A participação dos pais na escolaridade dos filhos: trabalho de casa e sucesso escolar

Dissertação de Mestrado, Ciências Sociais, 11 de Abril de 2014, Universidade dos Açores.

Qualidade de vida das famílias de crianças com surdez: avaliação na perspectiva das famílias

Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de mestre em Ciências da Educação - Especialidade Educação Especial

Notes on the feeding habits of Gaidropsarus guttatus (Collett, 1890) from Faial Island, Azores, NE Atlantic, PT

Copyright © 2014 Société Française d’Ichtyologie.

Effects of breastfeeding and sucking habits on malocclusion in a birth cohort study

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of malocclusion and to examine the effects of breastfeeding and non-nutritive sucking habits on dentition in six-year-old children. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out nested into a birth cohort conducted in Pelotas, Southern Brazil, in 1999. A sample of 359 children was dentally examined and their mothers interviewed. Anterior open bite and posterior cross bite were recorded using the Foster & Hamilton criteria. Information regarding breastfeeding and non-nutritive sucking habits was collected at birth, in the first, third, sixth and 12th months of life, and at six years of age. Control variables included maternal schooling and child's birthweight, cephalic perimeter, and sex. Data were analyzed by Poisson regression. RESULTS: Prevalence of anterior open bite was 46.2%, and that of posterior cross bite was 18.2%. Non-nutritive sucking habits between 12 months and four years of age and digital sucking at age six years were the main risk factors for anterior open bite. Breastfeeding for less than nine months and regular use of pacifier between age 12 months and four years were risk factors for posterior cross bite. Interaction between duration of breastfeeding and the use of pacifier was identified for posterior cross bite. CONCLUSIONS: Given that breastfeeding is a protective factor for other diseases of infancy, our findings indicate that the common risks approach is the most appropriate for the prevention of posterior cross bite in primary or initial mixed dentition.

Feeding strategy and trophic ontogeny in Scorpaena maderensis (Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenidae) from the Azores, NE Atlantic

Copyright © 2014 Société Française d'Ichtyologie.

Promovendo a regulação emocional em crianças do 1.º ciclo do Ensino Básico : um programa de competências emocionais e sociais

Dissertação de Mestrado em Psicologia da Educação, especialidade em Contextos Educativos.

Opportunistic feeding behavior of Diplodus argenteus (Perciformes, Sparidae) : human-fish interaction in two rocky reefs from SE and S Brazil

Comportamento alimentar oportunista do marimbá Diplodus argenteus (Perciformes, Sparidae): interação humana-peixe em dois sistemas de costões rochosos do SE e SU do Brasil. Esse artigo aborda dois tipos de comportamentos alimentares do marimbá Diplodus argenteus em dois sistemas de costões rochosos do Atlântico sul no Brasil. Essa espécie alimentou-se sobre o fundo e exibiu comportamentos ocasionais e oportunísticos.

Mapping non-suicidal self-injury in adolescence: Development and confirmatory factor analysis of the impulse, self-harm and sucidal ideation questionnaire for adolescents (ISSIQ-A)

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is the deliberate, self-inflicted destruction of body tissue without suicidal intent and an important clinical phenomenon. Rates of NSSI appear to be disproportionately high in adolescents and young adults, and is a risk factor for suicidal ideation and behavior. The present study reports the psychometric properties of the Impulse, Self-harm and Suicide Ideation Questionnaire for Adolescents (ISSIQ-A), a measure designed to comprehensively assess the impulsivity, NSSI behaviors and suicide ideation. An additional module of this questionnaire assesses the functions of NSSI. Results of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) of the scale on 1722 youths showed items' suitability and confirmed a model of four different dimensions (Impulse, Self-harm, Risk-behavior and Suicide ideation) with good fit and validity. Further analysis showed that youth׳s engagement in self-harm may exert two different functions: to create or alleviate emotional states, and to influence social relationships. Our findings contribute to research and assessment on non-suicidal self-injury, suggesting that the ISSIQ-A is a valid and reliable measure to assess impulse, self-harm and suicidal thoughts, in adolescence.

Postdischarge feeding of growing “Preemies”: concerns with limiting fat intake [letter]

The didactic update on requirements, types of feeding and dosages of nutrients by Su is a useful guide for clinicians on optimization of nutrition in preterm infants. We take this opportunity to focus on postdischarge nutrition in very preterm infants, which has not yet reached consensus, because of concerns regarding the potentially negative consequences of rapid catch-up growth on obesity and metabolic programming. Some formula feeding approaches have been proposed when mother’s milk is not available.

Surveillance of mother-to-child HIV transmission: socioeconomic and health care coverage indicators

OBJECTIVE: To identify clustering areas of infants exposed to HIV during pregnancy and their association with indicators of primary care coverage and socioeconomic condition. METHODS: Ecological study where the unit of analysis was primary care coverage areas in the city of Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil, in 2003. Geographical Information System and spatial analysis tools were used to describe indicators of primary care coverage areas and socioeconomic condition, and estimate the prevalence of liveborn infants exposed to HIV during pregnancy and delivery. Data was obtained from Brazilian national databases. The association between different indicators was assessed using Spearman's nonparametric test. RESULTS: There was found an association between HIV infection and high birth rates (r=0.22, p<0.01) and lack of prenatal care (r=0.15, p<0.05). The highest HIV infection rates were seen in areas with poor socioeconomic conditions and difficult access to health services (r=0.28, p<0.01). The association found between higher rate of prenatal care among HIV-infected women and adequate immunization coverage (r=0.35, p<0.01) indicates that early detection of HIV infection is effective in those areas with better primary care services. CONCLUSIONS: Urban poverty is a strong determinant of mother-to-child HIV transmission but this trend can be fought with health surveillance at the primary care level.

