Validation of the Shortened Version of the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory in Spanish Uiversity Students.

BACKGROUND: The Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) is used all over the world to identify metacognitive components that are relevant to learning. However, there is not enough evidence confirming its factorial structure or the suitability of its Shortened Version, proposed by various authors. Also, to date, the MAI has not been validated in the Spanish context. METHOD: After adapting the MAI to Spanish, it was administered to 1076 university students from different regions of Spain. Different structures of the MAI Shortened Version, with 19 items, were compared with the structures of the original 52-item MAI. Indexes of validity and reliability were analyzed, considering the factorial structure and relationships to other validated questionnaires. RESULTS: Only the MAI Shortened Version that differentiates between knowledge and regulation of cognition achieved a good fit. These two scales showed good convergent and divergent validity, high criterion validity in relation to academic achievement, high test- retest reliability, and high internal reliability. CONCLUSIONS: results support the traditional differentiation between knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognition, but only for the Shortened Version of the MAI. This instrument allows quick evaluations and identification of these components in Spanish contexts with adequate metric properties.

Validation of a Scale for Assessing Bystander Responses in Bullying.

BACKGROUND: This study sought to analyse the metric properties of the scores obtained with an adaptation of the Student Bystander Behaviour Scale (SBBS; Thornberg & Jungert, 2013) in Spanish primary-school students and to examine the types of responses students reported as witnesses to school bullying, along with their relationship to empathy. METHOD: The Spanish adaptation of the SBBS and a self-report questionnaire about empathy were given to 1108 primary-school students, aged 9-11 years old (48.4% girls) in Asturias (Spain). The students were from 29 schools, selected by simple random sampling from all of the primary schools in the region. RESULTS: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the adapted version, like the original SBBS, measured three types of witness response to school bullying: defender, passive, and pro-bully. Most students reported that they defended, or would defend, the victim. This trend was more marked in those who had not witnessed bullying. The type of response to bullying was related to empathy, positively with defender responses, and negatively with passive and pro-bully responses. CONCLUSIONS: The scores from the adapted version of the SBBS demonstrated metrics of reliability and validity suitable for identifying the type of response to school bullying from primary-school students.

The Effect of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention on Attention, Self-Control, and Aggressiveness in Primary School Pupils.

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of Mindkeys Training, a mindfulness-based educational intervention, on attention, self-control, and aggressiveness in third-year primary school pupils. In order to achieve this aim, a switching replications design was used. Two groups of third year primary students (nGE1 = 40; nGE2 = 33), aged between 7 and 10 years old (M = 8.08; DT = 0.49), had the intervention at different time points, such that while one served as the experimental group, the other served as the control group. Longitudinal differences were examined in both groups, and cross-sectional differences were examined between the two groups at three time points; at the start of the study, and following the intervention with each group. To that end, measurements of problems of attention, deficits of self-control, and aggressiveness for students were obtained via a teacher rating scale. The intervention program demonstrated a positive effect on the reduction of pupils' attention problems, deficits of self-control, and aggressiveness. The effects were greater on the cognitive variables that the intervention worked on directly (attention and self-control). Attention was the variable on which the intervention exhibited the longest term effects.

Peer Victimization in Overweight Adolescents and Its Effect on Their Self-Esteem and Peer Difficulties.

This study has three objectives: to examine whether adolescents who perceive themselves as overweight differ from others in terms of offline victimization at school, cybervictimization, self-esteem, and difficulties relating to peers; to examine the possible effects of offline and cybervictimization on self-esteem and difficulties relating to peers; and to examine the possible moderating role of perceiving oneself as overweight on those effects. Previously validated questionnaires were applied to a sample of 3145 adolescents in Asturias (Spain). Descriptive, inferential, correlational, and structural equation analyses were performed. Adolescents who perceived themselves as overweight reported being victims of both offline victimization and most forms of cybervictimization to a greater extent than those who did not perceive themselves as overweight. They also reported lower self-esteem and more peer difficulties (shyness or social anxiety). In both groups of adolescents, victimization and cybervictimization were correlated with each other, both types of victimization had direct, negative effects on self-esteem, and self-esteem in turn had a direct, negative effect on peer difficulties. Furthermore, offline victimization had a direct, positive effect on peer difficulties. Perceiving oneself as overweight moderated the effect of self-esteem on peer difficulties. In adolescents perceiving themselves as overweight, low self-esteem was a stronger risk factor of peer difficulties than in the rest of the adolescents. With high overall self-esteem there were no significant differences in peer difficulties between the adolescents perceiving themselves as overweight and the rest of the adolescents.

