Pedro Rosário

University of Minho · Departamento de Psicologia Aplicada (DPA)

Rehabilitation aims to increase individuals’ ability to interact with their environment. Focusing on the paediatric context, rehabilitation is likely to optimise children’s development while improving and maintaining their functioning. However, children with neurodevelopmental disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, often show low engagement in rehab...

Understanding the factors contributing to increased perseverance and passion toward long-term goals is an ongoing research challenge. The present study explores the inner drive of individuals to achieve meaningful goals over time, despite setbacks and challenges. The scenario chosen to uncover grit processes was the Way of St. James, a long pilgrim...

Introduction: Bedtime procrastination is the deliberate delay of the time an individual goes to bed in the absence of external reasons. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed families to establish new routines and ways of managing newfound roles and responsibilities. This scenario is likely to exacerbate bedtime procrastination due to, for example, a ch...

Literature has reported a decrease in students’ engagement throughout schooling, but more worrying, is that elementary students already show signs of disengagement. This data sets the case to develop interventions at this school level. The narrative-based intervention “Yellow Trials and Tribulations” aimed to promote self-regulation has been proven...

Digital healthy eating interventions are an increasingly important tool; however, poor adherence and high dropout rates may compromise efficacy. It is crucial to develop usability and feasibility studies to identify barriers and facilitators of user engagement. A two-iteration mixed-method study was conducted to assess perceptions of the usability...

Self-regulated learning contributes to students’ academic success and their future as citizens. However, self-regulation skills are seldom or poorly promoted during instruction. To address this gap, the current article reports data on the implementation of an evidence-based intervention (i.e., a narrative-based intervention called “Yellow Trials an...

Critical thinking is key for discerning the usefulness of the available information in an ever-changing world. Research is needed to understand further critical thinking and variables likely to explain this construct. Extant literature lacks research focused on elementary school children; findings would help to improve educators’ practice because t...

Few studies have explored how individuals can develop perseverance and passion towards longterm goals. This study addresses this research topic. Predictors of grit were tested while participants progressed on the Way of St. James, a long walk completed by foot or bicycle, taking several days or weeks, to Santiago de Compostela (Spain). 575 pilgrims...

IntroductionSchool educators are likely to explain the poor educational trajectories of students with Roma backgrounds related to the lack of parental support and interest in children’s education. Aiming to understand further the patterns of Roma group’s parental involvement in children’s school life and their engagement experiences in school-relat...

Objective: Childhood obesity is a public health challenge with health, economic and psychosocial consequences. The design of interventions addressing childhood obesity seldom considers children's perspectives on the topic. Weiner's causal attribution framework was used to explore children's perspectives on enablers of obesity. Methods and measure...

Due to a worldwide response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many changes were imposed on individuals' daily lives, including those related to the physical activity of children and adolescents. The present study aims to comprehend the impact of early COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on Portuguese adolescents' physical fitness parameters during two school ye...

The circumstances of the COVID-19 lockdown affected many students' life spheres, including their feeding patterns and snack intake. The main goals of the present study were to: (a) analyze the changes in students' breakfast and snacking consumption during lockdown, and (b) analyze changes in the content of the students' snacks using the Healthy Eat...

Self-efficacy has a strong influence on children's eating behavior. Feeling capable of regulating one's eating behavior is especially relevant in situations of activation while facing temptations or experiencing negative emotions. Despite the relevance, there is no validated measure to assess children's self-efficacy to regulate eating behaviors in...

The development of reading skills foresees fluency in reading. Prior research has shown that during periods of absence from school, students are prone to showing setbacks in their learning. However, the literature presents mixed findings, possibly explained by the families’ socioeconomic statuses. The present study aims to analyze fluctuations in l...

Parents play a primary role in the development of children’s autonomy. Parenting is a continuous task that develops along with other life roles (e.g., employee, spouse or partner, provider). Due to a diverse set of constraints related to parenting (e.g., long working hours, and low opportunities to spend quality time with the children), parents oft...

Background: Several factors contribute to childhood obesity, with most cases related to eating habits. Despite the efforts invested in interventions to promote healthy eating, the numbers of childhood obesity remain alarming. A possible explanation is that many interventions do not consider the motivational background of children. The main goal of...

Background: The purpose of this study was to compare parents' involvement in students' homework during COVID-19 confinement and their involvement in normal circumstances. Method: 628 parents of elementary and high school students completed a questionnaire about their family and family involvement in their children's homework. To address the obje...

School engagement is considered an antidote to several academic problems found in middle and high school. Previous data highlight the importance of understanding school engagement in early years. The present systematic review aims to outline investigations regarding school engagement in elementary school. Findings are expected to (i) help educators...

An experimental study was designed to analyze the effect of school-based training in self-regulation learning strategies on academic performance (Mathematics, Sciences, Language, and English). Class-level variables (i.e., gender, the teacher’s teaching experience, class size) were considered and the effects of the intervention were measured at the...

