Psychometric properties of the School Anxiety Inventory-Short Version in Spanish secondary education students

Background: The School Anxiety Inventory (SAI) can be applied in different fields of psychology. However, due to the inventory’s administration time, it may not be useful in certain situations. To address this concern, the present study developed a short version of the SAI (the SAI-SV). Method: This study examined the reliability and validity evidence drawn from the scores of the School Anxiety Inventory-Short Version (SAI-SV) using a sample of 2,367 (47.91% boys) Spanish secondary school students, ranging from 12 to 18 years of age. To analyze the dimensional structure of the SAI-SV, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were applied. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were calculated for SAISV scores. Results: A correlated three-factor structure related to school situations (Anxiety about Aggression, Anxiety about Social Evaluation, and Anxiety about Academic Failure) and a three-factor structure related to the response systems of anxiety (Physiological Anxiety, Cognitive Anxiety, and Behavioral Anxiety) were identified and supported. The internal consistency and test-retest reliability were determined to be appropriate. Conclusions: The reliability and validity evidence based on the internal structure of SAI-SV scores was satisfactory.

Current status of research on school refusal

School refusal behavior refers to the avoidance of a child attending school and/or persistent difficulty staying in the classroom throughout the school day. Based on a review of the scientific literature, the aim of this study is to describe the current state of research on school refusal, differentiating between the findings and progress made in Spain from those achieved in the international field. For this purpose, the significance of this phenomenon, in addition to associated risk factors and variables, will be reviewed in the child and youth population. In turn, the commonly used assessment methods and most recommended treatment proposals, mainly based on cognitive behavioral therapy, are discussed. The results reveal several gaps and subjects for debate in some areas of knowledge about school refusal behavior, with differences being found between Spanish and international studies. In conclusion, future studies and challenges in this field are required.

¿Cómo se relaciona la ansiedad escolar con el rendimiento académico?

Se conoce poco sobre la relación existente entre la ansiedad escolar y el rendimiento académico de los alumnos. Este estudio analizó la relación entre ansiedad escolar y el rendimiento académico en una población de 520 estudiantes españoles de 12 a 18 años (M = 15.38, DE = 1.95). Los resultados revelaron que los estudiantes con alto rendimiento en castellano (lengua y literatura) presentaron puntuaciones significativamente más altas en ansiedad ante el fracaso y castigo escolar, ansiedad ante la agresión, ansiedad conductual y ansiedad psicofisiológica. Igualmente, los estudiantes con alto rendimiento en matemáticas presentaron puntuaciones significativamente más altas en ansiedad ante el fracaso y castigo escolar, ansiedad ante la agresión y ansiedad conductual. Además, los alumnos con éxito académico presentaron puntuaciones significativamente más altas en ansiedad ante el fracaso y castigo escolar, ansiedad conductual y ansiedad psicofisiológica. Sin embargo, los alumnos con fracaso escolar presentaron puntuaciones significativamente más altas en ansiedad ante la evaluación social. Finalmente, la ansiedad ante el fracaso y castigo escolar fue un predictor significativo del alto rendimiento en las asignaturas de castellano (lengua y literatura) y matemáticas, mientras que la ansiedad ante el fracaso y castigo escolar y la ansiedad ante la evaluación social fueron predictores significativos del éxito académico general. Así, los resultados indican un mayor rendimiento académico de los alumnos que presentan determinados temores escolares. Estos resultados podrían ser utilizados por profesores, psicólogos escolares y psicólogos clínicos como base empírica para desarrollar acciones preventivas y de intervención más eficaces del bajo rendimiento académico.

