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Mental health in families has been affected by COVID-19 stressors. Parental stress and emotion regulation can moderate the emotional effects on their children. This study analyzes the role of parental stress as a mediating variable between parents’ emotion regulation and children’s symptoms. Participants were 214 parents of youth aged 3-17 years, who completed an online survey providing information about parental variables and symptoms in their children. The results show that parental stress mediates the relationship between parental emotion regulation and children’s psychological symptoms. Thus, parents who used cognitive reappraisal strategy less frequently reported more psychological symptoms in their children and higher parental stress. Parents who used expressive suppression more frequently also reported more psychological symptoms in their children and higher parental stress. The present study provides novel information by relating parental psychological variables with psychological variables in youth during a period characterized by the most significant psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

El estudio de los idiomas en Puerto Rico se ha centrado en el efecto que tienen los factores de nivel macro (ej. políticas lingüísticas) en las competencias lingüísticas de los puertorriqueños. Estos factores se han vinculado al pobre desempeño de los estudiantes del sistema público. Sin embargo, los factores a nivel micro (ej., género, nivel socioeconómico y escuela) han sido en gran medida desatendidos, a pesar de que juegan un rol importante en las habilidades lingüísticas. El presente estudio busca subsanar la falta de datos sobre el impacto de los micro-factores en los estudiantes puertorriqueños. Evaluamos los efectos del género, el nivel socioeconómico y la escuela en las destrezas de español de los estudiantes del sistema público de educación. Analizamos datos de la Medición y Evaluación para la Transformación Educativa (META). La muestra comprende de 21,425 estudiantes del grado 11º distribuidos en 194 escuelas. Los análisis estadísticos revelan que existe una brecha lingüística por género y nivel socioeconómico. Además, sugieren que la efectividad de la escuela y la composición de la población escolar tienen una función mitigadora en las diferencias por género y nivel socioeconómico. Proponemos que, aunque la escuela, en algunos casos, sí parece cumplir una función compensatoria, la efectividad de la escuela parece estar estrechamente ligada a las condiciones socioeconómicas de sus estudiantes. Palabras clave: género; nivel socioeconómico; escuela; desempeño lingüístico; estudiantes; brechas académicas

La pandemia por coronavirus ha provocado una situación de alerta sanitaria inesperada que ha resultado muy estresante tanto para niños como para adultos. Sin embargo, escasos estudios han explorado en qué medida la gestión emocional de las familias durante el confinamiento ha podido influir en la salud mental de los menores. Por ello, el objetivo del presente estudio fue analizar si el nivel de estrés de los padres, su satisfacción con la crianza y sus estrategias de regulación emocional estaban relacionadas con la sintomatología de sus hijos. La muestra de este estudio se compuso de 219 padres de niños españoles con edades comprendidas entre 3 y 18 años (M = 8,30; DT = 4,35). Los participantes completaron un formulario online para medir su satisfacción con la crianza (KPS), su estrés percibido (EEP-10) y sus estrategias de regulación emocional (ERQ) durante el confinamiento por la pandemia. Los resultados indicaron que existía una relación significativa entre las dificultades psicológicas de los niños y el estrés de sus padres, siendo el estrés parental un predictor de mayor sintomatología infantil. Asimismo, el estrés parental estuvo asociado con el menor uso de la reevaluación cognitiva y mayor uso de la supresión expresiva como estrategias de regulación emocional. El uso de la supresión expresiva como estrategia de regulación emocional estuvo relacionado con mayor sintomatología en los niños. Por otra parte, la mayor satisfacción parental con la crianza se asoció a un menor estrés parental y sintomatología en los niños. En conclusión, los hallazgos del estudio sugieren que el estrés de los padres debido a la situación del COVID-19 tuvo repercusiones negativas en el estado emocional de sus hijos. Por tanto, es necesario aportar recursos a las familias para facilitar el afrontamiento de estas situaciones estresantes y favorecer un mayor bienestar familiar.

