The validity of learning potential for predicting educational adjustment in preschoolers with Down syndrome: A longitudinal study.

Learning Potential tests aim to assess cognitive functioning using mediation strategies by observing subsequent changes in learning patterns. In this study, this methodology was applied with the Preschool Learning Potential and Abilities Scale and two additional tests, the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test and the Battery of Aptitudes for School Learning I, to a total of 58 children with Down Syndrome, at four and six years of age. The results demonstrate improvements in general intelligence, learning potential, and school aptitudes between the two timepoints. There was a significant, positive relationship between the variables measured in the different tests, as well as on the predictive variables of school aptitudes, in these children at six years of age. There is evidence that supports the use of this dynamic evaluation methodology, opening new fields of action in child evaluation processes.

Experiences and Challenges of Health Professionals in Implementing Family-Centred Planning: A Qualitative Study.

Early childhood intervention is crucial for the development of minors with disabilities or at risk. Family-centred planning (FCP), which involves families in care, stands out in this context. Despite its importance, little is known about professionals' experiences of its implementation. FCP aims to tailor services to the needs of the family and the child within the Spanish health system. This study highlights the importance of assessing professionals' perceptions of FCP. Professionals rooted in traditional approaches may resist change. To assess the implementation of FCPs, the study explores the perspectives of 25 healthcare professionals using qualitative methods to assess their experiences. The qualitative descriptive phenomenological design, following Giorgi's modified Husserlian approach, seeks to understand the essence of the phenomenon from the participants' perspective. Two main themes emerged: (1) a social and work organization that perpetuates rehabilitation or early stimulation practices and (2) a socio-family and work organization that promotes FCP adherence, along with subthemes and units of meaning. The evaluation reveals common challenges, such as the need for solid training and institutional support. Evaluating the experience of professionals is essential to overcome barriers and ensure the successful implementation of FCPs. Administrators have an important role to play in providing social, health, and educational alternatives.

Predictors of resilience in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal study comparing the first and second waves.

Few studies have investigated the effects of the pandemic caused by COVID-19 on health professionals, especially nurses, from the point of view of the protective factors of mental health. The aim of this study was to assess the level of resilience in healthcare workers, to determine whether there were differences between two moments of the pandemic. Applying a longitudinal study, participants (N = 590) from healthcare workers completed surveys in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and the second wave. Socio-demographic and psychosocial variables such as resilience, emotional intelligence, optimism, self-efficacy, anxiety, and depression are used. There were differences between the two waves in all protective and risk variables except anxiety. In the first wave, there were three socio-demographic and psychosocial variables that explained 67.1% of the variance in resilience. In the first wave, three sociodemographic and psychosocial variables explained 67.1% of the variance in resilience in healthcare professionals. The enhancement of specific protective variables in healthcare professionals exposed to situations of high emotional stress can minimise the negative impact of the situation and promote more resilient responses in this professional group as a result.

Variables that enhance the development of resilience in young gay people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

AIMS: Sexual and gender minorities are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety caused by COVID-19. However, they also have specific variables that have been little studied but which may protect them from this adverse situation. The aim of this study was to find out whether there were differences in socio-demographic and psychosocial variables in two groups of Spanish gay young people (high and low resilience), and predictors of risk and protective factors were examined. METHODS: Nine hundred and seventy-nine young homosexuals (389; 39.73% self-reported as women) aged between 18 and 26 years old who experienced mandatory confinement due to COVID-19, completed an anonymous online questionnaire. Hope, perceived self-efficacy, reappraisal index, coping humour, anxiety, depression were assessed along with socio-demographic information. Data were collected between 15 and 26 April 2020. RESULTS: Socio-demographic variables that were predictive of highly resilient behaviour included being between 24 and 26 years old, living with LGBTI+ peers and living in big cities, protective psychosocial variables included reframing in reappraising the confinement situation, humour as coping, social support from significant others and self-efficacy. CONCLUSION: This is one of the first studies on this subject of compulsory COVID-19 confinement on young homosexuals in Spain. Mental health professionals and organizations should also include work on psychosocial protective factors, not just risk factors, to enhance resilient outcomes in this group.

