sample was recruited at six school units of the Central region of Portugal following wildfires in the summer of 2017 and included children and adolescents without a clinical diagnosis of a psychopathological condition associated with exposure to the traumatic event (i.e., nonclinical sample, n = 486) and those with a clinical diagnosis of a trauma- and/or stress-related disorder (i.e., posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], adjustment disorder, separation anxiety disorder, or grief; clinical sample, n = 54). Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a two-factor model (i.e., Intrusion/Arousal and Avoidance) provided a better fit than a three-factor model (i.e., Intrusion, Arousal, and Avoidance) and was found to be invariant across gender and age groups. The CRIES-13 showed good reliability for all subscales, with Cronbach’s αs > .79. Higher CRIES-13 scores were associated with poorer health and well-being and more internalizing and externalizing problems. The clinical sample presented with significantly higher CRIES-13 scores than the nonclinical sample, ηp 2 = .13. These results contribute to the cross-cultural validation of the CRIES-13 and support its use as a reliable and valid measure for assessing posttraumatic symptoms in children and adolescents.

A formative evaluation (consisting of two phases: a scoping literature review and a focus group with mental health professionals) was conducted to inform the design of a web-based intervention to prevent postpartum depression, in terms of its characteristics and content: the Be a Mom program. The results showed that the web-based intervention should be short-term, delivered postnatally, and grounded in cognitive-behavior therapy principles. Moreover, the intervention should include weekly sessions targeting basic contents: motherhood changes, reorganizations and emotional experience; cognitions, self-criticism, and self-compassion; parenting values, social support, and assertive communication skills; couple relationship, negotiation and conflict resolution skills; and postpartum depression signs and professional help-seeking. These results may improve the Be a Mom’s adequacy, implementation success, and effectiveness.

Insecure attachment representations have been established as a vulnerability factor for postpartum depressive symptoms. However, there is a lack of studies on the effects of attachment (in)security on postpartum anxiety symptoms, and on the mechanisms through which attachment representations may affect women's postpartum adjustment, namely, emotion regulation difficulties.The sample included 450 women in the postpartum period (up to 12 months postpartum), who were recruited both online (advertisements on social media) and in person (study was presented by the researchers during the women's postpartum hospitalization).Approximately one third of the women with clinically significant symptoms (33.3%) presented comorbid symptoms of anxiety and depression, and these women presented more insecure attachment representations and more emotion regulation difficulties (p .001) than did women without comorbid symptoms (p .001). The relationship between more insecure attachment representations and depressive and anxiety symptoms occurred both directly and indirectly through emotional regulation difficulties.The cross-sectional nature of the study, the use of self-report questionnaires that do not allow the establishment of clinical diagnosis and the self-selected bias in recruitment were study limitations.The results underline the need for attention to anxiety symptomatology, which is a condition that co-occurs frequently in this period. Interventions that focus on promoting adaptive strategies of emotional regulation are relevant rather than more intensive interventions to change attachment representations.

Attachment security can act as an inner resource to promote women’s adjustment to motherhood. However, the mechanisms explaining the relationship between attachment representations and maternal adaptation outcomes are not well understood. This study aimed to examine the direct and indirect effects of attachment representations on maternal confidence, through postpartum negative automatic thoughts and depressive symptoms. The sample consisted of 387 postpartum women who completed a cross-sectional online survey including measures of attachment representations, depressive symptoms, postpartum negative automatic thoughts and maternal confidence. Our results showed a significant relationship between more insecure attachment representations and higher depressive symptoms (p

