Mental health among adolescents living with HIV in Namibia: the role of poverty, orphanhood and social support.

The mental health needs of children and adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) in Namibia are poorly understood, despite the dramatic improvement in their survival. ALHIV in resource poor contexts face particular risk factors, such as poverty, orphanhood, and poor social support. This study examines the mental health of ALHIV in Namibia, and the factors that contribute to mental health problems. A case-control design assessed emotional and behavioural symptoms of distress, risk and protective factors among adolescents aged 12-18 years. Case participants were 99 HIV-positive adolescents. Case controls were 159 adolescents from the same community who were not known to be HIV seropositive at the time of the study. Control group participants were selected from schools using a stratified random sampling. A larger proportion of HIV-positive adolescents were orphaned (62.6% vs. 20.8%, p < .001); the groups showed no differences in poverty factors. HIV-positive adolescents scored lower than the control group on total perceived social support (p < .05) and caregiver support (p < .05), but no differences in perceived friend support and support from a self-selected person were present. HIV-positive adolescents reported significantly more total emotional and behavioural difficulties (p = .027) and conduct problems (p = .025), even after controlling for socio-demographic factors. However, after controlling for the effects of orphanhood, group differences in mental health outcomes were no longer significant. Furthermore, mediation analysis suggested that social support completely mediated the relationship between HIV status and mental health (standardised pathway coefficients = .05, p = .021). Policies and programmes that aim to strengthen social support and take orphanhood status into consideration may improve the mental health of adolescents living with HIV.

Predictors of mental health problems in adolescents living with HIV in Namibia.

BACKGROUND: Little research in sub-Saharan Africa has looked at factors that predict mental health problems in adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV). This study examines the psychological impact of HIV in adolescents in Namibia, including risk and protective factors associated with mental health. METHODS: Ninety-nine fully disclosed ALHIV between the ages of 12 and 18 were interviewed at a State Hospital in Windhoek. A structured questionnaire assessed mental health, using the SDQ (Goodman, 1997), sociodemographic factors, poverty, social support, adherence and stigma. RESULTS: Mean age was 14.3 years, 52.5% were female and most were healthy. Twelve percent scored in the clinical range for total mental health difficulties and 22% for emotional symptoms. Poverty was associated with more total mental health difficulties, t(96) = -2.63, p = .010, and more emotional symptoms, t(96) = -3.45, p = .001, whereas better social support was a protective factor, particularly caregiver support (r = -.337, p = .001). Adherence problems, HIV-related stigma and disclosing one's own HIV status to others were also associated with more total mental health difficulties. Poverty (ß = -.231, p = .023) and stigma (ß = .268, p = .009) were the best predictors for total mental health difficulties, whereas stigma (ß = .314, p = .002) predicted emotional symptoms. Social support had a protective effect on peer problems (p = .001, ß = -.349). CONCLUSIONS: Several contextual factors associated with poorer mental health in ALHIV are identified.

The role of inhibition in young children's altruistic behaviour.

By behaving altruistically, individuals voluntarily reduce their benefits in order to increase their partners'. This deviation from a self-interest-maximizing function may be cognitively demanding, though. This study investigates whether altruistic sharing in 4- to 6-year-old children, assessed by a dictator game (DG), is related to three measures of executive functioning, that is, inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. We found that children who turned out to be altruistic in the DG performed better on an inhibition task than non-altruists did. This finding lends support to the hypothesis that altruistic sharing might be somewhat constrained by the child's ability to inhibit a natural tendency to preserve his or her own resources. Much research is needed to understand the role of inhibitory control in the development of costly sharing and the consolidation of inequity aversion.

Types of Male Adolescent Violence Against Women in Three Contexts: Dating Violence Offline, Dating Violence Online, and Sexual Harassment Online Outside a Relationship.

There has been little investigation of male adolescent violence against women as acknowledged by boys themselves, and even less on such violence in different contexts with comparative studies of behavior between those who perpetrate this violence and the population at large. This study used cluster analysis to establish a male adolescent typology based on boys' self-reporting of violence against women in three contexts. The participants were 3,132 Spanish teenage boys aged 14-18 with experience of relationships with girls. Three discrete, identifiable types were obtained: the first group (69.8%), of non-violent boys; the second group (26%), more involved in sexual harassment online outside a relationship but with a low incidence of dating violence offline; the third group (4.2%), with abuse in the three contexts but less involved in sexual harassment online than the second group. The logistic regression analysis showed that justification of male dominance and violence was the main risk condition for inclusion in the second and third groups, followed by low self-esteem (for the third group) and risky sexual behaviors online (for the second and third groups). The findings based on these results are important for preventing male adolescent dating violence against women in the three male types detected.