Psychometric properties and diagnostic capacity of the scale of resilience to suicide attempts-18.

OBJECTIVE: Early detection of suicide attempts remains a handicap for suicide prevention. Most studies have focused on risk factors, but few have assessed protective factors that promote resilient outcomes, especially in subpopulations vulnerable to suicide re-attempts. This study aims to create and adapt a new Scale of Resilience to Suicide Attempts (SRSA), and to analyse its predictive validity and diagnostic capacity for the detection of suicide re-attempts at six months in people who have made a previous attempt.Design and main outcome measures: The psychometric properties and diagnostic capacity of the resulting SRSA-18 scale were assessed in 229 persons (where 133-58.1% were women, aged 18- to 76-year old) who had made a previous suicide attempt. RESULTS: Factor analyses (AFE and AFC) yielded a three-dimensional structure with excellent goodness-of-fit indices RMSEA, high levels of reliability and adequate convergent validity with the Suicide Resilience Inventory-25 (SRI-25) scale. Additionally, the SRSA-18 has significant diagnostic power on suicide re-attempts across months of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Reliable and valid protective factor-based instruments for the detection of future suicide re-attempts may help in the prevention of suicide-associated mortality in specific clinical subpopulations.

Adaptation of the Suicide Attempt Resilience Scale (SRSA-18, Spanish version) for adolescents.

BACKGROUND: The assessment of resilience as an outcome in adolescents remains a challenge, with few instruments available. Some studies have focused on risk factors, but few have focused on protective factors as a formula for measuring resilient outcomes. AIMS: To adapt a new Suicide Attempt Resilience Scale (SRSA-18) for use with adolescents, analysing its structural validity, the gender and age invariance of the measure, and divergent and convergent validity, together with its reliability. METHOD: The psychometric properties of the scale were assessed in 628 participants aged between 13 and 18 years, of whom 342 (54.5%) were girls. RESULTS: After a process of adaptation for adolescents, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis yielded a three-dimensional structure with adequate goodness-of-fit indices, invariance of the measure according to gender and age, adequate levels of reliability (ω = 0.91), high convergent validity with the 14-Item Resilience Scale and high divergent validity with the suicidal act/planning subdimension of the Adolescent Suicidal Behavior Assessment Scale. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need to create and adapt instruments to measure resilience in some populations with high psychosocial vulnerability as a key aspect for measuring the impact of prevention and mental health promotion programmes in adolescents.

Co-operative learning, psychometric adaptation, and invariability of the academic satisfaction scale in Spanish university students.

It is necessary to understand the measurement of academic satisfaction (AS) in a variety of cross-cultural contexts. The first aim was to evaluate the psychometric properties of AS scale, to explore its structural validity, to assess its differential item function, including gender and age invariance in university students. Study 2 aimed to assess whether AS improved after the application of a teaching instructional approach based on cooperative learning (CL), while a cross-sectional study was performed in several stages. Descriptive, confirmatory, and scale reliability analyses were carried out with indices for goodness-of-fit, such that a new scale was obtained with a single-factor structure. A reduction to 6-items in this sample exhibited better psychometric properties. Configural invariance by gender and age indicated that men and women had a similar understanding of the new scale. Given significant differences between groups, the CL group scored higher in AS.

Measurement invariance in gender and age of the Herth Hope Index to the general spanish population across the lifespan.

