The development and psychometric properties of a measure of social and adaptive functioning for children and adolescents

Developed, piloted, and examined the psychometric properties of the Child and Adolescent Social and Adaptive Functioning Scale (CASAFS), a self-report measure designed to examine the social functioning of young people in the areas of school performance, peer relationships, family relationships, and home duties/self-care. The findings of confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis support a 4-factor solution consistent with the hypothesized domains. Fit indexes suggested that the 4-correlated factor model represented a satisfactory solution for the data, with the covariation between factors being satisfactorily explained by a single, higher order factor reflecting social and adaptive functioning in general. The internal consistency and 12-month test-retest reliability of the total scale was acceptable. A significant, negative correlation was found between the CASAFS and a measure of depressive symptoms, showing that high levels of social functioning are associated with low levels of depression. Significant differences in CASAFS total and subscale scores were found between clinically depressed adolescents and a matched sample of nonclinical controls. Adolescents who reported elevated but subclinical levels of depression also reported lower levels of social functioning in comparison to nonclinical controls.

Psicopatia e traços da personalidade em estudantes universitários

RESUMO: No presente estudo é investigada a existência de relações entre a psicopatia e os traços de personalidade em estudantes universitários. Este estudo tem como objectivo o estabelecimento de correlações entre os traços psicopáticos e as dimensões da personalidade decorrentes do Modelo dos Cinco Factores em estudantes universitários. A amostra é constituída por 400 estudantes universitários, provenientes de várias universidades da zona de Lisboa, de vários cursos universitários e de ambos os sexos, de forma aleatória. As idades dos sujeitos constituintes da amostra estão compreendidas entre os 17 e os 46 anos de idade (M = 24,26 e DP = 4,435). Por forma a atingir o objectivo proposto para este estudo, recorreu-se à aplicação de um questionário sócio-demográfico e de três medidas de avaliação, nomeadamente: a Escala PDS (Paulhus Deception Scale) de Delroy L. Paulhus, Ph.D. (1998), a Escala LSRP (Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale) de Levenson, Kiehl e Fitzpatrick (1995) e o Inventário NEO-PI-R (Inventário de Personalidade NEO Revisto) de Costa e McCrae (1992), sendo que existe a aferição desta medida de avaliação para a população portuguesa dos autores Lima e Simões (1997). De acordo com os resultados obtidos, podemos constatar que existem associações significativas entre as dimensões da Personalidade e as dimensões da Psicopatia. Verificou-se que os indivíduos que possuem índices elevados de Neuroticismo e baixos indíces de Extroversão e Abertura à Experiência possuem uma maior propensão para apresentarem características psicopáticas. Por outro lado, também se constatou que os indivíduos que possuem baixos índices de Amabilidade e Conscienciosidade apresentam também uma maior probabilidade de possuírem características psicopáticas. ABSTRACT: In the present study, it is investigated the existence of relationships between psychopathy and personality traits in university students. The goal of this study is the establishment of correlations between psychopathic traits and the personality dimensions, recurring from the five factor model in university students. The sample is composed by 400 university students, from various universities in the Lisbon area, from different courses and from both genders, randomly picked. The ages of the subjects in the sample are in between 17 and 46 years old (M = 24,26 and SD = 4,435). By means of reaching the goal proposed for this study, there were applied a socio-demographic questionnaire and three evaluation measures, namely the PDS Scale (Paulhus Deception Scale) from Delroy L. Paulhus, Ph.D. (1998), the LSRP Scale (Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale) from Levenson, Kiehl e Fitzpatrick (1995) and the NEO-PI-R Inventory (Revised NEO Personality Inventory) from de Costa e McCrae (1992), as there is an admeasurement from this measure for the portuguese population from authors Lima e Simões (1997). Considering the obtained results, we can state that there exist significant associations between the Personality dimensions and the Psychopathy dimensions. It was verified that the individuals that possess high indexes of Neuroticism and low indexes of Extroversion and Openness, have a higher propensity to present psychopathic characteristics. On the other hand, it was also found that the individuals that possess low indexes of Lovability and Consciousness also present a higher probability of having psychopathic characteristics.

The development of a scale to measure concepts of schizophrenia: experience among Brazilian psychiatrists