Impact of Family and Friends on Antisocial Adolescent Behavior: The Mediating Role of Impulsivity and Empathy.

Adolescence is an especially risky phase for the appearance of antisocial behaviors. Antisocial behavior produces significant individual and social harms, so it is important to provide keys for prevention and treatment. To do that, it is essential to identify the main predictors. The objective of this study is to analyze the effect of family (affection and communication, behavioral control) and friends (antisocial friendships) on adolescent antisocial behavior, as well as the mediating role of adolescent impulsivity and empathy on these relationships. Previously validated questionnaires measuring parental affection and communication, and behavioral control, as well as adolescent impulsivity, empathy, antisocial friendships, and antisocial behavior were applied to 3199 adolescents in Asturias (Spain), aged between 11 and 18 (M = 14.03; SD = 1.39). Descriptive, correlational, and structural equation analysis were performed. Antisocial friendships were a risk factor for antisocial behavior in adolescence, with a moderate effect size. The effect is mostly direct, although it is also indirect through the positive relationship with adolescent impulsivity and low empathy. The two analyzed parenting style dimensions (affection and communication, and behavioral control) demonstrate a protective effect, albeit small, on adolescent antisocial behavior. There is a direct protective effect, but it is mostly indirect through the negative relationship with antisocial friendships and low adolescent empathy. Parental behavioral control can be a risk factor for antisocial behavior, through the positive relationship with adolescent impulsivity. This study helps to clarify the causal mechanisms of antisocial behavior in adolescence, as a basis for its prevention and treatment.

The Effect of Parental Control on Cyber-Victimization in Adolescence: The Mediating Role of Impulsivity and High-Risk Behaviors.

The aim of this work is to analyze the relationship between parental control and cyber-victimization in adolescence, considering the possible mediating effect of impulsivity, and high-risk internet behavior. To that end we analyzed the responses of 3360 adolescents aged between 11 and 18 (M = 14.02; SD = 1.40), from Asturias (Spain), to four previously validated questionnaires in order to measure the level of parental control over the use of the internet (restriction and supervision), along with high-risk internet behaviors, impulsivity, and cyber-victimization in the adolescents. The results show that parental control tends to have a protective effect on the likelihood of the children being victims of cyber-aggression, with impulsivity, and high-risk internet behaviors as mediating variables. More specifically, parental restriction and supervision are positively related to each other; both forms of parental control are negatively related with the adolescent's engaging in high-risk internet behaviors; supervision is negatively related with impulsivity; impulsivity is positively related with high-risk internet behaviors; and both impulsivity and high-risk internet behaviors are positively related to being a victim of cyber-aggression. The practical implications of these results are discussed.

Mathematics Competence Level: The Contribution of Non-symbolic and Spatial Magnitude Comparison Skills.

Magnitude comparison skills have been related to mathematics competence, although results in this area vary. The current study aimed to describe the performance of 75 children (aged 4-5 years) in two comparison tasks; and examine the strength of the relationship between each of the two tasks and mathematics competence level (MCL). Participants were assessed with the Early Numeracy Test which provides a global MCL score. Magnitude comparison skills were assessed with two tasks: a non-symbolic number comparison task and a spatial comparison task. Results of the Pearson correlation analysis showed a relationship between the two tasks with better performance in the spatial comparison task. Regression analysis with the stepwise method showed that only the non-symbolic number comparison task had a significant value in the prediction of the MCL pointing to the need to take these kinds of tasks into account in the first years of school.

Expressions of school violence in adolescence.

BACKGROUND: Research on school violence, which disserves the quality of the process of teaching and learning in schools, has increased in recent decades. The aims of this study were to identify the most prevalent types of school violence in Compulsory Secondary Education (CSE) according to the opinion of students, and to analyse differences in gender, school year, and the academic performance of the student informants. METHOD: The CUVE3-CSE questionnaire was applied to 4,943 CSE students (average age: 14.04; SD: 1.38) who are studying at 33 public and private schools. RESULTS: showed the predominance of classroom disruption and student-to-student verbal violence, as well as differences in the level of perceived violence according to the variables analysed (gender, school year and academic performance). CONCLUSIONS: The study underscores the wide-ranging typology of violence at schools, and its everyday occurrence in classrooms, which highlight the need for improving our understanding in order to enhance the efficacy of prevention and intervention programs.

