My academic course began in the domain of teacher education; I was an instructor in developmental psychology and educational psychology courses applied to teaching; Soon I became aware, in line with a few other researchers, that teacher education could and must be a context to foster teachers’ understanding and skills to make them human development practitioners. The result of these ideas and inquiries was my Master’s and later PhD thesis, which was titled: “Narrative development of teachers: Toward a postmodern epistemology of educational practice”. The book “Educação narrativa do professor (Teacher’s narrative education)”, co-authored with Óscar Gonçalves and published in 2001, was also a product of those inquiries. We proposed a program for teacher education that allows each teacher to understand and construct proactively meaningful stories of development and learning for their students, and for themselves. Meanwhile, fortuitous but touching personal events and encounters made me an avid explorer of the aging process and the lives and purposes of older adults: For about 10 years, I was privileged to be instructor of a course on adult development and aging, and guided several students in research projects related to older adults. As part of this research, I conducted the first study on older adults’ abuse and neglect in Portugal, and presented our groundbreaking results at the meeting of IAGG in 2005 in Rio de Janeiro. Subsequently at the 2007 IAGG meeting in St. Petersburg, I was nominated as the representative of INPEA in Portugal. This position helped me to consolidate my interests in research and theory regarding the neglect and abuse in later life. Additionally, and in parallel I was also privileged to be an instructor of courses in history of psychology, developmental psychology and health psychology. These experiences of teaching and supervision of students have led me to a more focused and ambitioned goal: Integration of the domains of aging and human development. More specifically, my research attempts to understand how successful aging is related with developmental outcomes. Several research projects are currently underway and others are planned over the next few years to achieve this goal.
Adult development
Older adults’ abuse and neglect
Loneliness
Successful aging
Coping processes
Health and well-being
Bereavement in older adults
Selected publications
Donder, L., Lang, G., Ferreira-Alves, J., Penhale, B., Tamutiene, I., & Minna-Liisa Luoma (2016) Risk factors of severity of abuse against older women in the home setting: A multinational European study. Journal of Women & Aging, 28 (6), 540-554. DOI
Ferreira-Alves, J., Magalhães, P., Viola, L., & Simões, R. (2014). Loneliness in Middle and Old Age: Demographics, Perceived Health, and Social Satisfaction as Predictors. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 59, 1-39. DOI
Silva, M. D. & Ferreira-Alves, J. (2016). Stressores e Estratégias de Coping com o Luto Conjugal: um estudo longitudinal em adultos idosos. Saarbrücken: Novas Edições Académicas DOI
Ferreira-Alves, J. & Novo, R. (2006). Evaluation of ageism in Portugal | Avaliação da discriminação social de pessoas idosas em Portugal. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 6, 65-77. DOI
Ferreira-Alves, J. (2010). Prática Psicológica com Pessoas Idosas: Uma Leitura Substanciada das orientações da APA. Revista de Psiquiatria. CHPL - Hospital Júlio de Matos, Vol. XXII, nº3, DOI
Other publications
Donder, L., Lang, G., Ferreira-Alves, J., Penhale, B., Tamutiene, I., & Minna-Liisa Luoma (2016) Risk factors of severity of abuse against older women in the home setting: A multinational European study. Journal of Women & Aging, 28 (6), 540-554. DOI
Ferreira-Alves, J., Magalhães, P., Viola, L., & Simões, R. (2014). Loneliness in Middle and Old Age: Demographics, Perceived Health, and Social Satisfaction as Predictors. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 59, 1-39. DOI
Silva, M. D. & Ferreira-Alves, J. (2016). Stressores e Estratégias de Coping com o Luto Conjugal: um estudo longitudinal em adultos idosos. Saarbrücken: Novas Edições Académicas DOI
Ferreira-Alves, J. & Novo, R. (2006). Evaluation of ageism in Portugal | Avaliação da discriminação social de pessoas idosas em Portugal. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 6, 65-77. DOI
Ferreira-Alves, J. (2010). Prática Psicológica com Pessoas Idosas: Uma Leitura Substanciada das orientações da APA. Revista de Psiquiatria. CHPL - Hospital Júlio de Matos, Vol. XXII, nº3, DOI
2023/2024
Estudos Avançados em Psicologia
Doctoral Program
História da Psicologia
Bachelor
História da Psicologia
Bachelor
História da Psicologia
Bachelor
Projeto de Investigação em Psicologia Clínica da Infância e da Adolescência
Master
Psicologia do Desenvolvimento do Adulto e do Envelhecimento
Bachelor
Psicologia do Desenvolvimento do Adulto e do Envelhecimento
Bachelor
Psicologia do Desenvolvimento do Adulto e do Envelhecimento
Bachelor
Psicologia do Desenvolvimento do Adulto e do Envelhecimento
Bachelor
Psicologia do Envelhecimento e Comunicação
Integrated Master
Psicopatologia do Desenvolvimento e Desenvolvimento Positivo
Master
Temas Avançados em Desenvolvimento e Psicopatologia
Doctoral Program