Confinement by COVID-19 and associated stress can affect children’s well-being. Due to the recent nature of this situation, related studies are limited. The main objective of this paper was to describe the extent to which the confinement situation affected children’s behavior, sleep problems and emotional well-being. A second objective was to identify protective variables that could serve to mitigate possible negative effects of the situation on children. A third objective was to study the possible relationship between parents’ perception of severity and controllability and negative reactions in their children. The sample was composed of 113 Spanish participants (70.5% women) with children between 3 and 12 years old (51.8% children). The parents answered an online questionnaire about their children’s routines during quarantine, their emotional well-being, sleep problems and their behavioral. The 69.6% of the parents reported that, during confinement, their children presented negative emotional reactions, 31.3% sleep problems and 24.1% behavioral problems. Children who invested less time in physical exercise and made more use of screens had a greater number of negative reactions. Children with parents who made greater use of safety measures presented fewer negative reactions. The perception of risk and the seriousness of the situation due to COVID-19 were not related to the reactions of the children. The data suggest that regular physical exercise and limiting daily screen use may benefit children’s mental health in situations of isolation.

As this is the first time that a pandemic has occurred in our recent history, preventive interventions for children´s emotional problems during confinement were not planned. A main goal of Super Skills for Life Program (SSL) is to provide children with skills to build emotional resilience and coping strategies for daily and difficult life situations, so examining how the program may help children to face the COVID-19 situation could be appropriate. The aim of this research was to compare parents’ perception of immediate psychological reactions to confinement and coping styles in children who received the SSL program before home confinement (n = 48) with an equivalent sample of children who did not attend the program (n = 48). Another objective was to study the relationship between children’s immediate psychological reactions to confinement and their coping styles. Parents (n = 96) completed an online survey providing information on sociodemographic variables, children’s immediate psychological reactions (anxiety/activation, mood, sleep, behavioral alterations, eating and cognitive alterations), and children’s coping styles (task-oriented, emotion-oriented, and avoidance-oriented strategies). Results indicated that the control group presented more symptoms of anxiety (p ≤ .001), worse mood (p ≤ .001), more sleep problems (p ≤ .01), and more cognitive alterations (p ≤ .01) during home confinement than children who received the program. Children in the control group were also more likely to use emotion-oriented strategies (p = .001), which were associated with presenting more psychological alterations. Although the SSL program was not created specifically for coping with the COVID-19 situation, it seems to provide children with skills to cope with this unexpected event.

Super Skills for Life (SSL) is a transdiagnostic program of Anglo-Saxon origin based on cognitive behavioural therapy, aimed at treating emotional problems in children. It has been translated and implemented in the Spanish population, achieving significant reductions in anxious and depressive symptoms. The objective of the current study was to examine the short- and long-term efficacy of SSL in schoolchildren with separation anxiety. The program was attended by 86 Spanish-speaking children aged 8-12 years, who were evaluated before receiving the intervention, immediately after and 12 months later. Results indicated statistically significant improvements both in the main problem, separation anxiety and other comorbid symptoms or problems (depression, behaviour problems, problems with peers, interference of anxiety in daily life, etc.). Overall, the results show that the program was more effective in the long-term than in the short-term. The findings of the study suggest that SSL can be useful for treating emotional problems in children with separation anxiety. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Erato polymnioides es una especie hiperacumuladora de metales pesados que puede utilizarse en proyectos de biorremediación en zonas mineras. A pesar de su importancia, no se conocen procesos de propagación de esta especie, por lo que se planteó identificar condiciones óptimas para su propagación en condiciones de invernadero. Se realizaron varios ensayos; los primeros fueron basados en 4 clases de sustratos y 2 concentraciones de reguladores de crecimiento aplicados en estacas; para el segundo grupo, se usaron 2 clases de sustratos y plántulas, germinadas de alrededor de 2 meses, que se colocaron de manera agrupadas y sin agrupar. Del ensayo con estacas se observó mayor formación y crecimiento de raíces, brotes y hojas en suelo del sitio en el que se desarrolla la especie, con y sin paclobutrazol, mientras que la agrupación de 3 plántulas germinadas y sembradas en abono/turba presentaron las mejores respuestas de prendimiento. Los resultados muestran que la especie se desarrolla mejor en sustratos preparados cuando está en etapas iniciales, mientras que cuando es propagada por estacas se adapta mejor al sustrato del sitio de donde provienen, el cual se caracteriza por alto contenido de arcilla y, posiblemente, microorganismos que tengan una relación simbiótica con la especie.

