In the midst of the COVID–19 epidemic, Spain was one of the countries with the highest number of infections and a high mortality rate. The threat of the virus and consequences of the pandemic have a discernible impact on the mental health of citizens. This study aims to (a) evaluate the levels of anxiety, depression and well-being in a large Spanish sample during the confinement, (b) identify potential predictor variables associated to experiencing both clinical levels of distress and well-being in a sample of 2,122 Spanish people. By using descriptive analyses and logistic regression results revealed high rates of depression, anxiety and well-being. Specifically, our findings revealed that high levels of anxiety about COVID–19, increased substance use and loneliness as the strongest predictors of distress, while gross annual incomes and loneliness were strongest predictors of well-being. Finding of the present study provide a better insight about psychological adjustment to a pandemic and allows us to identify which population groups are at risk of experiencing higher levels of distress and which factors contribute to greater well-being, which could help in the treatments and prevention in similar stressful and traumatic situations.

Researchers face an important challenge when assessing peer victimization in children, since self-reports are often discrepant with parent-reports. A latent class analysis identified patterns of response to items assessing peer victimization, which were either divergent or convergent between the parent and the child. Classes were then compared on the child sexual abuse status and on various behavioral and social outcomes. Participants were 720 school-aged child victims of sexual abuse and a comparison group of 173 nonvictims and their caregivers. We identified two discordant subgroups (self-identified and parent-identified) and two concordant groups (nonvictims and concordant victims of peer victimization). Compared to children of the comparison group, sexually abused children were five times more likely to be identified as targets of peer victimization solely by their parent than the contrary. Sexually abused children with concordant reports of peer victimization showed the poorest adjustment on all studied outcomes assessed 6 months later. Children who discounted experiencing peer victimization while their parent reported it were also at risk of maladjustment. Results underscore the importance of supplementing self-reports with other available sources of information, especially in young and vulnerable populations who may be inclined to discount their victimization experiences.

The present study examined the developmental value of parsing different forms of children's risky involvement in interparental conflict as predictors of children's subsequent psychological adjustment. Participants included a diverse sample of 243 preschool children (Mage = 4.6 years) and their mothers across two measurement occasions spaced 2 years apart. Three forms of risky involvement (i.e., cautious, caregiving, and coercive) were identified using maternal narratives describing children's emotional and behavioral reactivity during and immediately following interparental conflict. Utilizing a multimethod, multi-informant design, findings revealed that each form of involvement prospectively predicted unique configurations of children's developmental outcomes. Greater coercive involvement was associated with higher levels of externalizing problems, callous and unemotional traits, and extraversion. Higher levels of caregiving involvement were linked with greater separation anxiety. Finally, cautious involvement predicted more separation anxiety and social withdrawal.

Lack of motivation for the treatment of drug addiction is associated with dropout and relapses. Further, personality disorders (PD) have traditionally been linked to low motivation and therapeutic failure. Thus, the present study aims to analyze the structure of the Motivation for Treatment Questionnaire (MTQ–8), as well as to determine differences in motivation due to the presence of PD and the impact of psychological adjustment on motivation. The sample included 125 patients (84% male) who started a treatment for their addiction to cocaine and alcohol. Rasch analysis was applied for the first objective, and means contrast and regression analysis for the others. The two subscales of the MTQ–8 fit the Rasch model, with appropriate psychometric characteristics when merging Items 5 and 7. The presence of PD was not associated with reduced motivation. Motivation for treatment was greater when abstinence was less than three weeks, and psychological distress predicted motivation for treatment. The present study confirms that MTQ–8 subscales are suitable for measuring motivation for treatment and readiness for change in drug-dependent patients. It is noted that the presence of PD should not be associated with a lower level of motivation, and that psychological distress influences motivation.

Adolescence is a developmental stage characterized by profound and diverse changes - individual, familial and social. The corresponding challenge of adapting can determine a chrysies period, in which may take place symptoms of psychological disorder, such as Self-destructive behaviours.

The present study is a part of a wider investigation, in the extent of the work for a doctorate in Psychology about Influent factors in stress and well-being of youngsters presenting Self-destructive behaviours: quality of family relations, attachment and parenting styles.

This preliminary study is a comparative one between a sample of youngsters, ranging from 12 to 21 years old, with a history of self-destructive behaviours, who resorted to the consult of the Suicide Studies Group of the Hospital of Santa Maria, and a normative sample comprising youngsters who have no such history, attending schools of the Lisbon region and the country's Centre region. The goal is to compare the two samples relatively to the psychological adjustment - assessed through the presence of psychopathological symptoms - (YSR; Fonseca & Monteiro, 1999), self-esteem (SES; Faria, L., 2000) and stress perception (PSS; IPSSO, 2000), assessed through self-report questionnaires.

The results reveal the presence of significant differences between the clinical group and the control group, concerning the variables at study.

This study examines the association between psychosocial adjustment and future expectations in early adolescence. This research tries to fill some gaps in the literature on how current adjustment might be an antecedent of early adolescents’ future expectations. Participants were 781 students (mean age = 12.37 years). Data were collected in 11 schools. The results revealed statistically significant correlations between self-esteem, life satisfaction, self-efficacy, emotional and behavioural problems, educational and social adjustment, and future expectations. The structural equation model confirmed a positive relation between psychosocial adjustment and these adolescents’ future expectations. The main contribution of this research is to further our comprehension of the development of adolescents’ future expectations and the way in which psychosocial adjustment has an impact on such development. Future expectations are an important protective factor for healthy development in adolescence, as thinking about the future motivates everyday behaviour and influences choices, decisions and future activities.

