Adverse childhood experiences and delinquent behaviour: Predictors and mediating variables

ABSTRACT Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been identified as a risk factor for the development of mental health and behavioural outcomes throughout life, including delinquent behaviours. This article focuses on the relationship between ACEs and delinquent behaviour (DB), seeking to identify predictors and mediating variables. Methods: The quantitative study comprised 175 Portuguese adolescents, aged 12 and 17 years of age (M = 14.99, SD = 2.26). Results: ACEs and exposure to traumatic events (ETE) are predictive of DB. Antisocial traits (AT) was found to be mediating the relationship between ACEs and DB, as well as the relation between ETE and DB. Conclusion: The results indicate that it is necessary that professionals in health behaviour field prevent and intervene in ACEs and in ETE, both predictors of DB. The results of this study allow to understand the role of ACEs in DB and its mediating variables, which must be considered to mitigate the harmful impact of ACEs in DB.

Psychological well-being and health perception: predictors for past, present and future

Abstract Background Increasing evidence supports an association between psychological well-being and overall health, however, much remains to be understood about this association. The current study addresses this issue by presenting a new perspective focusing on health perceptions. Additionally, it examines the impact of each of six dimensions of psychological well-being on health perception. Methods Data for this study were collected from a sample of 1,155 Portuguese adults in various settings. Findings reveal that psychological well-being dimensions' impact differently on prior, current, and health outlookperceptions. Furthermore, the dimension depressed mood influences current health perception; in turn, current health perception is the strongest predictor for psychological well-being. Our results provide support for a bidirectional relationship between health perception and psychological well-being.

Uma proposta de medida da qualidade dos recursos humanos em turismo / A proposal to measure the quality of human resources in tourism / Una propuesta de medida de la calidad de los recursos humanos en turismo

Estudo empírico sobre a validação da subescala "Recursos Humanos em Turismo", adaptado à realidade portuguesa, que visa avaliar a perceção dos decisores públicos locais sobre esta dimensão da qualidade. O estudo integra 134 participantes, provenientes de 125 municípios portugueses, tendo-se extraído 5 fatores responsáveis por 64.21% da variância total, designadamente: Competências profissionais, Política de emprego, Estratégia de negócio, Acesso à formação e Mercado de trabalho. Competências pessoais, conhecimento especializado, domínio de línguas e conhecimento aprofundado sobre a cultura e a especificidade da região na qual trabalham são os atributos mais valorizados pelos inquiridos, quanto às competências dos recursos humanos em turismo. Esta é uma situação à qual a tutela, as entidades de ensino e as empresas devem estar atentas, enquadrando nos seus planos estratégicos ou planos de estudos, temáticas direcionadas para a análise da identidade cultural dos destinos, contribuindo para a sua diferenciação.

An empirical study on validation of the "Human Resources in Tourism" subscale, within the scope of a more extensive project to validate a measurement instrument, adapted to the Portuguese reality, intended to evaluate the perception of local public decision makers on various dimensions of tourism quality, was conducted. The study included 134 participants from 125 Portuguese municipalities, with 5 factors accounting for 64.21% of the total variance, namely: Professional skills, Employment policy, Business strategy, Access to training, and Labor market. Personal skills, specialized knowledge, language skills. and in-depth knowledge of the culture and specifics of the region in which they work are the attributes the respondents value most, as the main competencies of human resources in tourism. This is a situation requiring the attention of government bodies, educational entities, and companies, framing in their strategic, academic, and training plans, themes directed at analyzing the cultural identity of destinations, contributing to their differentiation.

Estudio empírico sobre la validación de la sub-escala "Recursos Humanos en Turismo", adaptado a la realidad portuguesa, que busca evaluar la percepción de los responsables públicos locales sobre esta dimensión de la calidad. El estudio integra a 134 participantes, provenientes de 125 municipios portugueses, habiéndose extraído 5 factores responsables por el 64.21% de la varianza total, a saber: Competencias profesionales, Política de empleo, Estrategia de negocio, Acceso a la formación y Mercado de trabajo. Competencias personales, conocimiento especializado, dominio de lenguas y conocimiento en profundidad sobre la cultura y la especificidad de la región en la que trabajanson los atributos más valorados por los encuestados, en cuanto a las competencias de los recursos humanos en turismo. Esta es una situación a la que la tutela, las entidades de enseñanza y las empresas deben dar atención; encuadrando en sus planes estratégicos o planes de estudios, temáticas dirigidas al análisis de la identidad cultural de los destinos, contribuyendo a su diferenciación.