Reliability of a questionnaire on substance use among adolescent students, Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To analyze reliability of a self-applied questionnaire on substance use and misuse among adolescent students. METHODS: Two cross-sectional studies were carried out for the instrument test-retest. The sample comprised male and female students aged 1119 years from public and private schools (elementary, middle, and high school students) in the city of Salvador, Northeastern Brazil, in 2006. A total of 591 questionnaires were applied in the test and 467 in the retest. Descriptive statistics, the Kappa index, Cronbach's alpha and intraclass correlation were estimated. RESULTS: The prevalence of substance use/misuse was similar in both test and retest. Sociodemographic variables showed a "moderate" to "almost perfect" agreement for the Kappa index, and a "satisfactory" (>0.75) consistency for Cronbach's alpha and intraclass correlation. The age which psychoactive substances (tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis) were first used and chronological age were similar in both studies. Test-retest reliability was found to be a good indicator of students' age of initiation and their patterns of substance use. CONCLUSIONS: The questionnaire reliability was found to be satisfactory in the population studied.

Social contextual factors contributing to child and adolescent labor: an ecological analysis

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between social contextual factors and child and adolescent labor. METHODS: Population-based cohort study carried out with 2,512 families living in 23 subareas of a large urban city in Brazil from 2000 to 2002. A random one-stage cluster sampling was used to select families. Data were obtained through individual household interviews using questionnaires. The annual cumulative incidence of child and adolescent labor was estimated for each district. New child and adolescent labor cases were those who had their first job over the two-year follow-up. The annual cumulative incidence of child and adolescent labor was the response variable and predictors were contextual factors such as lack of social support, social deprivation, unstructured family, perceived violence, poor school quality, poor environment conditions, and poor public services. Pearson's correlation and multiple linear regression were used to assess the associations. RESULTS: There were selected 943 families corresponding to 1,326 non-working children and adolescents aged 8 to 17 years. Lack of social support, social deprivation, perceived violence were all positively and individually associated with the annual cumulative incidence of child and adolescent labor. In the multiple linear regression model, however, only lack of social support and perceived violence in the neighborhood were positively associated to child and adolescent labor. No effect was found for poor school quality, poor environment conditions, poor public services or unstructured family. CONCLUSIONS: Poverty reduction programs can reduce the contextual factors associated with child and adolescent labor. Violence reduction programs and strengthening social support at the community level may contribute to reduce CAL.

As birras das crianças: o papel do educador e dos encarregados de educação

Relatório da Prática Profissional Supervisionada Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar

Effects of home environment and center-based child care quality on children’s

This study examined the joint effects of home environment and center-based child care quality on children’s language, communication, and early literacy development, while also considering prior developmental level. Participants were 95 children (46 boys), assessed as toddlers (mean age = 26.33 months;Time 1) and preschoolers (mean age = 68.71 months; Time 2) and their families. At both times, children attended center-based child care classrooms in the metropolitan area of Porto, Portugal. Results from hierarchical linear models indicated that home environment and preschool quality, but not center-based toddler child care quality, were associated with children’s language and literacy outcomes at Time 2. Moreover, the quality of preschool classrooms moderated the association between home environment quality and children’s language and early literacy skills – but not communication skills – at Time 2, suggesting the positive cumulative effects of home environment and preschool quality. Findings further support the existence of a detrimental effect of low preschool quality on children’s language and early literacy outcomes: positive associations among home environment quality and children’s developmental outcomes were found to reduce substantially when children attended low-quality preschool classrooms.

Environmental lead poisoning among children in Porto Alegre state, Southern Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of lead poisoning in children and to identify associated factors, as well as possible local sources of contamination. METHODS: A cross-sectional prevalence study conducted in 2006 with a random sample of 97 children age zero to five years from a neighborhood in Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil. Blood lead levels were measured and a questionnaire administered to collect information on sociodemographics, recycling and dwelling. A preliminary environmental evaluation was carried out with direct analysis of soil and indirect analysis of air pollution with bioindicators to identify possible sources of contamination. To analyze lead concentrations from the different collection sites, for each type of material studied, ANOVA was performed with a Brown-Forsythe adjustment for heteroscedasticity and with Dunnett's T3 procedure for multiple comparisons of unequal variances. RESULTS: Blood lead levels > 10.0 µg/dL was found in 16.5% of children. Recycling of waste at home, low father's education level, and increased age of children were associated with increase blood lead levels. High lead levels were found in soil, and there was little indication of lead air pollution. CONCLUSIONS: A high prevalence of lead poisoning was identified, and the potential sources of contamination in this community appear related to waste recylcing activities. Studies should be conducted with other populations of Brazilian children and evaluate potential sources of local and general contamination, to accurately characterize this issue in Brazil.