Naming speed as a predictive diagnostic measure in reading and attentional problems.

This study aimed to describe and compare naming speed abilities in children diagnosed with either Reading Learning Difficulties (RLD) or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), or comorbidity for both (ADHD+RLD). To examine the explanatory power of naming speed and ADHD symptomatology in predicting group associations (while controlling for gender and age), the "Rapid Automatized Naming and Rapid Alternating Stimulus Tests" (RAN/RAS) were utilized. A sample of 101 children (age range = 5-16 years) was divided into four groups: RLD (n = 14), ADHD (n = 28), comorbid (n = 19), and control (n = 40). There were statistically significant differences in RAN/RAS results among the diagnostic groups. Moreover, discriminant analysis revealed that naming speed tasks significantly predicted reading and attentional problems, especially at earlier ages. These results demonstrate the potential usefulness of RAN/RAS in the diagnosis of reading and attentional problems, particularly if the children are aged from 5 to 9.

Parenting Style Dimensions As Predictors of Adolescent Antisocial Behavior.

Antisocial behavior is strongly associated with academic failure in adolescence. There is a solid body of evidence that points to parenting style as one of its main predictors. The objective of this work is to elaborate a reduced, valid, and reliable version of the questionnaire by Oliva et al. (2007) to evaluate the dimensions of parenting style and to analyze its psychometric properties in a sample of Spanish adolescents. To that end, the designed questionnaire was applied to 1974 adolescents 12-18 years of age from Asturias (Spain). Regarding construct validity, the results show that the model that best represents the data is composed of six dimensions of parenting style, just as in the original scale, namely affection and communication; promotion of autonomy; behavioral control; psychological control; self-disclosure; and humor. The psychological control factor negatively correlates with the other factors, with the exception of behavioral control, with which it positively correlates. The remaining correlations among the factors in the parenting style questionnaire are positive. Regarding internal consistency, the reliability analysis for each factor supports the suitability of this six-factor model. With regard to criterion validity, as expected based on the evidence available, the six dimensions of parenting style correlate in a statistically significant manner with the three antisocial behavior measures used as criteria (off-line school aggression, antisocial behavior, and antisocial friendships). Specifically, all dimensions negatively correlate with the three variables, except for psychological control. In the latter case, the correlation is positive. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

State, trait anxiety and selective attention differences in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) subtypes.

One of the disorders that most affects school performance is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The criteria established by DSM distinguish three subtypes: inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive and combined. However, the expression of this disorder can be altered by its association with other disorders such as anxiety. The main goals of this study were to determine whether different patterns of attention (selective and concentration) and anxiety (state and trait anxiety) emerge from ADHD subtypes, and analyze how anxiety predicts the performance of students with ADHD in a selective attention task. The sample was made up of 220 children (6-12 years) divided into four groups: control group (n = 56), inattentive subtype (n = 54), hyperactive-impulsive subtype (n = 53), and combined subtype (n = 57). The results indicated that the groups differed significantly in the attention variables, and in state and trait anxiety. Multiple group comparisons revealed that the combined subtype exhibited higher trait anxiety, whereas the inattentive subtype showed more state anxiety. Additionally, trait anxiety predicted the students' performance in the concentration variable of the attention task. These results suggest a novel path of significant interest concerning objective and reliable diagnostic assessment of ADHD.

Uno de los trastornos que más afecta al rendimiento escolar es el Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad (TDAH). El criterio establecido por el DSM diferencia tres subtipos: inatento, hiperactivo-impulsivo y combinado. Sin embargo, el perfil de este trastorno podría verse alterado por la asociación con otros como la ansiedad. El objetivo de esta investigación es determinar si hay diferentes patrones de atención (selectiva y sostenida) y ansiedad (estado y rasgo) en los tres subtipos de TDAH. Además, el objetivo es analizar cómo la ansiedad predice el rendimiento de los estudiantes con TDAH en una tarea de atención selectiva. La muestra estaba formada por 220 estudiantes (6-12 años): 56 en el grupo control, 54 con TDAH-Inatento, 53 con TDAH-Hiperactivo impulsivo y 56 con el subtipo combinado. Los resultados obtenidos mostraron que los cuatro grupos resultaban significativamente diferentes en las variables atencionales y en los niveles de ansiedad estado y rasgo. Al mismo tiempo, la ansiedad rasgo predijo el rendimiento en la variable de concentración analizada. Los resultados revelan un nuevo patrón de gran interés de cara a la evaluación diagnóstica objetiva y fiable en el TDAH.

