How empathy, perceived parental care, and overprotection indexes are affected by participants' sex: investigating cultural differences.

Culture seems to affect how empathy's development is influenced by parental behaviors. Considering that empathy is a social ability whose development is affected by many environmental and biological factors, differences can be expected in the way fathers and mothers care for and protect their sons and daughters, as social roles are influenced by culture. The objective of this research was to assess to what extent empathy, perceived parental care, and overprotection are affected by the offspring's sex. 477 adults participated in the study and three instruments were used: the Brazilian versions of the Parental Bonding Instrument, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and the Empathy Quotient. Pearson correlation, multiple linear regression, and moderation analyses were conducted. Maternal and paternal care were related to empathy variables for women in the Brazilian context, whereas the perceived parenting behaviors of care and overprotection did not show significant associations with empathy for male participants. Preliminary analysis also suggests that the offspring's sex influences paternal care expressed through variables such as perspective taking and combined cognitive empathy. This study's outcomes suggest that the way Brazilian parents behave is dependent on their offspring's sex. The main results were discussed in comparison to literature that used distinct cultural samples, especially to the outcomes found in British reports, to identify Brazilian parents' behaviors specificities and their association with the autonomous-relational parenting orientation.

Efeitos de conteúdos emocionais sobre o raciocínio dedutivo humano: uma revisão sistemática / Effects of emotional content on human reasoning: a systematic review / Efectos de los contenidos emocionales sobre el razonamiento humano: una revisión sistemática / Effets du contenu affectif sur le raisonnement humain: une revue systématique

Resumo: O raciocínio e a emoção apresentam complexas e numerosas relações entre si, podendo prejudicar ou beneficiar o processamento lógico. Visando investigar a influência da tonalidade afetiva sobre o raciocínio, realizou-se uma revisão sistemática advinda da busca de estudos publicados nas bases de dados do Portal de Periódicos da Capes, Scielo, PubMed e Google Acadêmico. Os descritores utilizados foram: (affective content OR evaluative content OR emotion*) AND (reasoning). Após análise e submissão aos critérios de inclusão e exclusão, restaram 17 artigos, duas dissertações de mestrado e uma tese de doutorado. Apenas um dos estudos foi realizado no Brasil. Os participantes das pesquisas selecionadas tiveram pior desempenho nas tarefas de raciocínio formadas por conteúdos valorativos negativos. Entretanto, os conteúdos negativos influenciaram de forma positiva o raciocínio dedutivo quando se mostravam relevantes para a realização da tarefa. Assim, os estudos selecionados parecem apontar para a importância das emoções sobre o raciocínio humano.

Abstract: Reasoning and emotions have many complex relations which can hinder or benefit logical processing. Intending to investigate the influence of affective content on reasoning, we conducted a systematic review on scientific articles published on the Capes Journals Portal, Scielo, PubMed and Academic Google databases, retrieved using the descriptors (affective content OR evaluative content OR emotion*) AND (reasoning). After analysis and application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 17 papers, two master's dissertations and one doctorate thesis remained. Only one study was conducted in Brazil. Research participants showed a worse performance in reasoning tasks composed by negative emotional content. However, negative emotional content influenced deductive reasoning positively when they proved to be relevant to the task. Hence, the reviewed studies suggest an importance of emotions for human reasoning.

Résumé : Le raisonnement et l'émotion entretiennent de nombreuses relations complexes qui peuvent entraver ou favoriser le procès logique. Dans le but d'étudier l'influence du contenu affectif sur le raisonnement, on a effectué une revue systématique des articles scientifiques publiés sur les base des données Portail des Périodiques du Capes, Scielo, PubMed et Google Académique, retrouvés en utilisant les descripteurs (affective content OR evaluative content OR emotion*) AND (reasoning). Après l'analyse et application des critères d'inclusion et d'exclusion, 17 articles, deux mémoires de maîtrise et une thèse de doctorat ont été retenus. Une seule étude a été menée au Brésil. Les participants aux recherches ont montré une pire perfomance dans les tâches de raisonnement composés d'un contenu affectif négatif. Cependant, ce contenu a influencé positivement le raisonnement déductif lorsqu'il s'est avéré pertinent pour la tâche. Les études examinées suggèrent donc que les émotions jouent un rôle important dans le raisonnement humain.

