An exploratory cross-sectional study on Mental health literacy of Spanish adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Mental health literacy (MHL) is especially important for young people, but comprehensive studies on MHL in adolescents are limited, with no nationwide studies in Spain. This research aims to study MHL among Spanish adolescents and its relationship with sociodemographic factors. METHODS: An exploratory study is carried out using stratified random sampling in Spanish adolescents (N = 1000), aged 12-16 years and balanced in terms of gender, age and territorial distribution. Data collection took place in October and November 2023 through online surveys using the CAWI methodology. Sociodemographic variables, contact with mental health and the Spanish version of the Mental Health Literacy Questionnaire (MHLq-E), a self-administered instrument of 32 Likert-type items (1-5) that assesses the dimensions of help-seeking skills, knowledge about causes and symptoms, and stigma, were evaluated. Descriptive and multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) were conducted. RESULTS: In general, adequate levels of literacy were observed, although some aspects related to help-seeking towards teachers, stigmatising attitudes towards people of low economic status and knowledge of severe mental health problems could be improved. The results show contact with previous mental health problems as a key variable for stigma and knowledge about symptomatology together with age. Likewise, gender and family educational level were found to be related to the ability to seek professional help. CONCLUSION: This study provides information on levels of MHL among Spanish adolescents and highlights significant socio-demographic variables. These findings pave the way for interventions aimed at improving adolescents' understanding, attitudes and skills to manage mental health problems, making possible to adapt content and focus on specific groups, thus increasing its effectiveness.

Emotion Regulation in Adolescents: Evidence of the Validity and Factor Structure of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ).

The Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) is an assessment tool to evaluate cognitive emotion regulation strategies. The main objective of this study is to provide new empirical evidence about the validity and reliability of the CERQ via a sample of 271 Spanish adolescents (136 female, 135 male) aged from 15 to 18 years (M = 15.7, SD = 0.76). The analytical process was carried out in two phases. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the polychoric correlation matrix between items. Four possible alternative models were contrasted: two models with nine factors and two models with two second-order factors and nine first-order factors, with 36 and 27 items, respectively. The model with nine correlated factors and 27 items obtained the best indices of overall fit. Subsequently, the reliability of the measurements was estimated on this model. The results reaffirm the validity of the 27-item version of the CERQ over the original 36-item structure. The findings also confirm that the CERQ is a reliable instrument for the evaluation of emotion regulation strategies in adolescents.

Psychological symptoms of the outbreak of the COVID-19 confinement in Spain.

We studied the short-term psychological effects of the COVID-19 crisis and the quarantine on 3550 adults from the Spanish population in a cross-sectional survey. Symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress were analyzed using the 21-item version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale. Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder were analyzed using the Impact of Event Scale. Symptomatic scores of anxiety, depression, and stress were observed in 20% to 30% of respondents. Symptomatic scores indicating psychological stress were found in 47.5% of respondents. Similar to the findings of other multiple studies, confinement has been found to have significant emotional impact in the Spanish population.

Effects of the onabotulinumtoxinA follow-up delay in migraine course during the COVID-19 lockdown.

BACKGROUND: Face-to-face procedures have been postponed during COVID-19 pandemic. We aim to evaluate the impact of onabotulinumtoxinA follow-up delay in migraine during COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Subjective worsening, intensity of migraine attacks, and frequency of headache and migraine were retrospectively compared between patients with unmodified and interrupted onabotulinumtoxinA follow-up in Headache Units. RESULTS: We included 67 patients with chronic migraine or high-frequency episodic migraine under onabotulinumtoxinA treatment, 65 (97.0%) female, 44.5 ± 12.1 years old. Treatment administration was voluntarily delayed in 14 (20.9%) patients and nine (13.4%) were unable to continue follow-up. Patients with uninterrupted follow-up during lockdown presented 7.6 and 8.1 less monthly days with headache (adjusted p = 0.017) and migraine attacks (adjusted p = 0.009) compared to patients whose follow-up was interrupted, respectively. CONCLUSION: Involuntary delay of onabotulinumtoxinA follow-up in patients with migraine due to COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a higher frequency of headache and migraine attacks. Safe administration of onabotulinumtoxinA during lockdown should be promoted.

