Psychological distress and the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of personality and coping strategies.

Personality traits and coping strategies significantly predict predisposition to psychopathology. This study aimed to examine the predictive role of coping strategies in psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in a sample of Portuguese individuals, considering personality and sociodemographic variables. Data were collected using Google Forms from 2402 individuals (86.

Mini-ACE: Validation Study Among Older People in Long-Term Care.

Background: The Mini-Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (M-ACE) is a valid and reliable tool that accurately differentiates various types of cognitive impairment from Normal-cognition assessed in multiple settings. However, its validity among older individuals in long-term care (LTC) was not yet established. Therefore, we sought to assess the Portuguese M-ACE's validity, reliability, and accuracy in detecting cognitive impairment no-dementia (CIND) in LTC users.

Emotion dysregulation in older people: validity and reliability of an 8-item version of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale.

Objectives: The abbreviated 16-item version of the Difficulties with Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16) is widely used to assess individuals' perceived challenges in regulating their emotions, a central aspect of psychological symptoms commonly experienced in old age. However, its psychometric properties have yet to be tested in this population. Furthermore, a shorter version of the DERS-16 could further minimize the assessment burden on older individuals.

Measuring loneliness: Psychometric properties of the three-item loneliness scale among community-dwelling adults.

Loneliness is a prevalent set of negative feelings associated with unsatisfactory and reduced social interactions, inadequate social support, poor satisfaction with life and health, negative emotions, and economic burden. Thus, its measurement is of foremost importance. Therefore, this study aimed (i) to devise the Portuguese version of the three-Item Loneliness Scale (T-ILS), which is ideal for epidemiological studies, and (ii) to evaluate its psychometric properties.

Does emotional dysregulation mediate the relationship between disability and depressive symptoms in older people?

Background: Emotion dysregulation has been consistently linked to psychopathology, and the relationship between disability and depressive symptomatology in old age is well-known.

Objective: To examine the mediational role of emotional dysregulation in the relationship between perceived disability and depressive symptomatology in older adults.

Methods: Two hundred eighty-three participants, aged 60-96 years (M±SD=74.

Validation of the geriatric sleep questionnaire.

Objective: Assessing sleep in later life is essential for diagnosing and treating sleep problems and their consequences. We aimed to test a short questionnaire specifically designed to assess the subjective sleep quality in older people, the Geriatric Sleep Questionnaire (GSQ).

Method: The GSQ was validated in a Portuguese sample of older people (N = 443; 65-100 years; M = 80.

Validity and reliability of a shorter version of the Geriatric Depression Scale in institutionalized older Portuguese adults.

Objectives: Depressive symptoms are common in older adults in institutional contexts; however, there is a lack of validated measures for these settings. Identifying depressive symptoms can help clinicians to manage them and to prevent or delay their complications. This study aimed to validate the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) in an institutionalized sample of older adults.

Cognitive screening for elderly people in long-term care institutions in the Miranda do Corvo municipality, Portugal.

This study aimed to screen the cognitive profile elderly people living in long-term care institutions in the municipality of Miranda do Corvo by evaluating 174 participants with the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) (n=96) and the clinical dementia diagnosis (n=78). According to the MMSE, 41.7% of respondents had scores suggestive of cognitive impairment.

Preliminary validation of the Portuguese Edinburgh Handedness Inventory in an adult sample.

The Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (EHI) is persistently the most used inventory to evaluate handedness, being neuropsychological investigation and clinical practice. Despite this, there is no information on how this instrument functions in a Portuguese population. The objective of this study was therefore to examine the sociodemographic influences on handedness and establish psychometric properties of the EHI in a Portuguese sample.

Dissociative Experiences and Psychopathology Among Inmates in Italian and Portuguese Prisons.

The association between dissociation and psychopathological symptoms is well established, yet studies with inmates are lacking. If higher rates of dissociation and psychiatric symptoms are reported in inmate samples, it is not clear whether they represent two separate, albeit related, characteristics. We examined the association between dissociation and psychopathological symptoms among 320 Italian subjects (122 inmates and 198 community participants) and a Portuguese inmate sample ( n = 67).

Psychiatric symptoms and dissociation in conversion, somatization and dissociative disorders.

Objective: Conversion, dissociation and somatization are historically related in the long established concept of hysteria. Somewhere along the way they were separated due to the Cartesian dualistic view. The aim of the present study was to compare these pathologies and investigate whether symptoms of these pathologies overlap in their clinical appearance in a Portuguese sample.

Portuguese validation of the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES).

Objective: The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) is a widely used screening tool for dissociative symptoms. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the validity and internal consistency of a Portuguese version and determine if it accurately identified dissociative pathology.

Method: The original DES underwent a "forward-backward" translation process.

Demographic and mental health factors associated with pathological dissociation in a Portuguese sample.

Pathological dissociation has been extensively studied in many countries; however, little is known about it in Portugal. This research examined the role of demographic variables and mental health on dissociation in Portugal. We assessed 505 participants from 6 samples consisting of dissociative patients (n = 37), conversive patients (n = 26), somaticizing patients (n = 59), posttraumatic stress disorder patients (n = 50), other psychiatric patients (n = 174), and nonclinical subjects (n = 159).