Subclinical social anxiety and academic performance in adolescence: analysis of theoretical and practical implications

This study analyses the relationship between self-reported social anxiety and academic performance in a sample of 1,616 Spanish students (52.1% males) in compulsory secondary education, aged 12 to 16 years old. Social anxiety was assessed by the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI) and academic performance was measured with school grades and failing grades. Results reveal that adolescents with social anxiety show a similar academic performance to adolescents without social anxiety. Although t tests found some significant differences in academic grades and number of failing grades, the effect size analysis showed that these differences had no empirical relevance. These findings are discussed considering the gender and grade levels and their theoretical and practical implication.

Constructing an Indigenous Model of the Self to Address Cultural and Mental Health Issues in the Canadian Subarctic

Since the last decades, academic research has paid much attention to the phenomenon of revitalizing indigenous cultures and, more precisely, the use of traditional indigenous healing methods both to deal with individuals' mental health problems and with broader cultural issues. The re-evaluation of traditional indigenous healing practices as a mode of psychotherapeutic treatment has been perhaps one of the most interesting sociocultural processes in the postmodern era. In this regard, incorporating indigenous forms of healing in a contemporary framework of indigenous mental health treatment should be interpreted not simply as an alternative therapeutic response to the clinical context of Western psychiatry, but also constitutes a political response on the part of ethno-cultural groups that have been stereotyped as socially inferior and culturally backward. As a result, a postmodern form of "traditional healing" developed with various forms of knowledge, rites and the social uses of medicinal plants, has been set in motion on many Canadian indigenous reserves over the last two decades.

Mechanisms that Trigger a Good Health-Care Response to Intimate Partner Violence in Spain. Combining Realist Evaluation and Qualitative Comparative Analysis Approaches

Background. Health care professionals, especially those working in primary health-care services, can play a key role in preventing and responding to intimate partner violence. However, there are huge variations in the way health care professionals and primary health care teams respond to intimate partner violence. In this study we tested a previously developed programme theory on 15 primary health care center teams located in four different Spanish regions: Murcia, C Valenciana, Castilla-León and Cantabria. The aim was to identify the key combinations of contextual factors and mechanisms that trigger a good primary health care center team response to intimate partner violence. Methods. A multiple case-study design was used. Qualitative and quantitative information was collected from each of the 15 centers (cases). In order to handle the large amount of information without losing familiarity with each case, qualitative comparative analysis was undertaken. Conditions (context and mechanisms) and outcomes, were identified and assessed for each of the 15 cases, and solution formulae were calculated using qualitative comparative analysis software. Results. The emerging programme theory highlighted the importance of the combination of each team’s self-efficacy, perceived preparation and women-centredness in generating a good team response to intimate partner violence. The use of the protocol and accumulated experience in primary health care were the most relevant contextual/intervention conditions to trigger a good response. However in order to achieve this, they must be combined with other conditions, such as an enabling team climate, having a champion social worker and having staff with training in intimate partner violence. Conclusions. Interventions to improve primary health care teams’ response to intimate partner violence should focus on strengthening team’s self-efficacy, perceived preparation and the implementation of a woman-centred approach. The use of the protocol combined with a large working experience in primary health care, and other factors such as training, a good team climate, and having a champion social worker on the team, also played a key role. Measures to sustain such interventions and promote these contextual factors should be encouraged.

Self-rated health and hospital services use in the Spanish National Health System: a longitudinal study

Background: Self-rated health is a subjective measure that has been related to indicators such as mortality, morbidity, functional capacity, and the use of health services. In Spain, there are few longitudinal studies associating self-rated health with hospital services use. The purpose of this study is to analyze the association between self-rated health and socioeconomic, demographic, and health variables, and the use of hospital services among the general population in the Region of Valencia, Spain. Methods: Longitudinal study of 5,275 adults who were included in the 2005 Region of Valencia Health Survey and linked to the Minimum Hospital Data Set between 2006 and 2009. Logistic regression models were used to calculate the odds ratios between use of hospital services and self-rated health, sex, age, educational level, employment status, income, country of birth, chronic conditions, disability and previous use of hospital services. Results: By the end of a 4-year follow-up period, 1,184 participants (22.4 %) had used hospital services. Use of hospital services was associated with poor self-rated health among both men and women. In men, it was also associated with unemployment, low income, and the presence of a chronic disease. In women, it was associated with low educational level, the presence of a disability, previous hospital services use, and the presence of chronic disease. Interactions were detected between self-rated health and chronic disease in men and between self-rated health and educational level in women. Conclusions: Self-rated health acts as a predictor of hospital services use. Various health and socioeconomic variables provide additional predictive capacity. Interactions were detected between self-rated health and other variables that may reflect different complex predictive models, by gender.