Evaluation of the Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdown in the Clinical Course of Migraine.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have demonstrated that emotional stress, changes in lifestyle habits and infections can worsen the clinical course of migraine. We hypothesize that changes in habits and medical care during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown might have worsened the clinical course of migraine. DESIGN: Retrospective survey study collecting online responses from migraine patients followed-up by neurologists at three tertiary hospitals between June and July 2020. METHODS: We used a web-based survey that included demographic data, clinical variables related with any headache (frequency) and migraine (subjective worsening, frequency, and intensity), lockdown, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress. RESULTS: The response rate of the survey was 239/324 (73.8%). The final analysis included 222 subjects. Among them, 201/222 (90.5%) were women, aged 42.5 ± 12.0 (mean±SD). Subjective improvement of migraine during lockdown was reported in 31/222 participants (14.0%), while worsening in 105/222 (47.3%) and was associated with changes in migraine triggers such as stress related to going outdoors and intake of specific foods or drinks. Intensity of attacks increased in 67/222 patients (30.2%), and it was associated with the subjective worsening, female sex, recent insomnia, and use of acute medication during a headache. An increase in monthly days with any headache was observed in 105/222 patients (47.3%) and was related to symptoms of post-traumatic stress, older age and living with five or more people. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately half the migraine patients reported worsening of their usual pain during the lockdown. Worse clinical course in migraine patients was related to changes in triggers and the emotional impact of the lockdown.

Longitudinal evaluation of the psychological impact of the COVID-19 crisis in Spain.

BACKGROUND: Strict confinement and social distancing measures have been imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in many countries. The aim was to assess the temporal evolution of the psychological impact of the COVID-19 crisis and lockdown from two surveys, separated by one month, performed in Spain. METHODS: Symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, and the psychological impact of the situation were longitudinally analyzed using the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Impact of Event Scale (IES) respectively. RESULTS: There was a total of 4,724 responses from both surveys. Symptomatic scores of anxiety, depression and stress were exhibited by 37.22%, 46.42% and 49.66% of the second survey respondents, showing a significant increase compared to the first survey (32.45%, 44.11% and 37.01%, respectively). There was no significant longitudinal change of the IES scores, with 48.30% of the second survey participants showing moderate to severe impact of the confinement. Constant news consumption about COVID-19 was found to be positively associated with symptomatic scores in the different scales, and daily physical activity to be negatively associated with DASS-21 scores. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicated a temporal increase of anxiety, depression and stress scores during the COVID-19 lockdown. Factors such as age, consumption of information about COVID-19 and physical activity seem to have an important impact on the evolution of psychological symptoms.

Psychological effects of the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown among students and workers of a Spanish university.

The aim of this study was to analyze the psychological impact of COVID-19 in the university community during the first weeks of confinement. A cross-sectional study was conducted. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) was employed to assess symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. The emotional impact of the situation was analyzed using the Impact of Event Scale. An online survey was fulfilled by 2530 members of the University of Valladolid, in Spain. Moderate to extremely severe scores of anxiety, depression, and stress were reported by 21.34%, 34.19% and 28.14% of the respondents, respectively. A total of 50.43% of respondents presented moderate to severe impact of the outbreak. Students from Arts & Humanities and Social Sciences & Law showed higher scores related to anxiety, depression, stress and impact of event with respect to students from Engineering & Architecture. University staff presented lower scores in all measures compared to students, who seem to have suffered an important psychological impact during the first weeks of the COVID-19 lockdown. In order to provide timely crisis-oriented psychological services and to take preventive measures in future pandemic situations, mental health in university students should be carefully monitored.

Dificultades de regulación emocional e intolerancia a la in-certidumbre en estudiantes universitarios / Difficulties in emotional regulation and intolerance of uncertainty in university students

Este estudio tuvo como objetivo determinar si las dificultades que las personas pueden experimentar para regular sus emociones negativas poseen un efecto sobre la intolerancia a la incertidumbre, en-tendiendo a esta última como la capacidad para tolerar el malestar asociado a estímulos inciertos. Para ello, se aplicó a 152 estudiantes universitarios la Escala de Dificultades en la Regulación Emocional y la Escala de Intolerancia a la Incertidumbre. Los resultados obtenidos muestran la asociación efectiva entre ambas variables indicando que, mientras mayores son las dificultades que la persona experimenta para regular eficazmente las emociones negativas, mayores resultan también los niveles de intolerancia a la incertidumbre. Específicamente, las dificultades que resultaron predictoras fueron: Falta de aceptación emocional, Dificultad en conducta dirigida a metas y Acceso limitado a estrategias de regulación emocional. El estudio reviste interés en términos de implicaciones clínicas, especialmente para la población universitaria

