Prevalence of Problematic Mobile Phone Use in British Adolescents

The problematic use of mobile phones among adolescents has not been widely studied. There are very few instruments for assessing potential technological addiction to mobile phones, or for categorizing different types of users or uses. The most widely used scale is the Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale (MPPUS), which is used to study adult populations, and has been applied in various forms in international contexts. The aims of this study were to adapt the Spanish version of this scale (MPPUSA) to British adolescents, and then to estimate the prevalence of possible problematic users. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 1,529 secondary school pupils aged between 11 and 18 years, with 1,026 completed questionnaires being collected. The analysis showed that the factor and construct validity and reliability were comparable to those obtained in previous studies. The prevalence of problematic users among the students was 10%, and the typical problematic user tended to be an adolescent between 11 and 14 years old, studying in a public school, who considered themselves to be an expert user of this technology, who made extensive use of his/her mobile phone, and who attributed the same problem of use among their peers. These users presented notable scores in all the symptoms covered by the scale used to assess problematic use. In conclusion, the adaptation of the MPPUSA as a screening scale for British adolescents presents good sensitivity and specificity for detecting the main addictive symptoms proposed in this validated version.

Psychometric Properties of the Personal Wellbeing Index in Brazilian and Chilean Adolescents Including Spirituality and Religion = Propriedades Psicométricas do Personal Wellbeing Index em Adolescentes Brasileiros e Chilenos Incluindo Espiritualidade e Religião

This study compared the 7-item Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) with two other versions which include the domains “Spirituality” and “Religion”, separately, in a sample of Brazilian (n = 1.047) and Chilean (n = 1.053) adolescents. A comparison of psychometric properties between the PWI versions was carried out through multigroup confi rmatory factor analysis showing adequate adjustments (CFI > .95, RMSEA < .08), whereas the item spirituality presented better performance. For the analysis of the differential contribution of each domain to the notion of global satisfaction, a regression on the item Overall Life Satisfaction (OLS) was applied using structural equations. It isrecommended the inclusion of the item spirituality in the original scale, considering the importance of such domain in both cultures

Els Adolescents en l'entorn de l'ordinador, internet i el mòbil

L'article proposa una reflexió sobre els resultats d'un qüestionari sobre els nous mitjans audiovisuals administrat a estudiants d'ESO de Catalunya durant els anys 1999,2001 i 2003. Les dades mostren l'evolució de la disponibilitat a casa d'ordinador, Internet i telèfon mòbil per part dels adolescents

Experimentation and Stages of Acquisition for Tobacco Consumption in Spanish Adolescents

One area which has been largely neglected when studying the acquisition of addiction to smoking with the transtheoretical model is whether the individual had previously experimented with smoking. The importance of including the experimentation variable was supported by this research

Estudi sobre el liderat manifestat per adolescents en el seu grup escolar. ' Estudio sobre el liderazgo manifestado por adolescentes en su grupo escolar'.