Typology of Victimization against Women on Adolescent Girls in Three Contexts: Dating Offline, Dating Online, and Sexual Harassment Online.

Defining the typologies of adolescent girls in relation to different types of victimization against women could be very useful for prevention. Almost all the typologies previously elaborated on this topic define the typologies from situations of dating victimization. This study used cluster analysis to establish for the first time a typology of adolescent girl victimization against women that included dating violence offline, dating violence online, and sexual harassment online outside a relationship by means of a comparative analysis of behavior between those who had suffered this violence and the population at large. The participants were 3.532 Spanish teenage girls aged 14-18 with experience of relationships with boys. Three discrete, identifiable types were obtained: the first group (63.8%), non-victim girls; the second group (29.4%), victims of sexual harassment online outside a relationship but with a low incidence of dating victimization; the third group (6.8%), victims in the three contexts. The logistic regression analysis showed that risky sexual behavior online was the main risk condition for inclusion in the second and third groups (compared to the non-victim group), followed by low self-esteem (for the second group) and age (for both groups). Other variables that also contributed to predicting membership victim groups were health complaints, feminine gender role stress, justification of male dominance and violence, visiting risky websites, and problematic internet use. These results show the importance of including the prevention of such problems in order to eradicate violence against women in adolescence who have grown up with digital technologies.

Masculine Gender Role Stress as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Justification of Dominance and Aggression and Male Adolescent Dating Violence against Women.

BACKGROUND: This research explores the role of masculine gender role stress (MGRS) in male adolescent dating violence (MADV). Previous research has found that progress towards gender equality between men and women is in certain contexts related to the greater prevalence of male intimate partner violence against women. These studies of adult men found that masculine gender role stress could help explain this surprising result. METHOD: The incidental sample of this study consisted of 339 boys residing in Madrid, Spain, aged 13 to 16. MGRS was assessed by two factors from the Eisler & Skidmore scale (1987): subordination to women (SW) and intellectual inferiority (II). MADV against women was assessed according to two subscales of the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale, CTS2: psychological aggression and physical aggression. Results RESULTS: Show for the first time in adolescents that MGRS caused by situations of subordination to women is an important MADV risk factor both in terms of physical and psychological violence. Our study also found that MGRS mediates the relationship between MADV against women and the justification of intimate partner violence against women (JIPVW). CONCLUSIONS: This article discusses the implications of these results for the prevention of MADV against women.

The Relative Age Effects in Educational Development: A Systematic Review.

There is a large number of variables, studied in the literature, that affect the integral development of students in the educational stage, but few research analyze the effects that relative age can have on development. The aim of this study is to review and summarize the results obtained, on this subject, in recent research. The methodology used has followed the PRISMA declaration. The final sample is composed by 21 articles, which use data from 24 countries and 32 assessments. The main conclusions indicate that relatively younger children in same class groups: (a) obtain significantly lower mean scores in cognitive and motor tests, (b) have a higher repetition rate, and (c) have a less capacity of socialization. Finally, it should be noted that considering the results obtained by the research on relative age effect on child development, some authors propose to adapt educational practices to minimize these effects.

Variables that predict academic achievement in the Spanish compulsory secondary educational system: a longitudinal, multi-level analysis.

This article presents a study whose objective was to identify certain personal and institutional variables that are associated with academic achievement among Spanish, secondary school students, and to analyze their influence on the progress of those students over the course of that stage of their education. In order to do this, a longitudinal, multi-level study was conducted in which a total of 965 students and 27 different schools were evaluated in Language, Math and Social Science at three different times (beginning, middle and end of the period). The results show progress in all the schools and in all areas. As for the personal, student variables, the longitudinal, HLM analyses confirmed the importance of sex and sociocultural background and, distinguishing it from other studies, also the predictive capacity of meta-cognitive abilities and learning strategies on success in school. On the institutional level, the school climate and teachers' expectations of their students were the most relevant of the variables studied. The size of the school, the percentage of students who repeat grades, and the leadership of the administration also explained a portion of the variance in some areas.

Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Adaptation of the Indicators of Abuse (IOA) Screen.

