There is a growing recognition that positive psychological functioning (which includes constructs such as optimism and hope) influences health. However, the understanding of these underlying mechanisms in relation to health is limited. Therefore, this review sought to identify what the scientific literature says about the influence of optimism and hope on chronic disease treatment. A search was conducted in the PsycINFO, Scopus, Pubmed, and Web of Science databases using the indexing terms optimism, hope, chronic diseases, randomized controlled trial, and treatment between 1998 and 2015. In the articles, we identified the most studied diseases in context, the assessment instruments used, the participant characteristics investigated, the results found, and the publication dates. From our analysis of the articles that met our inclusion criteria, it appears that the study of these constructs is recent and there is evidence that individuals with greater optimism and hope seek to engage in healthier behaviors, regardless of their clinical status, and that this contributes to chronic disease treatment. More research is needed so that targeted interventions can be carried out effectively in chronic disease treatment.

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ResumoResiliência é um construto que descreve a capacidade de um indivíduo superar, com relativo sucesso, condições adversas ou situações que envolvem risco ao seu bem-estar, desenvolvimento e saúde mental. Alguns pesquisadores da área interpretam essa definição como uma indicação de que a resiliência é similar a outras variáveis de ajustamento e presumem a sua estabilidade temporal. Isso leva sua avaliação a ser feita frequentemente através de escalas autoadministradas, por vezes questionáveis em termos de sua precisão e validade. Este artigo discute a abrangência e o histórico da resiliência psicológica e as várias formas de sua avaliação. Mais especificamente, o objetivo deste artigo é apresentar argumentos contra a pertinência da utilização de escalas de autorrelato para a mensuração da resiliência, considerando-se o caráter relacional, processual e contextual desse construto. Para tanto, instrumentos disponíveis na literatura para avaliação da resiliência são revisados e discutidos, apontando orientações para a pesquisa na área. Palavras-chave: Resiliência, avaliação psicológica, mensuração. AbstractResilience is a construct which describes the capacity of individuals to overcome, with relative success, adverse conditions or risky situations to their well-being, development, and mental health. Some researchers interpret this definition as an indication that resilience is similar to some other adjustment variables and they assume that it presents temporal stability. Resilience is frequently assessed using self-report scales, which may also present validity and reliability problems. The present paper discusses the history and the comprehensiveness of psychological resilience and the different ways of evaluating it. More specifically, the objective of this study is to present arguments against the use of self-report scales to measure resilience, because of the relational, processual and contextual character of such construct. The main instruments available in the literature are reviewed and discussed and new directions for research in the area are suggested. Keywords: Resilience, psychological assessment, measuring.No campo das ciências comportamentais, o conceito de resiliência refere-se essencialmente a um processo de adaptação positiva diante de um contexto tipicamente desfavorável, no qual o indivíduo demonstra uma notá-vel capacidade de superação de condições adversas que representariam uma ameaça significativa ao seu bemestar, desenvolvimento ou saúde mental (Luthar, 2006;Masten, 2007;Rutter, 2006). Ao longo de décadas, o estudo científico da resiliência vem apresentando uma evolução considerável, marcada não apenas pela elaboração de fundamentos teóricos e princípios metodológicos, ou pela reunião de um amplo conjunto de evidências que suportam sua consolidação como um construto psicoló-gico de grande capacidade heurística na Psicologia, mas também pelo surgimento de vários questionamentos em torno das dimensões e das medidas relativas a esse construto (Masten & Obradovié, 2006). Tais questionamentos ac...

Introduction: Positive psychology (PP) constructs contribute significantly to a better quality of life for people with various diseases. There are still few studies that have evaluated the evolution of these aspects during the progression of dementia.Objective: To compare the scores for self-esteem, life satisfaction, affect, spirituality, hope, optimism and perceived support network between elderly people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), mild dementia and moderate dementia and control group.Methods: Cross-sectional study. The sample consisted of 66 healthy controls, 15 elderly people with MCI, 25 with mild dementia and 22 with moderate dementia matched by age, gender, and schooling. The instruments used were: Spirituality Self Rating Scale (SSRS), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Medical Outcomes Study’s Social Support Scale, Life Satisfaction Scale (LSS), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), Revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R), and Adult Dispositional Hope Scale (ADHS).Results: The scores for spiritual well-being, social support, self-esteem, life satisfaction, positive affect, optimism, negative affect, and hope differed significantly between the groups (p < 0.05). The individuals with MCI and mild dementia had lower spiritual well-being, social support, self-esteem, life satisfaction, positive affect, optimism and hope scores, and higher negative affect scores compared with the controls. The scores for PP constructs did not differ between the group of people with moderate dementia and the control group.Conclusion: Dementia was found to impact several PP constructs in the early stages of the disease. For individuals with greater cognitive impairment, anosognosia appears to suppress the disease’s impact on these constructs.