According to attachment theory, the main goal of the caregiving behavioral system is to relieve others' distress and promote their health and welfare. This is accomplished through a set of caregiving behaviors that are the primary strategy of this system. However, some individuals develop nonoptimal or secondary strategies (hyperactivation or deactivation). The Caregiving System Scale (CSS) is a self-report measure that assesses these nonoptimal caregiving strategies. This study examined the factor structure of the Portuguese version of the CSS using a bifactor model and a 2-factor correlated model; it also examined validity evidence for CSS scores in relation to other relevant variables. The sample comprised 417 women from the general population who completed the CSS, with a subsample of 124 women completing additional measures of attachment, mental representations of caregiving, compassion, and difficulties in emotional regulation. The bifactor model showed the best fit to the data, supporting an orthogonal and reliable 2-factor structure (Hyperactivation and Deactivation). This model also suggested that the Hyperactivation scale is multidimensional. With regard to the validity evidence for the CSS, the results showed that individuals engaged in volunteering activities presented lower levels of deactivation than those who were not engaged in these activities. The CSS scores also correlated as expected with the other measures. In conclusion, this study supports the utilization of Deactivation and Hyperactivation subscales as 2 statistically distinct constructs and demonstrates that the Portuguese version is an adequate measure of nonoptimal caregiving strategies. (PsycINFO Database Record

O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o comportamento psicométrico da versão portuguesa do Inventário de Atitudes face à Procura de Serviços de Saúde Mental (IAPSSM) numa amostra de mulheres no período perinatal. As participantes (175 mulheres grávidas ou no período pós-parto) responderam a um conjunto de questionários (IAPSSM, Questionário de Intenções e Comportamentos de Procura de Ajuda, Questionário de Literacia sobre Depressão, Escala de Dificuldades de Regulação Emocional). A Análise Fatorial Confirmatória apoia a adequação do modelo tridimensional do IAPSSM (Abertura Psicológica, Propensão para a Procura de Ajuda e Indiferença ao Estigma). O IAPSSM apresenta bons indicadores de validade convergente e de fidelidade, à exceção da dimensão Abertura Psicológica. Os resultados sugerem que o IAPSSM é um instrumento com potencial de utilização na investigação e na prática clínica, permitindo a identificação de fatores psicológicos (atitudinais) que influenciem a utilização de serviços de saúde mental no período perinatal.

Better understanding how cognitive processes operate to influence women's depressive symptoms during the postpartum period is crucial for informing preventive and treatment approaches. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between women's dysfunctional attitudes towards motherhood and depressive symptoms, considering the mediating role of negative automatic thoughts and the moderating role of self-compassion. A sample of 387 women in the postpartum period cross-sectionally answered a set of questionnaires to assess dysfunctional attitudes towards motherhood, negative automatic thoughts (general and postpartum-specific), depressive symptoms, and self-compassion. Women with clinically significant depressive symptoms presented more dysfunctional attitudes towards motherhood, more frequent negative thoughts, and lower self-compassion. More dysfunctional beliefs about others' judgments and about maternal responsibility were associated with higher depressive symptoms, and this effect occurred through both general and postpartum-specific thoughts related to the metacognitive appraisal of the thought content. Moreover, these relationships occurred only when women presented low or moderate levels of self-compassion. These results highlight the need to comprehensively assess women's cognitive variables during the postpartum period with appropriate measures, for the early identification of women with more dysfunctional beliefs about motherhood, who may be at higher risk of depression. Moreover, preventive/treatment approaches should aim not only to challenge women's preexisting dysfunctional beliefs but also to promote a more self-compassionate attitude towards themselves.

this study aimed to examine the relationship between women's intentions to seek informal help and to seek professional help and to explore the indirect effects of women's perceived encouragement to seek professional help from their male partner. Moreover, this study aimed to examine if these relationships vary as function of the presence of higher levels of perinatal distress.cross-sectional internet survey.participants were recruited through advertisements published in pamphlets and posted on social media websites (e.g., Facebook) and websites and forums that focused on pregnancy and childbirth.231 women (pregnant/ had a baby during the last 12 months) completed the survey.participants were questioned about sociodemographic and clinical data and were assessed concerning perinatal distress (Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), intentions to seek informal and formal help (General Help-Seeking Questionnaire) and perceived encouragement from the partner to seek professional help.the women reported a significantly higher intention to seek help from their partner than to seek professional help (p.001). Although women with higher perinatal distress levels presented lower intentions to seek informal help from the male partner (p = .001) and perceived less encouragement from the male partner to seek professional help (p.001), the presence of perinatal distress did not moderate the relationship between those variables. A significant indirect effect on the relationship between women's intention to seek informal and professional help occurred through the women's perceived encouragement from the male partner to seek professional help.the results of this study highlight the important role of the male partner's encouragement in women's professional help-seeking for mental health problems.awareness campaigns about perinatal distress and about professional treatment benefits may be directed universally to all women in the perinatal period and should include women's significant others, such as their partners. Health professionals should recognize and support the prominent role of the women's partners in the help-seeking process.

