Suicide is a health problem affecting the child and adolescent population that must be addressed from every direction, including schools. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore the training needs of primary school teachers to support the prevention of suicide in schools. The data for the study were collected from a series of semi-structured interviews with a non-probability sample of 31 primary school teachers in Cuba who had experiences of students with suicide attempts, and processed using Atlas.ti 9 content analysis. The results reveal insufficient knowledge about the causes of suicide attempts, the risk signs of suicidal behaviour, and the role of teachers in prevention. The deficiencies observed in relation to the execution of preventive actions are attributed to the absence of established protocols, the presence of myths around the subject, and limited skills and knowledge on the part of teachers. The article concludes by recommending further research on the topic, and training courses for teachers aimed at identifying at-risk students, monitoring students with suicidal behaviour, promoting and facilitating group prevention within the school, and family counselling.
Research on vocational training students are scarce in Spain. While more research has been done on university students, few studies compare vocational training students and university students of equivalent age. The aim of this study was to analyse the academic and personal-emotional adaptation of university and vocational training students, and to relate it to adult attachment and family variables such as parents’ educational level, parental relationships, family stress and satisfaction. The study sample comprised 251 Spanish students aged 18-25 years: 110 vocational training students and 141 university students. The instruments used were the Bidirectional Parent-Adolescent Relationships Scale (BiPAR), Family Satisfaction scale, Family Stress scale, Adult Attachment questionnaire (with subscales Low self-esteem, Hostile conflict resolution, Expression of feelings and Emotional self-sufficiency), and Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) (with subscales Personal-emotional adaptation and Academic adaptation). The results did not reveal significant differences between university and vocational students in their personal-emotional or academic adaptation. Personal-emotional adaptation in both cases was negatively related to low self-esteem, and positively related to family satisfaction, while academic adaptation was negatively related to low self-esteem and emotional self-sufficiency and positively related to family satisfaction and expression of feelings. These data point directly and indirectly to the role of relational family variables in the adaptation of young adults.
Values are beliefs that represent final states of existence or preferred behaviors, transcend specific situations, guide the selection and evaluation of behaviors and events, and vary in degree of importance between individuals. As such, they reflect the goals people desire and what they consider important and valuable. Academic performance can be defined as the degree of knowledge and skills developed by students at each stage of their education. This paper presents a systematic review of studies that analyze the relationship between human values and academic performance from basic through to higher education. A search of the PsycINFO, Web of Science, Scielo and Google Scholar databases identified 1545 articles. Removal of duplicates and application of eligibility criteria reduced this number to 220, of which 19 were included in the review. The main theories found in the articles were Functionalist Theory of Human Values, Theory of Basic Values, and Rokeach’s Theory of Values. Human values were found to relate to academic performance, acting both as a predecessor variable and as a mediator and moderator of other variables, such as content of achievement objectives, effort towards goals, social and individual achievement motives, learning goals, academic dishonesty, achievement goals, learning approaches, and resilience. These results advance our understanding of how values are associated with academic performance and enable reflections on how to promote values among students.
The promotion of social activities and cooperation at preschool level can encourage child development, including the development of children with disability, and teachers play an important role in this process. The aim of this study was to develop, apply and assess a training programme in Social Skills and Educational Social Skills for preschool teachers. The study consisted of a 60-hour online course over a 3-month period involving 30 Brazilian teachers. Data were collected at the beginning, during and at the end of the study, and analysed by means of statistical contrast tests. Qualitative and textual data were subjected to lexicographical analysis using IraMuTeQ. The results showed that the strategies used in the online format yielded good engagement by the participants and richness of discussion. The course was found to be an effective means of continuing professional training, with teachers mentioning adaptive and functional strategies from the programme that helped them to deal with their own socio-emotional difficulties and those of their students.
The Positive Youth Development model raises the need to identify the competences that allow a healthy transition to adult life. However, evaluation of these competences remains a challenge. This study analyses the psychometric properties of the Adolescent Positive Development Scale informed by academic tutors, and the discriminative power of the scale for variables in an educational setting. A total of 512 academic tutors or guidance counsellors assessed 1050 adolescents from secondary schools using this instrument. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis showed a 5-factor structure (Personal Development and Resilience, Cognitive Development, Socio-Moral Development, Self-care and Health, and Emotional Development), with adequate psychometric properties. The scale shows good discrimination of academic performance and diagnosticity for grade repetition and risk of school dropout. This scale is recommended for the assessment and promotion of Positive Youth Development owing to its applicability in an educational context.
