Dismantling stereotypes: Sexual orientation and risk for substance use in adolescence. / Desmontando estereotipos: Orientación sexual y riesgo para el consumo de sustancias en la adolescencia.

Substance use and abuse is a major public health problem. Research has generally shown that sexual minority groups such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other (LGBT+) people are among the most at-risk vulnerable groups for substance use. However, research in the Spanish context is very scarce and has not analyzed these issues. This research, therefore, aimed to analyze substance use in young people according to their sexual orientation through two studies using representative samples of adolescents. The analyses revealed only some differences in substance use by sexual minority groups. Bisexual adolescents showed a higher frequency of use in some indicators of tobacco, cannabis and alcohol, and lesbians showed a higher frequency of heavy alcohol use but no other indicators of differential use. Questioning adolescents, on the other hand, had the lowest rates of use compared to the other groups on many indicators. Results derived from both studies could indicate, at least with these samples and indicators, that there is no generalized and more frequent use of substances by people of sexual minority groups, which could suggest the existence of a stereotype rather than a fact.

El uso y abuso de sustancias es un importante problema de salud pública. La investigación generalmente ha mostrado que los grupos de personas de minorías sexuales como lesbianas, gais, bisexuales, transexuales y otros (LGBT+) se ubican entre los grupos vulnerables de mayor riesgo de consumo. Sin embargo, la investigación en el contexto español es muy escasa y no ha analizado esta cuestión. Esta investigación, por lo tanto, pretendió analizar el consumo de sustancias en jóvenes según su orientación sexual a través de dos estudios utilizando muestras representativas de adolescentes. Los análisis revelaron únicamente algunas diferencias en el consumo de sustancias por parte de los grupos de minorías sexuales. Los y las adolescentes bisexuales presentaron una frecuencia mayor de consumo en algunos indicadores de tabaco, cannabis y alcohol y las lesbianas mostraron una mayor frecuencia de consumo intensivo de alcohol, pero no otros indicadores de consumo diferencial. Por su parte, los adolescentes questioning presentaron las tasas de consumo más bajas en comparación con los otros grupos en muchos indicadores. Los resultados de ambos estudios podrían indicar, al menos con estas muestras y con estos indicadores, que no existe un uso generalizado y más frecuente de sustancias por parte de personas de minorías sexuales, lo que podría sugerir la existencia de un estereotipo y no tanto responder a un hecho.

Problematic Internet Use in adolescents: New psychometric evidence for the Spanish short form of the Compulsive Internet Use Scale.

OBJECTIVES: Problematic Internet Use (PIU) has become a worldwide problem in recent years. Among screening instruments for PIU, the Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS) is perhaps the most widely used. Psychometric properties of the full CIUS are not convincing, however, and the short form (CIUS-S) has shown promising results, albeit limited to the English version, with little evidence in Spanish. Therefore, the aim of the present work was to study the psychometric properties of the CIUS-S scores in a large sample of Spanish adolescents. METHOD: The sample consisted of 1790 participants, 816 male (45.6%), 961 female (53.7%), and 13 other (0.7%) . Mean age was 15.70 years (SD = 1.26). RESULTS: The five-items one-dimensional model displayed appropriate goodness-of-fit indices. Strong measurement invariance model across age and partial across gender was found. Furthermore, the CIUS-S was positively associated with several indicators of poor well-being and mental health, and negatively associated with prosocial behavior, self-esteem, and feeling of belonging. CONCLUSION: Overall, the CIUS-S scores appear reliable and valid in its Spanish version for adolescent populations, supporting its aim to detect and prevent a problem that has become a major worldwide issue in the last years.

Problematic Internet Use among adolescents: Spanish validation of the Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS). / Uso Problemático de Internet en adolescentes: Validación en español de la Escala de Uso Compulsivo de Internet (CIUS).

Problematic use of the Internet among adolescents has risen in the last decade. The Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS) is one of the most frequently internationally-used tools developed to assess Problematic Internet Use (PIU). However, evidence concerning its validity and reliability in its Spanish version for the adolescent population is currently lacking. Thus, the main goal of the present study was to analyse the psychometric properties of CIUS scores in a large sample of Spanish adolescents. The sample consisted of 1,790 participants (53.7% female, mean age = 15.70 years old, SD = 1.26). The one-dimensional model displayed appropriate goodness of fit indices after error covariance of five items were allowed to correlate. Strong measurement invariance was found for the one-dimensional model across age and gender. The McDonald's Omega coefficient for the total score was 0.91. Furthermore, PIU was positively associated with different indicators of poor wellbeing and psychological difficulties and negatively associated with prosocial behaviour, self-esteem and sense of belonging to the educational centre. The study provided evidence of validity for the CIUS, confirming its utility for screening PIU in non-clinical adolescents.

La Escala de Uso Compulsivo de Internet (Compulsive Internet Use Scale, CIUS) es uno de los instrumentos más empleados a nivel internacional para evaluar el Uso Problemático de Internet (UPI). Sin embargo, no existen evidencias de validez y fiabilidad de las puntuaciones de la versión española en población adolescente. Por ello, el principal objetivo de este estudio fue analizar las propiedades psicométricas de las puntuaciones de la CIUS en una muestra representativa de adolescentes españoles. La muestra contó con 1.790 participantes (53,7% mujeres, edad media = 15,70 años, DT = 1,26). El análisis de la estructura interna del instrumento mostró unos índices de bondad de ajuste apropiados para el modelo unidimensional después de que se permitiera correlacionar la covarianza de errores de cinco ítems. Se encontró invarianza de medición fuerte para el modelo unidimensional en las variables de edad y género. El coeficiente Omega de McDonald para la puntuación total fue 0,91. Además, el UPI se asoció positivamente con diferentes indicadores de malestar y dificultades psicológicas y negativamente con el comportamiento prosocial, la autoestima y el sentido de pertenencia al centro educativo. Este estudio arroja evidencias de validez de la CIUS, y sugiere que puede ser una herramienta apropiada para medir el UPI en adolescentes de la población general.

Attitudes towards Violence in Adolescents and Youth Intimate Partner Relationships: Validation of the Spanish Version of the EAV.

The main purpose of the present study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Attitudes Scale Towards Violence (Escala de Actitudes hacia la Violencia, EAV) in adolescents. The EAV is a questionnaire devoted to assess attitudes towards violence. Additionally, the relationship between EAV and violence manifestations and depressive symptoms was analyzed. The final sample comprised a total of 1248 students in a cross-sectional survey. The EAV, the Modified Conflict Tactics Scale (M-CTS), and the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS) were used. The analysis of the internal structure of the EAV yielded a two-factor structure as the most adequate. The EAV scores showed measurement invariance across gender and age. The McDonald's Omega was 0.862 and 0.872 for the two hypothesized factors. Furthermore, self-reported attitudes towards violence were associated with violence manifestations both as a victim and as a perpetrator and depressive symptoms. These results support that the EAV is a brief and easy tool to assess self-reported violence attitudes in intimate partner relationships in adolescents from the general population. The assessment of these attitudes, and its associations with violence and depressive manifestations, may help us to enhance the possibility of an early identification of adolescents potentially at risk for suffering violence as a victim or as a perpetrator.