Estudo piloto de implementação do Heroic Imagination junto de crianças e jovens em risco

Abstract

The Heroic Imagination Project (HIP) aims to combat social indifference by fostering prosocial attitudes. The literature has recognized that the adversities experienced in childhood and adolescence can represent a threat to socio-emotional development, making it urgent to promote socio-emotional skills among children and youth at risk. Following the proposal for implementing the HIP in an ATL located in an economically and socially disadvantaged territory, this investigation aims to contribute for the adaptation of the program to children and youth at risk. Through a qualitative methodology, we explored how children, youth, HIP trainers and the ATL psychologist understood and interpreted their experiences throughout the sessions, through participant observation and semi-structured interviews. Then, we proceeded to analyze the content of the data obtained. The results point to the positive impact of the program on the participants at a social level, particularly in terms of promoting empathy. The data from this study also offer important contributions for the purpose of adapting the sessions to groups of participants with the same profile, systematizing the contents and strategies that proved to be more effective or less effective and presenting concrete recommendations and suggestions for improvement for future HIP implementations with this population.

Date of Award	13 Jul 2023
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Mariana Barbosa (Supervisor)