O presente artigo foi elaborado em virtude da comemoração dos 30 anos da revista Psicologia: Ciência e Profissão, já que no primeiro número, havia um trabalho sobre avaliação psicológica, a mesma temática aqui trabalhada. O objetivo a que se propôs foi resgatar o desenvolvimento da área de avaliação psicológica no Brasil bem como refletir sobre seu momento atual e sobre as necessidades futuras para o aprimoramento das práticas avaliativas, da formação dos psicólogos e da área de conhecimento. A título de finalização, as autoras fazem menção aos preceitos de que progresso científico-tecnológico está relacionado ao desenvolvimento do País, de modo que países mais desenvolvidos tendem a ter melhores condições de avaliação. Especialmente no que respeita a avaliação, espera-se que, em um futuro próximo, os psicólogos a realizem com mais propriedade, que os instrumentos psicológicos tenham as qualidades psicométricas necessárias e que a sociedade a reconheça como uma prática científica.

Resumo O termo antisocial tem sido amplamente utilizado na literatura científica para descrição de problemas de comportamento não específicos, como comportamentos delinqüentes, agressividade e oposicionismo. O objetivo desse estudo é descrever e discutir o conceito de comportamento antisocial , como um indicador de transtornos mentais específicos e de algumas categorias de problemas comportamentais. Para isso, examinamos a relação entre o comportamento antisocial e o Transtorno Desafiador Opositivo, o Transtorno da Conduta, o Transtorno de Déficit de Atenção e Hiperatividade e o Transtorno de Personalidade Antisocial. Além disso, discute-se também os fatores que contribuem para a estabilidade desse comportamento na transição da infância para a adolescência e os prejuízos decorrentes ao longo do desenvolvimento. Propõe-se a ampliação das discussões conceituais acerca dos transtornos mentais, utilizando-se categorias mais amplas, como a de comportamento antisocial. Palavras-chave: Comportamento antisocial ; transtornos mentais; infância; adolescência.

The few gender differences that emerged in this study offer little support for the cultural hypothesis. The findings make sense if local factors, such as services available for male and female youth and public response to street youth, are considered. It appears that street youth differ in their experiences depending on local circumstances, highlighting the need for caution in generalizing about the situation of street youth in different countries.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of a gratitude intervention on a community sample of adults in relation to aspects involving well-being and mental health. Methods: A randomized clinical trial was conducted with 1,337 participants, composed of an intervention group (Gratitude group, n = 446), and two control groups (Hassles group, n = 444 and Neutral Events group, n = 447). Participants assigned to the intervention condition were asked to write daily gratitude lists for 14 days, listing moments they had been grateful for during the day. The outcomes analyzed were affect, depression, happiness and life satisfaction. Participants completed the positive affect and negative affect schedule (PANAS), center for epidemiological studies depression scale (CES-D), subjective happiness scale (SHS), and satisfaction with life scale (SWLS) three times: pre- and post-intervention and at 14 days after the end of the intervention. Due to attrition, the number of participants analyzed was 410. Results: Before the intervention, the groups did not differ in any of the variables examined, and loss to follow-up was random among the three groups. The gratitude intervention managed to increase positive affect, subjective happiness and life satisfaction, and reduce negative affect and depression symptoms. This change was greater than the changes in the control groups in relation to positive affect. In the other outcomes analyzed, similar changes were observed in the gratitude intervention and the neutral events intervention. Conclusion: Some similarities were found between the Gratitude and the Neutral Events groups probably because participants in the last group usually recorded positive events from their days on the lists, turning it into an activity very similar to that proposed to the gratitude group. Some limitations of the study are discussed, such as the high dropout rate for self-performed online interventions. It is necessary to investigate which characteristics of an intervention ensure better results when the intervention is performed online. Trial Registration: The study is registered in the Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry, under No. RBR-9j9myd. Trial URL: http://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-9j9myd/ .