Validity Evidence for the Self-Absorption Scale (SAS) in Spanish Population.

BACKGROUND: The Self-Absorption Scale (SAS) is one of the few instruments that measure dysfunctional self-focused attention or self-absorption, a transdiagnostic factor of vulnerability to various emotional disorders. The internal structure of the Spanish version of the SAS and its relationship with other variables have not been examined, nor has whether its subscales provide relevant information. These were the two goals of the present study. METHOD: The factor structure of the SAS, its internal consistency, and its relationship with depression and post-traumatic stress were analyzed in a Spanish community sample of 519 adults. RESULTS: The SAS presented a symmetrical bifactor structure with a general factor of self-absorption that explained most of the variance in the items and two specific factors of private and public self-absorption. The total scale and the two subscales of the SAS exhibited excellent, good or adequate reliability coefficients (alphas/omegas = .70 ­ .88) and correlated with depression and post-traumatic stress ( r = .34 ­ .46). CONCLUSIONS: The SAS provides reliable, valid measures of dysfunctional self-focused attention in Spanish adults, but its Private and Public Self-absorption subscales are not much more useful than the information provided by its total scale.

Psychometric Properties of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3) in Spanish Population.

BACKGROUND: The Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3) is the reference instrument for measuring anxiety sensitivity. The psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the ASI-3 have been examined in university students but not in adults from the general population. Whether the ASI-3 subscales provide relevant information has not yet been examined either. METHOD: The ASI-3's factor structure, internal consistency, temporal stability, and relationship with neuroticism were examined in a Spanish community sample of 919 adults. RESULTS: In two subsamples of participants, the ASI-3 presented a structure of three correlated factors (physical, cognitive, and social concerns) that loaded on a higher-order factor, but the three factors did not explain much item variance. The total scale and subscales of the ASI-3 showed excellent or good indices of internal consistency (alphas and omegas = .81 ­ .91), and adequate indices of test-retest reliability at two months ( r = .57 ­ .73) and the relationship with neuroticism and its facets ( r = .19 ­ .52). CONCLUSIONS: The ASI-3 provides reliable, valid measures of anxiety sensitivity in Spanish adults, but its subscales are not very useful beyond the information provided by the total scale.

Long-Term Posttraumatic Growth in Victims of Terrorism in Spain.

Background: Scientific literature on posttraumatic growth (PTG) after terrorist attacks has primarily focused on persons who had not been directly exposed to terrorist attacks or persons who had been directly exposed to them, but who were assessed few months or years after the attacks. Methods: We examined long-term PTG in 210 adults directly exposed to terrorist attacks in Spain a mean of 29.6 years after the attacks (range: 2-47 years). The participants had been injured by a terrorist attack (38.6%) or were first-degree relatives of people who had been killed or injured by a terrorist attack (41.4% and 20%, respectively). They completed diagnostic measures of emotional disorders and measures of PTSD and depression symptomatology, optimism, and PTG. Results: Multiple regression analyses revealed gender differences (women reported higher levels of PTG than did men) and a positive linear relationship between PTG and cumulative trauma after the terrorist attack. Some PTG dimensions were significantly associated with PTSD symptomatology, these associations being linear, not curvilinear. However, PTG was not associated with depression symptomatology, diagnosis of emotional disorders, age, elapsed time since the attack, or optimism. In comparison with survivors assessed 18 years after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, Spanish victims of terrorism showed higher levels of appreciation of life, but lower levels of relating to others and spiritual change. Conclusion: The findings underscore the influence of gender on PTG and provide support to the hypothesis that some emotional distress may be a necessary condition of PTG. Future studies on PTG after terrorist attacks should take into consideration the characteristics of the terrorist attack itself and the contexts of violence and threat in which it occurred. The political, social, and cultural characteristics of the community affected by it and the profile and characteristics of other traumatic events suffered after the attack should also be taken into account in further research.

