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.

The Relationship between Learning Potential in Preschool Children and their Cognitive Abilities / La relación entre el potencial de aprendizaje en niños de preescolar y sus habilidades cognitivas

Learning potential can be used to assess and provide direction for action in diverse populations in modern educational settings. This study examined the relationship between the EHPAP dynamic evaluation scale and cognitive abilities (linguistic development, specific cognitive abilities, and executive functioning) in typically developing preschool children. Linear regression models indicated that children’s cognitive abilities formed part of the prediction of their independent performance in tasks before and after mediation. The abilities that formed part of the predictions were related to general linguistic development, specific cognitive functions, and executive functioning. Age as a predictive factor only contributed to verbal planning. This study examined the contribution of these variables in different EHPAP scales. (AU)

El potencial de aprendizaje se puede utilizar para evaluar y orientar la acción en diversas poblaciones en entornos educativos modernos. Este estudio analiza la relación entre la escala de evaluación dinámica EHPAP y las habilidades cognitivas (desarrollo lingüístico, habilidades cognitivas específicas y funcionamiento ejecutivo) en niños en edad preescolar con un desarrollo típico. Los modelos de regresión lineal indican que las habilidades cognitivas de los niños forman parte de la predicción de su desempeño independiente en tareas antes y después de la mediación. Las habilidades que formaban parte de las predicciones estaban relacionadas con el desarrollo lingüístico general, las funciones cognitivas específicas y el funcionamiento ejecutivo. La edad como factor predictivo solo contribuye a la planificación verbal. Este estudio analiza la contribución de estas variables en diferentes escalas EHPAP. (AU)

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.

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).

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.

Dynamic Assessment in Preschoolers with Down Syndrome and Nonspecific Intellectual Disability / La evaluación dinámica en preescolares con síndrome de Down y discapacidad intelectual de tipo inespecífico

Enhancing cognitive abilities is relevant when devising treatment plans. This study examined the performance of preschoolers with Down syndrome and nonspecific intellectual disability in cognitive tasks (e.g., nonverbal reasoning and short-term memory) as well as in improving cognitive functions by means of a learning potential methodology. The two groups with intellectual disability showed similar performance on verbal short-term memory tasks and rule-based categorization, with differences recorded in visual short-term memory tasks. Their performance was below that of typically developing children comparable in chronological age. Groups' cognitive performance improved significantly between pre- and post-intervention, with particularly significant gains in the nonspecific group. Factors that may potentially affect children's performance before and during learning potential assessment are discussed

La mejora de las capacidades cognitivas es relevante a la hora de diseñar planes de tratamiento. En este estudio se ha examinado el rendimiento en tareas cognitivas de niños preescolares con síndrome de Down en comparación con niños con discapacidad intelectual inespecífica (por ejemplo, el razonamiento no verbal y la memoria a corto plazo), así como en la mejora de las funciones cognitivas mediante una metodología de potencial de aprendizaje o evaluación dinámica. Los dos grupos con discapacidad intelectual mostraron un rendimiento similar en las tareas de memoria a corto plazo, verbales y en categorización, registrándose diferencias en las tareas visuales de memoria a corto plazo. Su rendimiento fue inferior al de los niños de desarrollo típico comparable en edad cronológica. El rendimiento cognoscitivo de los grupos mejoró considerablemente de la situación pretest a la de postest, con ganancias particularmente significativas en el grupo inespecífico. Se analizan los factores que pueden afectar potencialmente al rendimiento de los niños antes y durante la evaluación del potencial de aprendizaje

Adaptation of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders in Spanish with Nonspecific Intellectual Disability.

Anxiety continues to be one of the most frequent disorders with typically developing children and youth. However, people with intellectual disability (ID) lack validated diagnostic tests backed by sufficient methodological rigor. Analyze the psychometric properties of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) in this clinical population, specifically in children and young Spanish with Nonspecific Intellectual Disability. Descriptive statistics and item analysis (N = 542), exploratory factorial analysis (n = 245) and confirmatory (n = 297) and scale reliability analyses were performed and evaluated the internal consistency with various indices (Cronbach's alpha and omega) and the stability of the measurement (test-retest) of the resulting scale with better goodness-of-adjustment indices. A new scale called SCARED-DI was obtained in this clinical sample with three factors and a smaller number of items (22), offering important goodness-of-fit indices (RMSEA [95% CI] 03[0.01; .04]; CFI = 0.99; TLI = 0.98; GFI = 0.88; AGFI = 0.89) and high internal consistency (α = 0.91; ω = 0.93) and adequate measurement stability (rxx = 0.92). The importance of validating psychopathological anxiety tests for children and youth with ID in order to build good mental health is discussed, emphasizing the need to provide easy, short-duration tests on both cognitive and emotional aspects in this clinical sub-population. In addition, the results are assessed in terms of future research and practical implications. This new version of SCARED-ID represents a valid and reliable tool to evaluate the anxiety in people with intellectual disabilities.

