Family support encompasses a wide variety of professionals, sectors, and intervention paradigms that make it difficult to systematize and standardize the skills needed by the family support workforce. The present study aimed to describe the relevant skills of professionals, organize the main skills into different categories, and contribute to the development of intervention standardization guidelines in the field of family support. So, a systematic literature review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. The search was carried out in five databases and included the analysis of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies, and all studies were qualitatively assessed. Of the initial 3334 articles identified, 59 studies were included, and four categories were identified: professionals’ qualities, essential skills common to all professions and contexts, specific knowledge, and theoretical approaches necessary for family support. Most of the studies were from the United Kingdom, qualitative, published in the last 10 years, used small samples, and included a specific group of professionals. The included studies did not specify whether some skills or characteristics were considered more effective in practice, and they had bias issues related to social desirability. The implications for family support practice are discussed, as well as the gaps to be covered in future studies.

The Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) is an instrument widely used to assess volunteers’ motivation based on the Functionalist Model of Omoto and Snyder. It assesses six factors that reflect several motivational functions. The VFI has been translated into various languages and validated in different cultural contexts, but some studies have reported different factor structures (e.g., five or four factors). In the Portuguese context, previous studies have also shown inconsistent results. The aim of this study was to adapt and validate the VFI for Portuguese volunteers, testing several alternative models (nine models) using confirmatory factor analysis. The sample comprised 468 volunteers (76.3% women), aged from 13 to 81 years (M = 36.66, SD = 14.93). The results support the original interrelated six-factor model as the best-fitting one. The VFI showed good internal consistency and convergent validity. Significant correlations were found between the VFI factors, organizational commitment, and volunteers’ satisfaction. Overall, the six-factor VFI is a valid and reliable tool for measuring the motivational functions of Portuguese volunteers, with implications for practice and research in the volunteering field.

There is growing concern about the relationship between screen use by young children and negative effects on their development, as children with developmental and socioemotional impairments tend to have difficulties in their relationships and increased academic problems. The aim of our study was to analyse the relationship between the use of multimedia devices and paediatric symptoms in children below 5 years old. Data from 534 Portuguese parents of children aged from 18 to 57 months were collected via a self-report questionnaire. Children’s daily exposure to multimedia devices was nearly 2 h per day. Paediatric symptoms were positively associated with watching television and screen time and negatively associated with parents’ working hours. Touchscreen use was more frequent among girls and older children. Parents’ working hours comprised the most significant predictor of paediatric symptoms. Our findings reinforce past findings on the adverse links between the use of multimedia devices and paediatric symptoms and also highlight the influence of other variables like the child’s age and gender, as well as parental factors. The need to both create a more comprehensive framework regarding the long-term effects of multimedia device use and delineate effective strategies for prevention and intervention with parents and children is discussed.

Parental school involvement (PSI) is a multidimensional construct that significantly influences children’s academic adjustment and overall development. However, inconsistencies persist in its definition and measurement, with researchers operationalizing PSI through a varied of parental activities. This study aimed to (1) identify PSI instruments and their theoretical models and (2) evaluate their psychometric properties. Following PRISMA guidelines (PROSPERO ID CRD42023451091, registered August 2023), this systematic review examined six databases (Web of Science, ERIC, MEDLINE, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, PsycArticles, and PsycInfo), analyzing quantitative studies from 2000 to 2024. Inclusion criteria encompassed instruments designed for parents, teachers, or children aged 6–15 and published in peer-reviewed journals in English, Portuguese, Spanish, or French. From an initial pool of 490 records, 38 studies were included, yielding 43 instruments: 23 for parents, 15 for children, and 5 for teachers. Seven instruments followed Epstein’s model, while nine followed the Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler framework, underscoring the prominence of these theoretical approaches. The study quality, assessed with MMAT, was generally moderate to high. Despite an exhaustive search effort, it is possible that some relevant instruments were not identified. Nevertheless, this review advances the understanding of PSI operationalization, promotes more consistent and replicable assessments, enhances alignment between instruments and study objectives, and strengths the validity of findings derived from these tools.

Background: Adolescents in residential care present a greater risk of developing various problems in several domains compared to adolescents residing with their biological families. Psychological adjustment is an emerging area of investigation with this particularly vulnerable population to understand the factors that underlie the difficulties youths present within this context. Objective: The present study aimed to contribute to recognizing these factors through a systematic literature review following the PRISMA guidelines. Methods: A search was conducted in seven databases (Academic Search Complete, MEDLINE, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, PsycINFO, Web of Science, PsycArticles, Scopus), and quantitative studies from the last thirty years were included. RESULTS: Of the initial 8,174 articles identified, 64 were included, and all the studies were qualitatively assessed with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Four categories of factors influencing psychological adjustment were identified: personal characteristics, social characteristics, caregiving, and adjustment problems. Most of the studies were cross-sectional and published in European countries. Conclusions: The present review contributes to the research on the psychological adjustment of adolescents in residential care by providing an update and supplementing the previous systematic reviews. The proposed organization of the different factors and domains found in publications allowed us to analyze in detail what most impacted these youths’ psychological adjustment. Practical and institutional implications for professionals working with this population are discussed, as well as the limitations to overcome in future studies.

Parental involvement (PI) has particular relevance on children’s academic adjustment and on children’s general quality of life (QoL). QoL can be influenced by parental stress, specifically the stress suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the differences during the pandemic period (before, after and with no lockdown), comparing these constructs with parental educational level to provide predictors of their children’s quality of life. Data collection was performed with a non-probability convenience sampling procedure. It was composed of 129 parents, mainly women (71.8%), with children aged between 6 and 12 years. The family’s sociodemographic characteristics were assessed, as well as the PI, parental stress, and children’s QoL. The comparison between the three times revealed an increase in the children’s QoL, but no differences were found in PI. Based on the parental educational level, as defined by academic qualifications and split into superior and non-superior levels, it is possible conclude that engagement in school activities and parents’ meetings increased in the parents with superior education levels and decreased in the parents with lower education levels. This study concluded that despite this difficult and uncertain pandemic period, these parents were able to maintain important aspects of their children’s lives.