The objectives of this study were to replicate the analyses conducted by the creators of the Indicators of Abuse (IOA) Screen with a Spanish sample group and compare the results, to present new validity evidences, to analyze which items were more relevant in the detection of situations of risk of abuse, and to establish a cut-off point to interpret the obtained scores. The IOA was used by 46 professionals from social services teams who assessed the situation of 231 elderly individuals and their main caregivers. The obtained results advocated towards unidimensionality of the scale. It showed a high level of internal consistency (α = .94). The Confidence Interval of 99% for the alpha coefficient was between .92 and .95. The ordinal alpha coefficient reached the value of .98. The total score of the scale showed adequate temporal stability (r = .91; p ≤ .001; N = 163). Statistically significant differences (t-test) in the mean scores of most of the items were found between cases of adequate treatment and cases of risk of abuse. The scale classified correctly 93% of all cases. The best balance between sensitivity and specificity was found at the cut-off point given by score 16 (Sensitivity = 0.94, Specificity = 0.85). The results appear to confirm the validity evidence of the instrument when used with a Spanish population. However, it is necessary to conduct further research and confirm the results with wider, more representative sample groups.

Is being Punished at School an Indicator of Psychosocial Risk?

Research carried out in different cultural contexts shows that the use of exclusively coercive disciplinary measures does not improve the behavior of those punished, and may even increase the risks underpinning those behaviors. The aim of this research was to study whether there is a link between repeatedly suffering punishment at school and psychosocial risks in adolescence. A non-experimental design was implemented with selected groups. The participants were 507 adolescents from four groups with different risk levels: in social protection (n = 189); subject to court measures (n = 104); in treatment for drug abuse (n = 25); and comparison group (n = 189). A questionnaire was applied collectively. The variables measured were school punishments, violence, drug consumption and commission of crimes. The mild punishments variable predicted and increased the probability of consuming alcohol, tobacco and cannabis by 34% (95% CI [1.1, 1.5]), and increased the probability of using illegal drugs by 11% (95% CI [1.11, 1.30]). Te severe punishments variable increased the probability of using illegal drugs by 86% (95% CI [1.41, 2.49]) and increased the probability of committing crimes by 40% (95% CI [1.13, 1.73]). School punishments, particularly if severe, stand as a visible indicator of psychosocial risk. Behaviors subjected to punishment should alert us to the need to intervene with individuals who manifest them for which the use of exclusively coercive measures is ineffective. A wider educational intervention is required to help them find their place in school instead of excluding them from it.

Teachers' Perceived Disruption at School and Related Variables from Teachers and School Functioning.

This study explores variables related to teachers' perception of disruption at school as a function of teachers (sense of personal accomplishment, professional disengagement and depersonalization and emotional exhaustion) and school (overall school management and quality of school rules) factors. Using a questionnaire regarding school climate, data from 4,055 teachers across 187 high schools were analyzed. Hierarchical linear modeling was applied and the results indicate that, taken separately, significant individual teacher predictors (Model 1) explain 26% (95% CI [.23, .29]) of the variability of the perceived disruption, especially depersonalization and emotional exhaustion. Contextual school variables (Model 2) explained 15% (95% CI [.12, .18]) of variance in teachers' perceived disruption, with a significant negative relationship with the quality of rules. Model 3 included the above factors plus interactions between the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization variables and school indicators (30% of variance explained; 95% CI [.26, .33]). The results indicated the existence of a moderating effect for the quality of school rules, so that fair and properly-applied rules in the school context may be associated with a decrease in the relationship between depersonalization and emotional exhaustion and perceived disruption.

[The intergenerational transmission of social exclusion and its detection in early childhood education]. / La reproducción intergeneracional de la exclusión social y su detección desde la educación infantil.

In this paper we analyse the relationship between the self-confidence manifested by 3-6 year old in the internal working model (evaluated by interview) and their adaptation to nursery environment observed by their teacher, along with the relationship between these variables and the social-economic disadvantage encountered by the families of the children. The study was carried out with 128 children (64 from families in deprived circumstances and 64 in the contrast group). The results show that children from families with serious problems of exclusion exhibit adaptation deficiencies in all of the assessed factors: competence and empathy, passiveness/isolation and antisocial behavior; in the interview, they also show less frequency of the secure model, and higher frequency in the destructured and avoidant models than in the contrast group. These differences can be interpreted as the origin of the exclusion and destructurisation that characterises the families in question.