Identificar las relaciones existentes entre la inteligencia social y el liderazgo en el ámbito escolar de cara a conocer más a fondo este tipo de talento y poder identificar, así, aquellos alumnos que poseen las características necesarias para ejercer un buen liderazgo, como forma de superdotación.. Muestra definitiva compuesta por 472 adolescentes que cursaban primer curso de BUP en la ciudad de Mallorca durante el curso 1991-92, tanto de centros públicos como privados.. Desarrolla un marco teórico donde se analizan y revisan diferentes conceptos de liderazgo, inteligencia social y medida y de dinámica de grupos. Plantea un grupo de hipótesis y realiza un estudio empírico consistente en detectar del grupo clase aquellos alumnos que manifiestan cualidades para el liderazgo y relacionarlas con la medida de inteligencia social. Obtiene los datos a partir de la aplicación de tests estandarizados y a través de tres fuentes: autoevaluación, evaluación por parte de los compañeros y de los profesores. Correlaciona los datos obtenidos entre sí.. Test de inteligencia social de Guilford i O'Sullivan. Leadership: Skills and behaviours scale. Test sociométrico y Test Guess-Who?.. Estadística descriptiva y análisis de correlación de las puntuaciones por grupos, centros escolares y entre tests.. Los alumnos con características de liderazgo también estan dotados de inteligencia social. Los alumnos se muestran coherentes en sus apreciaciones de cualidades manifestadas por sus compañeros. Las apreciaciones del profesor no difieren mucho de la del alumno. Los alumnos que muestran cualidades de liderzgo sobresalen también por su expediente académico. Los tests mantienen correlaciones significativas entre sí. La correlación entre inteligencia social y liderzgo es baja pero positiva y significativa.. Una única medida de inteligencia social no puede ser utilizada como herramienta de predicción de la capacidad para el líder. Son dos cosas diferentes aunque relacionadas. La inteligencia social puede favorecer enormemente la actuación del líder sobre todo como aptitud para conocer el comportamiento de los otros. Destaca la importancia del desarrollo del liderzgo como sinónimo de incrementar la efectividad de las relaciones humanas..

Estudi preliminar a l'elaboració d'un qüestionari d'activitats agradables per adolescents. 'Estudio preliminar a la elaboración de un cuestionario de actividades agradables para adolescentes'.

Elaborar un cuestionario de actividades agradables para adolescentes. Crear un cuestionario que sirva como medida para ayudar a sujetos depresivos. adolescentes de 15 a 16 años, 481 adolescentes de escuelas de Terrassa. 262 hombres, 219 mujeres con intención de una total cobertura del espectro social.. Encuesta sobre una muestra para configurar una encuesta definitiva a través de contactos con los tutores, la encuesta previa se realiza sobre el total del grupo, encuesta de 30 a 45 minutos de duración.. cuestionario.. Jerarquización de información por frecuencias dentro de áreas temáticas en tres bloques: Actividades sociales, no sociales y deportivas.. Presenta el listado de actividades estadisticamente relevante como 'agradable' para el/la adolescente.. La elaboración de un cuestionario ha sido imposible, quedando en cambio la base empírica para su creación, aunque su ejecución puede ser muy compleja..

Influència dels factors psicològics en la gènesi i el manteniment del comportament no-fumador entre els infants i els adolescents. 'Influencia de los factores psicológicos en la génesis y el mantenimiento del comportamiento no-fumador entre los niños y los adolescentes'.

Evaluar hasta qué punto puede influir una intervención educativa preventiva en el marco escolar para que los alumnos/as de séptimo curso sean no-fumadores o retrasen su inicio en el hábito. Analizar la autoeficacia como variable predictora y moduladora del inicio del comportamiento fumador entre adolescentes y como variable en interacción con los programas de educación preventiva. Cuestionar el papel de los factores de riesgo social. 330 sujetos, niños y niñas que durante el curso 1986-87 eran alumnos de séptimo de EGB en las ocho escuelas de la comarca de Osona (zona de Vic), provincia de Barcelona. 177 niños y 153 niñas con una media de 12,8 años. Activación de programas de intervención en la prevención del hábito de fumar sobre cuatro grupos aleatorios con un grupo de control. Cuestionario de 29 preguntas, 13 para valorar los aspectos ambientales y evaluar el comportamiento de fumar en sus primeras tentativas; 16 para medir la autoeficacia frente a la teoría de Bandura de 1977. Tablas y gráficos. Un 90 por ciento de los jóvenes no ha fumado nunca o muy poco, el resto fuman con cierta regularidad al iniciarse la investigación. Al acabar el seguimiento los datos han pasado al 65 y 35 por ciento respectivamente. Aparentemente los programas de educación preventiva aplicados no reducen el número de estudiantes que llegan fumadores, y el programa de información audiovisual es el que se muestra más ineficaz. Toma especial relevancia el riesgo social como entorno (tomando relevancia la actitud de la escuela y el profesorado), la familia, hermanos y amigos, etc. y variables como el estrés y la autoeficacxia; al punto de concluir que la probabilidad de ser fumador es directamente proporcional al nivel de riesgo social que vive el estudiante. Pese a ello el ambiente escolar no ha podido ser evaluado con precisión. Los sujetos con más autoeficacia para rechazar la oferta de fumar tienen más posibilidades de no ser fumadores. Los tests de autoeficacia pueden permitirnos localizar los momentos y situaciones clave para adquirir el hábito de fumar.