Resumen: Introducción: A pesar de que se han desarrollado diferentes medidas para evaluar la CVRS general en menores, se necesitan los informes de los padres para complementar la información (calidad de vida relacionada con la salud), especialmente cuando son demasiado pequeños. La versión para padres y madres del Kiddy-KINDL-R se diseñó para medir la CVRS general en niños de 3 a 7 años a través de las respuestas de sus progenitores y tutores. Objetivo: El objetivo del presente estudio es validar la versión parental del cuestionario Kiddy-KINDL-R y evaluar sus propiedades psicométricas en una muestra española de menores en edad preescolar. Método: En este estudio transversal, 283 madres, padres o tutores de menores de entre 3 y 6 años respondieron al cuestionario Kiddy-KINDL-R y a otra medida de problemas de ansiedad. Se realizó un análisis factorial confirmatorio para examinar si el modelo Kiddy-KINDL-R original se ajustaba a los datos españoles; la consistencia interna se estimó utilizando α ordinal y la validez discriminante se examinó con la Escala de Ansiedad Preescolar. Resultados: El modelo original de 6 factores demostró buen ajuste, pero se propuso un modelo compuesto por 22 ítems y los mismos 6 factores para la versión española. La fiabilidad fue excelente y los valores de consistencia interna fueron adecuados. Los resultados revelaron correlaciones significativas y negativas entre Kiddy-KINDL-R y la medida de ansiedad, lo que apoya la validez discriminante. Conclusión: La versión española del Kiddy-KINDL-R demostró buenas propiedades psicométricas y constituye un instrumento adecuado que podría ser útil para la evaluación en la práctica clínica. Abstract: Introduction: Although several tools have been developed to assess general HRQoL in children, parental reports are required to supplement this information, especially in very young children. The parents version of the Kiddy-KINDL-R was developed to assess HRQoL in children aged 3 to 7 years through the reports of their parents or legal guardians. Objective: The aim of this study was to validate the parents version of the Kiddy-KINDL-R questionnaire and assess its psychometric properties in a sample of Spanish preschool-aged children. Method: Cross-sectional study in 283 parents or legal guardians of children aged 3 to 6 years that completed the Kiddy-KINDL-R questionnaire and an additional scale to assess anxiety problems. We performed confirmatory factor analysis to assess whether the original Kiddy-KINDL-R version fit the Spanish data; we assessed internal consistency by means of the ordinal alpha and the discriminant validity by means of the Preschool Anxiety Scale. Results: Although the original six-factor model showed a good fit, we propose a model consisting of 22 items and the same 6 factors for the Spanish version. The reliability was excellent, and the internal consistency values were adequate. Our results showed significant negative correlations between the Kiddy-KINDL-R and the external anxiety measure, which was evidence of discriminant validity. Conclusion: We demonstrated that the Spanish version of the Kiddy-KINDL-R had good psychometric properties and that this questionnaire is an adequate assessment tool that could be useful in clinical practice.

