Shame plays a central role in psychosocial functioning, being a transdiagnostic emotion associated with several mental health conditions. According to the evolutionary biopsychosocial model, shame is ...a painful and difficult emotion that may be categorized into two distinct focal components: external and internal shame. External shame is focused on the experience of the self as seen in a judgemental way by others, whereas internal shame is conceptualized as self-focused negative evaluations and feelings about the self. The current study aimed to develop the External and Internal Shame Scale (EISS) to assess in a single measure these two dimensions. The study was conducted in a community sample comprising 665 participants (18 to 61 years old). Three models were tested through confirmatory factor analysis. One higher order factor (global shame) with two lower order factors (external and internal shame) revealed a good fit to the data. The scale reliability and its association with other related constructs measures were also addressed. Additionally, gender differences on shame were explored. Results showed that EISS subscales and global score presented good internal consistency, concurrent validity and were associated with depressive symptoms. Regarding gender differences, results revealed that women presented significantly higher scores both in external and internal shame. The EISS showed to be a short, robust and reliable measure. The EISS allows the assessment of the specific dimensions of external and internal shame as well as a global sense of shame experience and may therefore be an important contribution for clinical work and research in human psychological functioning.
Nomophobia (no mobile phone phobia) can be defined as a situational phobia described by the fear of not having a smartphone available or being incapable of accessing the Internet. Based on these ...characteristics, the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) was designed, showing a four-factor structure and good psychometric characteristics. The current study intended to adapt the NMP-Q to European Portuguese (NMP-Q-PT) and test its factor structure and psychometric properties. Five hundred participants from the general population (convenience sampling) filled in the NMP-Q-PT, the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV) and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS-21). Three models were tested through confirmatory factor analysis. One higher order factor (global nomophobia) with four lower order factors revealed a good fit to the data. The NMP-Q-PT presented excellent consistency, construct and discriminant validity, as well as good concurrent and divergent validities. Overall, the NMP-Q-PT showed to be a reliable and valid instrument for measuring nomophobia.
OBJECTIVE: To present and determine the impact of the Mindfulness-Based Program for Infertility (MBPI). DESIGN: Controlled clinical trial. SETTING: University research unit. PATIENT(S): Fifty-five ...infertile women completed the MBPI, and 37 infertile women were assigned to a control group. INTERVENTION(S): The MBPI includes 10 weekly sessions, in a group format, with a duration of about 2 hours each (men attend three sessions). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Standardized measures of depression, state anxiety, entrapment, defeat, internal and external shame, experiential avoidance, mindfulness, self-compassion, and infertility self-efficacy were endorsed pre- and post-MBPI. RESULT(S): The MBPI group and the control group were shown to be equivalent at baseline. By the end of the MBPI, women who attended the program revealed a significant decrease in depressive symptoms, internal and external shame, entrapment, and defeat. Inversely, they presented statistically significant improvement in mindfulness skills and self-efficacy to deal with infertility. Women in the control group did not present significant changes in any of the psychological measures, except for a decrease in self-judgment. CONCLUSION(S): Increasing mindfulness and acceptance skills, as well as cognitive decentering from thoughts and feelings, seem to help women to experience negative inner states in new ways, decreasing their entanglement with them and thus their psychological distress. Data suggest that the MBPI is an effective psychological intervention for women experiencing infertility.
Background
Shame, as a self-conscious, complex, and universal emotion, plays an important role in mental health. In adolescents, given their greater vulnerability to the development of psychological ...difficulties, the assessment of shame, in its various dimensions, is especially relevant.
Objective
To adapt and validate the External and Internal Shame Scale for adolescents (EISS-A). Specifically, the EISS-A factor structure, reliability, and validity were analysed.
Methods
The studies were conducted in two Portuguese independent samples aged 12 to 18 years old (
N
= 497; 58.2% female). Participants voluntarily completed a set of self-report questionnaires in the classroom. Forty-one adolescents completed the EISS-A 4-weeks after the first administration.