The aim of the study was to determine if the difficulties that people may experience to regulate their negative emotions have an effect on intolerance of uncertainty (the ability to tolerate the distress associated with uncertain stimuli). To do this, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale and the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale were applied to 152 Argentine university students. Multiple linear regression analyzes were performed, uncertainty intolerance being the dependent variable. The emotional regulation difficulties that were predictors were nonacceptance of emotional responses, difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior and limited access to emotion regulation strategies. Finally, results showed a relationship between both variables, indicating that the greater the difficulties that the person experiences to effectively regulate negative emotions, the greater the levels of intolerance of uncertainty. This study has clinical implications, especially for the university population

Efecto del uso de estrategias cognitivas de regulación emocional sobre las habilidades de cálculo y comprensión lectora en adolescentes / Effect of the use of cognitive emotion regulation strategies on reading comprehension and calculation skills in adolescents

El objetivo del presente estudio fue indagar acerca del efecto del uso de estrategias cognitivas de regulación emocional sobre las habilidades académicas de cálculo y comprensión lectora en población adolescente. Para ello, se administró el Cuestionario de Regulación Emocional Cognitiva, la Prueba de Competencia Lectora para Educación Secundaria y el sub-test de aritmética de la Prueba de Logro de Amplio Rango, a 65 participantes (género: F: 40, M: 25; ME = 15.52, DE = .69) de una escuela concertada de la ciudad de Valladolid, España. Los resultados indican que el uso de estrategias desadaptativas ­y no así el uso de estrategias adaptativas­ explica el rendimiento en las pruebas de habilidades académicas. Los resultados se discuten en relación a la literatura, señalando los efectos negativos sobre el aprendizaje del uso de estrategias desadaptativas como Rumiación, Catastrofización y Autoculparse

The aim of the present study was to analyze the effect of the use of cognitive emotion regulation strategies on the academic skills (calculation and reading comprehension) of adolescent population. To this end, the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, the Reading Competency Test for Secondary Education and the arithmetic subtest of the Wide Range Achievement Test, were administered to 65 participants (gender: F: 40, M: 22; age: ME = 15.52, DE = .69). Students belonged to a concerted school from the city of Valladolid, Spain. The results indicate that the use of maladaptive strategies -and not the use of adaptive strategies- explains the performance on academic skills tests. The results are discussed in relation to the literature, highlighting the negative effects of the use of maladaptive strategies such as Rumination, Catastrophizing and Self-blaming, on learning

Eficacia del programa de reducción del estrés basado en mindfulness para cuidadores familiares de personas con demencia. Revisión sistemática de estudios clínicos aleatorizados / Effectiveness of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program for family caregivers of people with dementia. Systematic review of randomised clinical trials

Los cuidadores familiares de personas con demencia suelen presentar altos niveles de sintomatología ansiosa, depresiva y sobrecarga, por lo que son considerados como una población clínicamente vulnerable. El objetivo de la presente revisión es examinar la eficacia del programa de reducción del estrés basado en mindfulness (MBSR) aplicado a esta población. Se recogieron aquellos estudios clínicos aleatorizados con medida pre-post procedentes de las bases de datos electrónicas de los últimos 15 años. La calidad metodológica se obtuvo mediante la escala de Jadad. Finalmente fueron incluidos 5 artículos, obteniendo una muestra de 309 participantes. La puntuación en la escala Jadad fue de 3,4 sobre 5. En líneas generales, el programa MBSR reduce la sintomatología ansiosa, depresiva, así como los niveles de sobrecarga en la medida post. Sin embargo, algunos trabajos mostraron una reducción significativa de los efectos psicológicos del programa durante el seguimiento. Son necesarios más estudios empíricos que puedan establecer un protocolo más homogéneo que reduzca la ambigüedad de algunos resultados

Family caregivers of people with dementia usually have high levels of anxiety, depression, and overload symptoms, and are reasons for being considered a clinically vulnerable population. The objective of the present review is to examine the effectiveness of the mindfulness-based stress reduction program (MBSR) applied to this population. A search was made in the electronic databases for randomised trials with pre-post measurement in the last 15 years. The methodological quality was obtained using the Jadad scale. Finally, 5 articles were included, obtaining a sample of 309 participants. The score on the Jadad scale was 3.4 out of 5. In general, the MBSR program reduces anxiety and depression symptoms, as well as overload levels in the post-measurement. However, some studies showed a significant reduction in the psychological effects of the program during follow-up. More empirical studies are needed that can establish a more homogeneous protocol that reduces the ambiguity of some results

[Effectiveness of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program for family caregivers of people with dementia. Systematic review of randomised clinical trials]. / Eficacia del programa de reducción del estrés basado en mindfulness para cuidadores familiares de personas con demencia. Revisión sistemática de estudios clínicos aleatorizados.

