Information and communication technologies and quality of life in home confinement: Development and validation of the TICO scale.

The mandatory home confinement of the Spanish population, implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, presents a unique opportunity to study the use and influence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in people's perception of quality of life during this exceptional situation. This article adapts and validates a psychometric scale designed to identify and measure the main dimensions of the Quality of Life construct perceived through ICT use. To this end, an exploratory and transversal study has been carried out in Spain on a sample of 2,346 participants. Data processing has been carried out with SPSS and EQS. The results provide evidence of the reliability and psychometric quality on the scale, which exhibits adequate consistency that facilitates its application. The confirmatory factor analysis showed a hierarchical model of three correlated factors that account for the dimensions "Satisfaction with life", "Emotional support" and "Social support", which have enough correlation to measure the personal perception of quality of life associated with ICT use and are consistent with previous psychometric studies. The results of the TICO scale indicate that more than 70% of the sample feel ICT have united their family during home confinement and more than 45% experience happy feelings when they use ICT. In home confinement, ICT use has improved users' quality of life, mainly their satisfaction with life and social and family support.

Bienestar, calidad de vida y regulación afectiva en adolescentes portugueses / Well-being, quality of life and affect regulation in Portuguese adolescents

OBJETIVOS: El objetivo de este trabajo es explorar la regulación emocional, calidad de vida y bienestar subjetivo en la adolescencia, considerando diferencias individuales y familiares en función del sexo, la edad y la escolaridad de los progenitores. También se pretende analizar la relación entre las variables estudiadas. DISEÑO: Estudio cuantitativo descriptivo-comparativo, transversal. Emplazamiento: Institutos de Portugal. PARTICIPANTES: Muestra por conveniencia de 2 escuelas al Norte de Portugal. CRITERIOS DE INCLUSIÓN: adolescentes (entre 12 y 18 años) de los cursos obligatorios y sin ninguna dificultad especial (sea necesidad educativa especial o dificultad de aprendizaje diagnosticada). Muestra total 619, muestra válida 602. MEDICIONES PRINCIPALES: Índice de bienestar personal, Cuestionario de salud SF-8 (calidad de vida) y el Cuestionario de estilos de regulación afectiva. RESULTADOS: El bienestar no presenta diferencias entre sexos, la percepción de salud suele ser mejor en los chicos y la regulación afectiva en las chicas. En relación con la edad se encuentran correlaciones negativas principalmente con las variables del cuestionario de salud. Aparecen diferencias significativas en función del nivel de escolarización de los padres. Las mayores correlaciones aparecen entre las variables de los cuestionarios de bienestar y el de salud. CONCLUSIONES: La influencia del nivel educativo de los padres y la edad tienen un papel diferenciador, especialmente en bienestar y calidad de vida. Desde una perspectiva de promoción del bienestar en la adolescencia hay que destacar el potencial de la percepción de salud y algunas estrategias de regulación emocional en intervenciones y estrategias de educación para la salud

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to examine the emotional regulation, quality of life, and subjective well-being in adolescence, taking into account individual and family differences, as well as gender, age and education level of parents. Relationships between the questionnaires variables were also considered. DESIGN: Descriptive-comparative, cross-sectional, and quantitative study. LOCATION: Two schools in the north of Portugal. PARTICIPANTS: The sample was selected for convenience due to geographic proximity. Inclusion Criteria: adolescents with age between 12 and 18 years old, from compulsory courses and without any special difficulty. Total sample: 619, valid sample: 602. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: Personal Wellness; Health Questionnaire SF-8 (quality of life); and the Measurement of Affect Regulation Styles-trait version Questionnaire. RESULTS: There were no differences between well-being and gender. Health perception is better for boys, and affect regulation for girls. In relation to age, there are negative correlations mainly with variables from the health questionnaire. Significant differences in relation to study level of parents were observed. Main correlations were found between wellness and health variables. CONCLUSIONS: The influence of the education level of parents and age have differentiating role, mainly for well-being and quality of life. From a promotion of wellness perspective in adolescence, potential of health perception and some emotional regulation strategies should be considered in interventions and health education strategy

[Well-being, quality of life and affect regulation in Portuguese adolescents]. / Bienestar, calidad de vida y regulación afectiva en adolescentes portugueses.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to examine the emotional regulation, quality of life, and subjective well-being in adolescence, taking into account individual and family differences, as well as gender, age and educationlevel of parents. Relationships between the questionnaires wariables were also considered. DESIGN: Descriptive-comparative, cross-sectional, and quantitative study. LOCATION: Two schools in the north of Portugal. PARTICIPANTS: The sample was selected for convenience due to geographic proximity. INCLUSION CRITERIA: adolescents with age between 12 and 18 years old, from compulsory courses and without any special difficulty. Total sample: 619, valid sample: 602. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: Personal Wellness; Health Questionnaire SF-8 (quality of life); and the Measurement of Affect Regulation Styles-trait version Questionnaire. RESULTS: There were no differences between well-being and gender. Health perception is better for boys, and affect regulation for girls. In relation to age, there are negative correlations mainly with variables from the health questionnaire. Significant differences in relation to study level of parents were observed. Main correlations were found between wellness and health variables. CONCLUSIONS: The influence of the education level of parents and age have differentiating role, mainly for well-being and quality of life. From a promotion of wellness perspective in adolescence, potential of health perception and some emotional regulation strategies should be considered in interventions and health education strategy.

Eficacia diferencial de dos programas de prevención escolar sobre el consumo de tabaco, según el tipo de aplicador / Effectiveness of two smoking prevention programs according to type of applicator

Aunque la investigación sobre la prevención del consumo de drogas ha mostrado que la eficacia de los programas depende en parte del tipo de aplicador, los resultados de los estudios dirigidos a dilucidar esta cuestión son contradictorios. Este estudio compara los efectos sobre el consumo de tabaco, a corto y medio plazo, de la aplicación de dos programas de prevención escolar en función del tipo de aplicador. La muestra se compuso de 200 alumnos de 1º de ESO, distribuidos en cinco condiciones experimentales: cuatro de intervención, en las que los programas fueron aplicados por los profesores o por psicólogos ajenos al centro, y una de control. Los resultados muestran que los profesores, cuando aplican el programa Barbacana, y los psicólogos, cuando aplican el programa Construyendo Salud, logran reducir la incidencia del consumo de tabaco (BR-docentes 15%; C.S-psicólogos 5%) y consolidar las actitudes contrarias al consumo de tabaco. Se destaca la presencia de un efecto de interacción entre el tipo de programa y el tipo de aplicador (AU)

Effectiveness of two smoking prevention programs according to type of applicator. Although research on the prevention of drug use has shown that the effectiveness of programs depends partly on who applies them, the results of studies designed to clarify this issue are contradictory. This study compared the effects on smoking, in the short and medium term, of the implementation of two school-based prevention programs, depending on the type of applicator. The sample was made up of 200 seventh-grade students distributed among five experimental conditions: four of intervention, in which the programs were implemented by teachers from the school or by external psychologists, and one of control. The results show that teachers applying the Barbacana program and psychologists applying the Construyendo Salud (Building Health) program succeeded in reducing the incidence of cigarette smoking (BR-teachers 15%; C.S-psychologists 5%) and strengthening attitudes against smoking. An interaction effect between type of program and type of applicators was clearly observed (AU)