[Subtypes of drug-addicts in treatment: empirical support for a distinction between Type A and Type B]. / Subtipos de drogodependientes en tratamiento: apoyo empírico para una distinción entre Tipo A y Tipo B.

This study examines the possibility of replicating and generalizing a multidimensional typology of drug-addicts by means of the evaluation of 320 participants who were receiving outpatient treatment for their problem of addiction. A two-stage cluster analysis was performed, revealing the existence of two typologies of consumers, called type A and Type B. The participants classified as Type B showed various indicators of chronicity (higher mean age, higher unemployment rate), more severity of their problem of drug consumption and of medical aspects, employment support, legal, family/social and psychiatric problems in comparison with Type A. Participants from the latter group reported active employment as their main source of income and they had consumed drugs for fewer years. However, they presented more severity associated with alcohol consumption. In view of these data, Type A is called functional drug-addict and Type B chronic drug-addict. Once the groups of drug-addicts were delimited, a more specific characterization was made, taking seven problem areas into account: medical, employment support, alcohol, drugs, legal, family/social, and psychiatric areas. As a general conclusion, more psychosocial severity was observed in Type B as compared with Type A. Lastly, the implications and usefulness of grouping drug-addicts into typologies is discussed.

Masculine Gender Role Stress as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Justifi cation of Dominance and Aggression and Male Adolescent Dating Violence Against Women / El Estrés de Rol de Género Masculino Como Mediador Entre la Justifi cación del Dominio y la Agresión y la Violencia de Género de los Chicos Adolescentes

Background: This research explores the role of masculine gender role stress (MGRS) in male adolescent dating violence (MADV). Previous research has found that progress towards gender equality between men and women is in certain contexts related to the greater prevalence of male intimate partner violence against women. These studies of adult men found that masculine gender role stress could help explain this surprising result. Method: The incidental sample of this study consisted of 339 boys residing in Madrid, Spain, aged 13 to 16. MGRS was assessed by two factors from the Eisler & Skidmore scale (1987): subordination to women (SW) and intellectual inferiority (II). MADV against women was assessed according to two subscales of the Revised Confl ict Tactics Scale, CTS2: psychological aggression and physical aggression. Results Show for the fi rst time in adolescents that MGRS caused by situations of subordination to women is an important MADV risk factor both in terms of physical and psychological violence. Our study also found that MGRS mediates the relationship between MADV against women and the justifi cation of intimate partner violence against women (JIPVW). Conclusions: This article discusses the implications of these results for the prevention of MADV against women. (AU)

Antecedentes: el avance hacia la igualdad entre hombres y mujeres se relaciona en determinados contextos con una mayor prevalencia de violencia de género. Los estudios con adultos habían encontrado que el estrés de rol de género masculino (SRGM) podría ayudar a explicarlo. Este estudio explora el papel del SRGM en la violencia de género de los chicos adolescentes (VGA). Método: se basa en una muestra incidental de 339 chicos, de 13-16 años. El SRGM se evalúa a través de los factores de subordinación a la mujer (SM) e inferioridad intelectual de la escala de Eisler & Skidmore (1987). La VGA se evalúa a través de los factores de agresión psicológica y agresión física de la escala Revised Conflict Tactics CTS2. Resultados: se encuentra, por primera vez en adolescentes, que el factor subordinación a la mujer del SRGM es una importante condición de riesgo de la VGA, tanto para la agresión física como para la psicológica, y que el SRGM media en la relación entre VGA y la justificación de dicha violencia. Conclusiones: a partir de estos resultados se proponen pautas para la prevención de la violencia de género y la construcción de la igualdad. (AU)

Psychometric properties of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory for Children in Chilean population affected by the earthquake of 2010.

The present study examines the psychometric properties of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory for Children in its brief version (PTGI-C-R; Kilmer et al., 2009), an inventory that measured positive personal changes that occur after experiencing a traumatic event. The PTGI-C-R was applied to 393 children from 10 to 15 years of age affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Chile February 27, 2010. The scale showed good internal consistency and discriminant validity in relation to an inventory of posttraumatic stress symptoms. It was also able to discriminate between children who had high exposure to the earthquake and children with mild or no exposure. Confirmatory factor analysis showed adequate goodness of fit for a 2-factor structure: general change and spiritual change. The PTGI-C-R also showed factorial invariance in groups of high and low exposure. These positive psychometric qualities indicate the utility of the instrument for use in children and adolescents exposed to natural disasters. (PsycINFO Database Record

Design and Evaluation Process of a Personal and Motive-Based Competencies Questionnaire in Spanish-Speaking Contexts.