INTRODUCTION: Among psychiatric disorders schizophrenia is often said to be the condition with the most disputed definition.The Bleulerian and Schneiderian approaches have given rise to diagnostic formulations that have varied with time and place. Controversies over the concept of schizophrenia were examined within European/North American settings in the early 1970s but little has since been reported on the views of psychiatrists in developing countries. In Brazil both concepts are referred to in the literature. A scale was developed to measure adherence to Bleulerian and Schneiderian concepts among psychiatrists working in S. Paulo. METHODOLOGY: A self-reported questionnaire comprising seventeen visual analogue-scale statements related to Bleulerian and Schneiderian definitions of Shizophrenia, plus sociodemographic and training characteristics, was distributed to a non-randomised sample of 150 psychiatrists. The two sub-scales were assessed by psychometric methods for internal consistency, sub-scale structure and test-retest reliability. Items selected according to internal consistency were examined by a two-factor model exploratory factor analysis. Intraclass correlation coefficients described the stability of the scale. RESULTS: Replies were received from 117 psychiatrists (mean age 36 (SD 7.9)), 74% of whom were made and 26% female. The Schneiderian scale showed better overall internal consistency than the Bleulerian scale. Intra-class correlation coefficients for test-retest comparisons were between 0.5 and 0.7 for Schneiderian items and 0.2 and 0.7 for Bleulerian items. There was no negative association between Bleulerian and Schneiderian scale scores, suggesting that respondents may hold both concepts. Place of training was significantly associated with the respondent's opinion; disagreement with a Bleulerian standpoint predominated for those trained at the University of S. Paulo. CONCLUSIONS: The less satisfactory reliability for the Bleulerian sub-scale limits confidence in the whole scale but on the other hand this questionnaire contributes to the understanding of the controversy over Bleulerian and Schneiderian models for conceptualisation of schizophrenia, the former requiring more inference and therefore being prone to unreliability.

Personality, emotion and mood simulation in decision making

In this paper is proposed the integration of personality, emotion and mood aspects for a group of participants in a decision-making negotiation process. The aim is to simulate the participant behavior in that scenario. The personality is modeled through the OCEAN five-factor model of personality (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Negative emotionality). The emotion model applied to the participants is the OCC (Ortony, Clore and Collins) that defines several criteria representing the human emotional structure. In order to integrate personality and emotion is used the pleasure-arousal-dominance (PAD) model of mood.

Brazilian version of the Quality of Care Scale: the perspective of people with disabilities

OBJECTIVE To analyze evidence of the validity and reliability of a Brazilian Portuguese version of the Quality of Care Scale from the perspective of people with physical and intellectual disabilities.METHODS There were 162 people with physical disabilities and 156 with intellectual disabilities from Porto Alegre and metropolitan region, who participated in the study in 2008. Classical psychometrics was used to independently analyze the two samples. Hypotheses for evidence of criterion validity (concurrent type) were tested with the Mann-Whitney test for non-normal distributions. Principal components analysis was used to explore factorial models. Evidence of reliability was calculated with Cronbach alpha for the scales and subscales. Test-retest reliability was analyzed for individuals with intellectual disabilities through intra-class correlation coefficient and the Willcoxon test.RESULTS The principal components in the group with physical disabilities replicated the original model presented as a solution to the international project data. Evidence of discriminant validity and test-retest reliability was found.CONCLUSIONS The transcultural factor model found within the international sample project seems appropriate for the samples investigated in this study, especially the physical disabilities group. Depression, pain, satisfaction with life and disability may play a mediating role in the evaluation of quality of care. Additional research is needed to add to evidence of the validity of the instruments.

A look into the cross-section of industry stock returns

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Finance from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

The fitting of the German yield curve: A dynamic approach using latent, macroeconomic and stock market variables

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Finance from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Three essays on the term structure of interest rates

A PhD Dissertation, presented as part of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the NOVA - School of Business and Economics

Search-for-yield in Portuguese fixed-income mutual funds and monetary policy

This paper studies the effects of monetary policy on mutual fund risk taking using a sample of Portuguese fixed-income mutual funds in the 2000-2012 period. Firstly I estimate time-varying measures of risk exposure (betas) for the individual funds, for the benchmark portfolio, as well as for a representative equally-weighted portfolio, through 24-month rolling regressions of a two-factor model with two systematic risk factors: interest rate risk (TERM) and default risk (DEF). Next, in the second phase, using the estimated betas, I try to understand what portion of the risk exposure is in excess of the benchmark (active risk) and how it relates to monetary policy proxies (one-month rate, Taylor residual, real rate and first principal component of a cross-section of government yields and rates). Using this methodology, I provide empirical evidence that Portuguese fixed-income mutual funds respond to accommodative monetary policy by significantly increasing exposure, in excess of their benchmarks, to default risk rate and slightly to interest risk rate as well. I also find that the increase in funds’ risk exposure to gain a boost in return (search-for-yield) is more pronounced following the 2007-2009 global financial crisis, indicating that the current historic low interest rates may incentivize excessive risk taking. My results suggest that monetary policy affects the risk appetite of non-bank financial intermediaries.

Performance analysis of an SRI screen based on employment quality in high and low capital industries: International evidence

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Finance from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics and Maastricht University School of Business and Economics

Psychometric properties of the Psychopathy Checklist : Youth version among portuguese juvenile delinquents

The main aim of the present study was to examine some psychometric properties of the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) among Portuguese juvenile delinquents. With forensic sample of 192 incarcerated male participants, the Portuguese version of the PCL:YV demonstrated promising psychometric properties of the three-factor model of youth psychopathy, internal consistency, convergent validity, concurrent validity, and retrospective validity that generally justify its use among Portuguese youths. Statistically significant associations were found with age of criminal onset, frequency of crimes, number of victims, and use of physical violence.