The Herth Hope Index (HHI) is used to measure hope. Assessing the psychometric properties of HHI in Spanish population, exploring its structural validity, the different functionalities of the items and the invariability of this measure according to the gender and age of the population. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to explore the scale's dimensionality and test for strong measurement invariance across sex and age in a cross-sectional, multicenter, prospective study. A new scale was obtained with the structure of one factor with 9 items. Goodness-of-fit indices were excellent. The internal consistency of the one dimension proved high values. The configural invariance on gender shows that both men and women understand the new HHI items, also, this research also shows that there is no scalar invariance across age groups, revealing good levels of adjustment of the item. The Spanish version of the HHI proved to be a valid, reliable instrument to assess the hope in Spanish population.

Suicidal vulnerability in older adults and the elderly: study based on risk variables.

BACKGROUND: Predicting suicidal vulnerability based on previous risk factors remains a challenge for mental health professionals, especially in specific subpopulations. AIMS: This study aimed to use structural equation modelling to assess which sociodemographic and clinical variables are most predictive and modulating of repeated self-injury or reattempts at suicide in older adults and the elderly with previous attempts. METHOD: We obtained digital data for 619 people (N = 342; 55.3% women), aged 50-96 years (mean 71.2 years, s.d. 3.65), who presented to the emergency department with a repeated self-injury or suicide attempt. Data were collected from several public and private hospitals in southern Spain. RESULTS: There were different sociodemographic and clinical profiles between people who repeat self-injury and those who reattempt suicide. In addition, we show that outcome variables may directly or indirectly modulate these behaviours. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings provide only a limited insight into suicidal vulnerability in older people, and there is an urgent need for specific care protocols for the prevention of repeated self-injury or reattempts at suicide that are adapted to the psychosocial characteristics of this age group. There is also a need to improve social and health alert actions for older adults and the elderly who present with suicide risk profiles, and the presence of mental health professionals in hospital emergency departments should be improved.

Predictor variables of mental health in the Spanish population confined by COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Drastic changes in the lifestyle of individuals have been caused by coronarivus SARS-CoV-2 with lethal effects associated with COVID-19, which acts as a stressor for the population with adverse effects on mental health status. The aim was to identify which sociodemographic variables and psychological factors predict psychological disorders in the general Spanish population. METHODS: The sample consisted of 699 people exposed to a confinement situation, where 402 (57.51%) were women and 297 (42.49%) were men, between 18 and 73 years old (M = 27.79; SD = 12.68). Different sociodemographic and psychological variables were assessed to see if they predicted levels of anxiety and depression. RESULTS: The results identify the predictive capacity of some sociodemographic risk variables such as sex (ß = .144; IC95% = 1.341-3.376) and living with people who are ill with COVID-19 (ß = .088; IC95% = 1.157-6.785), as well as protective factors such as self-efficacy (ß = -.126; IC95% = -0.282-0.066) and hope (ß = -.429; IC95% = -0.591-0.408) in mental health. In predicting anxiety levels, self-efficacy and hope are protective factors, especially when living with people in essential services. In levels of depression, only hope is considered a protective factor in people living with patients infected by COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to advance in the understanding of sociodemographic and psychological variables in a Spanish sample subjected to the stressful and traumatic effects of the SARS-CoV-2 viral agent.

The Family-Centred Practices Scale: Psychometric properties of the Spanish version for use with families with children with Down syndrome receiving early childhood intervention.

BACKGROUND: The Family-Centred Practices Scale (FCPS) assesses the degree to which staff in early childhood intervention and development centres use this therapeutic approach. However, there is no adaptation of this scale to families of children with Down syndrome, which is one of the most prevalent intellectual disabilities in early intervention. OBJECTIVES: To validate and analyse the psychometric properties of the FCPS in Spanish parents with children with Down syndrome receiving early childhood intervention. METHODS: Descriptive analyses, exploratory factor analysis (n = 131), confirmatory factor analysis (n = 126) and scale reliability analyses were performed. In addition, the invariance of the scale by parents' age and gender was assessed, and a longitudinal analysis of the scores was performed. RESULTS: A new scale was obtained with a two-factor structure, similar to the original version, but with fewer items. Goodness-of-fit indices were excellent (root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] [95% confidence interval {CI}] = 0.02 [0.01; 0.04]; comparative fit index [CFI] = 0.98; Tucker-Lewis index [TLI] = 0.97; root mean residual [RMR] = 0.02; goodness-of-fit index [GFI] = 0.91; adjusted GFI [AGFI] = 0.90). However, the measure was not gender invariant. Additionally, internal consistency of the two dimensions showed high values in this sample, and comparing the means between the two measurement time points (initial and at about 6 months) showed no differences; the test was powerful but had a very small effect size. CONCLUSIONS: The psychometric properties of this FCPS are adequate, and it uses fewer items, which makes it faster to apply and gives it better clinical applicability. This new version of the scale is a valid, reliable tool for evaluating family-centred practices in Spanish families with children with Down syndrome.

