Xavier, Ana

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Xavier

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Ana

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Ana Xavier

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Ana Xavier. Doutorada em Psicologia, especialidade em Psicologia Clínica, pela Faculdade de Psicologia e Ciências da Educação da Universidade de Coimbra. Professora Auxiliar na Universidade Portucalense Infante D. Henrique (UPT, Porto). É investigadora no CINTESIS – pólo UPT, e investigadora colaboradora no Centro de Investigação em Neuropsicologia e Intervenção Cognitivo-Comportamental (CINEICC) da Universidade de Coimbra. É Psicóloga Clínica, com experiência na prática privada, exercendo atualmente funções no PIN – Partners in Neuroscience, Porto. Afiliação: I2P - Instituto Portucalense de Psicologia. DPE - Departamento de Psicologia e Educação. I2P Instituto Portucalense de Psicologia. Centro de Investigação em Neuropsicologia e Intervenção Cognitivo-Comportamental (CINEICC), Universidade de Coimbra.

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0000-0002-1703-4712
A61A-1289-D92D
55252745900
JRW-7948-2023

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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

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 26
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    PublicationOpen Access
    The forms of self-criticising and self-reassuring scale: Short form for adolescents: Psychometric properties in clinical and non-clinical portuguese samples
    2023-07-31 - Cunha, Marina; Salvador, Maria Céu; Castilho, Paula; Xavier, Ana
    BACKGROUND: Self-criticism is a psychological process largely studied as a vulnerability factor for several psychological difficulties in the adult population and, to a lower extent, in adolescent samples. Thus, the availability of instruments to effectively capture this construct is important, especially for younger populations. OBJECTIVE: This study examined the factor structure, measurement invariance to group samples, and psychometric properties of the short version of the Forms of Self-criticism and Self-reassuring Scale (FSCRS-SF) in Portuguese adolescents in non-clinical and clinical samples. METHODS: Two non-clinical samples (N = 1224 and N = 140) and a clinical sample (N = 103) were used. Participants' ages ranged between 12 and 18 years old for both genders. Participants voluntarily completed a set of self-report questionnaires in the classroom. 418 adolescents completed the FSCRS 6-weeks after the first administration. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the factor structure of the FSCRS-SF was similar to the one found in the adults’ version, with three factors (inadequate self, hated self, and reassured self). The measurement invariance was established for both samples. The FSCRS-SF revealed adequate to good construct validity, reliability, and temporal stability. Gender differences were found for the three subscales. Similarly, adolescents from the clinical sample reported higher levels of inadequate self and hated self and lower levels of reassured self in comparison with the non-clinical sample, as expected. CONCLUSIONS: The FSCRS-SF was revealed to be a valid and reliable measure of self-criticism and self-reassurance for adolescents and seems to be a useful tool for research and clinical purposes.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    The longitudinal impact of psychological flexibility and compassion on mother-baby bonding: Care4mmmies study protocol [comunicação oral]
    2023-03-30 - Mateus, Vera; Palmeira, Lara; Xavier, Ana; Silva, Joana Ribeiro da; Vagos, Paula
    Becoming a mother is a life-changing event that is often experienced in a positive way, but may also encompass great vulnerability and uncertainty, with the potential to hinder the mother’s well-being and foster disorganization, particularly for women with attachment difficulties dealing with a difficult infant. Risk factors to the quality of mother-infant emotional bonding are well documented, whereas research into the mothers’ protective and modifiable factors is scarcer. Psychological flexibility and compassion are adaptive emotional regulation strategies that have been linked to the wellbeing and mental health in diverse populations. The current work intends to present the Care4mommies project, which aims to examine whether prenatal maternal compassion (towards others and the self) and psychological flexibility play a protective role in the development of postpartum mother-infant bonding over time and whether this effect remains relevant regardless of mothers’ attachment style and infant temperament. Participants will be pregnant women to be assessed between 22 and 30 weeks of gestation (T0) and when the infant is three (T1) and nine months old (T2). Participants will respond to an online survey that includes sociodemographic information and questionnaires