Mental Health, Quality of Life and Coping Strategies in Vulnerable Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus pandemic has led to a situation without precedent in modern history. The aim of this study is to analyse the consequences after one year of the pandemic on a group of children and adolescents assessed at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 and to determine the most effective ways of psychologically coping with this pandemic. METHOD: Two different, but equivalent, groups with a total of 604 (study I, 2020) and 743 (study II, 2021) children and adolescents in residential care, foster families, kinship families or family strengthening programs in Spain were evaluated using the SDQ (mental health measure), KIDSCREEN-10 index (quality of life measure) and Kidcope (coping behaviour measure). An independent sample t-test and a decision tree analysis were used. RESULTS: The mental health of children and adolescents decreased by 9.7%, and Self-Perceived quality of life did not change after one year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonactive coping strategies predicted worse mental health and worse quality of life. Problem solving served as a protective factor. CONCLUSION: One year after, the COVID-19 pandemic has an effect on the psychological wellbeing of children and adolescents, and the consequences can be reduced if proper coping strategies are used.

Dysfunctional Attitudes in Victims of Terrorism: Validity Evidence for the DAS-A.

BACKGROUND: The Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale, Form A (DAS-A), is the reference instrument for measuring dysfunctional attitudes which, according to Beck's cognitive theory, constitute the key vulnerability factor for depression. The psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the DAS-A have been examined in university students, but not in people with psychological disorders, despite being one of the most widely-used instruments in research and clinical practice of cognitive therapy for depression. The objective of the present study was to obtain validity evidence for the DAS-A in victims of terrorism with and without emotional disorders. METHOD: The DAS-A's factor structure, internal consistency, and relationship with depression were analyzed in 196 victims of terrorism with emotional disorders and 280 victims without disorders. RESULTS: In both samples, the DAS-A exhibited a structure with three correlated factors: Achievement-Perfectionism, Dependency-Need for Approval, and Autonomous Attitude. In general, the total scale and the subscales showed good or adequate indices of internal consistency (alphas and omegas = .60 - .89) and a relationship with depression ( r =.22 - .44). CONCLUSIONS: The DAS-A provides reliable, valid measures of depressogenic dysfunctional attitudes in Spanish adults with emotional disorders and victims of terrorism.

Ten Things Every Psychologist Should Know About Treating Psychological Disorders in Victims of Terrorism.

BACKGROUND: Terrorism remains one of the most serious global problems, affecting a very large number of people, a significant percentage of whom can suffer psychological disorders arising from a terrorist attack. The purpose of this article is to describe the current state of scientific knowledge about these psychological disorders and their treatment. METHOD: Systematic narrative or meta-analytical reviews of the scientific literature on the subject published between 2010 and 2020 were searched for in PsycINFO, MEDLINE, and PTSDpubs. RESULTS: The search located 16 systematic reviews whose findings were analyzed, leading to ten conclusions about the most common psychological disorders and their progression, the type and percentage of victims who will be most affected by them, and the most effective and useful treatments for those disorders during the various phases following an attack. CONCLUSIONS: After a terrorist attack, both direct and indirect victims will need short- and mid-term psychological care and follow up. Direct victims, the direct relatives of any deceased, and other victims significantly exposed to the attack or its consequences, will also need long- and very long-term care and follow up. Currently, trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapies are the treatment of choice for victims in the rescue, recovery, and return-to-life phases.

Effectiveness of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy for terrorism victims with very long-term emotional disorders.

BACKGROUND: There are no published studies on the clinical utility of psychotherapy in victims of terrorism who suffer emotional disorders many years after the attacks. METHOD: A course of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy was administered to 50 victims of terrorist attacks that occurred an average of 23 years previously and who presented isolated or concurrent posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; 74%), major depressive disorder (54%), panic disorder (38%), or other anxiety disorders (38%). RESULTS: According to an intention-to-treat analysis (N=50), these percentages decreased significantly to 24% (PTSD and major depression), 16% (panic disorder) and 14% (other anxiety disorders) at 1-year follow-up. According to a complete data analysis, at posttreatment no victims (n=31) still presented major depressive or panic disorder, only 3.2% presented PTSD and 9.7% presented other anxiety disorders, whereas at 1-year follow-up, no victims presented any disorders (n=22). At posttreatment and at the 1-, 3-, 6-month, and 1-year follow-ups, large statistically and clinically significant decreases in PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptomatology were found (d=1.26 to 2.52 at 1-year follow-up). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that efficacious treatments for recent victims are also useful in the usual clinical practice for victims with very long-term emotional disorders.