Family caregivers of people with dementia usually have high levels of anxiety, depression, and overload symptoms, and are reasons for being considered a clinically vulnerable population. The objective of the present review is to examine the effectiveness of the mindfulness-based stress reduction program (MBSR) applied to this population. A search was made in the electronic databases for randomised trials with pre-post measurement in the last 15 years. The methodological quality was obtained using the Jadad scale. Finally, 5 articles were included, obtaining a sample of 309 participants. The score on the Jadad scale was 3.4 out of 5. In general, the MBSR program reduces anxiety and depression symptoms, as well as overload levels in the post-measurement. However, some studies showed a significant reduction in the psychological effects of the program during follow-up. More empirical studies are needed that can establish a more homogeneous protocol that reduces the ambiguity of some results.

Efecto del uso de estrategias cognitivas de regulación emocional sobre la ansiedad en adolescentes españoles / Effect of the use of cognitive emotional regulation strategies on anxiety levels in Spanish adolescents

Resumen La forma en la que las personas regulan sus emociones suele influir en la aparición, curso y desarrollo de un amplio espectro de psicopatologías. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar el efecto del uso de las estrategias cognitivas de regulación emocional sobre el nivel de ansiedad de estudiantes de nivel secundario. Para ello se aplicó la adaptación al castellano del CER-Q y la adaptación española del STAI a una muestra de 266 estudiantes de nivel secundario. Se planteó un modelo de regresión lineal múltiple, donde el nivel de ansiedad fue la variable dependiente, y la frecuencia de uso de estrategias de regulación emocional fueron las variables independientes. El género también fue considerado una variable independiente puesto que los datos mostraron diferencias en el nivel de ansiedad y en el uso de estrategias de regulación emocional entre sujetos femeninos y masculinos. El modelo explicó un 46.3% de la varianza del nivel de ansiedad, y las variables que resultaron predictoras fueron autoculparse, reinterpretación positiva, catastrofización, rumiación y género. En función de los hallazgos y de la literatura previa, se apunta a la idea de que el uso de estrategias adaptativas de regulación emocional promueve menores niveles de ansiedad y el uso de estrategias desadaptativas redunda en mayores niveles de ansiedad.

Abstract The way in which people regulate their e motions is related to the appearance, course and development of a broad spectrum of psychopathologies. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the use of cognitive emotional regulation strategies on high school students' anxiety level. To this end, the Spanish adaptation of the CER-Q and the Spanish adaptation of the STAI were applied to a sample of 266 high school students. A multiple linear regression model was proposed, where anxiety level was the dependent variable, and the use frequencies of emotional regulation strategies were the independent variables. Gender was also considered as an independent variable since the data showed differences in anxiety level and in the use of emotional regulation strategies between male and female subjects. The model explained 46.3% of the variance, and the predictive variables were Self-blame, Positive Reinterpretation, Catastrophizing, Rumination and gender. Based on the findings and the previous literature, it is suggested that the use of adaptive strategies of emotional regulation promotes lower levels of anxiety, and the use of maladaptive strategies results in higher levels of anxiety.

Psychometric properties of an innovative self-report measure: The Social Anxiety Questionnaire for adults.

This article presents the psychometric properties of a new measure of social anxiety, the Social Anxiety Questionnaire for adults (SAQ), composed of 30 items that were developed based on participants from 16 Latin American countries, Spain, and Portugal. Two groups of participants were included in the study: a nonclinical group involving 18,133 persons and a clinical group comprising 334 patients with a diagnosis of social anxiety disorder (social phobia). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a 5-factor structure of the questionnaire. The factors were labeled as follows: (1) Interactions with strangers, (2) Speaking in public/talking with people in authority, (3) Interactions with the opposite sex, (4) Criticism and embarrassment, and (5) Assertive expression of annoyance, disgust, or displeasure. Psychometric evidence supported the internal consistency, convergent validity, and measurement invariance of the SAQ. To facilitate clinical applications, a receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis identified cut scores for men and women for each factor and for the global score.