The present study explored the associations among positive psychological traits, school functioning, and psychological adjustment of elementary schoolchildren. Participants included 392 children in Grades 6–8 attending a Turkish public elementary school. There were 48.2% (189) female and 51.8% (203) male participants, and they ranged in age from 11 to 14 years (M = 12.83, SD = .94). Findings of the study indicated that youths with high positive psychological traits reported higher levels of prosocial behaviour, school belonging and academic achievement, and lower levels of externalising and internalising problems. Path analysis outcomes revealed that the positive psychology constructs had significant and large associations with prosocial behaviour, school belonging, internalising and externalising problems, as well as small-to-large associations with student academic achievement. Overall, the combination of these positive traits, namely covitality, had stronger associations with youths’ school functioning and psychological adjustment than the constructs that comprise covitality. The outcomes suggest substantial associations between positive psychological traits and youths’ school-based and psychological characteristics.

This work proposes a conceptual model of psychological adjustment of native and immigrant adolescents who live in Spain. Psychological adjustment was expected to mediate between perceived family support and adolescents’ school adjustment and problem behaviors. Spanish adolescents (n = 156) and immigrant adolescents (n = 137) filled out a self-report questionnaire regarding their perceived family support, psychological adjustment (i.e., self-esteem and life satisfaction), school adjustment, and problem behaviors. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to examine the relational patterns among these variables. The specific model –with psychological adjustment mediating between family support and school adjustment (z = 2.70, β = .21, p = .007 for Spanish adolescents, and z = 2.42, β = .16, p = .015 for immigrant adolescents), and school adjustment mediating between psychological adjustment and problem behaviors (z = –2.51, β = –.14, p = .012 for Spanish adolescents, and z = –2.01, β = –.11, p = .044 for immigrant adolescents) was confirmed for both samples. An implication of this study is the relevance of adolescents’ family support to their well-being, and the mediating role of psychological adjustment between family support and school adjustment.

Adolescents who immigrate face particular adjustment challenges. This study investigated (a) levels of wellbeing and depression in migrant adolescents and their Australian native counterparts, (b) associations between adjustment and four psychosocial resources, and (c) moderating effects of country of birth on the relationships between these resources and adjustment indices. The sample (N = 327) included students born in Australia, English-speaking countries other than Australia, and non-English-speaking countries. Students born outside of Australia in English-speaking countries reported highest mean levels of wellbeing and ethnic identity. Ethnic identity did not have the expected protective effects on migrant adolescent adjustment. In contrast, a sense of school membership affected Australian-born adolescents more positively than it did their overseas-born peers. The results raise questions regarding sources of support and connectedness that might particularly help migrant adolescents.

This study’s objective was to identify the adversity profiles of children in different childcare placements, and to analyze their relationship with subsequent psychological adjustment. We studied a group of 230 children 4 to 10 years old indifferent childcare placements (international adoption, institutional care, non-kin foster care, and kinship care), as well as a control group. Information was collected from parent or caregiver interviews and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The results showed that children in the child welfare system had experienced significant adversity before their current placement, especially among institutional care cases and international adoptees. Meanwhile, children in kinship care had experienced less adversity (p < .001; size effects from d > .50 to d > .80). After a period of time in their respective placements, children’s psychological adjustment was generally positive, but children living in institutional care exhibited the most problems and difficulties, followed by non-kin foster care cases (p < .001; size effects from d > .50 to d > .80). Finally, we found that children’s early adversity levels (p < .05; r = .16), age of current placement (p < .01; r = .23), and duration of current placement (p < .05: r = –.19) were all tied to current psychological adjustment.

As part of a larger research project aimed to understand the impact of asthma in the psychological adjustment of children, this study focuses in the identification of factors associated with this process. The sample of this study consisted of 89 children, aged 8 to 12 with physician diagnosed asthma. To assess children's adjustment, the Portuguese versions of the following instruments were used: School-age Temperament Inventory (McClowry, 1995) Schoolagers Coping Strategies Inventory (Ryan-Wenger, 1990); Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory – PedsQL (Varni, Seid & Kurtin, 2001); The Self-perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985), Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach,1991); Social Skills Rating System (Gresham & Elliot, 1990). The results revealed that negative reactivity predicts the level of anxiety/depression, task persistence and perceived coping efficacy predicts social skills and that self-esteem is a significant predictor of the perceived quality of life. A significant proportion of shared variance was also found what seems to confirm the existence of multi-determination in the process of adjustment. The main conclusion is that two dimensions of temperament (negative reactivity and task persistence), as well as perceived coping efficacy and self-esteem, play a significant role in influencing the psychological adjustment of children with asthma.

The purpose of this study was to better understand adjustment and life satisfaction in later life. In particular, it examined the contribution of leisure participation and motivation toward leisure in older people’s adjustment to their nursing homes and their satisfaction with life.. Study results underlined the contribution of participation in leisure activities both to the adaptation of an elderly person to his residence and to life satisfaction. In terms of adaptation to the residence, participation in recreational activities exhibited this mediational sequence: leisure participation → self-determined motivation for leisure → adjustment to nursing homes. This suggests that leisure participation has an indirect effect on older people’s adaptability. Various practical implications of this research emerge for the development of future recreational programs in nursing homes to promote seniors’ adaptation.