Speaker
Presentation in English
CRISTINA NUNES
UNIVERSITY OF ALGARVE. PORTUGAL
Cristina Nunes is a Full Professor at the University of Algarve (Portugal). She completed her Habilitation in Psychology in 2016 at the University of Algarve. She earned her PhD in Psychology in 2004 from the University of Seville and obtained her Psychology degree in 1987 from the University Institute of Psychological, Social, and Life Sciences.
She is a member of the University Research Center in Psychology (CUIP) and served as the Coordinator of the University of Algarve’s Management Unit at the Research Center in Psychology (CIP) from 2018 to 2024.
Since 2014, she has been the Director of the Master’s in Clinical and Health Psychology. She teaches at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels in subjects related to Developmental Psychology, Educational Psychology, Health Psychology, and Health Promotion.
She has held various university management positions, including President of the Pedagogical Council, Vice-President of the Scientific Council, Vice-President of the Pedagogical Council, Department Director, Deputy Department Director, Director of the Master’s in Educational Psychology, and Director of the Bachelor’s in Psychology, among others.
She is the author of various national and international books and articles. She has published 134 journal articles, 94 of which are indexed in SCOPUS/WOS, 25 book chapters, and 4 books. She has supervised 10 doctoral theses and 73 master’s theses. She has received two awards. Additionally, she has participated in 10 R&D projects, serving as principal investigator in four and as a researcher in six.
Her main research areas include: Assessment of family contexts in children at psychosocial risk, promotion of positive parenting, and child and adolescent development, health, and well-being.
Research in family relations and child-wellbeing
The family is the first and most important context in which children develop and a key determinant of their well-being. Promoting children’s well-being and positive development is a political priority and a means to break the cycle of disadvantage for those growing up in adverse environments, as well as to enhance social cohesion. One of the main challenges for researchers and professionals working with families is understanding the forces, both negative and positive, that drive and determine children’s well-being, how they interact, and how to intervene effectively to minimize risk and strengthen internal and external resilience factors.
There is growing concern about children’s mental health and well-being, with an increasing demand for counseling services and referrals to mental health services. It is well established that children and young people who experience positive parental support tend to develop more adaptively. Children and adolescents with higher levels of psychological well-being achieve better academic performance; they are also more likely to experience greater school engagement and satisfaction in later life stages and, in general, become more productive workers.
Family factors, including parenting quality and family relationships, play a crucial role in children’s early life stages and developmental trajectories, for better or worse. Therefore, there is a strong need to expand our knowledge on how to reduce risk factors and promote protective environments.
This symposium addresses this topic by including both qualitative and quantitative contributions from applied research.
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