The People in My Life questionnaire (PIML) is one of the few available self-report measures for assessing children’s representations of the relationship with attachment figures (parents and peers) in middle childhood. The current study presents validation studies of the PIML in a sample of Portuguese children aged between 8 and 12 years (N = 314) and adolescents aged between 13 and 18 years (N = 281). The original factor structure, composed of a second-order factor of attachment and three first-order factors (Trust, Communication, and Alienation), was confirmed for both scales (Parents Attachment and Peers Attachment) in the sample of children and replicated in the sample of adolescents using confirmatory factor analyses. The Portuguese version of the PIML showed adequate internal consistency and correlated as expected with measures of intrapersonal and interpersonal functioning (internalizing and externalizing problems, prosocial behavior, quality of life, self-compassion, and emotion regulation strategies). The PIML proved to be a psychometrically robust measure of children’s representations of their relationships with parents and peers, representing an important advance in the measurement of attachment in middle childhood.

Background: Despite the extensive research on interpersonal and clinical risk factors for postpartum depression (PPD), there is a paucity of research on the potential role of cognitive variables (d...

Aims: The aims of the current study are to examine whether parents’ work-family conflict, emotional distress (anxiety/depressive symptoms and parenting stress) and mindful parenting vary according to the type of employment (full-time, part-time, and occasional), the type of work schedule (fixed, flexible, and shift), and the number of working hours per week and to explore whether parental emotional distress mediates the association between work-family conflict and mindful parenting dimensions. Methods: A sample of 335 employed parents (86.3% mothers) of children and adolescents between the ages of 1 and 19 years old completed a sociodemographic form and measures of work-family conflict, anxiety/depression symptoms, parenting stress, and mindful parenting. The differences in study variables among types of employment, work schedules and number of weekly working hours were analyzed. A path model was tested through structural equation modeling in AMOS to explore the indirect effect of work-family conflict on mindful parenting dimensions through anxiety, depression and parenting stress. The invariance of the path model across children’s age groups (toddlers, preschool and grade school children, and adolescents) and parents’ gender was also examined. Results: Parents with a shift work schedule, working full-time and 40 h or more per week, presented significantly higher levels of work-family conflict than those with a fixed or flexible schedule, working part-time and less than 40 h per week, respectively. Parents with a flexible work schedule presented significantly higher levels of self-regulation in parenting and of non-judgmental acceptance of parental functioning than parents with a shift work schedule. Higher levels of work-family conflict were associated with lower levels of mindful parenting dimensions through higher levels of anxiety/depression symptoms and parenting stress. The model was invariant across children’s age groups and parents’ gender. Discussion: Work-family conflict is associated with poorer parental mental health and with less mindful parenting. Workplaces should implement family-friendly policies (e.g., flexible work arrangements) that help parents successfully balance the competing responsibilities and demands of their work and family roles. These policies could have a critical impact on the mental health of parents and, consequently, on their parental practices.

Professional help-seeking for postpartum depression is very uncommon, despite its adverse effects. However, women’s support network can have an important role in the professional help-seeking behaviour. This study aimed to characterize the intentions to recommend professional help-seeking for postpartum depression in the Portuguese population, as well as to analyse its determinants. A cross-sectional internet survey including 621 people of general population was conducted. Participants reported a high intention to recommend professional help-seeking for postpartum depression. Greater knowledge about postpartum depression, lower stigma and high perceived utility of mental health help-seeking were associated with high intention to recommend professional help-seeking for PPD, both directly and indirectly, through less negative attitudes towards postpartum depression and higher help-seeking propensity. Education campaigns are needed to increase knowledge and to promote positive attitudes towards postpartum depression in the general population. Moreover, the results highlight the importance of implementing strategies aimed at reducing the stigma associated to help-seeking, of increasing the perception of utility of mental health services and of including the women’s support network in perinatal care to facilitate their help-seeking process.