Evaluación de las habilidades sociales: estructura factorial y otras propiedades psicométricas de cuatro medidas de autoinforme / Assessing social skills: the factorarial structure and other psychometric properties of four self-report measures

La evaluación de las habilidades sociales por medio de medidas de autoinforme sigue realizándose con instrumentos desarrollados en los años 70, como el "inventario de asertividad de Rathus" (RAS), el "Inventario de aserción" (AI) o la "Escala de autoexpresión universitaria" (CSES). Este estudio llevado a cabo con 421 estudiantes universitarios (76,5% mujeres) halló las estructuras factoriales de dichos instrumentos así como el nuevo "Cuestionario de habilidades sociales" (CHASO-I). Las soluciones factoriales obtenidas fueron de 6, 8, 11 y 12 factores respectivamente. La fiabilidad (dos mitades de Guttman y alfa de Cronbach) de todos los cuestionarios fue alta y las correlaciones entre el CHASO-I y el resto de los cuestionarios fueron moderadas. Se encontraron diferencias de sexo en la puntuación total del RAS y en los factores de «Hablar o actuar en público/ interaccionar con superiores», "Interaccionar con personas que me atraen" e "Interaccionar con desconocidos", con los hombre más habilidosos que las mujeres, y en el factor "Pedir disculpas/Reconocer errores propios" con las mujeres más habilidosas que los hombres. El estudio concluye señalando algunos problemas comunes a las medidas de autoinforme de las habilidades sociales así como algunas virtudes del nuevo CHASO-I

The self-reporting of social skills continues to be assessed through the assertiveness inventories developed in the 1970s, such as the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS), the Assertion Inventory (AI), and the College Self Expression Scale (CSES). The study report here involved 421 university students (7, 5% women) and obtained the factor structures for the aforementioned instruments, plus the new Social Skills Questionnaires (SSQ-I) (Cuestionario de habilidades sociales, CHASO-I). The factorial solutions obtained were 6,8, 11 and 12 factors, respectively. The reliability (Guttman split-half and Cronbach’s alpha) of all the questionnaires was high, and the correlations between the CHASO-I and all the other questionnaires were moderate. The sex differences found involved the total scores Of the RAS and the factors "Speakings or performing in public/Interacting with figures in authority", "Interacting with persons I am attracted to", and "Interacting with strangers", with men being more skilled than women, and the factor "apologizing/recognizing their own mistakes", with women being more skilled than men. The study concluded by recognizing certain common problems affecting the self-report measures of social skills, as well as certain advantages of the new CHASO-I

Relación de las habilidades sociales con la ansiedad social y los estilos/trastornos de la personalidad / The relationship between social skills and social anxiety and personality styles/disorders

La relación entre las habilidades sociales (HHSS) y la ansiedad social (AS) ha sido planteada conceptualmente pero poco estudiada a nivel empírico. Más escasos son los trabajos sobre la relación entre las HHSS y los estilos/trastornos de la personalidad (TTPP). El presente trabajo pretende hallar las posibles relaciones entre las HHSS por una parte, y la AS y los estilos/TTPP, por la otra, en una muestra mayoritariamente de estudiantes universitarios. Las correlaciones entre las puntuaciones totales de los instrumentos de HHSS y AS fueron de moderadas a altas y negativas, es decir, que a menor habilidad social mayor AS y viceversa. Se obtuvo también este mismo nivel de correlaciones al analizar las dimensiones específicas de cada constructo, lo que muestra que hay aspectos que se comparten entre las HHSS y la AS. Por otra parte, las relaciones entre HHSS y TTPP varían según el estilo/trastorno de personalidad específico. La mayoría de las correlaciones son negativas, excepto para los estilos/trastornos histriónico, narcisista, obsesivo compulsivo y antisocial de la personalidad. Estos resultados ofrecen apoyo a una parte importante de las características interpersonales de cada uno de los trastornos de la personalidad

The relationship between social skills and social anxiety has been addressed conceptually but studied little empirically. Scarcer still are the studies on the relationship between social skills and personality styles/disorders. This paper uses a sample of mostly university students to find possible relationships between social skills, on the one hand, and social anxiety and personality styles/disorders, on the other. The correlations of the total scores for the instruments of social skills and social anxiety were moderate to high and negative; that is, the lower the social skill, the grater the social anxiety, and vice versa. This same level of correlation was also obtained by analyzing the specific dimensions of each construct, which shows that there are shared aspects between social skills and social anxiety. Furthermore, the relationship between social skills an personality disorders varies depending on the specific personality style/disorder. Most correlations are negative, except for histrionic, narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive, and antisocial styles/disorders. These results provide support for a significant part of the interpersonal characteristics of each personality disorder

Differences in social anxiety between men and women across 18 countries.