Força i violència en educació social: la bufetada com a mesura de correcció entre els adolescents

El desembre de 2008 l’Observatori d’Ètica Aplicada a la Intervenció Social (OEAIS) va publicar Força i violència en educació social. En Pere i en Josep, anàlisi d’un cas pràctic sobre els límits de la força física en un Centre Residencial d’Acció Educativa (CRAE). Aquest informe partia d’una situació real ocorreguda a Catalunya en la qual un educador social que treballava en un CRAE havia donat una bufetada a un noi del centre, el pare l’havia denunciat i en la sentència el jutge va considerar que l’acció no era punible. Arran d’aquest i altres fets, en la normativa i en els protocols dels CRAE de Catalunya es va establir que en cap cas es podia donar una bufetada als nois i noies que hi vivien i que en una situació límit, els professionals de l’educació han de fer una contenció física o avisar a la policia o al servei hospitalari d’urgències

La Dona amb discapacitat: una mirada més enllà dels estereotips socials: revisió dels factors implicats i proposta d'intervenció en adolescents: Projecte Capacitats

Aquest treball pretén analitzar la discapcitat des d’una nova visió, des de la prespectiva de gènere. Intenta explicar la situació actual i les necessitats reals que tenen les dones amb discapacitat. A través d’una base teòrica on es fa un anàlisi de la discriminació a la dona i a la discapacitat, s’introdueix el concepte de dona i discapacitat i seguidament, es treballa la interecció de la dona amb discapacitat en àmbits com la maternitat, el sexe, etc. Finalment, es presenta un projecte d’intervenció disenyat i dut a terme, amb l’intenció de trancar estereotips relacionats amb la dona amb discapacitat

Evaluación evolutiva de la salud percibida según las etapas del cambio del modelo transteórico en el tabaquismo

OBJETIVO: Evaluar la salud percibida en fumadores de cigarrillos según las etapas del cambio. METODOLOGIA: Se estudiaron 253 personas mediante el cuestionario de salud SF-36 cada 6 meses durante dos años. RESULTADOS: Después del abandono del tabaco mejora la Evolución Declarada de la Salud y las percepciones de salud del componente físico y mental. Los fumadores que siguen fumando pero progresan en las etapas del cambio experimentan un descenso en Función Física, Salud General y en el Componente Sumario Físico. La recaída en el tabaquismo se asocia a peor Vitalidad y Salud Mental, y a considerar el consumo de tabaco como causa del deterioro actual de la salud. CONCLUSIONES: Se observa una peor percepción de salud física al plantearse el abandono del consumo de tabaco a medio plazo, una mejoría global de la salud percibida al dejar de fumar y una peor salud emocional en la recaída.

Factors relacionats amb l'ús del casc en adolescents i aspectes canviants després d'un accident amb ciclomotor

Les lesions cerebrals per traumatismes craniencefàlics són la causa més freqüent de defunció en els accidents de trànsit en els que estan implicats vehicles de dues rodes. Malgrat la provada eficàcia de l'ús del casc per amortir les lesions en cas d'accidents, molts adolescents i joves no el fan servir o fan un ús incorrecte. El principal objectiu d'aquesta investigació és identificar les variables que millor prediuen l'ús del casc entre els adolescents. En la recerca es combinen la metodologia quantitativa i qualitativa i consta de dues fases. A la primera fase participen 876 estudiants de secundària (46,8% nois) amb edats compreses entre 14 i 18 anys. A la segona fase, s'estudien quatre casos d'adolescents que han patit un accident greu circulant amb ciclomotor i que no portaven el casc o feien un ús incorrecte. Els resultats suggereixen que l'edat i la influència social són les variables més rellevants per predir l'ús continuat del casc entre els adolescents. De l'estudi se'n deriven estratègies d'intervenció per incrementar l'ús del casc entre els dolescents.

