The Role of Existential Beliefs Within the Relation of Centenarians’ Health and Well-Being

The purpose of this study was to explore the role of existential beliefs in mediating the influence of health on centenarians' well-being. A total of 80 centenarians (mean age 101.1; SD = 1.3; 81.3 % women) with no/minor cognitive impairment were included. The OARS questionnaire for diseases and functional capacity (ADL, IADL), the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the existential beliefs subscale were used for data collection. The findings suggest that existential resources are a crucial element for mitigating the impact of health constraints in subjective well-being in this population. Appropriate models of intervention for very old age that recognize the importance of religion, spirituality, and meaning of life are to be considered.

Práticas de ensino e investigativas em educação pré-escolar e 1º CEB : estilos do adulto e direitos das crianças no recreio / Francisca Raquel Moita Santos

O relatório final de estágio inclui uma apreciação das aprendizagens realizadas nas práticas de ensino supervisionadas do mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1.º CEB e o estudo desenvolvido no contexto de estágio que procurou fazer face a dois objetivos centrais: caraterizar o estilo do adulto e as interações que são estabelecidas com as crianças, no período do recreio, e analisá-las em termos de adequação aos Direitos das Crianças. Para dar resposta a estes objetivos aliámo-nos aos autores de referência, à legislação em vigor e a uma investigação realizada em contexto escolar. Em termos empíricos, o estudo teve um caráter qualitativo, com recurso à observação durante o recreio utilizando a Escala de Empenhamento do Adulto. Recorreu-se, também, a uma observação com registo de incidentes críticos. Os resultados obtidos através da Escala de Empenhamento do Adulto encontram-se abaixo do que seria adequado, ou seja, não se atinge o valor mínimo de qualidade (3,5). Os direitos mais vezes postos em causa foram: “A criança tem o direito de exprimir livremente a sua opinião sobre questões que lhe digam respeito e de ver essa opinião tomada em consideração” (Artigo 12.º) e “A criança tem direito ao repouso, a tempos livres e a participar em atividades culturais e artísticas” (Artigo 31.º). Com base nos baixos níveis nas dimensões sensibilidade, estimulação e autonomia e na análise de situações registadas que representam violações dos Direitos das Crianças, concluiu-se existir urgência na formação das equipas educativas no âmbito dos Direitos das Crianças e da importância do recreio para as crianças. A própria organização do espaço e dos materiais, assim como da dinâmica do recreio, são discutidos em termos de promoção de aprendizagens e de concretização dos direitos.

Children at risk, attachment and institutionalization: contributions to the socio-educational intervention

Introduction: Institutionalized children exposed to early adverse experiences are a particularly vulnerable group with a high risk of developing health problems. Objectives: i) to know the representations of attachment in institutionalized children; ii) to understand if there are differences of attachment, according to some sociodemographic variables; iii) outline socio-educational intervention strategies in the children’s life’s contexts. Methods: This is an exploratory and cross-sectional study, using for this purpose, a non-probabilistic and convenience sample composed of 82 institutionalized children, aged between 8 and 17 years old. The gathering instruments were the Sociodemographic Questionnaire and the Inventory Attachment for Children and Adolescents. Results: The results show that most children have secure attachment representations, followed by the avoidant attachment representations. We also found signiicant differences in the results of attachment, according to the gender (in avoidant attachment and ambivalent attachment) and in the institutionalization time (in the ambivalent attachment). Conclusions: The results show promising lines of research, being our purpose to outline socio-educational intervention strategies for children in their pathways of life by promoting protective factors, especially the establishment of secure relationships, thus promoting better quality of life and well-being.

Resilience, perception of parental support and socio-educational intervention strategies

Introduction: Resilience is a core variable in the context of studies on the psychosocial adjustment and school children and teenagers, and should be considered in the context of strategies to promote their well- being and quality of life. Objectives: To know the relationship between resilience, parental support and some sociodemographic variables; outline socio-educational intervention strategies in contexts of children’s lives. Methods: This is a non-experimental, correlational and cross-sectional study, having used a non- probabilistic convenience sample consisting of 150 children, aged between 10 and 16 years old, attending the 2nd and 3rd cycles of Basic Education. The gathering instruments were the Sociodemographic Questionnaire, Inventory Measuring State and Child Resilience (Martins, 2005) and Perception Parental Support Scale (Veiga, 2011). Results: Results show that there are signiicant differences in the values of the current, past and overall resilience, between the age groups children, revealing that children aged between 10 and 11 years have higher results in resilience than young people aged between 14 and 16 years. We also observed signiicant differences in the current resilience, depending on the parents’ marital status (higher when parents are married). We also observed positive and signiicant correlations between resilience and perception of parental support. Conclusions: Results are in line with the scientiic literature in the ield that highlights the key role of resilience in school and psychosocial adjustment of children, and should be considered within the design of socio-educational intervention strategies. Keywords: Resilience. Parental support. Attachment