Telepractice in Early Childhood Intervention: A Parent-Reported Social Validity Scale.

ANTECEDENTS: In recent years, telepractice has become widespread as an intervention strategy in Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) services. However, studies supporting its use in this field remain scarce. Because reliable instruments are needed to evaluate the perceived quality, satisfaction and the acceptability of telepractice from the families' perspective, the present study aims to report the psychometric properties of an ECI-specific instrument that includes a variety of social validity indicators that are also important and consistent with a family-centered approach. METHOD: This study, with a sample of 738 families, introduces an instrument aimed at evaluating the social validity of telepractice. The scale includes the main indicators of social validity: Usability, Effectiveness; Feasibility, Utility, intervention with natural caregivers, and Future Intentions. The study aims to report its psychometric properties through a split-sample method, conducting both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis with randomly assigned sub-samples. RESULTS: We found that all seven items fit into one factor measuring social validity of telepractice, with acceptable internal consistency and sensitive enough to capture differences between the type of service delivery families received. CONCLUSIONS: In addition, the proposed instrument provides relevant information for professionals to improve the quality of service-delivery in ECI.

Telepractice in Early Childhood Intervention: A Parent-Reported Social Validity Scale / Telepráctica en Atención Temprana: una Escala de Validez Social Informada por Padres

Antecedents: In recent years, telepractice has become widespread as an intervention strategy in Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) services. However, studies supporting its use in this field remain scarce. Because reliable instruments are needed to evaluate the perceived quality, satisfaction and the acceptability of telepractice from the families’ perspective, the present study aims to report the psychometric properties of an ECI-specific instrument that includes a variety of social validity indicators that are also important and consistent with a family-centered approach. Method: This study, with a sample of 738 families, introduces an instrument aimed at evaluating the social validity of telepractice. The scale includes the main indicators of social validity: Usability, Effectiveness; Feasibility, Utility, intervention with natural caregivers, and Future Intentions. The study aims to report its psychometric properties through a split-sample method, conducting both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis with randomly assigned sub-samples. Results: We found that all seven items fit into one factor measuring social validity of telepractice, with acceptable internal consistency and sensitive enough to capture differences between the type of service delivery families received. Conclusions: In addition, the proposed instrument provides relevant information for professionals to improve the quality of service-delivery in ECI.(AU)

Antecedentes: En los últimos años, la telepráctica se ha generalizado como estrategia de intervención en los servicios de Atención Temprana. Sin embargo, los estudios que avalan su uso en este ámbito siguen siendo escasos. Además, las investigaciones muestran que es necesario disponer de instrumentos fiables para evaluar la calidad percibida, la satisfacción y la aceptabilidad de la telepráctica, tanto desde la perspectiva de los profesionales como de las familias. Método: Este estudio, realizado con una muestra de 738 familias, introduce un instrumento destinado a evaluar la validez social de la telepráctica y analiza sus propiedades psicométricas. La escala integra los principales indicadores de validez social: Usabilidad, Eficacia; Viabilidad, Utilidad, intervención con cuidadores naturales e Intenciones de futuro. Resultados: Los resultados de este estudio mostraron la fortaleza de este instrumento reportado por los padres para medir la validez social de la telepráctica en la Intervención Temprana. Conclusiones: Además, el instrumento propuesto proporciona información relevante para los profesionales que mejoran la calidad de la prestación de servicios en Atención Temprana.(AU)

Improving depression and perceived social support enhances overall quality of life among myocardial infarction survivors: necessity for integrating mental health care into cardiac rehabilitation programs.