Escolha de parceiros na adolescência

Mate choice is a component of sexual selection. Trying to understand the patterns of this process, several studies have emphasized the adaptive value of sexual differences and their influence on the assessment of the market value. The pattern for adults presented on the scientific literature, which is based on the preference for certain characteristics, shows that men search a partner who shows high value of fecundity and fertility, thus looking for partners with the ability of being pregnant and nursing their offspring. On the other hand, women look for partners with high socioeconomic status, which is strongly associated with the ability to protect and provide resources for them and their offspring. Surprisingly, there is few works that investigated the mate choice patterns during the beginning of the period of sexual differentiation on the morphological, physiological and behavioral traits. The aim of this study was to investigate mate choice patterns in adolescence in order to describe their preferences and contribute to the understanding of human reproductive behavior. Took part of this research 1,232 students from educational institutions of Natal, Brazil, and visitors to the Scientific, Technological and Cultural Fair UFRN. In the Experimental Study 1, we applied a questionnaire to evaluate the importance of certain characteristics, assessed the degree of romantic involvement and real and ideal partners age preference. In the Experimental Study 2, we did a survey of characteristics considered relevant and evaluate the importance of these characteristics in mate choice. The Experimental Study 3 brought an investigation of mate choice patterns based on self-assessment of adolescents, evaluating ideal partner for a short-term and long-term relationships and actual partner. We found that adolescents are motivated to live romantic experiences. We also observed a preference for partners of similar age to that described for adults. Finally, we found similarities and differences in the preferences for characteristics in real and ideal partners in relation to the adult pattern. In addition, we observed high similarity on the self-assessment and assessment of real and ideal partners. We suggest that in the mate choice, adolescents are similar to young adults in some aspects but not all. Our results show the relevance of the reproductive behavior investigation in this human developmental period and reinforce that further studies should contribute to the understanding of human behavior in terms of ontogenetic development and their evolutionary history.

Estilos de aprendizagem sob a ótica da Psicologia Evolucionista

Among a variety of learning conceptions, David Kolb´s Experiential Learning Theory proposes four different learning styles: diverging, characterized by orientation towards people and multi-perspective vision; assimilating, concerned with ideas and abstract concepts as well as theory formulation; converging, expert in dealing with technical tasks and problem solving; and accommodating, risk taker and good at getting things done. Interesting correlations have been pointed out between Kolb s learning styles, professional careers and genders. With respect to behaviors, specific cognitive skills and interests, sex differences are widely known, and explained by Evolutionary Psychology as the result of distinct selective pressures acting on each gender. The aim of this research was to assess adolescents learning styles and their relation with interests on school and career choices, analyzing possible gender differences. We distributed questionnaires to 221 senior high school students to research their preferences for school disciplines, professional activities and career choices. The Learning Style Inventory specified the learning style of each individual. Our results showed a high frequency of reflective styles, with predominance of females as diverging and males as assimilating. Concerning school and professional interests, there were correlations between styles oriented towards the abstract and technical interests. Moreover, females preferred disciplines related to languages and interpersonal activities while males preferred disciplines related to science and technical activities. There were more males in exact science and engineering careers, and more females in social science and applied social science. Correlations found between learning styles, school and professional interests corroborate Kolb´s propositions, and the findings about gender differences are supported by Evolutionary Psychology theories

Exploração sexual comercial de crianças e adolescentes : o estado da arte nas produções acadêmicas em psicologia