Most questionnaires used for managerial purposes have been developed in Anglo-Saxon countries and then adapted for other cultures. However, this process is controversial. This paper fills the gap for more culturally sensitive assessment instruments in the specific field of human resources while also addressing the methodological issues that scientists and practitioners face in the development of questionnaires. First, we present the development process of a Personal and Motive-based competencies questionnaire targeted to Spanish-speaking countries. Second, we address the validation process by guiding the reader through testing the questionnaire construct validity. We performed two studies: a first study with 274 experts and practitioners of competency development and a definitive study with 482 members of the general public. Our results support a model of nineteen competencies grouped into four higher-order factors. To assure valid construct comparisons we have tested the factorial invariance of gender and work experience. Subsequent analysis have found that women self-rate themselves significantly higher than men on only two of the nineteen competencies, empathy (p < .001) and service orientation (p < .05). The effect of work experience was significant in twelve competencies (p < .001), in which less experienced workers self-rate higher than experienced workers. Finally, we derive theoretical and practical implications.

An Explanatory Model of Poverty from the Perspective of Social Psychology and Human Rights.

Poverty is a social problem, entailing not only an economical perspective but above all a human and social issue. Poverty is promoted, justified and maintained by unique individuals and groups by means of our own attitudes, interests and behavior, as well as with our social structures and social relationships. From this interactive, psychosocial and sociostructural perspective, and also considering poverty as a denial of basic human rights (UNDP, 1998), we carried out a study with the primary objective to design and verify an Explanatory Model of Poverty. This research may helps to increase the validity of diagnostics and the effectiveness of interventions. Most of the hypotheses were accepted during the analysis and verification of the Model (p < .001), with data fitting the Model (CFI: 1 RMSEA: .025: LO90: 0 - HI90: .061. RMR: .008). These results, if replicated in new investigations, could have the following implications: (a) the need for a broad and comprehensive definition of poverty including its effects, processes and causes; (b) the need for everybody to accept the social responsibility in the prevention and solution to poverty; and

Profiles of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) in the Elderly.

We applied latent class analysis (LCA) to a set of neuropsychological data with the aim of corroborating the three cognitive profiles of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) described in the literature, namely: healthy, amnestic, non-amnestic, and multidomain. The ultimate purpose of the LCA was to try to find the underlying classification of MCI and related pathologies by means of the participants' response patterns, rather than on more classical psychometric criteria, such as the standard deviation of the mean. We computed 547 neuropsychological assessments derived from 223 participants who were assessed annually for three consecutive years. The battery included tests of memory, language, executive function, and praxis. The results obtained by means of LCA, with a four-group solution and using the 40th percentile as the criterion, confirm prior classifications obtained with more questionable psychometric criteria, while providing longitudinal data on the course of MCI and the stability of group assignment over time.

Reciprocal Psychological Aggression in Couples: A Multi-Level Analysis in a Community Sample.

The present study analyzes reciprocal psychological aggression assessed by the Conflict Tactics Scale-Revised (CTS-2) in a sample of 590 adult couples from the Region of Madrid. Psychological aggression is the most frequent form of partner aggression. Results showed high percentages of psychological aggression perpetrated and suffered in men and women and showed significant statistical differences in severe psychological aggression in the case of women. Partner agreement about acts of psychological aggression was significant, albeit at moderate levels. Generalized Hierarchical Linear Models with the HLM-6.0 program were proposed to examine reciprocal psychological aggression. The models confirmed the pattern of reciprocal psychological aggression and also that couples are more aggressive when they are younger. Duration of cohabitation was not a predictor of reciprocal psychological partner aggression.

Application of piecewise hierarchical linear growth modeling to the study of continuity in behavioral development of baboons (Papio hamadryas).

In behavioral science, developmental discontinuities are thought to arise when the association between an outcome measure and the underlying process changes over time. Sudden changes in behavior across time are often taken to indicate that a reorganization in the outcome-process relationship may have occurred. The authors proposed in this article the use of piecewise hierarchical linear growth modeling as a statistical methodology to search for discontinuities in behavioral development and illustrated its possibilities by applying 2-piece hierarchical linear models to the study of developmental trajectories of baboon (Papio hamadryas) mothers' behavior during their infants' 1st year of life. The authors provided empirical evidence that piecewise growth modeling can be used to determine whether abrupt changes in development trajectories are tied to changes in the underlying process.