Práticas parentais e repertório infantil: caracterização da demanda por atendimento e predição de abandono

The objective of this paper is: (a) to characterize behaviors of the 47 primary caregivers and their children who sought for psychological services, (b) to compare groups: abandonment x participants; boy x girl. The participants answered the interview inventory (RE-HSE-P), inventory (IHS-Del Prette) and scales (Rathus Assertiveness Scale and CBCL). For the results, 60% of the children presented behavior problems at clinical level. There is correlation between negative parenting practices and behavior problems and social skills among caregivers (HSE-P) and children. People who drop out psychological services, present lower frequence and quality of HSE-P and more behavior problems. There are not differences in comparisons between boys and girls. The results highlight the importance of evaluating clinical context, the contingent behaviors of parents and children employing different instruments in order to describe the relationship between behavior problem and potentialities of both interlocutors socially interacting.

Validação do roteiro de entrevista de Habilidades Sociais Educativas Parentais (RE-HSE-P)

The study of the parental educative social skills is extremely important for promoting the development and learning of children within interactive situations. The objective of this study was to assess reliability and validity of the Parental Educative Social Skills Interview Script (RE-HSE-P). It was proceeded: a) the test-retest reliability assessment, with a sample of 41 participants assessed in two distinct moments, with an interval of two months and the Cronbach's alpha was calculated; b) 213 parents of preschoolers (n =114) and school age children (n = 98) evaluated their children,were assessed for the construct and discrimination validity studies, differentiated in groups: a) demand for psychological intervention x community children without problems and b) children with behavior problems x children without behavior problems. The results showed satisfactory values of internal consistency and validity; besides, the factorial analysis pointed a unifactorial structure called positive parent-child interaction

Caracterização das habilidades sociais de universitários

The entering at the University requires new social skills and their deficits may bring to students academic and interpersonal diffi culties. Few studies have addressed the infl uence of undergraduate periods and gender diff erences regarding social skills shown by college students, including frequency and quality which they occur and previous and consequent interaction variables. The main objective of this article is to describe the social skills shown by college students over undergraduate years. For specifi c objectives this study intends (a) the comparison of student groups in diff erent years (fi rst/second; fi rst/third; second/third) of full-time and nocturne periods, of men and women and (b) the presentation of functional analysis of interactions, considering the most frequent behaviors and contexts. For that, 85 students of Design course were analyzed through the following instruments: the Social Skills Questionnaire to College Students, Behaviors and Contexts; and the Social Skills Inventory (SSI). The results indicate diff erences between men and women and between full-time students and nocturne ones, and the greatest diff erences were in comparison between years, indicating that the fi rst and second years require greater investments in interventions, because they present greater diffi culties in communication behaviors, expressiveness and confl ict resolution. Furthermore, implications, limitations and suggestions for research are discussed.

Procedimentos de avaliação em terapia de casais a partir de múltiplos instrumentos

Conjugal problems may damage parents and children relationships favoring the appearance of behavior problems, as well as causing psychological problems. Given the lack of studies which value several interrelated behavioral repertoires, the present paper aims at presenting assessment results employing multiple instruments in regards to the three couples that sought clinical services at a University clinic. Results indicated that participants were presenting communication deficits, problem solving difficulties, and problems in expressing affection confirming literature findings. Problems in other areas were also reported, which influenced the marital relationship. It stands out that the children were presenting indications of behavior problems. The relevance of data collection applying different instruments is discussed, and it is necessary that intervention programs consider individual difficulties, besides setting up singular objectives for each person searching for service.

Problemas de comportamento e habilidades sociais infantis: modalidades de relato

The relationships between behavior problems and children social skills, such as the relevance of analysing these sides by report instruments had been emphasized in researches. It aims: a) to verify the components concerning to behavior problems and children social skills, which was identified through a undirected report instrument; b) to analyze the correlation of such indicators with ones detected by a directed report instrument and those ones referred in bibliography. The participants were 213 primary health carers of children in pre-school age (n = 114) and school age ones (n = 98). The results show that undirected and directed instruments are complementary to obtain informations. Besides, the combination of assessment modalities adds to the characterization of the behavioral repertoire.

A relação das habilidades sociais educativas e das práticas educativas maternas com os problemas de comportamento em adolescentes

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

O impacto da depressão para as interações sociais de universitários

Studies have shown that aversive conditions at the university may have great influence on academic achievement and the development of psychiatric disorders such as depression. In university context, social relations have been investigated over the years, but are scarce publications relating mental health and social skills. Thus, this paper compared a group of college students with a clinical depression with a group without clinical depression for the consequences and feelings that differents responses of social skills may have in social interactions with various interlocutors. A total of 128 students participated, 64 for clinical depression and 64 non-clinical. Questionário de Avaliação de Comportamentos e Contextos para Universitários – QHC – Universitários, Inventário de Fobia Social (Mini-Spin), Inventário de Depressão de Beck (BDI) and Entrevista clínica estruturada para o DSM-IV (SCID-I) were applied. The data were analyzed by test t of Student. The results show that students with depression have a great difficulty about the social skills regardless of which require more or less assertion and general way for all social interactions, either family, friends, roommate and partner.