Variables protecting mental health in the Spanish population affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic produced by COVID-19 can lead the population to suffer serious psychological disorders. However, there are several psychosocial variables that can enhance resilient outcomes in adverse situations. The aim would be to establish the level of resilience of the general Spanish population exposed to a traumatic situation by the COVID-19 in order to identify which protective factors predict resilient outcomes. 1227 homebound people (863-70.3% women), aged 18-73 years (M = 28.10; SD = 12.88) reported on sociodemographic and psychological variables such as optimism, hope, self-efficacy and post-traumatic growth. Having a higher academic level (ß = .47; CI (95%) = .11-.34; p < .01), being autonomous (ß = .29; CI (95%) = 0.1-.09; p < .01), along with self-efficacy (ß = .42; CI (95%) = .71-92; p < .01) and to a lesser extent optimism (ß = .31; CI (95%) = .63-.84; p < .01) would be the predictive variables of a resilient outcome. A high level of statistical power (1-ß = 1) and effect size (f2 = 19.2) is observed. The Spanish population exposed to confinement presents high levels of resilience, but no relevant post-traumatic growth has taken place. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-020-01132-1.

Gender implications of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale in the Spanish population: A validation study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the psychometric properties of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) for the general Spanish population. Method: A cross-sectional investigation was carried out in several stages. Participants (N = 699) between the ages of 18 and 73 (M = 27.79; SD = 12.68) completed both the FCV-19S and the Hospital, Anxiety, and Depression Scale (HADS). We performed descriptive, exploratory factorial (n = 349), confirmatory (n = 350), and scale reliability analyses. Results: The results confirmed the factor structure of the original scale as well as the scale's goodness-of-fit indices and good internal consistency (α = .91, ω = .98). The correlations between the Spanish FCV-19S and the HADS support the scale's validity, especially for the subdimension of anxiety. Conclusions: The Spanish version of the FCV-19S appears to be a valid measure for the assessment of fear in an adult population. The present study moves research forward by providing a confirmatory analysis of the gender variable's influence on the factor analysis. The FCV-19S-Spanish provides a valid brief measure to evaluate fear of being infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The results also revealed that fear was higher among women than among men, which is important as it suggests that more attention needs to be paid to assessing and treating women's fear. Assessing and treating fear represents an important step for the prevention of future mental health problems. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring resilience and well-being of family caregivers of people with dementia exposed to mandatory social isolation by COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has raised questions about the resilience of health care systems worldwide. In this regard, one group of people whose physical and mental health has been affected has been family caregivers of people with dementia. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to identify the variables that predict a high degree of well-being in family caregivers of people with dementia during this period of mandatory lockdown. METHODS: A total of 310 respondents participated in an online survey (266 women and 44 men) from various regions in Spain, aged between 20 and 73 years old (M = 46.45; SD = 15.97), and all were family members. RESULTS: The results showed that there were notable differences in all the protective variables, together with a significant strong positive relationship between well-being and resilience (r = 0.92; p < 0.01) and with coping strategies (r = 0.85; p < 0.01), and there were also some significant negative relationships between well-being and difficulties in emotional regulation (ρ = -.78; p < 0.01). The most predictive variables of a higher level of well-being included the type of dementia (ß = 1.19; CI (95%) = 1.01-1.29; p< 0.01), living in a large house (ß = 0.97; CI (95%) =. 23-0.98; p < 0.01), social support as a coping strategy (ß = 1.27; CI (95%) = 1.21-1.29; p < 0.01) and mainly resilience (ß = 1.34; CI (95%) = 1.30-1.37; p < 0.01). DISCUSSION: We discuss the importance of promoting higher levels of resilience through the development of protective psychosocial variables in caregivers of people with dementia exposed to situations of mandatory social isolation as a modulator of the psychosocial well-being of these family caregivers.