The Impact of Education and Socioeconomic and Occupational Conditions on Self-Perceived and Mental Health Inequalities Among Immigrants and Native Workers in Spain

There is limited evidence on the influence of social determinants on the self-perceived and mental health of immigrants settled at least 8 years in Spain. The aim of this study was to examine differences between workers related to migrant-status, self-perceived and mental health, and to assess their relationship to occupational conditions, educational level and occupational social class, stratified by sex. Using data from the Spanish National Health Survey of 2011/12, we computed prevalence, odds ratios and explicative fractions. Mental (OR 2.02; CI 1.39–2.93) and self-perceived health (OR 2.64; CI 1.77–3.93) were poorer for immigrant women compared to natives. Occupational social class variable contributes 25 % to self-perceived health OR in immigrant women. Settled immigrant women workers are a vulnerable group in Spain.

Self-rated health and mortality: a follow-up study of a Spanish population

Objectives: Self-rated health (SRH) is known to be a valid indicator for the prediction of health outcomes. The aims of this study were to describe and analyse the associations between SRH and health status, socio-economic and demographic characteristics; and between SRH and mortality in a Spanish population. Study design: Longitudinal study. Methods: A sample of 5275 adults (age ≥21 years) residing in the Valencian Community (Spanish Mediterranean region) was surveyed in 2005 and followed for four years. SRH was categorized into good and poor health. The response variable was mortality (dead/alive), obtained from the local mortality register. Logistic regression models were adjusted in order to analyse the associations between SRH and health status, socio-economic and demographic characteristics; odds ratios were calculated to measure the associations. Poisson regression models were adjusted in order to analyse the associations between mortality and explanatory variables; the relative risk of death was calculated to measure the associations. Results: Poor SRH was reported by 25.9% of respondents, and the mortality rate after four years of follow-up was 3.6%. An association was found between SRH and the presence of chronic disease and disability in men and women. A perception of poor health vs good health led to a mortality risk of 3.0 in men and 2.7 in women. SRH was predictive of mortality, even after adjusting for all other variables. In men and women, the presence of disability provided additional predictive ability. Conclusions: SRH was predictive of mortality in both men and women, and acted as a mediator between socio-economic, demographic and health conditions and mortality.

The Influence of Gender, Intellectual Ability, Academic Self-Concept, Self-Regulation, Learning Strategies, Popularity and Parent Involvement in Early Adolescence

The present study examined the predictive effects of gender, intellectual ability, self-concept, motivation, learning strategies, popularity and parent involvement on academic achievement. Hiearchical regression analysis were performed with six steps in which each variable was included, among a sample of 1398 high school students (mean age = 12.5; standard deviation = .67) of eight education centers from the province of Alicante (Spain). The results revealed significant predictive effects of all of the variables, explaining 59.1% of the total variance.

Health-related quality of life and determinant factors in celiac disease. A population-based analysis of adult patients in Spain

Background: Celiac disease (CD) has a negative impact on the health-related quality of life (HRQL) of affected patients. Although HRQL and its determinants have been examined in Spanish CD patients specifically recruited in hospital settings, these aspects of CD have not been assessed among the general Spanish population. Methods: An observational, transversal study of a non-randomized, representative sample of adult celiac patients throughout all of Spain's Autonomous Regions. Subjects were recruited through celiac patient associations. A Spanish version of the self-administered Celiac Disease-Quality of Life (CD-QOL) questionnaire was used. Determinant factors of HRQL were assessed with the aid of multivariate analysis to control for confounding factors. Results: We analyzed the responses provided by 1,230 patients, 1,092 (89.2%) of whom were women. The overall mean value for the CD-QOL index was 56.3 ± 18.27 points. The dimension that obtained the most points was dysphoria, with 81.3 ± 19.56 points, followed by limitations with 52.3 ± 23.43 points; health problems, with 51.6 ± 26.08 points, and inadequate treatment, with 36.1 ± 21.18 points. Patient age and sex, along with time to diagnosis, and length of time on a gluten-free diet were all independent determinant factors of certain dimensions of HRQL: women aged 31 to 40 expressed poorer HRQL while time to diagnosis and length of time on a gluten-free diet were determinant factors for better HRQL scores. Conclusions: The HRQL of adult Spanish celiac subjects is moderate, improving with the length of time patients remain on a gluten-free diet.