Práticas educativas de professores e comportamentos infantis, na transição ao primeiro ano do Ensino Fundamental

The objectives this research are: (a) describing positive interactions established between teacher and student, considering clinical group to behavior problems and non-clinical one; (b) describing behavior repertoire (social skills and behavior problems) of children with and without clinical classification to behavior problems, according to TRF, teacher version. The participants this study were 16 female teachers who indicated and evaluated 32 students - 16 of them presented behavior problems (with BP – clinical group), whereas the other 16 did not (without BP – non clinical group). Students aged 6 years were enrolled in the first year of elementary school. Data collection was conducted through the application of three instruments: TRF, RE-HSE-Pr and QRSH-Pr, as an interview with teachers. Data were categorized and analyzed to compare the clinical and nonclinical groups (Mann-Whitney Test). Overall, this research found that female teachers exert different practices among students who have behavior problems that do not show, being more skilled in the interactions with children without behavior problems and more agressive to those with behavioral problems. Implications for interventions and public policies are discussed.

Habilidades sociais e características pessoais em escolares de Belém

Este estudo relacionou a frequência da emissão de reação socialmente habilidosa, não-habilidosa passiva e não-habilidosa ativa às variáveis da criança (sexo, idade, condições clínicas). Participaram 57 meninos e 52 meninas, entre seis e 12 anos. O Questionário de Caracterização da Criança (QCC) levantou informações sobre sexo, idade e condições clínicas e o Inventário Multimídia de Habilidades Sociais de Crianças (IMHSC-Del Prette) avaliou as habilidades sociais, respondidos pelos cuidadores e escolares, respectivamente. Utilizou-se os testes U de Mann-Whitney, o coeficiente de correlação de Pearson e o teste t para análises dos dados. Os resultados indicaram: (a) diferenças significativas na adequação das reações habilidosas e não-habilidosas (p < 0,001); (b) aumento do repertório de habilidades sociais conforme o avançar dos anos (p < 0,001); e (c) meninas apresentaram mais frequência de habilidades sociais que meninos (p = 0,040). Não houve associações significativas entre habilidades sociais e condições clínicas (p = 0,539). Verificou-se que sexo e idade podem interferir na presença e desempenho de repertório socialmente habilidoso. Sugerem-se outras técnicas de avaliação que complementem os dados investigados e possibilitem intervenções futuras para amostras semelhantes.

Inserimento eterofamigliare supportato di adulti sofferenti di disturbi psichici: Valutazione degli esiti

L’Inserimento Eterofamigliare Supportato di Adulti (IESA) sofferenti di disturbi psichici consiste nell’accogliere persone in cura presso i servizi psichiatrici territoriali, nel proprio domicilio, integrandole nelle proprie relazioni famigliari. Obiettivo è migliorare la qualità di vita dell’utente e favorirne l’integrazione nella comunità. Obiettivo. Valutare gli esiti dello IESA, con un disegno di ricerca longitudinale, considerando: psicopatologia, benessere psicologico, funzionamento sociale e familiare. Metodologia. 40 soggetti: 20 pazienti e 20 ospitanti. La valutazione clinica è stata effettuata all’inizio della convivenza e al follow-up di 1, 3, 6 e 12 mesi. Strumenti utilizzati: BPRS, VGF, PWB, SQ, FAD. Analisi statistica: Modello Lineare Generale (GLM) con l’Analisi della Varianza per prove ripetute e calcolo dell’effect-size. Risultati. 15 pazienti maschi e 5 femmine, 17 italiani. 11 soddisfano i criteri diagnostici (DSM-IV-TR) per schizofrenia e disturbi psicotici, 5 per i disturbi dell’umore e 4 per i disturbi di personalità. Dopo l’inserimento 3 sono stati i ricoveri e 4 le visite psichiatriche urgenti. 8 pazienti modificano/diminuiscono la terapia e 3 la sospendono. Aumenta il benessere psicologico (PWB); diminuiscono i sintomi psicopatologici (BPRS ed SQ) e migliora il funzionamento globale (VFG). Il gruppo dei famigliari composto da 11 uomini e 9 donne, 19 di nazionalità italiana; con età media di 55 anni. 8 sono coniugati, 6 celibi/nubili, 4 divorziati e 2 vedovi. 9 hanno figli, 11 lavorano e 8 sono pensionati. Nei famigliari aumenta il benessere psicologico (PWB), migliora il funzionamento famigliare (FAD) e la valutazione del funzionamento globale (VGF) rimane costante nel tempo. Discussioni e conclusioni. Il progetto IESA sembra migliorare la psicopatologia, con una diminuzione dei comportamenti maladattativi e un aumento delle capacità relazionali dell’ospite favorendone l’integrazione. Inoltre, lo IESA sembra diminuire i costi della cronicità psichiatrica: diminuzione degli accessi al Pronto Soccorso, delle visite psichiatriche urgenti e delle giornate di ricovero.

Why do we yawn?