Sex differences between men and women in social anxiety are largely unexplored. This study sought to shed some light on this topic. We administered self-report measures of social anxiety to community samples of 17,672 women and 13,440 men from 16 Latin American countries, Spain and Portugal, as well as to a clinical sample of 601 patients diagnosed with social anxiety disorder. Small but significant differences were found between men and women in the general degree of social anxiety and self-reported fears of interactions with the opposite sex, criticism and embarrassment, and speaking in public-talking to people in authority. These results point to small, but meaningful differences between men and women in social anxiety. Implications of these results for the self-report measurement of social anxiety in men and women are discussed.

Evaluando la ansiedad social por medio de cinco medidas de autoinforme, SPAI, LSAS-SR, SPIN, SPS y SIAS: un análisis crítico de su estructura factorial / Assessing social anxiety through five self-report measures, LSAS-SR, SPAI, SPIN, SPS, and SIAS: a critical analysis of their factor structure

La evaluación de la ansiedad social por medio de medidas de autoinforme suele utilizar alguno de los cuestionarios ampliamente conocidos a nivel internacional: el SPAI, la LSAS-SR, el SPIN, la SPS y/o la SIAS. En el presente estudio dichos cuestionarios se han aplicado a estudiantes universitarios, prestando especial atención a su estructura factorial y, en menor medida, a su fiabilidad y a su consistencia interna. Las mejores soluciones factoriales para estas medidas han sido las siguientes: para el SPAI, seis factores, para la subescala de ansiedad de la LSAS-SR, cinco factores, para el SPIN, tres factores, para la SPS, tres factores y para la SIAS, tres factores. La fiabilidad y la consistencia interna de estos cuestionarios son adecuadas. Se han comparado las diferentes soluciones obtenidas por los distintos cuestionarios y se ha realizado un análisis crítico de su estructura factorial a la luz de la estructura dimensional de la ansiedad social establecida por una nueva medida de autoinforme, el “Cuestionario de ansiedad social para adultos” (CASO-A30). Finalmente, se ha planteado la relevancia de estos análisis para una evaluación más eficiente de la ansiedad social tanto a nivel de la población general como a nivel clínico (AU)

The assessment of social anxiety through self-report measures tends to involve the more widely used questionnaires at international level: SPAI, LSAS-SR, SPIN, SPS, and/or SIAS. In this study, these questionnaires have been applied to university students, with an examination made of their factor structure, reliability and internal consistency. The best factor solutions for these self-report measures have been as follows: SPAI, six factors; LSAS-SR Anxiety subscale, five factors; SPIN, three factors; SPS, three factors, and SIAS, three factors. The reliability and internal consistency of these questionnaires is adequate. A comparison is made between the different solutions obtained by the various questionnaires, and a critical analysis is conducted of the factor results recorded in the light of the dimensional structure of social anxiety established for a new self-report measure, namely, the “Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Adults” (SAQ-A30). Finally, consideration is given to the relevance of these analyses for a more efficient assessment of social anxiety both in terms of the general population and at clinical level

The multidimensional nature and multicultural validity of a new measure of social anxiety: the Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Adults.

Much has been written about the situations most often feared by persons with social phobia, and several self-report measures are frequently used to assess such feared situations. However, it is not clear whether the situations feared by persons with social phobia form unidimensional or multidimensional factors. If these situations are multidimensional, reliance on a total score of feared situations would not reflect important differences between those dimensions. This research examined the multidimensional nature and multicultural validity of a newly developed instrument (the Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Adults [SAQ-A]) in two studies with a total of 539 patients diagnosed with social phobia and 15,753 nonpatients from 20 different countries. The structure (five clear and solid factors) and psychometric properties of the final instrument (the SAQ-A30) support the multidimensional nature of social anxiety and provide a new perspective in the assessment of social phobia.