The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents (ESCCA) is a phenomenon that has been given priority in public policy agenda of many democratic governments of Western countries and civil sectors of society, besides the object of studies in different fields of knowledge. Psychology is among these areas and is considered one of the references in the construction of knowledge and actions to confront the phenomenon. However, the epistemological foundations of psychological science are quite different, and so, several are his speeches, knowledge produced and ways of conceiving man and the world. This is evident in the publications of psychology on ESCCA. This work aims to achieve a state of the art of psychology publication in Brazil (in the post-graduation - through theses and dissertations - and journals) on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. More specifically try to evidence (a) what conceptions of commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents the authors lists, (b) what are aimed at research and publications, (c) how the research and issues are justified, and (d) that theoretical approaches the authors are affiliated and methodological possibilities are applied to range the aim proposed in their work. In order to do so, a survey was conducted in the major index sites (eg, BVS-Psi, Capes, theses and dissertations database of university libraries) of the material, covering the period 1990 to 2007. Through research on these sites, we built a database, including information relating to the work sought from specific descriptors for studies in the area of victimization of children and adolescents, with reference to a list provided by Faleiros (2000). After reading the summary of the work, the number of recovered 25 productions was reached - including theses, dissertations and articles. For analysis of the material used in the analysis of thematic content. Two axes themes were established in order to guide the analysis: conceptual elements of commercial sexual exploitation, and theoretical and methodological strategies employed. The axes have as reference for analysis a chapter built on the concept of commercial sexual exploitation, so that all analysis is anchored on it. The analysis points to the existence, still strong, conceptual and terminological confusion about ESCCA. Few studies have not demonstrated this confusion, maintaining a consistent theoretical approach. In relation to the theoretical and methodological strategies, there is a great diversity of approaches in psychology surrounding the phenomenon of ESCCA, enriching levels of understanding and action. This diversity reflects a constitutive heterogeneity of psychological science. We emphasize the perspective of socio-historical psychology, most frequently among the publications. It is hoped that this research will help advance the qualitative approach to ESCCA, especially in the field of psychology, as well as contribute to new research in the area and construction of new means of addressing this human rights violation

Violência sexual intrafamiliar contra crianças e adolescentes: o estado da arte em periódicos em psicologia

Intrafamily sexual violence against children and adolescents is a highly complex and serious issue in terms of the damage caused to this population. However, despite the relevance of this discussion, the matter only began to be addressed in the second half of the twentieth century, with its inclusion in academic research from the perspective of damage caused to the victims. Debate on intrafamily sexual violence against children and adolescents has intensified in recent decades, particularly with the enactment of the Statute on Children and Adolescents (Federal Law 8069/90), which recognizes children and adolescents as rights holders. Open discussion on the issue meant several fields of knowledge began to study the topic. Particularly prominent among these areas is the field of Psychology, promoting theoretical discussions and practical interventions focusing on this type of violence. Given the theoretical and methodological diversity of psychological science and the many possibilities for the production of knowledge, this study aims to map and debate research conducted in the field that discusses intrafamily sexual violence against children and adolescents in Brazil. To that end, articles published in Psychology journals were analyzed. In order to achieve this objective, a search was conducted of Scielo Brasil using descriptors on the subject, chosen from a list reported by Faleiros (2000). The time frame studied was between 1990 and 2013, therefore included the date of the enactment of the Statute of Children and Adolescents. Qualitative analysis was selected as a data analysis technique around two main themes. The first involved analyzing the concept of intrafamily sexual violence based on its components. The second analytical theme addressed the theoretical and methodological strategies used by the authors. The aim was to identify and discuss the approaches chosen to achieve the proposed objectives as well as the justifications provided by the authors for their research. Analyses of these themes were based on theoretical discussions on intrafamily sexual violence against children and adolescents. Difficulties were identified in conceptualizing intrafamily sexual violence so as to include all its elements and differentiate it from sexual exploitation. The studies assessed showed substantial diversity in both the theoretical and methodological approaches used, contributing to understanding the phenomenon. It is expected that this study will contribute to reflection on intrafamily sexual violence against children and adolescents, promoting new studies and/or practical interventions