Socioeconomic status has been a long-time discussed topic due to its impact on children’s school paths. However, despite extant research indicating strong relationships between students’ socioeconomic status, use of self-regulated learning strategies, and academic achievement, research on interventions addressing these topics is limited. This inves...

A healthy diet influences the promotion and maintenance of health throughout an individual’s life. Many individuals struggle to have a healthy diet, despite it being mainly under their control. The current study aims to explore children’s perceived barriers to a healthy diet. A qualitative study with the open-ended question, “Please identify the to...

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed today’s society in an unprecedented scenario. During Portugal’s first home confinement period (March–July 2020), the online-based “COVID-19 in Trials and Tribulations” project was implemented to support families with school-aged children. The project was grounded on the self-regulation framework and delivered throug...

Resumen El objetivo de este estudio ha sido doble: (1) se ha analizado en qué medida un programa de capacitación en estrategias de aprendizaje autorregulado y comprensión lectora ha generado mejoras en estas competencias en estudiantes de primaria, y (2) en qué medida estas mejoras se han asociado con mejoras en el rendimiento académico. Se ha real...

Background/Objetive The objective of this research is threefold. First, to study the structure of the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA); second, to learn whether parents combine the dimensions of PBA in profiles; and third, to analyze the prevalence levels of parental burnout. Method To address these objectives, the responses of 438 mothers and fa...

This work presents a multiple case study aimed at depicting the perspectives of women from Gypsy groups regarding the perceived influence of education on acculturative pathways. Data were drawn from a sample of eight semi-structured interviews with women aged between 17 and 52 years old, with different education levels. Different patterns of accult...

The promotion of children’s healthy eating is a key public health priority. However, children’s food consumption is a complex phenomenon with several contributing factors, and there is a call to continue developing comprehensive models with several variables acting simultaneously. The present study aimed to examine the role different motivational-r...

Children’s eating behavior is one of the leading lifestyle contributors to prevent chronic diseases (e.g., obesity, heart disease) and to promote general well-being and development. Prior research and interventions to understand and promote healthy eating have heavily focused on the role of knowledge. Although some literature states that it seems t...

The aim of this study was twofold: (1) to analyse the extent to which a training program in Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) and Reading Comprehension (RC) strategies would lead to improvements in these competencies in elementary school students, and (2) the extent to which the improvements in these competencies would be associated with improvements i...

This study tests reciprocal influences of perceived homework quality, teacher autonomy support, homework effort, and achievement. Data from 702 8th graders over one school year showed positive reciprocal effects between (a) homework quality and autonomy support, and (b) effort and achievement. Higher prior effort and achievement led to higher homew...

Many young students experience difficulties mastering writing, and are designated as students struggling with writing. Teacher feedback on writing is an educational tool suited to address this challenge, playing a pivotal role in promoting student proficiency in writing. The current study tests a writing intervention plus teacher feedback, over the...

Background: Sleep plays a key role in our overall function, and sleep insufficiency has been highlighted as a major health issue. 'Bedtime procrastination'-i.e., needlessly delaying the time one goes to bed without external reasons-is one reason for sleep insufficiency. The present research aims to explore the interrelationships among Bedtime Proc...

Promoting children's healthy diets is a key public health priority. Family can play a relevant role in children's eating patterns. The goals of the current research were to identify different latent diet profiles in children based on their food consumption and to assess the relationship between profiles and family-related factors. A total of 678 sc...

Around the world, many schools were closed as one of the measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. School closure brought about important challenges to the students' learning process. This context requires strong self-regulatory competences and agency for autonomous learning. Moreover, online remote learning was the main alternative...

Cerebral Palsy (CP) refers to a set of neurodevelopment disorders associated withmotor and functional limitations in individuals, and of ten accompanied by other impairments (e.g., cognitive). The lack of adapted resources to CP hinders their motivation for rehabilitation. To explore what properties of games used seriously (GUS) are perceived as us...

The present study developed a brief school-based intervention focused on raising awareness about Cerebral Palsy. To assess the effectiveness of the intervention, 91 classes from the fourth and fifth grades were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: Control, Focused on the Domain (Cerebral Palsy), and Non-Focused on the Domain (promotion of...

Gypsy children low school engagement, high rates of school dropout, and pervasive school failure are relevant societal challenges that may be explained by Gypsy people cultural mores, but also by the discriminatory behaviors of school peers. The latter may be a consequence of insufficient accurate knowledge of Gypsy culture. The present study devel...

Nesta obra reúnem-se cerca de meia centena de textos que retratam, a partir de diferente experiências, perspetivas e olhares disciplinares, a forma como a pandemia provocada pelo vírus SARS-CoV-2 foi sentida na Universidade do Minho, a primeira universidade portuguesa a ser atingida pelos seus efeitos, a partir de 7 de março de 2020. Os contributos...