Acoso escolar y ansiedad social en niños (I): análisis de su relación y desarrollo de nuevos instrumentos de evaluación / Bullying and social anxiety in children (I): analyzing their relationship and developing new self-report assessment measures

El objetivo del presente estudio se centra en analizar la relación entre el acoso escolar y la ansiedad social en una muestra de 1810 niños españoles de entre 9 y 15 años. Se hallaron las relaciones entre estos dos constructos y sus dimensiones utilizando dos nuevos instrumentos, el “Cuestionario multimodal de acoso escolar” (CMAE-1; Caballo, Calderero e Irurtia, 2010) y el “Cuestionario de interacción social para niños” (CISO-NIII; Caballo, Irurtia, Calderero, Salazar y Carrillo, 2010). Los resultados muestran una clara relación entre sufrir acoso escolar, especialmente acoso relacional, y la ansiedad social (tanto en su aspecto global como en las seis dimensiones de que consta). Estas relaciones son más elevadas en los chicos que en las chicas y los análisis de regresión plantean que la ansiedad social global y, principalmente, una de sus dimensiones (“Quedar en evidencia/Hacer el ridículo”) pueden predecir el ser víctima de acoso escolar y viceversa. Los chicos puntúan más alto que las chicas en los aspectos del acoso escolar que tienen que ver con la faceta de acosador, mientras que no hay diferencias entre ambos sexos en los aspectos que tienen que ver con la faceta de acosado (AU)

This study focuses on the relationship between school bullying and social anxiety in a sample of 1,810 Spanish children between the ages of 9 and 15. The relationships between these two constructs and their dimensions were tested using two new self-report instruments: the “Multimodal Questionnaire on Bullying for Children” (CMAE-1; Caballo, Calderero, and Irurtia, 2010) and the “Social Interaction Questionnaire for Children" (CISO-NIII; Caballo, Irurtia, Calderero, Salazar, and Carrillo, 2010). The results reveal a clear relationship between bullying, particularly relational bullying, and social anxiety (overall and between its six dimensions). These relationships are stronger in boys than in girls, and the regression analyses indicate that global social anxiety and, more specifically, one of its dimensions (“Criticism and embarrassment”) can predict bullying, and vice versa, being the victim of bullying is a predictor of social anxiety. Boys scored higher than girls in all the bullying variables associated with the role of bully, while there are no differences between the sexes in the bullying variables related to the role of victim of bullying

Acoso escolar y ansiedad social en niños (II): una propuesta de intervención en formato lúdico / Bullying and social anxiety in children (II): proposal of a new recreational intervention program

Este trabajo presenta los resultados de la aplicación de un nuevo programa lúdico, centrado en las habilidades sociales, para la intervención y prevención de la ansiedad social y del acoso escolar. El programa “Jugando y aprendiendo habilidades sociales” (JAHSO) se aplicó en dos centros educativos de Granada (España) a un total de 193 chicos/as entre 9 y 14 años. Los resultados muestran un elevado grado de eficacia en la disminución de la ansiedad social en cinco de las seis dimensiones evaluadas de este constructo. Con respecto al acoso escolar, el impacto positivo del programa fue estadísticamente significativo en 7 de los 10 aspectos evaluados, aunque el tamaño del efecto de la intervención dependía del aspecto concreto. Con base en los resultados obtenidos, pensamos que este programa puede ser de gran utilidad para su aplicación en los colegios que imparten el ciclo medio y superior de primaria y el primer ciclo de secundaria, en la intervención y prevención de la ansiedad social y del acoso escolar. En la próxima versión, ya en proceso, esperamos que los ajustes realizados mejoren aquellos aspectos que han mostrado ser menos eficaces en la aplicación actual (AU)

This paper presents the results of the application of a new recreational program focused on social skills for the intervention and prevention of social anxiety and school bullying. The program “Playing and Learning Social Skills" (JAHSO) was applied at two schools in Granada (Spain) to a total of 193 children aged between 9 and 14. The results show a sharp drop in social anxiety in five of the six dimensions assessed for this construct. Regarding bullying, the program’s positive impact was statistically significant in seven of the ten items assessed, although the impact of the intervention depended on the specific item. Based on the results forthcoming, this program can be extremely useful for treating and preventing social anxiety and bullying in both primary and secondary schools (4th to 9th grades). The aim of the next step in this research, which is already under way, will be to study whether the modifications introduced could improve those issues that have proven to be less effective in the current application