Introduction: Although several tools have been developed to assess general HRQoL in children, parental reports are required to supplement this information, especially in very young children. The parents version of the Kiddy-KINDL-R was developed to assess HRQoL in children aged 3–7 years through the reports of their parents or legal guardians. Objective: The aim of this study was to validate the parents version of the Kiddy-KINDL-R questionnaire and assess its psychometric properties in a sample of Spanish preschool-aged children. Method: Cross-sectional study in 283 parents or legal guardians of children aged 3–6 years that completed the Kiddy-KINDL-R questionnaire and an additional scale to assess anxiety problems. We performed confirmatory factor analysis to assess whether the original Kiddy-KINDL-R version fit the Spanish data; we assessed internal consistency by means of the ordinal alpha and the discriminant validity by means of the Preschool Anxiety Scale. Results: Although the original six-factor model showed a good fit, we propose a model consisting of 22 items and the same 6 factors for the Spanish version. The reliability was excellent, and the internal consistency values were adequate. Our results showed significant negative correlations between the Kiddy-KINDL-R and the external anxiety measure, which was evidence of discriminant validity. Conclusion: We demonstrated that the Spanish version of the Kiddy-KINDL-R had good psychometric properties and that this questionnaire is an adequate assessment tool that could be useful in clinical practice. Resumen: Introducción: A pesar de que se han desarrollado diferentes medidas para evaluar la CVRS general en menores, se necesitan los informes de los padres para complementar la información (calidad de vida relacionada con la salud), especialmente cuando son demasiado pequeños. La versión para padres y madres del Kiddy-KINDL-R se diseñó para medir la CVRS general en niños de 3 a 7 años a través de las respuestas de sus progenitores y tutores. Objetivo: El objetivo del presente estudio es validar la versión parental del cuestionario Kiddy-KINDL-R y evaluar sus propiedades psicométricas en una muestra española de menores en edad preescolar. Método: En este estudio transversal, 283 madres, padres o tutores de menores de entre 3 y 6 años respondieron al cuestionario Kiddy-KINDL-R y a otra medida de problemas de ansiedad. Se realizó un análisis factorial confirmatorio para examinar si el modelo Kiddy-KINDL-R original se ajustaba a los datos españoles; la consistencia interna se estimó utilizando α ordinal y la validez discriminante se examinó con la Escala de Ansiedad Preescolar. Resultados: El modelo original de 6 factores demostró buen ajuste, pero se propuso un modelo compuesto por 22 ítems y los mismos 6 factores para la versión española. La fiabilidad fue excelente y los valores de consistencia interna fueron adecuados. Los resultados revelaron correlaciones significativas y negativas entre Kiddy-KINDL-R y la medida de ansiedad, lo que apoya la validez discriminante. Conclusión: La versión española del Kiddy-KINDL-R demostró buenas propiedades psicométricas y constituye un instrumento adecuado que podría ser útil para la evaluación en la práctica clínica.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the quarantine undergone by children in many countries is a stressful situation about which little is known to date. Children and adolescents' behaviors to cope with home confinement may be associated with their emotional welfare. The objectives of this study were: (1) to examine the coping strategies used out by children and adolescents during the COVID-19 health crisis, (2) to analyze the differences in these behaviors in three countries, and (3) to examine the relationship between different coping modalities and adaptation. Participants were 1,480 parents of children aged 3–18 years from three European countries (nSpain = 431, nItaly = 712, and nPortugal = 355). The children's mean age was 9.15 years (SD = 4.27). Parents completed an online survey providing information on symptoms and coping behaviors observed in their children. The most frequent coping strategies were accepting what is happening (58.9%), collaborating with quarantine social activities (e.g., drawings on the windows, supportive applauses) (35.9%), acting as if nothing is happening (35.5%), highlighting the advantages of being at home (35.1%), and not appearing to be worried about what is happening (30.1%). Compared to Italian and Spanish children, Portuguese children used a sense of humor more frequently when their parents talked about the situation. Acting as if nothing was happening, collaborating with social activities, and seeking comfort from others were more likely in Spanish children than in children from the other countries. Compared to Portuguese and Spanish children, Italian children did not seem worried about what was happening. Overall, an emotional-oriented coping style was directly correlated with a greater presence of anxious symptoms, as well as to mood, sleep, behavioral, and cognitive alterations. Task-oriented and avoidance-oriented styles were related to better psychological adaptation (considered a low presence of psychological symptoms). Results also show that unaffected children or children with a lower level of impact were more likely to use strategies based on a positive focus on the situation. This study provides interesting data on the strategies to be promoted by parents to cope with the COVID-19 health crisis in children.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic forced the home confinement of the majority of population around the world, including a significant number of children and adolescents, for several weeks in 2020. Negative psychological effects have been identified in adults, but research about the impact of this type of social distancing measure on children and adolescents is scarce. The present study aimed to describe and compare the immediate psychological and behavioral symptoms associated with COVID-19 quarantine in children and adolescents from three southern European countries with different levels of restrictions (Italy, Spain, and Portugal). Parents of 1,480 children and adolescents (52.8% boys) between 3 and 18 years old (M = 9.15, SD = 4.27) participated in the study. An online survey using snowball sampling techniques was conducted during 15 days between March and April 2020, representing the early phase of the quarantine associated with COVID-19 outbreak. Parents answered questionnaires about sociodemographic data, housing conditions, immediate psychological responses during quarantine (e.g., anxiety, mood, sleep, and behavioral alterations), patterns of use of screens, daily physical activity, and sleep hours before and during the quarantine. The results revealed an increase in children's psychological and behavioral symptoms, increased screen-time, reduced physical activity, and more sleep hours/night. Italian children presented less psychological and behavioral symptoms compared with Portuguese and Spanish children. In general, hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that having an outdoor exit in the house (e.g., garden, terrace) contributed to lower levels of psychological and behavioral symptomatology. Future studies are needed to identify family and individual variables that can better predict children and adolescents' well-being during and after quarantine. Recommendations for families and implications for practice are discussed.