Efficacy indicators of four methods in outpatient addiction treatment

Abstract Background In Portugal, as far as we know, there are no recent studies that evaluated the comparative efficacy of therapeutic modalities in addiction problems by reference to a holistic and psychosocial model of effectiveness. Objectives Using a sample of Portuguese patients in outpatient treatment for drug and alcohol abuse, this study aimed to examine if a combined treatment modality (group therapy with individual intervention) had greater overall efficacy when compared to other three types of treatment without group therapy. Methods This is a correlational and cross-sectional study using a convenience sample of patients (N = 254) from an outpatient treatment in the Intervention Service on Addictive Behaviors and Substance Dependence. At the time of data collection, the patients were attending four types of treatment, such as receiving intervention based on individual psychological counseling (n = 66); receiving individual psychiatric counseling (n = 68); receiving both individual psychological and psychiatric counseling (n = 102); and receiving not only individual counseling (i.e., psychology or psychiatry), but also attending group therapy (n = 18). Results Using MANOVA and Wilks's multivariate test criterion, there was a significant effect of treatment modality on the global efficacy, Λ = 0.88, F(9, 603) = 3.75, p < 0.0001. Examination of mean estimates indicated that patients in a combined therapeutic modality revealed more treatment involvement compared to patients in other therapeutic modalities without group therapy. Discussion The results obtained in this study highlight the importance of integrating interventions in a collaborative way. A combined therapeutic modality, adding group therapy, was associated with positive effects, such as more levels of peer support and involvement in treatment, and increasing the individual's probability to remain abstinent.

Community intervention: assessment of parental training of a family prevention programme of substance use and associated risk behaviours / Intervención comunitaria: evaluación de la formación de los padres de un programa de prevención familiar de consumo de sustancias y comportamientos de riesgo asociados

Abstract The manuscript presents the results of a family and community intervention project to prevent drug use. The project was theoretically based in two integrative models - Structural Model of Cowen and Eco-Developmental Model - taking a multicausal perspective and the methodological principle of empowerment. This study had two assessment moments: (T1) a week before the intervention and (T2) a week after the end of the intervention. Data was collected from 42 adults with parenting responsibilities and the results indicate significant changes in the increase of cohesion, expressivity, control, and the increase of the orientation for recreational activities. It has also observed a decrease of the educational strategies that characterise the authoritarian and permissive styles.

Resumen El manuscrito presenta los resultados de un proyecto familiar de intervención comunitaria de prevención del consumo de drogas. El proyecto se basa en dos modelos de integración: modelo estructural de Cowen y modelo ecodesarrollo, adoptando una perspectiva multicausal y guiándose por el principio metodológico de empoderamiento. Este estudio tuvo dos momentos de evaluación: (T1) una semana antes de la intervención y (T2) una semana después del final de la intervención. Se presentan los datos reunidos de 42 adultos con responsabilidades parentales y los resultados indican cambios significativos en el ámbito familiar en el aumento de la cohesión, expresividad, el control y de la orientación de las actividades recreativas. También se observa una disminución de las estrategias educativas que caracterizan los estilos autoritarios y permisivos.

The effectiveness of substance abuse treatment: development of a brief questionnaire

Practitioners need brief instruments to monitor outcomes in both treatment of drugs and alcohol addiction because they are useful to guide decision making in a short time. Objectives: This study aims to develop a brief questionnaire, based on Client Evaluation of Self and Treatment, to evaluate the treatment effectiveness in drug and alcohol addiction treatment settings. Methods: A cross-sectional study using a convenience sample (N = 608) recruited from Division for Intervention on Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies (DICAD – ARS North). Results: The results show a new four-factor solution that accounted for 54.4% of the total variance and that provides the best fit to the data (c2/df = 1.72, CFI = .94, GFI = .91, RMSEA = .048 [.040-.057]; prmsea = .623). It also revealed a high internal consistency (a = .82). It was found a significant negative correlation (r = - .52, p < .01) between the final version of the instrument and a self report measure of psychopathology symptoms. Discussion: This brief questionnaire, with good psychometric properties, can be useful to provide a viable and rapid feedback of treatment outcomes. Further studies should be performed to continue the evaluation of the reliability of this measure...

Cidadania, trabalho e criação: exercitando um olhar sobre projetos sociais / Citizenship, work and criation: exercising a view upon social projects

Este texto pretende trazer algumas interrogações sobre os temas "cidadania", "trabalho" e "criação" e as formas como atravessam os projetos sociais que utilizam a arte como mediadora da atividade educativa, na Grande João Pessoa. Para tanto, parte de uma análise a respeito dos princípios filosóficos e pedagógicos que orientam esse campo de intervenção e da categoria de "risco social" utilizada, freqüentemente, nos discursos dirigidos às camadas empobrecidas da população. A partir de um mapeamento de onze projetos sociais que atuam com arte, o foco foi dirigido para um dos projetos - a Escola Piollin. A pesquisa, circunscrita enquanto investigação qualitativa identifica a existência de uma tensão na constituição das práticas e dos discursos. Neste percurso investigativo, focaliza a fala dos diversos atores sociais (coordenadores de projetos, educadores e alunos) buscando revelar alguns caminhos no ensino da arte dirigido às crianças, adolescentes e jovens das classes populares.

This text intent to bring any questions about the themes "citizenship", "work" and "creation" and the forms how go through the social projects that use the art like educative activity's mediation, in great João Pessoa. Therefore, leave from analise about philosophycs and educatives principles that guide this investigation's field and from category of "social risk" used, frequently, in the discourses applied to population's poor classes. From survey on of eleven social projects that perform with art, the focus was applied to one of those projects - the Piollin School. The research, delineated while qualitative investigation, identify the existence of a tension in constituition of practices and discourses. This investigative trajectory focus in the discourses of social actors (projects' director, educator and students), looking for reveal any ways in the art's teaching, applied to children, adolescents and youth of popular classes.