University students' attitudes towards people with disabilities: does type, exposure and the need for social approval matter? / Atitudes dos estudantes universitários em relação às pessoas com deficiência: o tipo, a exposição e a necessidade de aprovação social importam?

ABSTRACT This study aimed to explore the multidimensional attitudes of university students towards people with motor, intellectual, and sensory (vision and hearing) disabilities. Three variables were discussed: type of disability, exposure to people with disabilities, and the need for social approval. This study included 712 university students. The results confirmed that the most negative attitudes were held towards people with intellectual disability and the most positive attitudes towards persons with motor disability in all dimensions: cognitive, emotional, and social. The type of exposure to people with disabilities was significant, and the most positive attitudes were observed when respondents had a friend with a disability. The hypothesis on the correlation between the need for social approval and students' attitudes towards people with disabilities was only partially confirmed.

RESUMO Este estudo teve como objetivo explorar as atitudes multidimensionais de estudantes universitários em relação a pessoas com deficiência motora, intelectual e sensorial (visão e audição). Foram discutidas três variáveis: tipo de deficiência, exposição a pessoas com deficiência e necessidade de aprovação social. Este estudo incluiu 712 estudantes universitários. Os resultados confirmaram que as atitudes mais negativas foram as em relação às pessoas com deficiência intelectual e as atitudes mais positivas em relação às pessoas com deficiência motora em todas as dimensões: cognitiva, emocional e social. O tipo de exposição às pessoas com deficiência foi significativo, e as atitudes mais positivas foram observadas quando os entrevistados tinham um amigo com deficiência. A hipótese sobre a correlação entre a necessidade de aprovação social e as atitudes dos estudantes em relação às pessoas com deficiência foi apenas parcialmente confirmada.

Evening chronotype as a bipolar feature among patients with major depressive disorder: the results of a pilot factor analysis

Objectives: The bipolar spectrum concept has resulted in a paradigm shift that has affected both the diagnosis and therapy of mood disorders, with bipolarity becoming an indicator of treatment resistance in depression. Evening circadian preference has also been linked to affective disorders. The aim of our study was to confirm the relationship between the severity of depressive symptoms, bipolar features, chronotype, and sleep quality among patients with major depressive disorder. Methods: A group of 55 individuals who were recruited from a mental health outpatient clinic completed the following psychometric tools: a Chronotype Questionnaire comprising morningness-eveningness (ME) and subjective amplitude of the rhythm (AM) scales, the Hypomania Checklist 32 (HCL-32), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Results: Factor analysis identified two latent components, accounting cumulatively for 58% of variables: depressive symptoms (BDI and PSQI) and bipolarity (ME, AM, and HCL-32). After rotation, ME loading in the first factor increased the result to a significant level. The correlation between the two components was very low. Conclusions: Evening chronotype appears to be a bipolarity-related marker, with this relationship being independent of its link to depressive symptoms and sleep quality. Eveningness and high circadian rhythm amplitude may offer promise as diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic predictors.