The COVID-19 quarantine has affected more than 860 million children and adolescents worldwide, but to date, no study has been developed within Western countries to examine the psychological impact on their lives. The present study aims to examine for the first time the emotional impact of the quarantine on children and adolescents from Italy and Spain, two of the countries most affected by COVID-19. Participants were 1,143 parents of Italian and Spanish children aged 3 to 18 years who completed a survey providing information about how the quarantine affects their children and themselves, compared to before the home confinement. Results show that 85.7% of the parents perceived changes in their children’s emotional state and behaviors during the quarantine. The most frequent symptoms were difficulty concentrating (76.6%), boredom (52%), irritability (39%), restlessness (38.8%), nervousness (38%), feelings of loneliness (31.3%), uneasiness (30.4%), and worries (30.1%). Spanish parents reported more symptoms than Italians. As expected, children of both countries used monitors more frequently, spent less time doing physical activity, and slept more hours during the quarantine. Furthermore, when family coexistence during quarantine became more difficult, the situation was more serious, and the level of stress was higher, parents tended to report more emotional problems in their children. The quarantine impacts considerably on Italian and Spanish youth, reinforcing the need to detect children with problems as early as possible to improve their psychological well-being.

A common practice among clinical psychologists and other health professionals is the use of school-based sexual health promotion programs as a means for preventing sexually transmitted infections. A fundamental criterion for the designing and adaptation of these programs is the age of their target populations because limited education and language are the most relevant factors that limit the efficacy of these programs. The contribution of this paper consists of assessing both the readability of the written materials that accompany the contents of a Spanish-written school-based sexual health promotion program used in Colombia, as well as the words co-occurrence network structure of its contents. The readability of the evaluated program corresponded to its intended target population aged between 14 and 19, with the schooling of 9–13 years of education. The resulting words co-occurrence network structure of the COMPAS program also mirrored its theoretical content. These results all together are deemed as empirical evidence of the adequacy of the program.

Abstract Background Colombia has one of the highest rates of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and pregnancies - both of which are influenced by lack of condom use -, among adolescent population in Latin America; however, the mechanisms underlying the inconsistent use of condoms in this population are poorly understood. This descriptive and cross-sectional study’s purpose was to examine sexual behavior and its precursors using the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and considering gender-based differences. Another objective was to study the mediating effect of intention in the relationship between behavior precursors and condom use based on the TPB. Methods We recruited 1100 adolescents aged between 14 and 19 years old (M = 15.94, SD = 1.30, 54.4% female) from Bogotá and Barranquilla, two of the cities with highest adolescent birth rates among adolescents in Colombia. Sociodemographic variables, knowledge on HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), HIV/AIDS-related attitudes, including attitudes toward the use of condoms, normative beliefs, perceived behavioral control, behavioral intention, and sexual behavior were assessed using self-reports. All analyses were run using SPSS v25. The indirect effect of intention to explain the relationship between precursors and the use of condoms during sexual intercourse was estimated using the PROCESS v3 macro. Results Descriptive analyses suggest a high risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies associated to inconsistent condom use, medium-low level of knowledge about sexual health, low normative beliefs regarding peers’ condom use, and a certain perceived difficulty for using condoms. Condoms are used 71% of the times they have sex, but only 22% of the participants use them consistently; girls use condoms more consistently than boys. Sexual risk characteristics differed significantly by gender. Mediation analyses indicated that condom use intention mediates the relationship between behavioral precursors and frequency of condom use, according to the TPB. Conclusions Findings provide a better understanding of sexual risk and highlight important implications for the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents. There is a need of designing and implementing protocolized sexual health promotion programs in schools with the aim of reducing sexual risk behaviors in Colombian adolescents.

Control of negative emotions (e.g., anger and fear) by political cues perpetuate intractable conflict by mobilizing public support for aggressive actions. Halperin et al. (2013) found that reappraisal – an adaptive form of emotion regulation – decreased negative emotions triggered by anger-inducing information related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and increased support for conciliatory statements. We tested these effects in the context of the conflict between the Colombian government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo (FARC-EP). Reappraisal training reduced negative emotions produced by a presentation that illustrated FARC’s violent actions, and increased support for conciliatory statements (with overall moderate effect magnitudes). We also found that negative emotions mediated the effects of reappraisal on the support for aggressive and conciliatory statements. These findings indicate a high degree of generality of the phenomena, especially considering the differences between the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the Colombian conflict. Our findings also show promise for replicating these effects on other types of intergroup conflicts and guiding effective public policy.

