The role of migration as a determinant in child mental health has been demonstrated in a number of studies. However, results are not always consistent, and the research continues to be scarce, especially in Portugal. We examined the association between sociodemographic profiles and the chance for the development of emotional and behavioral difficulties in a group of 420 children, immigrant (n = 217) and born in Portugal to Portuguese born parents (n = 203). We used a structured questionnaire to obtain sociodemographic information and the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Descriptive statistics were used to characterize children and their families; variables were compared between groups using the Chi-squared, Fisher’s Exact Test, or the Mann–Whitney U test and logistic regression was used to analyze the association between socio-demographic factors and emotional and behavioral difficulties. Results showed a pattern of social and mental health inequalities with immigrant children at a disadvantage: they are more often part of families with low income and where parents had low skilled jobs. Internalizing behaviors are more frequent in immigrants than in children born in Portugal to Portuguese-born parents (p = 0.001) whereas a high total SDQ difficulties score (p = 0.039) and externalizing behaviors were more frequent in 1st generation immigrant children (p = 0.009). A low family income (aOR 4.5; 95% CI: 1.43–13.95), low parental education level (aOR 2.5; 95% CI: 1.11–5.16), and being a first-generation immigrant child (aOR 2.2; 95% CI: 1.06–4.76) increased significantly the chance of developing emotional and behavioral difficulties. This study contributes to the identification of children vulnerable to mental health problems who can benefit from monitoring, early detection and preventive interventions in order to mitigate possible negative outcomes in the future.

This study estimated that more than 6000 women living in Portugal have undergone FGM/C, and many girls remain at risk. These two groups need different types of interventions. Awareness of the number and geographical dispersion of cases of FGM/C will enable more informed and targeted definition of public health policies for protection of females who have undergone or are at risk of undergoing FGM/C.

This paper characterises the joint impacts of intra- and extra-organisational contexts on innovation development during the socio-economic crisis in Portugal. The characterisation of these contexts in 309 firms of the Information and Communication Technology services sector allowed for the identification of two profiles via a cluster analysis. These were mostly discriminated by financial resources and clients and not by science and technology activities. Subsequently, these profiles were related to innovation, top managers’ perceptions and expectations for the future. The data shows that under favourable contexts, innovation increases, the firm is perceived to drive innovation and confidence in the companies’ future emerges. In more unfavourable scenarios, innovation is compromised, the environment is perceived to block innovation and confidence is halted. This paper establishes companies’ profiles for the first time in Portugal and suggests that intra- and extra-organisational contexts have to be jointly tackled to foster present innovation and promote future activities.

PurposeThe CRIAS (Health trajectories of Immigrant Children in Amadora) cohort study was created to explore whether children exposed to a migratory process experience different health risks over time, including physical health, cognitive, socioemotional and behavioural challenges and different healthcare utilisation patterns.ParticipantsThe original CRIAS was set up to include 604 children born in 2015, of whom 50% were immigrants, and their parents. Recruitment of 420 children took place between June 2019 and March 2020 at age 4/5 years, with follow-up carried out at age 5/6 years, at age 6/7 years currently under way.Findings to dateBaseline data at age 4/5 years (2019–2020) suggested immigrant children to be more likely to belong to families with less income, compared with non-immigrant children. Being a first-generation immigrant child increased the odds of emotional and behavioural difficulties (adjusted OR 2.2; 95% CI: 1.06 to 4.76); more immigrant children required monitoring of items in the psychomotor development test (38.5% vs 28.3%). The prevalence of primary care utilisation was slightly higher among immigrant children (78.0% vs 73.8%), yet they received less health monitoring assessments for age 4 years. Utilisation of the hospital emergency department was higher among immigrants (53.2% vs 40.6%). Age 5 years follow-up (2020–2021) confirmed more immigrant children requiring monitoring of psychomotor development, compared with non-immigrant children (33.9% vs 21.6%). Economic inequalities exacerbated by post-COVID-19 pandemic confinement with parents of immigrant children 3.2 times more likely to have their household income decreased.Future plansFurther follow-up will take place at 8, 10, 12/13 and 15 years of age. Funds awarded by the National Science Foundation will allow 900 more children from four other Lisbon area municipalities to be included in the cohort (cohort-sequential design).

The heavy economic, social, and psychological toll of pandemic lockdowns around the world and their disproportionate effect on women are widely acknowledged, but different socioeconomic backgrounds and contexts may influence the degree to which stay-at-home measures impact their lives. Additionally, knowing that violence against women tends to increase during times of crisis, we are testing if the additional burden of victimization represents an added load to the perceived social impacts of the lockdown. Using 2021 survey data from a random sample of 1541 Portuguese women, the paper explores, through logistic regression models, the social impact of the lockdown on the lives of women, its socioeconomic determinants, and the role played by violence against women during the pandemic. The results show that the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown did not equally affect all facets of women’s social lives, and women with higher education status and that experienced income reductions due to the measures taken to control the pandemic are more prone to experience a more severe negative impact of the lockdown on the various facets of their lives. Additionally, having been a victim during the pandemic partially mediates the effect of education and income reduction on the social outcomes of the lockdown.