Background: Increasingly, postsecondary students enroll in distance learning courses and complete homework online, which extends their learning opportunities regardless of where they are. Online homework requires self-control from students to cope with conventional and tech-related distractors, however research on this topic is scarce. There is a n...

Background: The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between different student characteristics (gender, reason for choosing the master's degree and specialty), the instructional context (perceived quality of the instructional process), and the characteristics of the learning process (practical learning strategies and study appr...

A plethora of intervention programs taking advantage of the Information and Communication Technologies have emerged in recent decades with auspicious results. These programs address diverse content areas (e.g., mathematics, literacy, mental health), have many purposes (e.g., increase physical activity), tackle diverse target groups (e.g., students...

Despite the etiology of childhood obesity being multifactorial, research shows that most cases are associated with non-genetic and modifiable factors, such as eating habits. Grounded on several investigations conducted to understand children’s food consumption behaviors, in this chapter we present conclusions and reflections about the role of mo...

Background: Despite the enormous investment governments allocate to fight obesity, its worldwide prevalence is still on the rise. Moreover, the majority of the programs implemented are still targeting adults struggling with overweightness and focusing on transmitting knowledge about food. However, research shows that obesity prevention is more eff...

Sleep Procrastination literature has focused on the behaviors individuals engage in before going to bed (Bedtime Procrastination) but not on the behaviors individuals engage in after going to bed (While-in-Bed Procrastination). The main goal of this study is to explore whether this While-in-Bed procrastination is a novel phenomenon that adds to the...

Objetivo. En el presente estudio se pretendió analizar la relación entre diferentes características del estudiante (género, el motivo de la realización del máster y la especialidad realizada) y del contexto instruccional (percepción de la calidad del proceso instruccional recibido) y las características del proceso de estudio (estrategias de aprend...

Academic achievement in general, and in mathematics in particular, is positively associated not only with cognitive abilities, but also with emotional and motivational skills. The objective of this study was to analyze the prediction strength of cognitive, motivational, and emotional variables in mathematics achievement throughout high school, cons...

SPIRALS program was designed in accordance with the inclusive Universal Design for Learning approach and the social cognitive model of self-regulated learning. This project aims to promote cognitive, emotional, and behavioral engagement among elementary students, and especially those at high risk of dropping out (such as Roma students). To test the...

This study aims to improve current understanding of how the relationship between perceived math ability and math achievement may be mediated or moderated by levels of anxiety about math, considering intellectual abilities, gender, and school year. In this study, participants were 2,245 Spanish students (7th to 10th grade). All completed the Fennema...

Academic procrastination can be described as the delayed completion of academic tasks. This behavior is pervasive among students from different grade levels and cultures. A structural equation model was run to analyze the relationships between prior knowledge and procrastination in mathematics mediated by self-regulated learning and self-efficacy i...

The current study aimed to analyze the relationships between students’ background variables (students’ academic preparation and sociocultural status), students’ cognitive and behavioral engagement, and an outcome variable (academic achievement). One sample of 380 first-year students who were studying in different scientific areas participated in th...

Hospitalization poses diverse challenges to school-aged youth well-being and their educational path. Some inpatients, due to the hospitalization duration, frequency or the needed recovery period at home, may struggle when returning to school. To help youth cope with this challenge, several hospitals have been implementing educational interventions...

Background: Based on a person-centered approach, the aim ofthis study is to identify different profiles of students based on the time they spend on homew he differences between them in the amount of homework done and academic achievement. Method: With a sample of 968 students of Primary Education analysis of latent profiles (LPA) and ANOVA were...

Childhood obesity rates have been increasing over the years and is considered one of the most serious public health problems of the century. Low socioeconomic status has been associated with a higher body mass index. However, the pathways underlying this complex relationship are poorly understood. This study aimed to evaluate the possible mediation...

This study assessed the efficacy of an educational program focused on the promotion of school engagement in children with Cerebral Palsy. A 9 weeks, narrative-based intervention program, with a pre-post neuropsychological and self-report evaluation, was developed with a dual focus: a self-regulation theoretical model and executive function stimulat...

Gypsy children’s school absences may not only be due to their cultural mores (e.g., preservation of family traditions, accompanying parents to sell in fairs), but also to the exclusion and discrimination they face from their peers. In fact, the rate of school dropout among Gypsy children is high and pervasive, and has become a challenge to the incl...

When school aged children or adolescents are hospitalized this poses diverse challenges to their educational paths, social well-being, and continued educational opportunities. Furthermore, it may increase the risk for school failure and school disengagement. Over the years, and in face of the educational needs of their school-aged inpatients, many...

The effectiveness of homework on improving student academic achievement depends on several factors; for example, feedback provided by the teacher (i.e. grading) and student engagement are important moderators in this process. However, the relationships between the types of homework feedback commonly used by teachers and student school engagement ha...