Browsing by Author "Pedro, Marta"
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- Anxiety and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents during COVID-19 pandemic: a transcultural approachPublication . Orgilés, Mireia; Espada, José Pedro; Delvecchio, Elisa; Francisco, Rita; Mazzeschi, Claudia; Pedro, Marta; Morales, AlexandraBackground: Despite being necessary to delay the spread of COVID- 19, home confinement could have affected the emotional well-being of children and adolescents. Knowing which variables are involved in anxiety and depressive symptoms could help to prevent young people’s psychological problems related to lockdown as early as possible. This crosssectional study aims to examine anxiety and depressive symptomatology in Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese children and adolescents in order to determine which variables are related to poorer well-being during the pandemic. Method: The parents of 515 children, aged 3-18 years old, completed an online survey. Children’s anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale-Parent Version, and depressive symptoms were measured with the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire-Parent Version. Results: We found differences in anxiety and depression between countries, with higher anxiety scores in Spanish children, and higher depression scores in Spanish and Italian children compared to the Portuguese. Anxiety and depressive symptoms were more likely in children whose parents reported higher levels of stress. Conclusions: These findings are discussed in the light of detecting and supporting affected children as early as possible.
- Coping behaviors and psychological disturbances in youth affected by the COVID-19 health crisisPublication . Orgilés, Mireia; Morales, Alexandra; Delvecchio, Elisa; Francisco, Rita; Mazzeschi, Claudia; Pedro, Marta; Espada, José PedroThe COVID-19 pandemic and the quarantine undergone by children in many countries is a stressful situation about which little is known to date.Children and adolescents’ behaviors to cope with home confinement may be associated with their emotional welfare. The objectives of this study were: (1) to examine the coping strategies used out by children and adolescents during the COVID-19 health crisis, (2) to analyze the differences in these behaviors in three countries, and (3) to examine the relationship between different coping modalities and adaptation. Participants were 1,480 parents of children aged 3–18 years from three European countries (nSpain=431,nItaly=712, and nPortugal=355). The children’s mean age was 9.15 years (SD=4.27). Parents completed an online survey providing information on symptoms and coping behaviors observed in their children. The most frequent coping strategies were accepting what is happening(58.9%), collaborating with quarantine social activities(e.g., drawings on the windows,supportive applauses) (35.9%), acting as if nothing is happening (35.5%), highlighting the advantages of being at home (35.1%), and not appearing to be worried about what is happening (30.1%). Compared to Italian and Spanish children, Portuguese children used a sense of humor more frequently when their parents talked about the situation. Acting as if nothing was happening, collaborating with social activities, and seeking comfort from others were more likely in Spanish children than in children from the other countries.Compared to Portuguese and Spanish children, Italian children did not seem worried about what was happening. Overall, an emotional-oriented coping style was directly correlated with a greater presence of anxious symptoms, as well as to mood, sleep,behavioral, and cognitive alterations. Task-oriented and avoidance-oriented styles were related to better psychological adaptation (considered a low presence of psychological symptoms). Results also show that unaffected children or children with a lower level of impact were more likely to use strategies based on a positive focus on the situation. This study provides interesting data on the strategies to be promoted by parents to cope with the COVID-19 health crisis in children.