Objective this study aims to characterize the help-seeking behaviours of women who were screened positive for perinatal depression, to investigate its sociodemographic and clinical correlates, and to characterize the perceived barriers that prevent women from seeking professional help. Design cross-sectional internet survey. Setting participants were recruited through advertisements published in pamphlets and posted on social media websites (e.g., Facebook) and websites and forums that focused on pregnancy and childbirth. Participants 656 women (currently pregnant or who had a baby during the last 12 months) completed the survey. Measurements participants were assessed with the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale, and were questioned about sociodemographic and clinical data, help-seeking behaviours and perceived barriers to help-seeking. Findings different pathways of help-seeking were found, with only 13.6% of women with a perinatal depression seeking help for their emotional problems. Married women, currently pregnant women, and women without history of psychological problems had a higher likelihood of not engaging in any type of help-seeking behaviour. The majority of women who had not sought professional assistance identified several barriers to help-seeking, particularly knowledge barriers. Key conclusions strategies to increase women׳s help-seeking behaviours should be implemented, namely improving mental health literacy, introducing screening procedures for mental health problems in pre/postnatal health care settings, and offering women innovative opportunities (e.g., web-based tools) that allow them to overcome the practical barriers to help-seeking.

Aim: Be a Mom is a self-guided, web-based intervention to prevent persistent postpartum depression symptoms [PPD], targeting both at-risk postpartum women and/or women presenting early-onset postpartum depressive symptoms (selective/indicated preventive intervention). Be a Mom is grounded on the principles of Cognitive-Behavior Therapy and incorporates the recent contributions of acceptance and compassion-based approaches (third-wave approaches) applied to the perinatal context. This study aimed to explore the processes underlying therapeutic change in the Be a Mom intervention, by: (1) exploring whether participation in the Be a Mom promotes the enhancement of self-regulatory skills (emotion regulation abilities, psychological flexibility and self-compassion) in comparison with women who did not participate in the program; and (2) exploring whether changes in self-regulatory skills are associated with changes in depressive symptoms, among women who participated in the Be a Mom program.Methods: A pilot randomized, two-arm controlled trial was conducted. Eligible women (presenting PPD risk-factors and/or early-onset PPD symptoms) were enrolled in the study and were randomly assigned to the intervention group (Be a Mom, n = 98) or to the waiting-list control group (n = 96). Participants in both groups completed baseline (T1) and post-intervention assessments (T2), including measures of depressive symptoms, emotion regulation abilities, psychological flexibility and self-compassion.Results: From baseline to post-intervention assessment, women in the intervention group showed a significantly greater decrease in the levels of emotion regulation difficulties (p < 0.001) and a significant greater increase in the levels of self-compassion (p < 0.001) compared to the control group. No significant differences were found concerning psychological flexibility. Moreover, a greater decrease in difficulties in emotion regulation and greater increase in self-compassion levels were significantly associated with a greater decrease in depressive symptoms, among women in the intervention group.Discussion: Be a Mom promotes the enhancement of women’s emotion regulation abilities and self-compassion, and this seems to exert a protective effect in the presence of PPD risk factors (or early-onset symptoms) because it led to a reduction of depressive symptoms. By providing some insights into the processes that underlie treatment response to Be a Mom, this study highlights the important role of the targeted third-wave processes applied to the perinatal context.