Narrativa autobiográfica: relatos de vida marcados pela fobia escolar de um aluno

Trabalho de projeto apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação de Paula Frassinetti, para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciências da Educação, Especialização em Supervisão Pedagógica

Cortisol levels in response to starting school in children at increased risk for social phobia

Background: Research on depression has identified hyperactivity of the HPA axis as a potential contributory factor to the intergenerational transmission of affective symptoms. However, this has not yet been examined in the context of social phobia. The current study compared HPA axis activity in response to a universal social stressor (starting school) in children of 2 groups of women: one with social phobia and one with no history of anxiety (comparison group). To determine specificity of effects of maternal social phobia, a third group of children were also examined whose mothers had generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). Method: Children provided salivary cortisol samples in the morning, afternoon and at bedtime across 3 time-blocks surrounding the school start: a month before starting school (baseline), the first week at school (stress response), and the end of the first school term (stress recovery). Child behavioural inhibition at 14 months was also assessed to explore the influence of early temperament on later stress responses. Results: All children displayed an elevation in morning and afternoon cortisol from baseline during the first week at school, which remained elevated until the end of the first term. Children in the social phobia group, however, also displayed an equivalent elevation in bedtime cortisol, which was not observed for comparison children or for children of mothers with GAD. Children in the social phobia group who were classified as 'inhibited' at 14 months displayed significantly higher afternoon cortisol levels overall. Summary: A persistent stress response to school in the morning and afternoon is typical for all children, but children of mothers with social phobia also display atypical elevations in evening cortisol levels when at school - signalling long-term disruption of the circadian rhythm in HPA axis activity. This is the first study to report HPA axis disruption in children at risk of developing social phobia, and future research should aim to determine whether this represents a pathway for symptom development, taking early temperament into account.

In vivo practice for needle phobia : report on two cases

Describes case studies of 2 males (aged 28 and 30 yrs) in which in vivo practice was applied to needle phobia and associated vasovagal fainting. In vivo practice combines skill acquisition with an opportunity to disconfirm negative expectations. Substantial improvements in self-efficacy, anxiety, and performance were obtained. Treatment gains generalized to other settings and were maintained at 3–6 mo follow-up. In vivo practice is recommended for further research into needle phobias.

Preschool anxiety disorders predict different patterns of amygdala-prefrontal connectivity at school-age.

OBJECTIVE: In this prospective, longitudinal study of young children, we examined whether a history of preschool generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, and/or social phobia is associated with amygdala-prefrontal dysregulation at school-age. As an exploratory analysis, we investigated whether distinct anxiety disorders differ in the patterns of this amygdala-prefrontal dysregulation. METHODS: Participants were children taking part in a 5-year study of early childhood brain development and anxiety disorders. Preschool symptoms of generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, and social phobia were assessed with the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment (PAPA) in the first wave of the study when the children were between 2 and 5 years old. The PAPA was repeated at age 6. We conducted functional MRIs when the children were 5.5 to 9.5 year old to assess neural responses to viewing of angry and fearful faces. RESULTS: A history of preschool social phobia predicted less school-age functional connectivity between the amygdala and the ventral prefrontal cortices to angry faces. Preschool generalized anxiety predicted less functional connectivity between the amygdala and dorsal prefrontal cortices in response to fearful faces. Finally, a history of preschool separation anxiety predicted less school-age functional connectivity between the amygdala and the ventral prefrontal cortices to angry faces and greater school-age functional connectivity between the amygdala and dorsal prefrontal cortices to angry faces. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that there are enduring neurobiological effects associated with a history of preschool anxiety, which occur over-and-above the effect of subsequent emotional symptoms. Our results also provide preliminary evidence for the neurobiological differentiation of specific preschool anxiety disorders.

Doll Play narratives about starting school in children of socially anxious mothers, and their relation to subsequent child school-based anxiety

Background: Child social anxiety is common, and predicts later emotional and academic impairment. Offspring of socially anxious mothers are at increased risk. It is important to establish whether individual vulnerability to disorder can be identified in young children. Method: The responses of 4.5 year-old children of mothers with social phobia (N = 62) and non-anxious mothers (N = 60) were compared, two months before school entry, using a Doll Play (DP) procedure focused on the social challenge of starting school. DP responses were examined in relation to teacher reports of anxious-depressed symptoms and social worries at the end of the child’s first school term. The role of earlier child behavioral inhibition and attachment, assessed at 14 months, was also considered. Results: Compared to children of non-anxious mothers, children of mothers with social phobia were significantly more likely to give anxiously negative responses in their school DP (OR = 2.57). In turn, negative DP predicted teacher reported anxious-depressed and social worry problems. There were no effects of infant behavioral inhibition or attachment. Conclusion: Vulnerability in young children at risk of anxiety can be identified using Doll Play narratives.