Yawning is a phylogenetically old behaviour that can be observed in most vertebrate species from foetal stages to old age. The origin and function of this conspicuous phenomenon have been subject to speculations for centuries. Here, we review the experimental evidence for each of these hypotheses. It is found that theories ascribing a physiological role to yawning (such as the respiratory, arousal, or thermoregulation hypotheses) lack evidence. Conversely, the notion that yawning has a communicative function involved in the transmission of drowsiness, boredom, or mild psychological stress receives increasing support from research in different fields. In humans and some other mammals, yawning is part of the action repertoire of advanced empathic and social skills.

Effectiveness of integrated psychological therapy (IPT) for schizophrenia patients: a research update

Standardized recovery criteria go beyond symptom remission and put special emphasis on personal and social functioning in residence, work, and leisure. Against this background, evidence-based integrated approaches combining cognitive remediation with social skills therapy show promise for improving functional recovery of schizophrenia patients. Over the past 30 years, research groups in 12 countries have evaluated integrated psychological therapy (IPT) in 36 independent studies. IPT is a group therapy program for schizophrenia patients. It combines neurocognitive and social cognitive interventions with social skills and problem-solving approaches. The aim of the present study was to update and integrate the growing amount of research data on the effectiveness of IPT. We quantitatively reviewed the results of these 36 studies, including 1601 schizophrenia patients, by means of a meta-analytic procedure. Patients undergoing IPT showed significantly greater improvement in all outcome variables (neurocognition, social cognition, psychosocial functioning, and negative symptoms) than those in the control groups (placebo-attention conditions and standard care). IPT patients maintained their mean positive effects during an average follow-up period of 8.1 months. They showed better effects on distal outcome measures when all 5 subprograms were integrated. This analysis summarizes the broad empirical evidence indicating that IPT is an effective rehabilitation approach for schizophrenia patients and is robust across a wide range of sample characteristics as well as treatment conditions. Moreover, the cognitive and social subprograms of IPT may work in a synergistic manner, thereby enhancing the transfer of therapy effects over time and improving functional recovery.

INCREASING PARTICIPATION IN THE CLASSROOM FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS

Active participation is as essential a skill to children with autism as it is for children without autism, as children are expected to engage in these skills both in and outside the classroom. Without participation skills, children are at a disadvantage when it comes to school and other settings, such as extracurricular activities and the workforce. Recent research has shown that there are interventions available that aim to improve the social skills of children in the home and in the school. These interventions can be delivered in varying forms with the primary caregiver as the interventionist, the specialist as the interventionist, and naturalistic interventions. The purpose of this study was to investigate one of the naturalistic interventions, the Competent Learner Model, and determine its effects on the participation and social skills of students with autism. Three middle school male students diagnosed with autism from a rural northeast middle school participated in the study. They were assessed using the Competent Learner Repertoire Assessments of the Competent Learner Model and the adaptive measures of the Vineland-II and ABAS-II. The results showed improvement for one of the three students and little to no improvement for the other two students.

The Impact of Parental Psychological Control on College Students’ Relational Aggression and Friendship Quality

The present study investigated the relationships between parental psychological control and college students’ relational aggression and friendship quality. Based on previous research, it was expected that parents’ use of psychological control would be associated with students’ increased use of relational aggression with peers and lower friendship quality. Students completed a series of survey measures assessing their mothers’ and fathers’ use of psychological control, behavioral control, and warmth/acceptance. Students also completed a series of survey measures assessing their friendship quality, social skills, relational aggression, self-esteem, and social desirability. The study’s findings revealed that parental psychological control was associated with and predicted students’ increased use of relational aggression with peers. Parental psychological control was also associated with students’ lower friendship quality. However, parents’ use of psychological control did not predict students’ friendship quality after accounting for the influence of students’ personal and peer relationship variables. This finding suggests that characteristics of peer relationships may play a larger role than parenting behaviors in shaping college students’ friendships. The study also found that students who displayed higher levels of relational aggression had lower quality friendships. Other findings revealed that the relationship between parental psychological control and students’ friendship quality can be partially explained by students’ use of relational aggression with peers. Students’ friendship quality can also help to explain the influence of parental psychological control on students’ relational aggression. In addition, the study found that combinations of parenting behaviors were more informative predictors of students’ relational aggression and friendship quality than psychological control alone. Finally, this study revealed the importance of assessing participants’ social desirability when measuring sensitive personal qualities such as relational aggression, friendship quality, and self-esteem. Overall, this study contributes to the field of research on parental psychological control by revealing its effects on college students’ relational aggression and friendship quality.

Integrated psychological therapy: effectiveness in schizophrenia inpatient settings related to patients' age

Elderly people with schizophrenia often suffer from cognitive impairments, which affect their social functioning. Today, only a few therapy approaches for middle-aged and older patients are available. The Integrated Psychological Therapy (IPT) combines neurocognitive and social cognitive interventions with social skills approaches. The aim of this study was to evaluate (1) whether IPT is effective in younger patients (age < 40 years) and middle-aged patients (age ≥ 40 years) and (2) whether control conditions (treatment as usual or unspecific group activities) reveal some change in outcome depending on age.