- Corrigendum: Coping Behaviors and Psychological Disturbances in Youth Affected by the COVID-19 Health Crisis (Frontiers in Psychology, (2021), 12, (565657), 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.565657)Publication . Orgilés, Mireia; Morales, Alexandra; Delvecchio, Elisa; Francisco, Rita; Mazzeschi, Claudia; Pedro, Marta; Espada, José PedroIn the original article, there was an error. All results that were statistically significant were informed, rather than only those that were found to be significant after applying the Bonferroni adjustment. A correction has been made to Results, Coping Strategies, Paragraph 1. The corrected paragraph is shown below. Table 2 shows the proportion of children using coping strategies during the home confinement due to COVID-19. Themost frequently used coping strategy was acceptance, withmore than half of the parents reporting that their children use it (58.9%). Other commonly used coping strategies (at least 30% of the children) were collaborating with social activities such as drawings on windows or collective applauses (35.9%), ignoring the problem and acting as if nothing was happening (35.5%), highlighting the advantages of being at home (35.1%), seeking comfort from others (31%), and not showing concern about what was happening (30.1%). According to age, the most used coping strategies (more than 30% of parents reported that their children used them) were similar among preschool children, school-age children, and adolescents, although their order could differ for each group. In preschool children (3–5 years), the most used coping strategies were: accepts what’s going on (45.5%) (Task-oriented); acts as if nothing is happening (44.4%) (Avoidance-oriented); doesn’t seem to care what is happening (40%) (Avoidance-oriented); and seeks affection from others (36.9%) (Emotional-oriented). In the school-age children (6–12 years), themost used coping strategies were: accepts what’s going on (60.6%) (Task-oriented); highlights the advantages of being at home (41.3%) (Task-oriented); seeks affection from others (33.8%) (Emotion-oriented); and acts as if nothing is happening (32.3%) (Avoidance-oriented). In the adolescent group (13–18 years), the most used strategies were: accepts what’s going on (69.9%) (Task-oriented); highlights the advantages of being at home (37.9%) (Task-oriented); and acts as if nothing is happening (32.2%) (Avoidance-oriented). When comparing the three countries, and after applying for Bonferroni correction, Spanish children were more likely to collaborate in social activities than children from the other countries. Compared to the Italian children, those from Portugal were also more likely to collaborate in social activities. Spanish children were more likely to seek affection in others, compared to the rest of children. Italian children weremore likely to act as if they were not worried about what was happening, compared to the rest. Compared to the Portuguese children, those from Spain were also more likely to seem worried about what is happening. Additionally, a correction has been made to Discussion, Paragraph 2. Results show that the most frequently used coping strategy was task-oriented (accepting what was happening), with 59% of parents reporting its use by their children. Also, at least 30% of the children collaborated in social activities, acted as if nothing was happening, highlighted the advantages of being at home, sought comfort from others, or did not seem worried about what was happening. Differences by countries show interesting results. Collaborating in social activities and seeking comfort from others were more likely in Spanish children than in children from the other countries. Compared to Portuguese and Spanish children, Italian children did not seem worried about what was happening. Although it is unclear, the different rules of confinement imposed by each country could explain these differences. Portugal followed voluntary confinement, so maybe children’s routines did not change as much as in the other countries; the few cases of infections and deaths compared to Spain and Italy might have contributed to their not perceiving the situation as dangerous. Children from Spain used adaptive strategies to cope with the situation, such as collaborating in social activities, but they were also more likely to seek comfort from their parents. Spain had the most restrictive confinement rules, not allowing children to go outside until April 26th. Although more data are necessary to explain this finding, the interruption of all social contact and staying at home with the parents for such a long time could have encouraged Spanish children to seek more comfort than Portuguese and Italian children, who followed a less restrictive confinement. Also, Spanish children collaborated more in social activities, such as collective applauses from the balconies or windows, probably showing their need for social contact with others, which was limited indoors. Finally, Italian children seem less concerned about the situation than children from the other countries. Unlike Italy, Portugal used voluntary confinement, with habits and routines depending on each family’s decision, so the children may have perceived inconsistent situations outdoors that might have worried them. Italian children were allowed to go outside before Spanish children, so Spanish children may have been more worried than Italian children because they had to follow the prohibition of going outside. Although further research is needed, allowing Italian children to go outside whilemaintaining consistent rules for all the children (a walk with one adult near their house) may have reduced their concerns. There were also errors in Tables 2 and 5 as published. The corrected Tables 2 and 5 are shown below. The authors apologize for these errors and state that they do not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated. (Table presented.).
- COVID-19: psychological symptoms and coping strategies in preschoolers, schoolchildren, and adolescentsPublication . Delvecchio, Elisa; Orgilés, Mireia; Morales, Alexandra; Espada, José Pedro; Francisco, Rita; Pedro, Marta; Mazzeschi, ClaudiaThe present study aimed to compare psychological symptoms and coping strategies in 1480 preschoolers, schoolchildren, and adolescents during home confinement due to COVID-19. We enrolled parents from Italy, Portugal, and Spain who completed a survey between the second and fourth week of lockdown. The results showed that preschoolers displayed more sleeping difficulties, temper tantrums, and dependency while adolescents' reactions were more related to COVID-19 worries and uncertainty. Schoolchildren showed more difficulty in concentrating. Adolescent girls showed higher anxiety levels than schoolchildren boys. Schoolchildren relied more on emotion-oriented strategies, which were linked to increased internalizing and externalizing symptoms in all ages. Task-oriented strategies, regardless of the child's age, work best to cope with stress. Our findings provide information for professionals and parents about children's most common and adaptive coping strategies according to age. Furthermore, they contribute to the early detection of long-term psychological maladjustment in children.