Results
The second-order confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the EISS-A model of two related factors (external and internal shame). This model was replicated in a second independent sample. The EISS-A showed measure invariance across sex. It revealed adequate internal consistency (α = .85), test–retest reliability (
r
= .81), and concurrent validity with different measures of positive and negative affect. Girls showed higher shame (internal and external) scores. Age and education showed a weak positive association with shame. The EISS-A presented significant positive correlations with indicators of psychopathology (symptoms of anxiety and depression), with self-criticism and external shame (assessed by another instrument). Inversely, it showed negative associations with self-reassurance and with favourable social comparison.
Conclusions
The EISS-A is a short, reliable, and useful measure for research, educational and clinical contexts with school-aged adolescents. Measuring shame may contribute to a broader understanding of its role during the most formative years of an individual’s life.
Schools are experiencing an unprecedented mental health crisis, with teachers reporting high levels of stress and burnout, which has adverse consequences to their mental and physical health. ...Addressing mental and physical health problems and promoting wellbeing in educational settings is thus a global priority. This study investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of an 8-week Compassionate Mind Training program for Teachers (CMT-T) on indicators of psychological and physiological wellbeing.
A pragmatic randomized controlled study with a stepped-wedge design was conducted in a sample of 155 public school teachers, who were randomized to CMT-T (n = 80) or a waitlist control group (WLC; n = 75). Participants completed self-report measures of psychological distress, burnout, overall and professional wellbeing, compassion and self-criticism at baseline, post-intervention, and 3-months follow-up. In a sub-sample (CMT-T, n = 51; WLC n = 36) resting heart-rate variability (HRV) was measured at baseline and post-intervention.
CMT-T was feasible and effective. Compared to the WLC, the CMT-T group showed improvements in self-compassion, compassion to others, positive affect, and HRV as well as reductions in fears of compassion, anxiety and depression. WLC participants who received CMT-T revealed additional improvements in compassion for others and from others, and satisfaction with professional life, along with decreases in burnout and stress. Teachers scoring higher in self-criticism at baseline revealed greater improvements post CMT-T. At 3-month follow-up improvements were retained.
CMT-T shows promise as a compassion-focused intervention for enhancing compassion, wellbeing and reducing psychophysiological distress in teachers, contributing to nurturing compassionate, prosocial and resilient educational environments. Given its favourable and sustainable effects on wellbeing and psychophysiological distress, and low cost to deliver, broader implementation and dissemination of CMT-T is encouraged.
Background and Aim: The current study aimed to translate the Firefighter Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (FFCSE) and explore its dimensionality and psychometric characteristics. Method: This ...cross-sectional study was authorised by the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority and disseminated by firefighters' stations from different districts. A sample of 155 firefighters completed online the following self-report instruments: Firefighter Coping Self-Efficacy Scale, Comprehensive Assessment of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Processes, World Health Organization Index-5, Perceived Stress Scale and Patients Health Questionnaire-4. An exploratory factor analysis was computed, and reliability and validity studies were conducted. Results: The Portuguese version of the FFCSE items revealed, in general, good psychometric characteristics, except for item 10 ("Having dreams about difficult calls"). The factor structure was one-dimensional. The FFCSE showed good internal consistency, and the associations with the other variables were in the expected direction. No differences were found between men and women in the FFCSE mean scores. There was no statistically significant association between the FFCSE and age, years of education or length of service as firefighters. Conclusions: The FFCSE proved to be a one-dimensional measure of perceived self-efficacy to deal with the demands inherent to the firefighter activity. The results suggest that it is a valid and reliable measure, useful in research, clinical and training contexts for these professionals.