Animal Welfare Attitudes (AWA) are defined as human attitudes towards the welfare of animals in different dimensions and settings. Demographic factors, such as age and gender are associated with AWA. The aim of this study was to assess gender differences among university students in a large convenience sample from twenty-two nations in AWA. A total of 7914 people participated in the study (5155 women, 2711 men, 48 diverse). Participants completed a questionnaire that collected demographic data, typical diet and responses to the Composite Respect for Animals Scale Short version (CRAS-S). In addition, we used a measure of gender empowerment from the Human Development Report. The largest variance in AWA was explained by diet, followed by country and gender. In terms of diet, 6385 participants reported to be omnivores, 296 as pescatarian, 637 ate a vegetarian diet and 434 were vegans (n = 162 without answer). Diet was related with CRAS-S scores; people with a vegan diet scored higher in AWA than omnivores. Women scored significantly higher on AWA than men. Furthermore, gender differences in AWA increased as gender inequality decreased.

Most teenagers and young people do not consistently use condoms during sex, exposing themselves to HIV. Early diagnosis of the virus increases the survival rate and reduces new infections. Attitude towards HIV testing (HT) and the main barriers to testing remain unknown. The main objective of the study was to explore the attitude towards HT and identify the main barriers of those who had never undergone HT before. This study involved 992 adolescents (16-20 years), who were recruited from 4 autonomous regions of Spain. The mean age was 16.84 (SD=.92) and 54.6% were women. The attitude towards HT was very favorable, especially in women. 79.2% of sexually active participants did not consistently use condoms during sex; however only 1% (n=11) reported having undergone HT. The main perceived barriers were related to not having received the offer to get tested (49%), low risk perception (32.6%) and trust between sexual partners (29.1%). Facilitating access of the HIV screening test to adolescents with high sexual risk is crucial to the success of early detection campaigns, and curb the spread of the HIV.

The main objective of this study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Coping Inventory for Children and Adolescents during the Pandemic Lockdown (CICAP-11), that assesses coping strategies employed by children and adolescents when faced with pandemic-related home confinement. The CICAP-11 and other measures of anxiety and depressive symptoms were completed online by 467 children's parents between the ages of 3 and 18 (45.4% female). The development of the inventory was based on relevant previous studies and expert criteria. Using Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM), the factor structure was found to have three factors: task-oriented, emotion-oriented, and avoidance-oriented coping strategies, measured by 11 items. The subscales showed good reliability and evidence of validity. This research provides initial evidence of the CICAP-11, indicating that it may be useful for clinicians and researchers in identifying and addressing coping strategies used by children and adolescents when dealing with pandemics.

BACKGROUND:The Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for children (CERQ-k) is a useful clinical and research tool to identify cognitive patterns of emotion regulation that predict the presence of emotional symptomatology. This study aimed to validate the Spanish version of the CERQ-k (the CERQ-Sk) using a sample of children from Spain, which is not available. METHODS:The sample consisted of 582 children (48.6% girls) aged between 7 and 12 years (Mage = 9.49; SD = 1.2) recruited from Alicante, Spain. Cognitive emotion regulation strategies, anxiety and depressive symptomatology were self-reported evaluated. Factor structure, internal consistency, temporal stability with the Spanish version for children were examined. Convergent validity was evaluated using Spearman correlations to examine the relationships between the CERQ-k and measures of anxiety (trait anxiety subscale of STAI-C) and depression (CDI). RESULTS:The Spanish version of CERQ-Sk had the same nine factors proposed in the original version. Ordinal alpha of the total scale was excellent (.88), and moderate indexes were found for each subscale (.56 to .75). The 8-week test-retest coefficient was adequate for the total scale (ICC = .74) and moderate for the subscales (.54 to .70). Evidence of convergent validity was provided through correlations with the CDI (depression) and trait anxiety subscale of the STAI-C (anxiety). Cognitive strategies such as Rumination, self-blame, catastrophizing, and other-blame were significantly and positively related to depressive and anxiety symptoms. Moreover, positive refocusing and planning seemed to act as strategies that have a positive effect on the prevention of depression in children. CONCLUSIONS:Results suggest that the CERQ-Sk is a reliable and valid tool that can be useful for researchers and clinicians to identify maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation patterns that may increase the risk of emotional problems, and orient treatment and prevention of mental health problems in children from Spanish-speaking countries.