Character strengths are personality traits that have been linked to well-being, mental health, and effective college performance. The aim of this research was to assess the impact of character strengths on emotional distress and academic procrastination. Participants were 255 Psychology majors (71.37 % female) with an average age of 21 years. The sampling method was non-probabilistic, and the following instruments were used: Growing Strong Scale (character strengths), Depression and Anxiety Scales, and Procrastination Assessment Scale for Students. Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test, and binary logistic regression were conducted. The findings indicate statistically significant differences in character strengths and levels of procrastination and emotional distress between genders. The regressions on the predictive capacity of character strengths in relation to emotional distress reveal that caution, gratitude, and love significantly forecast low levels: creativity, perspective, perseverance, gratitude, and humor were found to be significant predictors for anxiety, while curiosity, kindness, social intelligence, gratitude, and humor were reported for depression. However, none of the strengths showed significant predictive ability for stress. Regarding academic procrastination, the findings indicate that leadership and self-regulation are significant factors. Character strengths can, therefore, be considered to function as protective factors against academic procrastination and emotional distress symptoms, highlighting the importance of promoting them in a university setting.
The aim of this research was to assess the levels of trait anxiety among students of junior- and senior-cycle secondary school in Galicia (Spain). The study used a psychometric-quantitative methodology, including factorial, descriptive and inferential analysis in a sample of 869 students aged between 12 and 18 years (M = 14.44; SD = 1.59), surveyed using the Anxiety Questionnaire (STAI-R) and a sociodemographic data sheet. The results showed moderate levels of trait anxiety among 49% of the sample, low levels among 26.9%, and high levels among 24.1%. Exploratory factor analysis supported a three-factor model (Inadequacy, Hopelessness, and Stability), while confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that a two-factor theoretical model (Trait anxiety-affirmative, Trait anxiety-negative) also presents an acceptable fit. Reliability was analysed using Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega, with adequate internal consistency indices found for each measure of the scale (α/ω > .70). Finally, the inferential analysis supported the existence of a higher level of trait anxiety among adolescents who do not engage in physical exercise. The paper concludes that even moderate levels of trait anxiety among young people can be improved through physical exercise.
The LolEva test for the assessment of phonological awareness (PA) and initial reading competence (ILC) is a computerized instrument aimed at identifying the existence of problems in the development of skills that could lead to difficulties in learning to read. Previous analyses of its psychometric properties with a sample between 3 and 8 years of age showed high reliability, good item discrimination, as well as the presence of three factors that explained 75% of the variance: PA performance, ILC, and word reading times. With the results obtained in a subsequent sample of 343 boys and girls aged 3-6 years schooled in public and charter schools, the resulting model was subjected to a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results provide evidence in support of the reliability and construct validity of the test and support the continuity relationship between the development of phonological awareness and reading learning.
Bullied in-adolescents do experience certain psychosocial challenges and they employed varying coping strategies. However, the impact of demographic variables on the adjustment approaches used by adolescents enrolled in school is not sufficiently understood especially in Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling approach was used to obtain the study sample, resulting in 400 students identified as victims. Three instruments were used for their evaluation: Bullying Behaviour Scale; Psychosocial Challenges of Bullied Questionnaire; and Coping Strategies of Bullied Questionnaire. Results showed that age or type of school attended did not influence the psychosocial challenges experienced by bullied respondents, and it was also observed that students from private and public schools employed varying coping approaches. On this basis, it would be advisable for school counsellors to develop effective intervention strategies to help bullied students overcome their psychosocial challenges, and for school counsellors to focus more on bullied adolescents in their schools to train them in the best methods of coping and overcoming victimisation experience.
Este book examina minuciosamente las conductas e intereses repetitivos y estereotipados característicos del Trastorno del Espectro Autista (TEA): adherencia a rutinas, rituales, movimientos corporales u objetos, habla estereotipada, resistencia al cambio, intereses restringidos y/o inusuales, o respuesta sensorial atípica. Estas características centrales del TEA están influenciadas por factores ambientales y genéticos. La investigación actual destaca la importancia de considerar este patrón de comportamiento y los intereses en la planificación de la intervención y la comprensión del TEA, ya que puede afectar la vida diaria de las personas con este diagnóstico. Este patrón se manifiesta de manera diferente en cada individuo, por lo que requiere una planificación individualizada para la evaluación y la intervención.
PUBLISHER: Publications Service of the University of A Coruña
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This journal is a continuation of: Revista Galego-Portuguesa de Psicoloxía e Educación (years 1997-2013) - ISSN: 1138-1663.
e-ISSN: 2386-7418 - Revista de Estudios e Investigación en Psicología y Educación - https://revistas.udc.es/index.php/reipe/