Vagos, Paula

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Vagos

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Paula

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Paula Vagos

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Paula Vagos completed her Licenciatura in Psychology in 2006 by Universidade de Évora and PhD in Psychology in 2010 by Universidade de Aveiro. She is an Assistant Professor at Universidade de Aveiro, an integrated research member of the William James Center for Research and a collaborating research member of the CINEICC. She is also a certified psychologist with expertise in Clinical and Health Psychology by the Portuguese College of Psychology. She was part of the research team of 8 funded research projects, of which she was the principal investigator of two and the co-principal investigator of one; all were in the area of clinical psychology (or forensic clinical psychology) and are completed. She was co-supervisor of 2 completed doctoral dissertations and is supervisor or co-supervisor of 6 students with FCT doctoral scholarships. She supervised more than 60 master's theses, most of them in clinical psychology. She has authored/co-authored more than 60 articles in international scientific journals and 19 in national peer-reviewed scientific journals, as well as 9 books and book chapters. She is also the author/co-author of 10 structured intervention manuals, some of which have already been tested or are under investigation in various R&D projects. She has given more than 100 presentations at national and international conferences. She is a reviewer for several international scientific journals (75 reviews; https://publons.com/author/1215689/paula-vagos#profile). She mostly investigates social behaviors in adolescence, including social anxiety and avoidance, assertiveness, and aggression. She intends to address the psychological processes underlying psychopathology as well as develop, implement, and assess the efficacy of psychological interventions aimed at those processes, considering both second wave and third wave cognitive therapies. Her most recent interests concern mental health stigma and how to overcome it in diverse communities, and the principles of acceptance and commitment therapy as applied to parenthood.

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CINTESIS.UPT - Centro de Investigação em Tecnologias e Serviços de Saúde
Centro de Investigação em Tecnologias e Serviços de Saúde (CINTESIS.UPT), former I2P, is an R&D unit devoted to the study of cognition and behaviour in context. With an interdisciplinary focus, namely on Education, Translational and Applied Psychology