about their compassion and psychological flexibility to be completed at all three assessments. In addition, mothers’ own attachment style will be reported during pregnancy, and infant temperament and mother-infant bonding questionnaires will be administered at T1 and T2. Recruitment will take place through social media advertising, colleagues and acquaintances of the research team members, and family health units attending pregnant women. Data will be analysed using a structural equation modelling approach. Overall, we expect that higher levels of mother’s compassion and psychological flexibility will predict higher quality of mother-infant bonding. In addition, we expect that the impact of less adaptive maternal attachment styles and infant difficult temperament on mother-infant bonding will be moderated by mother’s compassion and/or psychological flexibility. Finally, we expect mother-infant bonding at T2 to be predicted by mothers’ attachment style, compassion and psychological flexibility, infant temperament, and mother-infant bonding previously assessed. The study findings will clarify whether mothers’ compassion and psychological flexibility may be protective for mother-infant bonding, which can inform future studies in designing and testing specific parental interventions to promote a secure mother-infant bond in the postpartum period.
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    PublicationRestricted Access
    Mother–infant bonding in the first nine months postpartum: the role of mother’s attachment style and psychological flexibility
    2023-07-31 - Mateus, Vera; Araújo, Vânia; Xavier, Ana; Vagos, Paula; Palmeira, Lara; Silva, Joana Ribeiro da
    Introduction Mother’s bond to the infant in the postpartum period plays an important role in the subsequent mother–infant relationship and the infant’s socio-emotional functioning. Several maternal characteristics, such as attachment style and psychological flexibility, may contribute to the quality of mother–infant bonding, though literature examining these variables is still scarce. The present study aimed to examine the impact of mother’s attachment on mother–infant bonding in the first month postpartum and the mediating role of psychological flexibility on that association. Methods Participants were 226 mothers of an infant up to 9 months old, who reported on their own attachment style (in terms of anxiety, comfort with proximity, trust in others), psychological flexibility (in terms of openness to experience, behavioural awareness, valued action) and mother–infant bonding. Results Results showed that mother’s attachment anxiety predicted a bond with the infant directly and indirectly via mother’s psychological flexibility, specifically through behavioural awareness and valued action. Trust in others had an impact on mother–infant bonding through behavioural awareness, whereas comfort with proximity influenced mother–infant bond indirectly, via valued action. Finally, mothers’ civil status, schooling and number of children were relevant to better understand the variance of our mediating and dependent variables. Discussion Our findings highlight the importance of mother’s attachment and psychological flexibility in promoting the quality of mother–infant bonding, which can inform future intervention programmes targeting modifiable factors, such as psychological flexibility, to promote early positive parent–infant relationships, particularly for single, first-time mothers, with higher levels of education.
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    PublicationRestricted Access
    Longitudinal pathways for the maintenance of non-suicidal self-injury in adolescence: The pernicious blend of depressive symptoms and self-criticism
    2017-05-22 - Pinto-Gouveia, José; Cunha, Marina; Dinis, Alexandra; Xavier, Ana
    Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a serious and alarming phenomenon during adolescence. There is a need for understanding the intrapersonal variables that might contribute to the maintenance of these self-injurious behaviors. This study aims to concurrently compare intrapersonal variables between adolescents with and without a lifetime history of NSSI, and to longitudinally test whether NSSI over lifetime history predicts 6-months NSSI through self-criticism and depressive symptoms among Portuguese adolescents with a self-reported history of NSSI. Adolescents (N = 418, 12–19 years-old) from middle and secondary schools completed self-report questionnaires to assess self-criticism (particularly, the most severe form: hated self), depressive symptoms, and the frequency of NSSI in two points in time over the 6-months interval. Adolescents who reported a lifetime history of NSSI tend to experience greater harsh and persecutory criticism towards themselves and elevated depressive symptoms than adolescents without a history of NSSI. Results from path analysis showed that lifetime NSSI predicts subsequent NSSI, and this association is mediated by self-hatred and depressive symptoms among adolescents with lifetime NSSI. Findings suggest that NSSI is maintained through a sense of self-focused on hatred and disgust feelings and depressive symptoms.