Objetivo: No âmbito de um projeto destinado à promoção da fertility awareness, desenvolvido pela Fertility Europe, pretendeu-se recolher informação junto de adolescentes portugueses, relativamente às ...suas perceções e opiniões acerca de um possível serious educational game sobre este tema. Métodos: Recorreu-se à metodologia de focus group, tendo sido elaborado um guião de questões e definidos os critérios de inclusão e exclusão dos participantes. Após a condução do focus group com oito adolescentes com idades entre os 15 e 18 anos, seguiu-se a análise de dados de forma dedutiva. Resultados: Os participantes consideraram os seus conhecimentos sobre a fertilidade e os fatores que a afetam limitados, destacando a utilidade de um jogo educativo de fertility awareness para o aprofundamento da compreensão destes conceitos, e referiram estar disponíveis para o jogar. Os adolescentes realçaram a importância de aspetos como a componente gráfica, os atributos competitivos, a expetativa de entretenimento, o potencial de aprendizagem, tal como a disponibilização de um website com informação adicional. Foram também identificadas potenciais barreiras à utilização do jogo, nomeadamente o tempo despendido na sua utilização, uma divulgação inadequada, um caráter monótono e cansativo e, ainda, poder não corresponder aos interesses de alguns jovens. Conclusões: Os participantes expressaram o desejo de obter mais conhecimentos sobre a fertilidade, considerando útil o desenvolvimento de um serious game para este efeito e demonstrando-se disponíveis para o utilizarem. Foi possível compreender as preferências dos adolescentes relativamente às características do jogo, sugerindo-se que estas sejam tidas em conta no seu desenvolvimento.
Objective: To adapt and validate the Psy-Flex for the adolescent population (PsyFlex-A). The aim was to analyse the PsyFlex-A factor structure, reliability, the model's invariance between genders, ...and associations between the PsyFlex-A, sociodemographic variables, and other variables of interest. Method: The sample included 309 adolescents between 12 to 18 years old (M = 14.91) and a mean of 9.56 years of education. The participants completed a protocol comprising the PsyFlex-A and a set of other self-report measures assessing mindfulness skills (CAMM), cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance (AFQ-Y8), psychopathological symptoms (DASS-21), and the perceived quality of life and well-being (KidScreen-10). A subsample of 45 participants completed the PsyFlex-A four weeks after the first administration to conduct a test-retest reliability analysis. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were used to assess the scale's structure. A multi-group CFA was conducted to determine the measurement invariance across genders. Reliability and validity were also analysed. Results: The PsyFlex-A presented a single-factor structure and model invariance between genders, suggesting that the results are comparable between males and females. Moreover, it revealed adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability. It showed positive associations with mindfulness skills and quality of life and negative associations with cognitive fusion/experiential avoidance and psychopathological symptoms. Finally, significant gender differences were found, with boys revealing higher values of psychological flexibility than girls. Conclusion: The PsyFlex-A proved to be a valid and reliable instrument for assessing Portuguese adolescents' psychological flexibility skills. The PsyFlex-A may be used as a screening instrument in educational and clinical settings.
Objectives
Mounting research has supported the beneficial effects of compassion-based interventions for improving psychosocial and physiological well-being and mental health. Teachers present a high ...risk of professional stress, which negatively impacts their mental health and professional performance. It is crucial to make compassion cultivation a focus in educational settings, supporting teachers in coping with the school context’s challenges, and promoting their mental well-being. This study aims to test the feasibility of the Compassionate Mind Training programme for Teachers (CMT-T), as well as to preliminary explore possible mechanisms of change.
Methods
Participants were 31 teachers from one public school in the centre region of Portugal, who underwent the CMT-T, a six-module Compassionate Mind Training group intervention for teachers. Feasibility was assessed in six domains (acceptability, implementation, practicality, adaptation, integration, and preliminary effectiveness), using self-reports, overall programme assessment, attrition, attendance, and home practice. Using a pre-post within-subject design, changes were assessed in self-reported psychological distress, burnout, well-being, compassion, and self-criticism. Mediation analysis for repeated measures designs was used to explore mechanisms of change.
Results
The CMT-T was feasible in all the six domains. Participants revealed significant decreases in depression, stress, and fears of compassion to others, as well as significant increases in compassion to others, self-compassion, and compassion to others’ motivations and actions after the CMT-T intervention. When self-criticism was controlled, decreases in burnout and increases in satisfaction with professional life, and self-compassion, were also found. Fears of compassion for others mediated the impact of CMT-T on teachers’ burnout, and self-compassion mediated the intervention effect on psychological well-being.
Conclusions
This pilot study provides evidence that CMT-T is feasible and may be effective in promoting teachers’ compassionate motivations, attributes, and actions towards others and themselves and improving their mental health and well-being. These promising findings warrant further investigation within a randomized controlled trial.
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