Spiritual Well-Being, Social Support, and Financial Distress in Determining Depression: The Mediating Role of Impact of Event During COVID-19 Pandemic in Iran.

This study investigates the relationship between spiritual well-being, social support, and financial distress with depressive symptoms due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A path analysis was used to analyze data collected from 1,156 Iranian participants via an online survey. The results showed that spiritual well-being and social support were negatively related to depressive symptoms and financial distress. The impact of COVID-19 events showed negative associations with depressive symptoms. In addition, the link between spiritual well-being and financial distress with depressive symptoms was partially mediated by the impact of events.

Psychometric Evaluation of the Persian Version of Religious Orientation Scale in Iranian Patients with Cancer.

This paper reports on the psychometric properties of the Religious Orientation Scale (ROS) with a sample of 311 Iranian patients who were suffering from cancer between September and December 2020. A cross-sectional study design was used, and convenience sampling was employed. Reliability was evaluated by internal consistency Cronbach's alpha, McDonald's omega, and average inter-item correlation. The exploratory factor analysis showed that the ROS had 15 items and two factors (religious identity and personal identity) that explained 43.2% of the total variance of religious orientation in Iranian patients with cancer. Construct validity was assessed by means of confirmatory factor analysis. The internal consistency and composite reliability were acceptable. The results indicate that the ROS can produce reliable and valid data on religious orientation in a sample of Iranian patient with cancer.

Resilience Assessment Scale for the Prediction of Suicide Reattempt in Clinical Population.

The objective of this work was to construct and validate an instrument for assessing resilience to suicide attempts in a Spanish clinical population that has made a previous attempt, and to verify its efficacy for predicting future suicide reattempts at 6 months. For the construction of a Scale of Resilience to Suicide Attempts (SRSA) the theoretical-rational strategy was used. The constructed SRSA-18 consisted of 18 items and 3 subdimensions (internal and external protection and emotional stability), had high internal consistency (α = 0.88; ω = 0.89) and a high positive correlation with the Suicide Resilience Inventory-25, SRI-25 (r = 0.91; p < 0.01), and to a lesser extent with general resilience scales such as the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, CD-RISC (r = 0.79; p < 0.01) and the Resilience Scale of 14 items, RS-14 (r = 0.76; p < 0.01). Additionally, a specific SRSA-18 score predicted future suicide reattempts 6 months after the first attempt. This new scale (SRSA-18) assesses in a brief and rapid way, through protective factors rather than risk factors, the level of resilience to the suicide attempt in specific clinical subpopulations in hospital emergency services, being able to prevent suicide reattempts with higher lethality.

The COVID-19 Fear Scale (FCV-19S): Psychometric properties and invariance of the measure in the Spanish version.

The emergence of COVID-19 worldwide has had serious consequences for physical and psychological health. Spain is one of the countries that has been most-seriously affected by the pandemic. This study aims to evaluate the psycho- metric properties of the Spanish version of the COVID-19 fear scale (FCV-19S), assessing its structural validity, differential item functioning, and measurement invariance by gender and age.