Background: Depression and low perceived social support (PSS) have been found to deleteriously affect quality of life (QoL) among myocardial infarction (MI) survivors. The complex relationship between these variables has not been assessed. We wanted to assess first the prevalence of depression among MI survivors and whether depression mediates the effect of PSS on QoL and, second, whether the physical and social domains of QoL mediated the effect of depression and PSS on the emotional domain. This cross-sectional study was done among MI survivors using Cardiac Depression Scale, MacNew Quality of Life After Myocardial Infarction Questionnaire and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support to assess for depression, QoL and PSS respectively. Results: A total of 103 MI survivors were included in the study, and the mean age was 59.66 (± 10.42) years. Depression was found in 21.36% of the participants. The indirect effect of PSS on QoL with depression as a mediator was significant (b = 0.15, p < 0.001, 95% CI 0.12, 0.18). The direct effect of PSS on QoL controlling for depression was also significant (b = 0.05, p < 0.001, 95% CI = 0.02, 0.07). Depression as a mediator in the relationship explained 75.3% of the effect of PSS on QoL. PSS and depression did not have a significant direct effect on emotional QoL, but it became significant when the physical and social domains were included in the model. The total indirect effects of PSS and depression on emotional QoL were b = 0.16, p < 0.001, 95% CI = 0.05, 0.17 and b = - 0.05, p < 0.001, 95% CI = 0.06, - 0.03, respectively. Conclusion: Depression and poor PSS impair physical and social domains, which impairs the emotional domain of QoL; as such, overall QoL is undermined. As limited physical and social activity because of depression and poor PSS may increase the risk of further cardiovascular events, a holistic approach which includes mental health care is warranted.

Internalized and Perceived Stigma and Depression in Pulmonary Tuberculosis: Do They Explain the Relationship Between Drug Sensitivity Status and Adherence?

Background: Adherence to medication for tuberculosis (TB) has been found to be deleteriously affected by psychosocial issues, including internalized and perceived stigma (IPS) and depression, usually resulting in the emergence of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). The objective of the study was to find the prevalence of depression among patients receiving treatment for pulmonary TB, and how stigma and depression affect the relationship between drug sensitivity status (DSS) and treatment adherence. Method: It was a cross-sectional observational study conducted between January 2019 and July 2020 in two centers in Sikkim, India. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Internalized Social Stigma Scale (ISSS), and Tuberculosis Medication Adherence Scale were used to assess depression, IPS, and medication adherence, respectively. A path analysis was performed with DSS, treatment adherence, IPS, and depression. Education in years was included in the model as it was significantly correlated with IPS. Results: A total of 71 patients who were on drug-sensitive TB (DS-TB) regimen (n = 26) and MDR-TB regimen (n = 45) participated in the study. Notably, 56.3% (n = 40) of the participants were found to have depression. Among the depressed participants, 32.5% were on the DS-TB regimen and 67.5% were on the MDR-TB regimen. The path analysis indicated that IPS and depression were serially mediating the relationship between DSS and treatment adherence (ß = -0.06, p < 0.05, 95% CI = -3.20, -0.02). Finally, years of education had an exogenous predictor role, not only directly affecting IPS (ß = -0.38, p < 0.001, 95% CI = -0.99, -0.31) but also affecting treatment adherence through IPS and depression (ß = 0.08, p = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.03, 0.47). This indicated that with more years of education, the IPS decreases, which decreases depression and ultimately leads to better adherence. Conclusion: We found an important relationship between different psychosocial factors which may affect treatment adherence. Patients who have higher IPS are more likely to develop depression which negatively affect adherence. Patients on the MDR-TB regimen have higher stigma. There is an urgent need to integrate mental health services with TB Control Programs.

A Bibliometric Study on the Social Validity of Telepractice in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The field of telepractice is generating increasing interest in recent years. In recent years, early childhood services have used resources such as support for interventions in families with children with autism spectrum disorder. Due to this situation, the social validity of such resources has emerged in this sector, receiving individual attention from academics and practitioners. However, a further deepening of such analyses is needed. Therefore, the main objective of this work is to analyze papers published in the Web of Science on social validity and telepractice in autism spectrum disorders. Bibliometric analysis allows us to discover the current state of a research field, to identify the main authors, articles, and topics, and to propose future lines of research to develop it further. Articles published between 2000 and 2021 were analyzed quantitatively, and by co-occurrence of words and authors. Subsequently, through bibliographic linking, the articles were grouped into different clusters. Five central themes were found, with social skills and the effectiveness of intervention programs being the most developed areas of research. Furthermore, studies focusing on evidence-based practices are necessary for the development of this research field. Thus, the analysis of social validity in the field of telepractice in children with autism spectrum disorders is a developing field within the early childhood sector.

Rasch Analysis of Authentic Evaluation of Young Children's Functioning in Classroom Routines.