Learning Potential is Useful in Pre-schoolers with Fragile X and Down Syndrome / El potencial de aprendizaje es útil en niños de educación preescolar con síndrome del cromosoma X frágil y de Down

This paper examines the performance of both Down syndrome (DS) and Fragile X syndrome (FXS) pre-schoolers in cognitive tasks of nonverbal reasoning and short-term memory (visual and auditory) and the ability to stimulate cognitive s with a methodology of learning potential. It is the first study this methodology is applied to FXS. The basic scales of the Escala de Habilidades y Potencial de Aprendizaje en Preescolares [Skills and Learning Potential Preschool Scale] were administered in 20 preschools with Down syndrome and 16 male preschools with Fragile X syndrome matched for chronological age and level of nonverbal cognitive development. The results indicated that the group FXS runs better on memory tasks without differences in reasoning tasks before mediation. Also, it is possible to stimulate the implementation in cognitive tasks of preschool children with DS or FXS significantly improving the performance of both groups except for auditory memory and DS in categorization rules. As conclusions, the scale offers the opportunity to assess skills in young children and know the degree of cognitive modifiability. Furthermore, possible factors affecting the performance of the children before and during mediation are discussed

Este trabajo analiza el desempeño de preescolares con síndrome de Down (SD) y X frágil (SXF) en tareas cognitivas de razonamiento no verbal y de memoria a corto plazo (visual y auditiva), así como la capacidad de estimular las funciones cognitivas con la metodología del potencial de aprendizaje. Se trata del primer estudio en el que se aplica esta metodología al SXF. Se administró las escalas básicas de la Escala de Habilidades y Potencial de Aprendizaje en Preescolares en 20 centros preescolares con síndrome de Down y en 16 centros preescolares masculinos con el síndrome del cromosoma X frágil emparejados por edad cronológica y nivel de desarrollo cognitivo no verbal. Los resultados indican que el grupo SXF funciona mejor en las tareas de memoria sin diferencias en tareas de razonamiento antes de la mediación. Igualmente, es posible estimular la aplicación en tareas cognitivas de niños de preescolar con SD o SXF, mejorando de un modo significativo el desempeño de ambos grupos, menos en memoria auditiva y en el caso de SD en reglas de categorización. Como conclusión, puede decirse que la escala brinda la oportunidad de evaluar destrezas en niños y conocer el grado de modificación cognitiva. Además, se comentan los posibles factores que influyen en el desempeño de los niños antes y durante la mediación

Learning potential and cognitive abilities in preschool boys with fragile X and Down syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Enhancing cognitive abilities is relevant when devising treatment plans. AIMS: This study examined the performance of preschool boys with Down syndrome and fragile X syndrome in cognitive tasks (e.g., nonverbal reasoning and short-term memory), as well as in improving cognitive functions by means of a learning potential methodology. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: The basic scales corresponding to the Skills and Learning Potential Preschool Scale were administered to children with Down syndrome and others with fragile X syndrome, matched for chronological age and nonverbal cognitive development level. RESULTS: The fragile X syndrome group showed stronger performance on short-term memory tasks than the Down syndrome group prior to intervention, with no differences recorded in nonverbal reasoning tasks. In addition, both groups' cognitive performance improved significantly between pre- and post-intervention. However, learning potential relative to auditory memory was limited in both groups, and for rule-based categorization in Down syndrome children. CONCLUSION: The scale offered the opportunity to assess young children's abilities and identify the degree of cognitive modifiability. Furthermore, factors that may potentially affect the children's performance before and during learning potential assessment are discussed.

Utilidad de la logopedia en la mejora del lenguaje en el tratamiento del síndrome del cromosoma X frágil en niños preescolares / Usefulness of speech therapy in improving language in the treatment of fragile X syndrome in preschool children

El síndrome del cromosoma X frágil (SXF) es la primera causa más frecuente de discapacidad intelectual y la segunda asociada a factores genéticos. Dado que existe una gran variabilidad en el fenotipo conductual que este síndrome presenta, se da la necesidad de realizar una adecuada evaluación de cada caso en particular. Se expone un estudio en el que se realiza un seguimiento exhaustivo de los niveles iniciales y de los logros conseguidos por 2 niños con SXF con mutación completa de 16 y 27 meses; uno recibe tratamiento logopédico y el otro no. Cuando se interpretan los resultados se encuentra que existe la necesidad de una evaluación individualizada que determine los déficits concretos que presenta cada niño en cada área de desarrollo, pues si bien se prevé, según la literatura científica, que existirán necesidades a nivel cognitivo y del lenguaje, se descubre que, aunque haya que intervenir en estas áreas, su necesidad se centra fundamentalmente a nivel motor y de autonomía, sobre todo en el segundo caso(AU)

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common cause-and the second genetic cause-of intellectual disability. There is wide variability in the behavioral phenotype associated with this syndrome and consequently evaluation should be individualized. We report the exhaustive initial evaluation, follow-up and achievements of two children (aged 16 and 27 months) with FXS with a full mutation. One child received speech therapy, while the other did not. Children with FXS should be individually assessed to determine their specific developmental impairments. Although the literature predicts that affected individuals will show cognitive and language deficits, we found that the two children assessed in this study required interventions aimed at improving motor skills and autonomy, especially the second child(AU)