Escala de miedo al COVID-19(FCV-19S): Propiedades psicométricase invariabilidad de la medida en laversión española / The COVID-19 Fear Scale (FCV-19S): Psychometric properties and invariance of the measure in the Spanish version

Introducción: La aparición de la COVID-19 en todo elmundo ha tenido graves consecuencias para la salud física ypsicológica. España ha sido uno de los países más afectadospor la pandemia. Por ello esta investigación pretende evaluarlas propiedades psicométricas de la versión española de la escala del miedo al COVID-19 (FCV-19S), además de valorar suvalidez estructural, funcionamiento diferencial de los ítemsy la invariabilidad de esta medida según el género y edad.Metodología. Se realizó una investigación transversal envarias etapas. Se realizaron análisis descriptivos, factorialesexploratorios y confirmatorios, de fiabilidad de la escala, funcionamiento diferencial del ítem e invariabilidad de la medida.Resultados. Se obtuvo una escala unifactorial con unosexcelentes índices de bondad de ajuste y alta consistenciainterna (α = ,90; ω = ,98) adaptada a la población general española. Adicionalmente, se detecta una importante relacióncon depresión (r = ,72) y ansiedad (r = ,84). La invariabilidaden cuanto al género muestra que tanto los hombres comolas mujeres comprenden de manera diferente los ítems de laescala, existiendo también diferencias según grupo de edad.Conclusiones. Este es el primer estudio que intenta evaluar la invariabilidad de la medida según el sexo y edad dela escala FCV-19S, presentando adecuadas propiedades psicométricas, alta consistencia interna y una adecuada relación con depresión y ansiedad. El resultado del miedo a lainfección por COVID-19 en la población general española espercibido de forma distinta por hombres y mujeres y afecta aunas edades concretas más que a otras. (AU)

Introduction: The emergence of COVID-19 worldwide hashad serious consequences for physical and psychological health.Spain is one of the countries that has been most-seriously affected by the pandemic. This study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the COVID-19 fearscale (FCV-19S), assessing its structural validity, differential itemfunctioning, and measurement invariance by gender and age.Methodology. A cross-sectional study was carried outin several stages. Descriptive, exploratory and confirmatoryfactor analysis, scale reliability, item differential functioning,and measurement invariance tests were carried out.Results. We obtained a single-factor scale with excellent goodness-of-fit indices and high internal consistency(α = .90; ω = .93) adapted to the general Spanish population. We also found a significant relationship with depression(r = .72) and anxiety (r = .84). Gender invariance testing indicated that men and women understood the scale itemsdifferently, with differences also being found by age group.Conclusions. This is the first study attempting to assessthe gender and age invariance of the FCV-19S scale. Thescale demonstrates adequate psychometric properties, highinternal consistency, and an appropriate relationship withdepression and anxiety. Men and women in the general Spanish population have different perceptions of the fear of infection by COVID-19, and the fear affects some age groupsmore than others. (AU)

Do psychological strengths protect college students confined by COVID-19 to emotional distress? The role of gender.

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a stressful situation for the university population due to the important changes in the development of their studies and in their living conditions. However, the impact of factors related to the family unit (living with COVID-19 positive patients and living with Essential Services Workers-ESW) and other protective psychosocial factors that could produce resilient or psychopathological results (anxiety and depression) in this population has not been sufficiently assessed, differentiating them by gender. The results obtained show that both variables related to the family unit and psychosocial protective variables explain 28.6% of the variance in general distress in the total sample (R2 = 0.286; F(3,250) =34,717; p < .001). However, models of regression of distress and anxiety levels differ between men and women, but not in terms of mood alteration. Women facing circumstances reminiscent of mandatory pandemic containment have moderately higher levels of resilience than men (tCDRISC(125) = 2.218; p < .05; tGSE(125) = 2.415; p < .05; tCDRISC(125) = 0.146; p = .884; tGSE(125) = 0.315; p = .756). The results are discussed from the perspective of gender differences, taking into account the contribution of sociodemographic factors that increase remembrance of the stressor/trauma and the coping styles of the participants.