Search

Marital satisfaction is a multidimensional construct that encompasses the satisfaction with marital interactions and with the emotional and the practical aspects of marriage. Marital satisfaction has a great impact on personal well-being and affects the family as a whole; low marital satisfaction has been associated with unhappiness and with higher divorce rates. Furthermore, marital satisfaction is related with family functioning and is an indicator of the quality of the parenting relationship. The Enrich Marital Satisfaction (EMS) scale is a two-factor and 15-items self-report measure that assesses satisfaction with the marital relationship. This study analysed the psychometric properties of the EMS among two samples: at-risk (N = 273, M = 37.05 years, 82.05% women) and community (N = 205, M = 38.38 years, 52.2% women) Portuguese parents. Participants completed the EMS and measures of parenting sense of competence, parenting stress, and parenting alliance. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the revised two-factor model obtained the best fit, after removing a few items. Measurement invariance across the two samples was demonstrated. The EMS showed good psychometric properties, namely internal consistency, convergent and discriminant validity. The EMS is a time-efficient tool for both researchers and practitioners who need to assess marital satisfaction, a relevant dimension for family functioning and parenting. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The existing alliance between the two caregivers is a key dimension for understanding the family context, as it affects parental behavior and children's development. The assessment of this construct becomes even more pressing in at-risk families, where the children's well-being may be compromised and where the parental alliance may serve as a protective factor. The Parental Alliance Inventory (PAI) is a self-report measure that assesses the parental alliance and the relationship of support and trust that exists between both parents. In this study, we intended to explore the psychometric properties of PAI in the Portuguese population, including normative and at-risk families. Participants were community parents (n = 205, M = 38.38 years; 52.2% women) and parents of Child Welfare Services (CWS) referred children (n = 273, M = 37.05 years, 82.05% women). Both samples completed the PAI and measures of parenting sense of competence, parenting stress, and marital satisfaction. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the proposed original unidimensional structure of the PAI. The instrument showed good psychometric properties, presenting levels of internal consistency and a quite satisfactory reliability. Findings also showed that PAI was measurement invariant across the two subsamples. Our findings provide evidence for psychometric soundness of the PAI and support its usefulness for the European Portuguese context. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Background: In borderline personality disorder, attentional bias to emotional stimuli may be a fundamental component in their origin and maintenance. However, the authors seem divided between the hypothesis of hypervigilance for negative stimuli and the hypothesis of over-reactivity against any type of stimuli. Aims: We aimed to observe the association between borderline symptoms and the allocation of attention to neutral, idiosyncratic negative and general negative emotional words. Method: We tested thirty-five portuguese university students, aged between 18 and 40 years old with an Emotional Stroop paradigm. Results: Our results suggest that a higher score of borderline symptoms are associated with a greater interference of idiosyncratic negative words in the colour identification task. Conclusions: These results support the hypervigilance hypotheses for idiosyncratic borderline stimuli. In other words, this study suggested that borderline sympotms is linked to an inability to disengage attention from negative words typically of borderline disorder. Based on these findings, mood-dependent therapeutic interventions focusing on attentional processes may represent a useful contribute to established therapies in patients with BPD.

Parenting generally brings about high internal and external demands, which can be perceived as stressful when they exceed families’ resources. When faced with such stressors, parents need to deploy several adaptive strategies to successfully overcome these challenges. One of such strategies is coping, an important cognitive and behavioural skill. In this study, we intended to examine the psychometric properties of Carver’s (1997) Brief COPE (Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced), extending its cross-cultural validity among a Portuguese sample of community and at-risk parents. The sample comprised community (n = 153) and at-risk (n = 116) parents who completed the brief COPE, the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales and the Parenting Stress Index—Short Form. Confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency, cross sample invariance, convergent and discriminant validity were analysed. Data from the confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the 14-factor model obtained the best fit. The results provided evidence that the Brief COPE is a psychometrically sound instrument that shows measurement invariance across samples and good reliability. Our findings demonstrated that the Portuguese version of brief COPE is a useful, time-efficient tool for both practitioners and researchers who need to assess coping strategies, a relevant construct in family context.

EnglishThis study aimed to adapt and explore the psychometric properties of the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES III) with a sample of Portuguese families at psychosocial risk. This instrument is the most used for the evaluation of family functioning according to the dimensions of the Circumplex Model of Family Systems. The instrument was applied to 388 parents of children who were followed by the Child Protection Services in the Algarve (south of Portugal). The FACES III was applied along with measures of parenting stress, parenting alliance and parenting sense of competence to test construct validity. The exploratory factor analysis confirmed the original two-factor solution. Cohesion showed high internal consistency and good construct validity; thus, it can be considered as a satisfactory measure of this dimension. Adaptability, on the other hand, showed poor psychometric properties; therefore, we suggest that this subscale is revised to improve its shortcomings. Our main results are discussed considering the different versions of the instrument. portuguesEste estudo visou a adaptacao e exploracao das caracteristicas psicometricas da Escala de Avaliacao da Coesao e Adaptabilidade Familiar (FACES III) com uma populacao de familias portuguesas em risco psicossocial. Esta medida e a mais utilizada para a avaliacao do funcionamento familiar de acordo com as dimensoes do Modelo Circumplexo dos Sistemas Familiares. Participaram 388 pais de criancas com medidas de apoio e protecao, residentes no Algarve. A FACES III foi aplicada em conjunto com medidas de stresse parental, alianca parental e sentimento de competencia parental para testar a validade de constructo. A analise fatorial exploratoria confirmou a solucao original de dois fatores. A Coesao demonstrou alta consciencia interna e boa validade de constructo, podendo ser considerada uma medida fiavel desta dimensao. A Adaptabilidade apresentou resultados insatisfatorios em todos os indicadores psicometricos, pelo que se aconselha a revisao desta subescala. Os resultados sao discutidos considerando as diversas versoes do instrumento.