We aim to evaluate the associations between digital health literacy (DHL) related to COVID-19 and online information-seeking behavior among university students. Methods: A total of 3.084 students (75.7% women), with an average age of 24.2 (SD = 7.5) participated in this cross-sectional study, most of whom (36.5%) were from social sciences and pursued a bachelor’s degree (50.7%). Data on COVID-19-related DHL and online information-seeking behavior were collected using an online questionnaire. Logistic regression models were performed. Results: As the pandemic progressed, participants showed a lower chance of achieving a sufficient DHL (OR = 0.7; 95% CI = 0.6; 0.9). Using search engines more often (e.g., Google) (OR = 0.7; 95% CI = 0.5; 0.9), Wikipedia (OR = 0.7; 95% CI = 0.6; 0.9) and social media (e.g., Facebook) (OR = 0.7; 95% CI = 0.6; 0.9) decreased the likelihood of achieving sufficient DHL related to COVID-19. More frequent use of websites of public bodies (OR = 1.7; 95% CI = 1.1; 2.5) increased the odds of reporting sufficient DHL. Conclusion: DHL is associated with university students’ online information-seeking behavior in the time of COVID-19. From a community and public health perspective, programs aiming at improving DHL should be highlighted.

Being pregnant and having a baby are often positive events that are characterized by feelings of joy, delight, and fulfilment. However, during their transition to parenthood, some PPW may also experience a range of negative emotions (Topalidou et al., 2020). Additionally, exposure to stressful situations, such as emergencies, infectious diseases, and natural disasters, may lead to a heightened risk of mental health problems in the perinatal period (Thapa et al., 2020). Clearly, the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus in the absence of targeted therapies or a vaccine is placing unprecedented stress on PPW. One of the central emotional responses during a pandemic is "fear". The "threat" of being infected or consequences to foetal development and the "lack of information" or misinformation contribute to additional stress that would negatively affect the mother's mental health. Evidence from past infectious outbreaks (e.g., SARS, MERS) suggests that some common psychological reactions that might manifest during the current health crisis, including confusion, depression,

Background: Health literacy is an important skill to deal with information and positively influences individual and community health. Information concerning health is available from a plethora of online resources. The concept of digital health literacy has gained prominence with the pandemic. The absence of valid tools to analyse digital literacy levels are scant. This study aims to translate, adapt and validate the Portuguese version of the Digital Health Literacy Instrument (DHLI) as used in the global COVID-HL Network. Methods: Participants were mostly students from social sciences, psychology, education and health sciences. The Portuguese version of the DHLI contained five dimensions each consisting of three items. An online survey with university students (n = 1815, 75.1% female, average age: 24.15 years) was administered to test the validity of the Portuguese version of the DHLI. Data were analysed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Pearson correlations were also studied.Results: Two items revealed symmetry and kurtosis problems. We chose to eliminate them from the analysis. Different exploratory factor analysis attempts were made, obtaining two possible models to be tested in the confirmatory factor analysis: a three-factor model and a four-factor model. A four-factor structure of the instrument (information searching, adding self-generated content, evaluating reliability, determining relevance) was supported by confirmatory factor analysis and had good internal consistency. Conclusions:The Portuguese version of the Digital Health Literacy Instrument met adequate psychometric criteria. Therefore, it can be confidently used in Portuguese students' assessment of digital health literacy. Representative studies are needed to shed light on different target groups and their COVID-19-related DHLI.

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged parental resources pertinent to coping with lockdowns. The main objective of this work was to study parenting during the COVID-19 lockdown. Specifically at focus were parental behaviors concerning key domains for the family (daily routine, co-parenting, emotional experience, and support network) and changes related to the pandemic and associated with the parents’ employment statuses. An online survey was carried out through an ad hoc questionnaire where participants completed questions about their sociodemographic data and rated how much their family routines, their co-parenting relationship, their emotional experiences, and the support available in the family network varied on a 5-point scale. The participants included 1384 parents, of which 286 responded to open questions regarding impactful experiences during the lockdown. The results showed differences in daily routine, co-parenting, emotional experience, and support network according to the parents’ employment statuses. Between-group comparisons showed that at-home parents caring for children with governmental aids generally revealed more positive parenting behavior changes, while at-home parents who were teleworking reported more difficulties in parent-child activities and co-parenting. Furthermore, the content analysis of the data confirmed how important themes such as family dynamics, professional activities, and the relationship with the school community were throughout the participants’ accounts of gains and losses. Overall, parents’ employment statuses are associated with diverse experiences during lockdown. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of family resources and parental resilience, particularly during circumstances jeopardizing the ever-sensitive work-family balance.

A família é considerada importante na promoção de um desenvolvimento físico, cognitivo e socioemocional adequado. Este estudo pretendeu analisar as associações entre as dimensões da parentalidade positiva, a coparentalidade e o desenvolvimento e socioemocional de crianças entre os 12 e os 36 meses. Para a recolha de dados, utilizou-se um questionário de dados sociodemográficos, a Escala de Parentalidade Positiva, a Escala de Coparentalidade e a Escala de Desenvolvimento Socioemocional, preenchidos pelos pais em suporte de papel. Participaram 347 crianças (50.3% raparigas), com idades entre os 10 e os 35 meses. As mães destas crianças tinham, em média, 34.76 (DP = 4.79) anos e mais de metade terminou o ensino superior (62.1%). A figura paterna tinha, em média, 36.79 (DP = 4.95) anos e 48.3% terminou o ensino superior. Os resultados mostram a existência de correlações fracas e positivas entre o desenvolvimento socioemocional e as dimensões da parentalidade positiva. Além disso, existe uma relação fraca, negativa e estatisticamente significativa entre o desenvolvimento cognitivo e uma das dimensões da parentalidade positiva. As dimensões da coparentalidade não apresentam correlações estatisticamente significativas com o desenvolvimento socioemocional nem com o desenvolvimento cognitivo. Na análise de regressão multivariada, verificou-se que o desenvolvimento emocional está associado com a idade da criança e o envolvimento familiar.

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Purpose: Social support measures have generated empirical evidence of helping relationships and their role in family functioning and well-being. Social support networks affect parental practices and the ways in which families overcome stressful life events. Thus, it is important to gather knowledge about the different forms of support that families can benefit from. The aim of this study was to translate, adapt, and validate the Portuguese version of the Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire (FSSQ), a three dimension measure (confidant support, affective support, and instrumental support), Method: 1058 Portuguese parents participated in the study. They were mostly married/cohabiting and employed mothers. The Portuguese version of the FSSQ contained 13 items distributed into 3 subdimensions. The data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and the study of Pearson correlations. Results: The FSSQ original three-factor structure was supported by confirmatory factor analysis and the instrument showed good internal consistency. Confidant support and Instrumental support were negatively associated with Permissive parenting and Affective support was negatively associated with Authoritative parenting and Permissive parenting. All three dimensions showed low and positive correlations with Authoritarian parenting. Discussion: The Portuguese version of the FSSQ met adequate psychometric criteria and can be confidently used in family assessments of social support, whenever a brief, self-administered questionnaire would be useful for community services providers

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