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    PublicationRestricted Access
    Daily peer hassles and non-suicidal self-injury in adolescence: Gender differences in avoidance-focused emotion regulation processes
    2018-01-01 - Cunha, Marina; Pinto-Gouveia, José; Xavier, Ana
    This study aimed to examine the mediating role of rumination, experiential avoidance, dissociation and depressive symptoms in the association between daily peer hassles and non-suicidal self-injury among adolescents. Additionally, this study explored gender differences in these associations and tested whether the proposed model was invariant across genders. The sample consisted of 776 adolescents, of them 369 are males (47.6%) and 407 are females (52.4%), aged between 12 and 18 years old from middle and high schools in Portugal. Participants completed self-report questionnaires to assess daily peer hassles, rumination in its severe component (i.e., brooding), experiential avoidance, dissociation, depressive symptoms and non-suicidal self-injury. Path analysis showed that daily peer hassles indirectly impact on non-suicidal self-injury through increased levels of brooding, experiential avoidance, dissociation, and depressive symptoms. Results indicated significant gender differences in mean scores and path analysis. Male adolescents were more likely to engage in brooding and experiential avoidance in response to external distress (particularly, daily peer hassles), whereas female adolescents were more likely to engage in non-suicidal self-injury in response to internal distress (particularly, depressive symptoms). These findings suggest relevant preventive and intervention actions to address emotion dysregulation in adolescence, by teaching them acceptance and mindfulness skills as a way of coping with stressful experiences and internal distress.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    A qualitative study of social anxiety and impairment amid the COVID-19 pandemic for adolescents and young adults in Portugal and the US
    2022-11-24 - Coyle, Samantha; Masia, Carrie; Martin, Grace; Wimmer, Jessica; Kalvera, Avi; Jeyanayagam, Britney; Lekas, Helen-Maria; Ganho-Ávila, Ana; Lima, Luiza; Xavier, Ana; Vagos, Paula; Silva, Joana Ribeiro da
    This qualitative investigation explored the social and academic experiences of socially anxious adolescents and young adults in Portugal and the US as they lived through the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were 10 Portuguese adolescents (mean age = 16.9 years; 50% female) and 7 young adults in the US (mean age = 19.67 years; 71% female; racially/ethnically diverse). Participants completed a semi-structured interview evaluating how the pandemic and social restrictions impacted social anxiety symptoms and associated functional impairment in social and academic domains. Thematic analysis was used to categorize responses across developmental stages and countries. Findings show consistent patterns across cultures, with symptoms of SAD extending to virtual contexts. Participants reported avoidance behaviors that were reinforced by social distancing mandates and declines in academic engagement during remote learning. Anticipatory anxiety about the return to normal social routines was also evident. Schools should be aware of the impact of social confinement on socially anxious students as they return to in person school schedules and social demands.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Assessing self-compassion in older adults: Factorial structure of the self-compassion scale and invariance across sex at birth
    2024-09-23 - Tavares, Lucia; Vagos, Paula; Cunha, Marina; Xavier, Ana
    Objectives Self-compassion is a valuable resource for positive ageing and should be measured in a reliable and valid manner. However, findings regarding the factor structure of the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) have been inconsistent and have been particularly lacking in older adults. Hence, the present study intended to investigate the factor structure, internal consistency, and measurement invariance across sex at birth of the SCS in adults ≥ 65 years old. Method The present study used a sample of 418 community-dwelling, Portuguese older adults aged 65–94 years (M = 74.45, SD = 6.94; 59.3% female). Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test six different measurement models, and reliability and multigroup analyses were performed for the best fitting model. Results Although all models initially showed poor adjustment, the correlated 6-factor model had the comparatively better fit. After modifications, this model achieved an acceptable fit (RMSEA = 0.060 and SRMR = 0.062). Internal consistency of this model was adequate (Cronbach's alpha values ranging from 0.67 to 0.86) and strong invariance across sex at birth was demonstrated (i.e., configural, metric, and scalar models showed non-significant Δχ2). Conclusions Current findings suggest that assessing the self-compassion components is advised in older adults, as this 6-component model was reliable and provided an acceptable fit for both male and female older adults. This 6-component model is a parsimonious, theoretically sound, and statistically valid option to assess self-compassion in this population. It is, however, not an ideal solution, and an acceptable fit was only achieved after modifications in the initial 6-component model.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    O percurso da iniciativa de cidadania europeia de proibição de glifosato e proteção das pessoas e do ambiente: Um caso ligado à saúde
    2024-12-01 - Alves, Dora Resende; Xavier, Ana
    Cidadãos europeus convidaram a Comissão Europeia a apresentar proposta legislativa que proibisse o uso do glifosato, com a indicação de que está associada a casos de cancro em seres humanos e à degradação dos ecossistemas e que reformasse o procedimento de aprovação de pesticidas estabelecendo na União Europeia, metas de redução obrigatórias para a utilização dos pesticidas, com o fim de permitir a redução das desigualdades entre os cidadãos e objetivando a proteção e o direito à saúde de todos.
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    PublicationRestricted Access
    Self-criticism and depressive symptoms mediate the relationship between emotional experiences with family and peers and self-injury in adolescence
    2016-10-07 - Pinto-Gouveia, José; Cunha, Marina; Carvalho, Sérgio; Xavier, Ana
    Although the relationship between negative childhood experiences, peer victimization, depressive symptoms, and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) is widely recognized, the mechanisms involved are not fully understood, especially among adolescents. This study aims to test the mediating role of both self-criticism and depressive symptoms in the relationship between memories of negative or positive experiences, current peer victimization, and NSSI. The sample consists 854 Portuguese adolescents, 451 female and 403 male, with ages between 12 and 18 years (M = 14.89; SD = 1.79), from middle and secondary schools. Participants answered self-report measures. Results from path analysis showed that memories of negative experiences, the absence of positive memories with family in childhood and peer victimization indirectly impact on NSSI through self-criticism and depressive symptoms. In addition, these stressful experiences led to depressive symptoms through self-criticism. Lastly, the most severe form of self-criticism indirectly impacts on NSSI through depressive symptoms, even though it also has a strong direct effect. It suggests that negative experiences with parents and peer victimization, as well as the absence of positive memories with family, have a negative impact on NSSI when these experiences are linked with a sense of self-hatred and depressive symptoms.
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    PublicationRestricted Access
    Non-suicidal self-injury in adolescence: The role of shame, self-criticism and fear of self-compassion
    2016-01-18 - Pinto-Gouveia, José; Cunha, Marina; Xavier, Ana
    Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a serious and relatively prevalent problem in adolescence. Although several studies have identified risk factors for the aetiology and maintenance of NSSI, little is known about the impact of individual and contextual variables in such pervasive behaviors among adolescents. This paper aims to test whether specific internal traits characterized by shame, self-criticism and fear of self-compassion impact on NSSI, through their effect in daily peer hassles and depression. Participants are 782 adolescents with 12–18 years-old from middle and secondary schools (years of education’s mean = 9.46). This study has a cross-sectional design. Self-report measures include external shame, self-criticism, fear of self-compassion, daily peer hassles, depressive symptoms and NSSI. External shame, hated self and fear of self-compassion indirectly predict NSSI, through their effect in daily peer hassles and depression. The most pathological form of self-criticism (hated self) is strongly associated with NSSI. These findings contribute to clarification of the paths through which the belief that one is seen negatively by others, the hostile self-to-self relationship and the inability to direct compassion for self may increase NSSI. Daily peer hassles and current depressive symptoms seem to play an important role in the association between internal traits and NSSI. Preventive and intervention actions for reducing NSSI in adolescence should address not only interpersonal difficulties but also self-to-self relationship.