- Dyadic coping in Portuguese couplesPublication . Costa-Ramalho, Susana; Vedes, Ana; Pedro, Marta; Patrão, Ivone; Albuquerque, Sara Magalhães; Pereira, Marco Daniel; Davide, Isabel Narciso; Marques-Pinto, Alexandra; Ribeiro, Maria Teresa
- Escala de generatividade do casal: tradução, adaptação e estudo das propriedades psicométricas da versão portuguesaPublication . Costa-Ramalho, Susana; Marques-Pinto, Alexandra; Ribeiro, Maria Teresa; Pedro, MartaA importância da conjugalidade na vida adulta justifica o estudo de fatores que possam contribuir para a sua qualidade. Este artigo apresenta o desenvolvimento da Escala de Generatividade do Casal, versão portuguesa da Couple Generativity Scale de Bertoni, Parise e Iafrate (2012), bem como dados relativos à sua precisão e validade. Este questionário pretende avaliar a capacidade de o casal ultrapassar as fronteiras conjugais e cuidar também dos seus laços familiares e sociais. Com uma amostra de 406 adultos de ambos os sexos que se encontravam numa relação conjugal, foram identificadas qualidades psicométricas que encorajam a utilização da versão portuguesa. Os dados mostram que a estrutura unifatorial original se adequa à presente amostra, que a escala revela elevados níveis de precisão por consistência interna e que se evidenciam relações significativas da generatividade com outras variáveis importantes da conjugalidade, como ter filhos, a conceção da relação e a satisfação conjugal.
- Psychological symptoms and behavioral changes in children and adolescents during the early phase of COVID-19 quarantine in three European countriesPublication . Francisco, Rita; Pedro, Marta; Delvecchio, Elisa; Espada, José Pedro; Morales, Alexandra; Mazzeschi, Claudia; Orgilés, MireiaThe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic forced the home confinement of the majority of population around the world, including a significant number of children and adolescents, for several weeks in 2020. Negative psychological effects have been identified in adults, but research about the impact of this type of social distancing measure on children and adolescents is scarce. The present study aimed to describe and compare the immediate psychological and behavioral symptoms associated with COVID-19 quarantine in children and adolescents from three southern European countries with different levels of restrictions (Italy, Spain, and Portugal). Parents of 1,480 children and adolescents (52.8% boys) between 3 and 18 years old (M = 9.15, SD = 4.27) participated in the study. An online survey using snowball sampling techniques was conducted during 15 days between March and April 2020, representing the early phase of the quarantine associated with COVID-19 outbreak. Parents answered questionnaires about sociodemographic data, housing conditions, immediate psychological responses during quarantine (e.g., anxiety, mood, sleep, and behavioral alterations), patterns of use of screens, daily physical activity, and sleep hours before and during the quarantine. The results revealed an increase in children's psychological and behavioral symptoms, increased screen-time, reduced physical activity, and more sleep hours/night. Italian children presented less psychological and behavioral symptoms compared with Portuguese and Spanish children. In general, hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that having an outdoor exit in the house (e.g., garden, terrace) contributed to lower levels of psychological and behavioral symptomatology. Future studies are needed to identify family and individual variables that can better predict children and adolescents' well-being during and after quarantine. Recommendations for families and implications for practice are discussed.
- Psychological symptoms in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese youth during the COVID-19 health crisis: a longitudinal studyPublication . Orgilés, Mireia; Francisco, Rita; Delvecchio, Elisa; Espada, José P.; Mazzeschi, Claudia; Pedro, Marta; Morales, AlexandraAiming to slow down the spread of the COVID-19, a lockdown was declared in the first term of 2020 in many European countries, applying different restrictions measures. Although the psychological effects of home confinement in children have been described, there is a lack of longitudinal research examining the impact of the confinement over time. The present study analyzes the evolution of the psychological wellbeing of children and adolescents from three European countries with different restrictions. Parents of 624 Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese children and adolescents aged 3 to 18 years old completed the “Impact Scale of COVID-19 and Home Confinement on Children and Adolescents” two, five, and eight weeks after the lockdown. Results show a different pattern for each country. Children from Italy, the first European country that applied a lockdown, were better adapted than Spanish and Portuguese children the first two weeks after confinement but they were more psychologically impacted by home confinement at the eight-week assessment. Portuguese children, who followed a general duty of home confinement, were the best adapted to the situation, with no significant differences over time. A significant change was found in anxiety symptoms in Spanish children, with a decrease at the last assessment. Findings suggest that long confinements and hard restrictions affect children, so prevention measures should be applied during confinements to prevent psychological problems in children.
- Social participation in times of COVID-19: effects on depression in the elderlyPublication . Domingos, Samuel; Francisco, Rita; Godinho, Cristina; Pedro, Marta; Gaspar, Rui