Risk factors associated with cybervictimization in adolescence.

The aim of this work is to analyze the predictive value of several variables that may affect the likelihood of occasional or severe cibervictimization in adolescence, including sociodemographic (gender and age), psychological (self-esteem and shyness-social anxiety), educational (off-line school victimization, training and socio-emotional support, and academic achievement), family (parental control), and technological (frequency of use and risky Internet behaviors) factors. To achieve this, three self-reports were applied to 3,180 Compulsory Secondary Education students from Asturias (Spain), aged between 11 and 19 years old. The multinomial logistic regression results show that age, off-line school victimization, parental control, risky Internet behaviors, using online social networks or instant messaging applications and frequency of Internet use during weekends are statistically significant risk factors for both occasional and severe cybervictimization. Self-esteem is a protective factor for occasional cybervictimization. Having their own mobile phone, playing on-line with others and frequency of Internet use during weekdays are risk factors for severe cybervictimization. The implications of these results are discussed with regard to prevention, detection and treatment of cybervictimization.

El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la capacidad predictiva de diversos factores de carácter sociodemográfico (género y edad), psicológico (autoestima y timidez-ansiedad social), educativo (victimización escolar off-line, formación y apoyo en el centro educativo, y rendimiento académico), familiar (control parental) y tecnológico (frecuencia de uso y conductas de riesgo) sobre la probabilidad de padecer cibervictimización ocasional o severa, en una muestra de adolescentes españoles. Para ello, se aplicaron tres autoinformes a 3.180 estudiantes de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria de Asturias (España), de entre 11 y 19 años. Los análisis de regresión logística multinomial muestran que la edad, la victimización escolar off-line, el control parental, las conductas de riesgo en Internet, el uso de redes sociales o programas de mensajería instantánea y la frecuencia de uso de Internet durante el fin de semana son factores de riesgo estadísticamente significativos tanto de cibervictimización ocasional como severa. La autoestima es factor protector de cibervictimización ocasional. Tener móvil propio, jugar on-line con otras personas y la frecuencia de uso de Internet de lunes a viernes son factores de riesgo de cibervictimización severa. Se discuten las implicaciones de estos resultados de cara a la prevención, detección y tratamiento de la cibervictimización.

Improving basic math skills through integrated dynamic representation strategies.

BACKGROUND: In this paper, we analyze the effectiveness of the Integrated Dynamic Representation strategy (IDR) to develop basic math skills. METHOD: The study involved 72 students, aged between 6 and 8 years. We compared the development of informal basic skills (numbers, comparison, informal calculation, and informal concepts) and formal (conventionalisms, number facts, formal calculus, and formal concepts) in an experimental group (n = 35) where we applied the IDR strategy and in a Control group (n = 37) in order to identify the impact of the procedure. RESULTS: The experimental group improved significantly in all variables except for number facts and formal calculus. CONCLUSIONS: It can therefore be concluded that IDR favors the development of the skills more closely related to applied mathematics than those related to automatic mathematics and mental arithmetic.

Psychometric characteristics of the BRIEF scale for the assessment of executive functions in Spanish clinical population.

BACKGROUND: The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions (BRIEF) scale, completed by families, is widely known in the assessment of executive functions in children and adolescents. However, its application is limited to English-speaking population. METHOD: This study analyzes the preliminary results from its application in a Spanish clinical sample, comprising 125 participants aged 5-18 years. Internal structure and reliability of the translated scale were analyzed, as well as its relationship with other behavioral measures through the analysis of their correlations with the Assessment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Scale (EDAH). The results were compared with those from the original validation study. RESULTS: The data revealed the presence of the same internal structure, as well as acceptable internal consistency and significant correlations with the Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity components of the EDAH scale. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides preliminary evidence of the utility of the BRIEF scale in cultural contexts different from the original, particularly in Spanish clinical population.

[Morphological awareness: development trends and patterns of evolution in kindergarten and primary education]. / La conciencia morfológica: tendencias de desarrollo y patrón evolutivo en Educación Infantil y Primaria.

We present a study that investigates changes in the acquisition and development of morphological awareness in children from 5 to 7 years old. This investigation was carried out on three separate occasions over two academic years, in which morphological awareness was assessed according to two levels. The data indicate an increase in the morphological awareness development from the kindergarten to primary education, verifying the acquisition in the first instance of the morphological judgment level and secondly, of morphological production level. It also generates a pattern of acquisition of the various parameters that make up morphology.