The present study aimed to compare dyadic coping (DC) and dyadic adjustment in couples in which the woman was experiencing high levels of depressive symptoms and in couples in which the woman presented minimal or no depressive symptoms.Pregnancy may be considered a situation of dyadic stress, during which the presence of high levels of depressive symptoms may impair the ways couples cope together with stress; however, this topic has not yet been studied.Pregnant women and their partners (n = 289 couples) completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the Dyadic Coping Inventory, and the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale during the second trimester of pregnancy.Couples in which the woman was experiencing high levels of depressive symptoms (n = 57) reported less DC enacted by oneself and by the partner (particularly, less supportive and more negative DC), common DC and overall d5yadic adjustment, compared to couples in which the woman was not experiencing high levels of depressive symptoms (n = 232).These findings highlight the need to assess couples' dyadic adjustment and DC strategies, which is particularly important when women screened positive for high levels of depressive symptoms during pregnancy.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of one's attachment representations on one's and the partner's caregiving representations.According to attachment theory, individual differences in parenting and caregiving behaviours may be a function of parents' caregiving representations of the self as caregiver, and of others as worthy of care, which are rooted on parents' attachment representations. Furthermore, the care-seeking and caregiving interactions that occur within the couple relationship may also shape individuals' caregiving representations.The sample comprised 286 cohabiting couples who were assessed during pregnancy (attachment representations) and one month post-birth (caregiving representations). Path analyses were used to examine effects among variables.Results showed that for mothers and fathers, their own more insecure attachment representations predicted their less positive caregiving representations of the self as caregiver and of others as worthy of help and more self-focused motivations for caregiving. Moreover, fathers' attachment representations were found to predict mothers' caregiving representations of themselves as caregivers.Secure attachment representations of both members of the couple seem to be an inner resource promoting parents' positive representations of caregiving, and should be assessed and fostered during the transition to parenthood in both members of the couple.

As crenças disfuncionais face à maternidade têm sido apontadas como um fator de risco para a depressão pós-parto. O objetivo deste estudo foi adaptar a Escala de Crenças Disfuncionais Face à Maternidade (ECM), que avalia as crenças disfuncionais face à maternidade, para a população portuguesa, e avaliar as suas qualidades psicométricas. Para tal, utilizou-se uma amostra de 387 mulheres no período pós- -parto. As participantes responderam, num estudo transversal, à ECM e a outros questionários de autorresposta. A análise fatorial confirmatória revelou como mais adequado um modelo tridimensional, semelhante à estrutura original do instrumento: Crenças Relacionadas com o Julgamento dos Outros, Crenças Relacionadas com a Responsabilidade Materna e Crenças Relacionadas com a Idealização do Papel Materno. Além disso, a ECM associou-se de forma significativa à sintomatologia depressiva e aos pensamentos automáticos negativos gerais e no pós-parto, mostrando a sua validade convergente. Ademais, apresentou boa consistência interna para a pontuação total e para as suas dimensões, à exceção da dimensão Crenças Relacionadas com a Responsabilidade Materna. De forma geral, a versão portuguesa da ECM apresentou bons níveis de fidelidade e validade, pelo que constitui um instrumento útil na avaliação das crenças disfuncionais face à maternidade. Dysfunctional beliefs toward motherhood have been identified as a risk factor for postpartum depression. The aim of this study was to adapt the Attitudes Toward Motherhood Scale (AToM), that evaluates dysfunctional beliefs toward motherhood, for the Portuguese population and to evaluate its psychometric qualities. The sample included 387 women in the postpartum period. The participants cross-sectionally answered to the AToM and to other self-report questionnaires. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed as more suitable a three-dimensional model, similar to the original structure of the instrument: Beliefs about Other’s Judgments, Beliefs about Maternal Responsibility and Beliefs about Maternal Role Idealization. In addition, the AToM was significantly associated with depressive symptoms and with general and postpartum negative automatic thoughts, showing its convergent validity. Furthermore, it has shown good internal consistency for the total score and for its dimensions, with the exception of the dimension Beliefs about Maternal Responsibility. In general, the Portuguese version of AToM showed good levels of reliability and validity, so it is a useful tool to assess the dysfunctional beliefs toward motherhood. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Objective This study aimed to examine the relationship between dysfunctional motherhood-related beliefs and postpartum anxiety and depression symptoms, and whether experiential avoidance may be a potential mechanism in explaining these relationships. Method A sample of 262 postpartum women participated in a cross-sectional online survey. Results The model presented a good fit (CFI = 0.96, RMSEA = 0.077) suggesting that more dysfunctional motherhood-related beliefs related with maternal responsibility and with others' judgments were associated with higher postpartum anxiety and depressive symptoms. Indirect effects through experiential avoidance were also found. Conclusions Dysfunctional motherhood-related beliefs are cognitive vulnerabilities for postpartum psychological disorders and should be assessed to identify women that may be prone to early interventions. Moreover, dysfunctional beliefs seem to affect psychopathological symptoms by activating experiential avoidance strategies (e.g., rumination), which may accentuate the frequency of women's negative thoughts and emotions. Early interventions should target the promotion of acceptance of private negative experiences (psychological flexibility).