Resumen: El razonamiento y las emociones tienen relaciones complejas entre sí, que pueden perjudicar o ayudar el procesamiento lógico. Para investigar la influencia del tono afectivo sobre el razonamiento, se realizó una revisión sistemática a partir de la búsqueda de estudios publicados en las bases de datos del Portal de Periódicos Capes, SciELO, PubMed y Google Académico. Los descriptores utilizados fueron los siguientes: (affective content OR evaluative content OR emotion*) AND (reasoning). Después de la aplicación de los criterios de inclusión y exclusión, se seleccionaron 17 artículos, dos disertaciones de maestría y una tesis doctoral. Solo uno de los estudios se llevó a cabo en Brasil. Los participantes de las investigaciones seleccionadas tuvieron un peor desempeño en las tareas de razonamiento formadas por contenidos emocionales negativos. Estos influenciaron de forma positiva el razonamiento deductivo cuando eran relevantes para la realización de la tarea. Los estudios seleccionados parecen evidenciar la importancia de las emociones sobre el razonamiento humano.

Estrutura interna da Escala Cognitiva de Ansiedade (ECOGA) / Internal structure of the Cognitive Anxiety Scale (ECOGA) / Estructura interna de la Escala Cognitiva de Ansiedad (ECOGA)

Este estudo objetivou investigar evidências de validade de estrutura interna para a Escala Cognitiva de Ansiedade (ECOGA) por análise fatorial exploratória (AFE). A amostra foi formada por 874 participantes, sendo 656 da população geral, 179 de instituições de saúde e 39 de consultórios particulares com hipótese diagnóstica de transtornos de ansiedade. A maioria da amostra foi masculina (55%), solteiros (61,1%) com ensino superior incompleto (46%). A análise paralela da ECOGA, contendo inicialmente 73 itens, demonstrou a existência de até quatro fatores, a MAP com três e a Hull com um. Análises com três e quatro fatores (teoricamente aceitáveis) foram realizadas, utilizando cargas fatoriais acima de 0,40 e 0,50. O modelo teórico e psicométrico mais adequado compreendeu 31 itens e três fatores, com cargas fatoriais mínimas de 0,50. Os índices de ajuste (CFI, GFI, RMSEA) unidimensionalidade (ÚNICO e MIREAL) e confiabilidade (Orion e Cronbach) complementaram as adequadas propriedades psicométricas desta versão.

This study aimed to investigate evidence of internal structure validity for the Anxiety Cognitive Scale (ECOGA) by Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). The sample consisted of 874 participants, 656 of the general population, 179 of health institutions and 39 of private practices with a diagnostic hypothesis of anxiety disorders. Men comprised 55% of the total sample, which was also mostly single (61.1%) and with incomplete higher education (46%). The parallel analysis of this scale, initially containing 73 items, showed the existence of up to 4 factores, the MAP with 3 and the Hull with 1 grouping of items. Analyses with 3 and 4 factors (theoretically acceptable) were performed, using factor loads above 0.40 and 0.50. The most appropriate theoretical and psychometric model comprised 31 items and 3 factors, with a minimum factor load of 0.50. Indexes of fit (CFI, GFI, RMSEA), unidimensionality (UNICO, MIREAL) and reliability (Orion, Cronbach) complemented the appropriate psychometric properties of this version.

Este estudio tuvo por objetivo investigar evidencias de validez de la estructura interna para la Escala Cognitiva de Ansiedad (ECOGA) por el análisis factorial exploratorio. La muestra fue formada por 874 participantes, 656 de población general, 179 de instituciones de salud y 39 de consultorios privados con hipótesis diagnóstica de trastornos de ansiedad. La mayoría de la muestra fue masculina (55%), solteros (61,1%) con enseñanza superior incompleta (46%). El análisis paralelo de la escala, conteniendo inicialmente 73 ítems, demostró la existencia de hasta cuatro factores, la MAP con tres y la Hull, uno. Se realizaron análisis con tres y cuatro factores (teóricamente aceptables), utilizando cargas factoriales superior a 0,40 y 0,50. El modelo teórico y psicométrico más apropiado comprendió 31 ítems y tres factores, con cargas factoriales mínimas de 0,50. Los índices de ajuste (CFI, GFI, RMSEA), unidimensionalidad (UNICO, MIREAL) y confiabilidad (Orion, Cronbach) complementaron las adecuadas propiedades psicométricas de esta versión.