Inventário de Medos III : Avaliação das qualidades psicométricas em uma amostra portuguesa

Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar as qualidades psicométricas do Fear Survey Schedule-III, em uma amostra portuguesa. Participaram 1.980 sujeitos selecionados por conveniência a partir de uma população adulta normativa. As idades dos participantes estavam compreendidas entre os 18 e os 80 anos (M = 39,5, DP = 8,5), sendo 59% do sexo feminino. As qualidades psicométricas da escala foram avaliadas em suas facetas de sensibilidade psicométrica, validade de construto e confi abilidade. A validade externa de construto foi avaliada com análise multigrupos em amostra aleatória e independente da amostra de validação inicial. O modelo fatorial original proposto apresentou um ajustamento inaceitável à amostra de validação. Procedeu-se ao refi namento do modelo de medida em uma parte da amostra, selecionada aleatoriamente. Em conclusão, o modelo de medida simplifi cado apresentou uma boa qualidade de ajustamento fatorial e foi invariante em uma segunda amostra independente da primeira. Propôs-se uma nova estrutura hierárquica, com fator de 2ª ordem designado por “Medos”, que revelou boas qualidades psicométricas (sensibilidade, validade de construto e confi abilidade).

Os fatores de risco da rendibilidade das ações: análise e evidência empírica em países da Zona Euro

Tese de Doutoramento em Ciências Empresariais.

Paternal Adjustment and Paternal Attitudes Questionnaire: Antenatal and postnatal portuguese versions

The Paternal Adjustment and Paternal Attitudes Questionnaire (PAPA) was designed to assess paternal adjustment and paternal attitudes during the transition to parenthood. This study aimed to examine the psychometric characteristics of the Portuguese versions of the PAPA-Antenatal (PAPA-AN) and -Postnatal (PAPA-PN) versions. A nonclinical sample of 128 fathers was recruited in the obstetrics outpatient unit, and they completed both versions of the PAPA and selfreport measures of depressive and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy and the postpartum period, respectively. Good internal consistency for both PAPA-AN and PAPA-PN was found. A three-factor model was found for both versions of the instrument. Longitudinal confirmatory factor analysis revealed a good model fit. The PAPA-AN and PAPA-PN subscales revealed good internal consistency. Significant associations were found between PAPA (PAPA-AN and PAPA-PN) and depressive and anxiety symptoms, suggesting good criterion validity. Both versions also showed good clinical validity, with optimal cutoffs found. The present study suggested that the Portuguese versions of the PAPA are reliable multidimensional self-report measures of paternal adjustment and paternal attitudes that could be used to identify fathers with adjustment problems and negative attitudes during the transition to parenthood.

Validation de la version française du questionnaire I7 d'impulsivité. Influence de la personnalité, du sexe et de la religion = Validation of the french version of the eysenck's impulsiveness questionnaire (I7). Influence of personality, gender, and religion

L'objectif de cette étude est de vérifier la validité interne de la version française du questionnaire d'impulsivité d'Eysenck (I7), traduite par Dupont et al., sur un échantillon d'étudiants suisses (n = 220). Dans leur questionnaire, Eysenck et Eysenck proposent trois échelles : les deux premières évaluant deux composantes distinctes de l'impulsivité (l'Impulsivité caractérisant les individus qui agissent sans penser, sans être conscients des risques associés à leurs actions, et la Recherche d'aventure caractérisant les individus qui agissent en étant conscients, et en tenant compte des risques associés à leurs actions), et la troisième servant de « distracteur » (l'Empathie caractérisant les individus qui ont la faculté de s'identifier à l'autre). La structure à trois facteurs de l'instrument a été confirmée par notre analyse factorielle en composantes principales. La solution factorielle retenue n'explique toutefois qu'une faible proportion de la variance (21.9 %). L'homogénéité interne des échelles, mesurée à l'aide d'alphas de Cronbach, est acceptable pour l'échelle d'Impulsivité (.78) et de Recherche d'aventure (.71), mais elle est, en revanche, faible pour l'échelle d'Empathie (.62). Les échelles de l'I7 d'Eysenck entretiennent des corrélations cohérentes avec les cinq grandes dimensions de la personnalité mesurées par le NEO PI-R. L'Impulsivité est associée négativement à la dimension Conscience (r = - .32), alors que la Recherche d'aventures est associée positivement à la dimension Extraversion (r = .33). Le sexe a un impact sur les échelles Recherche d'aventure et Empathie. Les qualités métrologiques de la version française du questionnaire d'impulsivité d'Eysenck (I7) sont satisfaisantes, mais l'estimation d'autres indices de validité, comme la fidélité test-retest et la validité convergente, devrait être réalisée.