Objective To characterize women's depression literacy during the perinatal period, including their ability to recognize clinically significant symptoms of depression. Design A quantitative, cross-sectional, survey design. Setting Internet communities and Web sites focused on the topics of pregnancy and motherhood. Participants A total of 194 women during the perinatal period (32.5% pregnant, 67.5% postnatal) completed the survey; 34.0% had clinically significant psychopathological symptoms. Most women were married/cohabiting (82.0%) and employed (71.8%). Methods Women answered self-report questionnaires to assess depression literacy, symptoms of depression, emotional competence, and awareness/recognition of psychopathological symptoms. Results Women had moderate levels of depression literacy during the perinatal period, with higher literacy levels concerning depression-related characteristics than depression-related treatments. Lower education and lower income were associated with poor depression literacy, whereas prior history of psychiatric problems or treatments was associated with higher levels of depression literacy. An indirect effect through emotional competence in the relationship between depression literacy and awareness/recognition of symptoms was found: women with poor depression literacy tended to have a greater lack of emotional clarity, which negatively affected their symptom awareness and recognition. Conclusion Our results support the need to improve women's mental health literacy during the perinatal period. Education on mental health topics in the context of a trusting relationship with health professionals may contribute to the promotion of women's depression literacy and emotional competence.

Termination of pregnancy for fetal abnormality (TOPFA) is a potentially traumatic event that may lead to intense grief symptomatology. The present study included 41 couples who were assessed 1–6 months after TOPFA. No gender differences were found regarding the intensity of trauma symptomatology or the prevalence of clinically relevant trauma symptomatology, present in about a third of the sample. Most couples were congruent regarding trauma symptomatology. Women experienced guilt with significantly more frequency than men. For both genders, guilt influenced both trauma and grief symptomatology. For women only, guilt influenced grief symptomatology indirectly, through trauma symptomatology. Clinical implications are discussed.

Women&rsquo, s partners may act as facilitators of professional help-seeking for mental health problems in the postpartum period. This study aimed to examine the sociodemographic and clinical correlates of men&rsquo, s intentions to recommend professional help-seeking to their partners if they display postpartum mood and anxiety disorders and to explore the relationship between gender-role conflict and the intention to recommend help-seeking. A cross-sectional study included 214 adult men in a heterosexual relationship with a partner within the reproductive age. Men presented a high intention to recommend professional help to their partners. All dimensions of gender-role conflict were directly associated with the intention to recommend professional help-seeking (p &lt, 0.05). High levels of gender-role conflict (dimensions success, power and competition, and restricted emotionality) were found to lead to increased levels of stigma and lower levels of intention to seek professional help, which, in turn, translated into lower intention to recommend help-seeking. These results emphasize the importance of developing universal awareness-raising and education campaigns directed at men aiming to reduce levels of gender-role conflict and stigma, and normalize the use of mental health services, to increase men&rsquo, s intentions to recommend professional help-seeking to their partners.

Objective To investigate the relationship between changes in marital congruence (ie, level of agreement between partners about their relationship) and quality of life across the transition to parenthood in couples who conceived spontaneously and with assisted reproduction technology (ART). Design Prospective longitudinal cohort design using multilevel modeling. Setting Portuguese large public university–based hospital. Patient(s) Pregnant couples who conceived spontaneously and with ART. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure(s) ENRICH Marital Inventory and the World Health Organization Brief Quality of Life Instrument. Result(s) For all couples, an increase in satisfaction with the marital relationship was associated with increases in all quality of life domains. For couples who conceived with ART only, a decrease from pregnancy to the postpartum period in congruence about the existence of conflicts in their relationship was associated with a decrease in psychologic quality of life. Conclusion(s) Couples who conceive with ART are usually satisfied with their marital relationship, but they may still disagree in their perceptions of this relationship, which may negatively impact their well-being. These results reinforce the role of couple-based interventions to prevent intracouple disagreement across the transition to parenthood, especially when conception is achieved with ART.