Objective: About 10 years ago, Gratz and Roemer (2004) introduced the Difficulties in EmotionRegulation Scale (DERS), a 36-item self-report instrument measuring 6 areas of emotion regulation problems. Recently, Bjureberg et al. (2015) have introduced a new, briefer version of the DERS comprising only 16 of the 36 items included in the original version. Because no studies have yet crossvalidated the recently introduced 16-item DERS and the 36-item DERS has never been tested in Brazil, we sought to inspect the psychometric properties of scores from both DERS versions with a nonclinical Brazilian sample. Method: Participants were 725 adult volunteers aged 18-70 years (mean = 30.54, standard deviation = 10.59), 82.3% of whom were women. All were administered the DERS along with a number of other self-report and performance-based instruments. Data analyses inspected internal consistency, factor structure, and convergent as well as divergent validity of scores from both DERS versions. Results: Results show that scores from both DERS versions possess good psychometric properties. Interestingly, both versions correlated, in the expected direction, with psychopathology and showed no significant correlations with cognitive measures. Like in other studies, however, the Awareness factor of the 36-item DERS did not produce optimal validity and reliability indexes. Conclusion: Taken together, our findings indicate that the 16-item DERS may be preferred over the 36-item version and provide additional support to the differentiation between emotion regulation and cognitive tasks of emotional perception and abstract and verbal reasoning. C

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EI may be measured via self-report. Its relationship to psychopathology, however, deserves more research, as certain components of EI correlate positively with psychological suffering.

Objective To evaluate whether the carbohydrate-restricted diet leads to higher levels of food cravings in individuals with binge eating. Methods A total of 146 individuals with binge eating participated in the Low-Carb Diet Group (n=48) and Control Group (n=98). The Binge Eating Scale, Hay’s questionnaire, Food Cravings Questionnaire - Trait and State, Cognitive restraint subscale and its adapted version for the cognitive restraint toward carbohydrates, were used as measures. Parametric tests were used for comparison between groups (Student’s t test), and Pearson’s correlation test to verify correlations between variables of interest. Results No differences were found between groups with and without diet concerning the level of binge eating or food craving total score. The differences found were the higher levels of cognitive restraint (p=0.01), cognitive restraint for carbohydrates (p=0.01) and subscales of ‘guilt about food craving’ (p=0.04) in the Low-Carb Diet Group. Conclusion Individuals with binge eating and a history of low-carb diet have greater cognitive restraint toward carbohydrates and association with altered eating attitudes (guilt about food craving).

Internationally, the most widely used self-report instrument to assess alexithymia (a clinical condition characterized by serious deficits in the cognitive processing of emotions) is the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Because this measure has been poorly investigated in Brazil and emerging research suggests that TAS-20 scores might vary from one culture to another, we sought to: (1) investigate the psychometric properties of a Brazilian TAS-20; and (2) examine the degree to which Brazilian non-clinical TAS-20 scores differ from the scores of non-clinical samples from other cultures. A sample of 850 non-clinical Brazilian adults were administered a number of questionnaires and performance-based measures via online data collection. Data analyses inspected internal consistency and factor structure of the TAS-20, and tested the association of TAS-20 scores to emotional functioning and psychopathology. In line with previous international research, the Brazilian TAS-20 showed acceptable to adequate psychometric properties. Furthermore, TAS-20 scores associated negatively with empathy and emotional perception, and positively with emotion dysregulation and personality traits like dependency, abrupt changes in mood, and avoidance of criticism. Also noteworthy, our non-clinical Brazilian TAS-20 scores were very similar to those observed in other previously published non-clinical TAS-20 scores from seven non-Brazilian cultures.

O presente artigo objetiva conhecer a opinião dos profissionais com vivência na área da Psicologia Jurídica e no atendimento de adolescentes em conflito com a lei da cidade de Manaus a respeito da proposta de redução da idade penal, que se encontra em tramitação no Senado Federal. O tema foi escolhido com vistas à relevância política e social, bem como devido a sua importância acadêmica. No curso metodológico percorrido, utilizou-se um roteiro semiestruturado que abordou a opinião dos profissionais a respeito da mencionada proposta, bem como sobre as possíveis contribuições da Psicologia para o tema. Assim, são apresentados argumentos favoráveis e contrários à redução da idade penal, buscando-se um debate entre as áreas do Direito e da Psicologia a fim de gerar esclarecimento e espaço para reflexão sobre o efetivo resultado pela lei, tendo em vista ainda a importância da promoção de políticas públicas que ultrapassem a questão da aplicação de medidas sócio-educativas aos adolescentes em conflito com a lei, e que contemplem também o acesso a condições de vida favoráveis ao desenvolvimento psicossocial saudável, provocando cidadania e prevenção do crime.

O presente artigo objetiva conhecer a opinião dos profissionais com vivência na área da Psicologia Jurídica e no atendimento de adolescentes em conflito com a lei da cidade de Manaus a respeito da proposta de redução da idade penal, que se encontra em tramitação no Senado Federal. O tema foi escolhido com vistas à relevância política e social, bem como devido a sua importância acadêmica. No curso metodológico percorrido, utilizou-se um roteiro semiestruturado que abordou a opinião dos profissionais a respeito da mencionada proposta, bem como sobre as possíveis contribuições da Psicologia para o tema. Assim, são apresentados argumentos favoráveis e contrários à redução da idade penal, buscando-se um debate entre as áreas do Direito e da Psicologia a fim de gerar esclarecimento e espaço para reflexão sobre o efetivo resultado pela lei, tendo em vista ainda a importância da promoção de políticas públicas que ultrapassem a questão da aplicação de medidas sócio-educativas aos adolescentes em conflito com a lei, e que contemplem também o acesso a condições de vida favoráveis ao desenvolvimento psicossocial saudável, provocando cidadania e prevenção do crime.