Profiles of Maladjustment and Interpersonal Risk Factors in Adolescents.

The individual's adaptation problems can lead to risky behaviors such as drug use. This study aimed to analyze the existence of different adaptation profiles (personal, school, and social) in adolescents. Thus, the study aimed to analyze the existence of significant differences in interpersonal risk factors depending on the degree of adaptation. The study participants were 1,201 students of Compulsory Secondary Education (M = 14.43, SD = 1.43), and 50.6% were girls. The TAMAI Test (multifactorial adaptation self-evaluation test) and the FRIDA questionnaire (Interpersonal Risk Factors for Drug Use in Adolescence) were used. A latent class analysis (LCA) revealed three different types of adaptation: maladjusted group, at-risk group, and adjusted group. The results showed the existence of significant differences between the different adaptation profiles based on interpersonal risk factors. The data obtained will help school and mental health plans to prevent misbehaving or risky behaviors.

Profiles of Perfectionistic Ruminations in Undergraduates: Impact on the Spontaneous Use of Mental Images.

Perfectionistic Automatic Thoughts (PAT) negatively affects people who present it. Hence the importance of their study to determine possible ways of reduction. The current study tried to identify PAT profiles and specify the statistically significant differences in the Spontaneous Use of Mental Imaging in 647 undergraduates. For this the Perfectionism Cognitions Inventory and the Spontaneous Use of Imagery Scale were used. The cluster analyses showed three groups of PATs; low (LPAT), moderate (MPAT) and high (HPAT). An analysis of variance revealed moderate size differences in the visual-spatial capacity as well as in the total of the Spontaneous Use of Mental Images for MPAT and LPAT. Implications for the training of future teachers related to the use of mental imagery that can reduce maladaptive PAT are discussed.

Early Detection of Academic Performance During Primary Education Using the Spanish Primary School Aptitude Test (AEI) Battery.

The aim of this study was to assess the predictive capacity of some of the most relevant cognitive skills pertaining to the academic field as measured by the Spanish Primary School Aptitude Test Battery. This psychometric tool was applied to all students who were enrolled in the final year of Early Childhood Education (631 students) in the public schools of the province of Alicante (in the South-East of Spain) and a follow-up of their academic progress was carried out when they completed Primary Education (6 school years). The results obtained show that medium-high and high scores in Verbal Aptitude and Numerical Aptitude tests in Early Childhood Education (5 years of age), can predict academic success at the end of Primary Education (12 years of age) in instrumental subjects such as: (1) Language (Verbal Aptitude Odds Ratio = 1.39 and Numerical Aptitude Odds Ratio = 1.39) and (2) Mathematics (Verbal Aptitude Odds Ratio = 1.47 and Numerical Aptitude Odds Ratio = 1.52). We have determined the importance of developing pedagogical programs that stimulate the development of these skills during Early Childhood Education, while implementing support strategies during Primary Education, for those students who present underdeveloped aptitudes in these areas. In this way, school difficulties would be prevented in the instrumental subjects that provide access to other academic areas.