BACKGROUND:Numerous studies have evaluated the efficacy of interventions to reduce risk for sexually transmitted infections in adolescents in recent years, but their global effects remain unknown since 2008, the last date of a comprehensive review of prior studies. AIMS:This study aims at evaluating the efficacy of interventions to promote sexual health, reduce STIs and unplanned pregnancies targeted to adolescents available after 2008; and analyzing the moderators of their global efficacy. METHODS:We searched electronic databases and manual searches of some journals focused on STIs in May 2016. The studies evaluated the efficacy of interventions to reduce sexual risk in adolescents (age range: 11-19) anywhere in the world. Effect size of the relevant outcomes for sexual risk was calculated for every study. Analyses incorporated random-effect assumptions for each outcome. The homogeneity in the results was examined with the I2 statistic and its associated 95% confident interval. RESULTS:Data from 63 studies (59,795 participants) were analyzed for behavioral and non-behavioral outcomes. In the short term, interventions had a positive impact in sexual health-related knowledge (Hedges'g = 1.01), attitudes (g = 0.29), self-efficacy toward condom use (g = 0.22), intention to refuse sex (g = 0.56), condom use intention (g = 0.46), and condom use (g = 0.38). In the medium term, positive effects observed at the short-term were maintained, although effect size significantly decreased in all variables. In the long term, interventions improved condom use (g = 0.47). Moderators of the efficacy are discussed. CONCLUSIONS:Sexual health promotion interventions are effective to promote sexual health through increasing condom use. Effects on non-behavioral variables tend to decrease over time, while condom use increased in the long-term. Interventions should focus on the long-term efficacy, especially in behavioral and biological measures.

Objetivo: El objetivo de esta investigación es analizar la fiabilidad y validez de un cuestionario que evalúe de forma específica el conocimiento sobre el VIH y otras infecciones de transmisión sexual en una muestra de adolescentes españoles. Diseño: Estudio descriptivo transversal para la validación de un cuestionario. Emplazamiento: 17 centros escolares de cinco provincias españolas. Participantes: 1.570 adolescentes entre los 13 y los 17 años escolarizados en institutos. Intervenciones: Se estableció un banco de 40 ítems relativos a conocimiento sobre VIH y otras infecciones de transmisión sexual. Este banco fue sometido a un juicio de expertos, para detectar posibles errores. Seguidamente, se administró a un grupo piloto, con las mismas características sociodemográficas de la muestra, para garantizar la comprensión. Mediciones principales: Análisis de ítems, consistencia interna, test-retest y análisis factorial exploratorio Resultados: Cinco factores explicaban el 46% de la varianza total: conocimiento general sobre el VIH, del preservativo como método protector, de las vías de transmisión del VIH, de las medidas de prevención del VIH y sobre otras infecciones de transmisión sexual. La fiabilidad oscila desde 0,66 hasta 0,88. La correlación test-retest fue de 0,59. Existen diferencias de conocimientos en función del sexo. Conclusiones: Estos factores tienen una adecuada consistencia interna y una correlación test-retest aceptable. A nivel teórico encajan adecuadamente respecto al contenido de los ítems. Entre los factores se observa una relación moderada, lo que indica que el tener un elevado grado de conocimiento respecto a un aspecto, no garantiza el tener conocimiento general elevado. El disponer de un cuestionario para evaluar el conocimiento de las infecciones de transmisión sexual es de gran ayuda para evaluar programas preventivos.