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
  • PublicationOpen Access
    Dimensionality and gender-based measurement invariance of the Compassion Scale in a community sample
    2017-10-17 - Sousa, Rúben; Castilho, Paula; Vieira, Cláudia; Rijo, Daniel; Vagos, Paula
    Compassion has been proposed as relevant to psychological functioning and mental health, involving being compassionate and caring towards others in times of difficulty. The Compassion Scale (CS) proposes to assess compassion for others considering its different dimensions (Kindness; Common humanity; Mindfulness; Indifference; Separation, and Disengagement) and also offers a total score. The current work investigated the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of this instrument in adults (N = 610). Results showed the acceptability of a two higher-order factor solution representing a negative and a positive valence of compassion (i.e., Compassion and Disconnectedness), with each higher-order factor comprising three different dimensions of compassion. Multi-group analyses established measurement invariance across gender; further mean comparison analyses showed that women presented higher levels of the positive dimensions of compassion, whereas men showed higher levels of the negative ones. The CS demonstrated good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and limited validity in relation to external variables. Overall, these findings contribute to the validation of the CS in a non-clinical adult sample, supporting a new measurement model that partially concurs with the original one. It thus provides the user with a new way of assessing and interpreting compassion that may be useful both in research and clinical settings.
  • PublicationRestricted Access
    Psychometric properties of the Compass of Shame Scale: Testing for measurement invariance across community boys and boys in foster care and juvenile detentions facilities
    2019 - Silva, Diana Ribeiro da; Brasão, Nélio; Rijo, Daniel; Elison, Jeff; Vagos, Paula
    Background Shame has been found to relate to several psychopathologies, but the way the individual copes with experiences of shame may determine specifc expressions of psychopathology, making it essential to rigorously address such coping styles. Objective This study evaluated the psychometric properties of a Portuguese version of the Compass of Shame Scale using an adolescent sample, to investigate if its internal structure was valid for diverse adolescent subsamples, and to gather evidence on the construct validity of the instrument. Method Adolescent community boys and girls (n=1924; 52.3% boys) and adolescent boys with a history of behavior problems taken from foster care and juvenile detention facilities (n = 396) flled in self-report questionnaires on coping with shame and other relevant constructs. Results A fve-factor model was applicable to exploring the coping with shame of adolescent community boys and girls and adolescent boys with behavior problems. Girls, in comparison with boys, more frequently internalized shame or coped with it adaptively. Boys taken from foster care and juvenile detention facilities, compared with community boys, more often externalized shame by attacking others and less frequently attacked themselves, avoided shame experiences or coped with it adaptively. Construct validity in relation to self-criticism, external shame, and experiential avoidance was found. Conclusions The measure demonstrated reliability and validity estimates consistent with expectations across diverse samples of adolescents. So, it may help advance knowledge on how diverse youth cope with shame and on the interchanges between experiencing shame, managing shame, and psychopathology.
  • PublicationOpen Access
    Development and preliminary psychometric study of the student version of the Teacher-Student Relationship Scale
    2020-08 - Maia, Rafaela; Carvalhais, Lénia; Vagos, Paula
    This study developed a version for students of the Teacher-Student Relationship Scale and evaluated its psychometric characteristics. In line with its teacher version, this student version intends to evaluate conflict and closeness as dimensions characterizing teacher-student interactions. Qualitative evaluation (i.e. via thinking aloud) of the instrument with a group of eight 7th grade students showed that the instrument had good facial validity. The instrument was then applied to 297 students, boys and girls, attending the 7th trough 9th grade. The two-factor internal structure of the instrument was confirmed, and both factors had good internal consistency values; furthermore, this measurement model proved invariant by sex. This instrument will allow (re)addressing the student's perspective on his / her relationship with the teacher and may allow further work into how this perception can impact on several aspects of the intra and interpersonal functioning of both student and teacher.
  • PublicationRestricted Access
    The Soft Skills Inventory: developmental procedures and psychometric analysis
    2020 - Jardim, Jacinto; Pereira, Anabela; Direito, Inês; Galinha, Sónia; Vagos, Paula
    When attending and participating in Higher Education, students face a multitude of personal, social, and work-related challenges, which may increase the risk of developing psychopathological symptomatology. To date, there is no instrument that grasps the non-technical skills that may help prepare students to respond to these challenges. This paper presents the development and psychometric properties of the Soft Skills Inventory (SSI). The inventory was developed based on theoretical and empirical findings on the skills associated with academic and professional success, and on students’ perception. The SSI was tested with 2030 Portuguese students (of which 77.1% were female) using a two-stage approach: item calibration and model generation (n = 1033), followed by model validation (n = 997). Item calibration analyses led to retaining 49 items that were organized into six-factors: self-determination, resilience, empathy, assertiveness, social support, and teamwork. This measurement model was further validated and proved to be an invariant, and thus credible, tool to compare male and female students on those relevant skills. All measures attained good internal consistency, with alphas ranging from .76 to .88. Female students scored significantly higher than males on self-determination, empathy, social support and teamwork. On the other hand, male students scored significantly higher on resilience. No significant differences were found between men and women for assertiveness. Psychometric analysis showed that the SSI is a reliable and valid instrument to evaluate students intra and interpersonal skills. The SSI may help identify gaps in soft skills and guide targeted interventions to support a more positive student experience in Higher Education.
  • PublicationOpen Access
    Development and preliminary psychometric study of the Teaching Styles Questionnaire
    2020-08 - Carlos, Carolina; Carvalhais, Lénia; Vagos, Paula
    The aim of this study was to develop and preliminary evaluate a teacher’s version of the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire. The Teaching Styles Questionnaire intends to explore the three parental styles as they may be applied to the teacher-student relationship (i.e., authoritative, authoritarian and permissive); items were reworded accordingly. Participants were 128 teachers (93.8% female), 73 of which answered the instrument twice, with a 3-month gap, to ascertain for test-retest reliability, whereas the remaining 51 in addition filled in the Student-Teacher Relationship Questionnaire for validity evidence. Preliminary psychometric analyses confirm that the instrument addresses three teaching styles, which presented with reasonable reliability and validity indicators. The way teachers relate with their students has a significant impact not only on their students’ academic success, but also on their intraclass behavior. The instrument under analyses may prove to be an important tool to better understand this impact, and how it relates to better holistic school outcomes.
  • PublicationOpen Access
    Measuring forms and functions of aggression in portuguese young adults: validation of the peer conflict scale
    2021-05-16 - Marinho, Patrícia I.; Pandeirada, Josefa N. S.; Marsee, Monica; Rodrigues, Pedro F. S.; Vagos, Paula
    This work reports a preliminary validation of the Peer Conflict Scale (PCS) for Portuguese young adults (ages 18–30 years). This instrument assesses aggression considering two of its forms (overt and relational aggression) and its two functions (reactive and proactive aggression). The initially proposed 4-factor model provided the best fit for our data and was partially invariant by sex. All subscales revealed good reliability based on internal consistency and test–retest indicators. Construct validity was obtained through the investigation of sex differences that align with previous findings on aggressive behavior and in relation to emotion regulation strategies. These initial results suggest that the PCS, originally designed for adolescents, is a promising tool to assess aggression in young adults, notwithstanding the need of additional psychometric studies to further establish the quality of this instrument.