This study evaluated the functioning of children in early childhood education classroom routines, using the 3M Functioning in Preschool Routines Scale. A total of 366 children aged 36 to 70 months and 22 teachers from six early childhood education centers in Spain participated in the study. The authors used the Rasch model to determine the item fit and the difficulty of the items in relation to children's ability levels in this age range. The Rasch Differential Item Functioning (DIF) analysis by child age groups showed that the item difficulty differed according to the children's age and according to their levels of competence. The results of this study supported the reliability and validity of the 3M scale for assessing children's functioning in preschool classroom routines. A few items, however, were identified as needing to be reworded and more difficult items needed to be added to increase the scale difficulty level to match the performance of children with higher ability levels. The authors introduced the new and reworded items based on the results of this study and the corresponding ICF codes per item. Moreover, the authors indicate how to use the ICF Performance Qualifiers in relation to the 3M scale response categories for developing a functioning profile for the child.

Interventions for students with autism in inclusive settings: A best-evidence synthesis and meta-analysis.

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are increasingly educated alongside typically developing peers in regular education environments. These students have impairments that may hinder their success in inclusive school settings and require individualized supports to improve outcomes. The purpose of this meta-analysis and best-evidence synthesis is to examine the characteristics of interventions for students with ASD in inclusive settings, offer quantitative analysis of intervention effects, examine potential moderating variables that influence outcomes, analyze the social validity of these interventions, and provide recommendations for practice and future research. The 28 included studies met the What Works Clearinghouse standards for group design and single-case design research. Studies focused mostly on social communication skills, produced moderate to large effects, and were generally found to be socially valid. Function-based interventions, visual supports, self-monitoring strategies, and peer-mediated interventions resulted in mostly large effects, and teacher delivered interventions produced the largest overall effects. More high-quality studies for students with ASD in inclusive school settings are needed to advance evidence-based practice for this population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Self-concept in preadolescence: A brief version of AF5 scale / Auto-conceito na pré-adolescência: Uma breve versão da escala AF5 / Autoconcepto en la preadolescencia: Una versión breve de la escala AF5

The purpose of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of a brief version of the AF5 questionnaire (García & Musitu, 2001) using exploratory and confirmatory techniques on a preadolescent population in the Valencian community (Spain). The sample was made up of 541 participants between 10 and 12 years old, 55.1% (298) boys and 44.9% (243) girls. After observing the results of different reliability and validity analyses (exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)), it was found that the reduced scale consisting of 20 items showed a similar reliability and validity to the original scale. The factorial structure also fits that of the original model established a priori. According to the results of the study, the use of this diagnostic tool with Spanish children seems justified...

O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar as propriedades psicométricas de uma versão reduzida do questionário AF5 (Garcia & Musitu, 2001), utilizando técnicas exploratórias e confirmatórias, em uma população pré-adolescente na comunidade Valenciana (Espanha). A amostra foi composta de 541 participantes entre 10 e 12 anos de idade, 55,1% do sexo masculino (298) e 44,9% do sexo feminino (243). Depois de observar os resultados de diferentes análises de confiabilidade e validade (análise fatorial exploratória (EFA) e análise fatorial confirmatória (CFA)), verificou-se que o questionário reduzido, composto por 20 itens, mostrou uma confiabilidade e validade semelhantes aos do questionário original. A estrutura fatorial também se encaixa no modelo original estabelecido a priori. De acordo com os resultados da pesquisa, o uso desta ferramenta de diagnóstico com crianças espanholas parecem justificados...

El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar las propiedades psicométricas de una versión abreviada del cuestionario AF5 (García & Musitu, 2001) utilizando técnicas exploratorias y confirmatorias en una población preadolescente en la comunidad Valenciana (España). La muestra se compone de 541 participantes entre 10 y 12 años de edad, 55.1% niños (298) y el 44,9% niñas (243). Tras observar los resultados de diferentes análisis de fiabilidad y validez (análisis factorial exploratorio (EPT) y el análisis factorial confirmatorio (CFA)), se encontró que la escala reducida consistente en 20 ítems mostró una fiabilidad y validez similar a la escala original. La estructura factorial también se ajusta a la del modelo original establecida a priori. De acuerdo con los resultados del estudio, el uso de esta herramienta de diagnóstico con niños españoles parece justificado...