In Spain, 44% of 14-18-year-olds have smoked, and 12.5% have smoked cigarettes in the last 30 days. Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances, and can lead to serious addiction in adulthood with adverse consequences to one’s health. School plays a relevant role in health promotion and preventing risk behaviors such as tobacco consumption. Despite the fact that some school-based tobacco cessation and prevention interventions prove to be effective for their purposes, there is a lack of understanding as to why these programs succeed or fail. This longitudinal study aims to test the nicotine dependence (ND) as a mediator of Project EX’s effect – a tobacco-use cessation program developed for high school youth to reduce tobacco consumption in scholars. Six high schools located in the Mediterranean coast were randomized for the participation of the program (Spanish version of Project EX) or a waiting-list group with baseline, immediate-posttest, and 12-month follow-up assessments. At baseline, 1,546 adolescents aged 14-21 years old (mean age: 15.28; SD = 1.20; 46% were women) were evaluated by self-administered tests on tobacco consumption and nicotine dependence. A biomarker of smoke inhalation – a measurement of exhaled carbon monoxide (ECM) – was used. Participants who were smokers (N= 501; 32%) were selected for this study. Mediation analyses were conducted using the PROCESS v2.12 macro for Windows. The significant criterion was p ≤.05, and 5,000 samples were used for bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals. Results indicated that Project EX indirectly decreased the number of cigarettes smoked in the last month, the number of cigarettes smoked within the last 7 days, the number of daily cigarettes, and ECM level at 12-month follow up through decreasing the level of ND in the short-term. This is the first Spanish study that explores ND as a mediator of the long-term efficacy of Project EX to reduce tobacco consumption in adolescents. Results suggest that interventions that reduce ND at short-term are more likely to be successful to decrease tobacco use at long-term.

Attitudes toward sexuality are a key variable for sexual health. It is really important for psychology and education to have adapted and validated questionnaires to evaluate these attitudes. Therefore, the objective of this research was to adapt, validate and calculate the equivalence of the Colombia Sexual Opinion Survey as compared to the same survey from Spain. To this end, a total of eight experts were consulted and 1,167 subjects from Colombia and Spain answered the Sexual Opinion Survey, the Sexual Assertiveness Scale, the Massachusetts General Hospital-Sexual Functioning Questionnaire, and the Sexuality Scale. The evaluation was conducted by online and the results show adequate qualitative and quantitative properties of the items, with adequate reliability and external validity and compliance with the strong invariance between the two countries. Consequently, the Colombia Sexual Opinion Survey is a valid and reliable scale and its scores can be compared with the ones from the Spain survey, with minimum bias.

The aim of this small-scale study (22 participants) was to analyze how L1-Spanish L2-English children interpret English noun phrases (NPs) by taking into consideration two variables: children’s age and amount of input. These two variables were studied in relation to children’s developmental tendencies and language transfer. Children begin with an innate predisposition for the generic interpretation, which leads them to incorrectly interpret some specific NPs. In contrast, transfer from the L1 explains the incorrect mapping between NP and interpretation in adult L2 speakers. We examined 22 L1-Spanish L2-English children and a control group of L1-English children on their interpretation of English NPs through an online task. Results revealed that L2 children’s interpretations significantly differ from the interpretations of the control group. We propose that like L1 children, child L2 learners will have to overcome their natural predisposition to interpret NPs as generic. However, child L2 learners must also overcome transfer effects from their L1. Additionally, results seem to suggest that the amount of input plays a role in learners’ interpretations. We propose that children who receive similar amounts of input in their two languages become aware of the differences faster, particularly in the forms where there is no overlapping between the languages (i.e., bare NPs).

The State-entrepreneur from International Law, has been introduced into the legal systems of Ecuador and Cuba, from its origins, basic characteristics, elements that distinguish it, legal nature, and the objective it pursues from being conceived as an essential instrument. for carrying out commercial and industrial activities in commercial acts. It is characterized by being an economic agent, the purpose is conceived for military or national security reasons, for economic policy, strategic nature, the fight against monopolistic companies (public services), fiscal or commercial, for economic restructuring, as a planning instrument, the insufficiency and non-existence of the private sector. They are state entities that carry out an industrial activity under a Public Law regime. In Ecuador and Cuba, the multiplicity of legal norms survives in legal systems. Ecuador has an Organic Law of Public Companies, for human development, good living, sustainable development, acts in the exploration, exploitation and industrialization of renewable natural resources and provision of public services. The State intervenes for two fundamental reasons, the first: the capacity of the private sector is insufficient for projects that generally require large investments, and the second: the private sector has no interest in providing certain public services, which do not provide them with a return. In Cuba, there is no Business Law to order the business network among the actors of the Cuban economy in response to the constitutional mandate, with the recognition of private property, both for those constituted by private companies and those created in the state sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]