Adolescents and youths’ opinions about the factors associated with cannabis use: a qualitative study based on the I-Change model

Background To learn about the experiences and opinions of adolescent non-consumers and regular cannabis users about cannabis use and the factors that determine its use, using the I-Change explanatory model as a basis. Methods Qualitative methodology with a content analysis was used. Focus groups were conducted with adolescents who were non-regular cannabis users (those who had not tried cannabis or had only experimented with it before) and semi-structured interviews were conducted with adolescent and young adult in recovery who were in a detoxification program. A deductive analysis of the audio-recorded and transcribed interviews was performed, using the domains of the I-Change Model as a reference. Results Personal problems, social problems or family problems can lead to cannabis use. There was a lack of knowledge and low risk perception about consumption of this drug. There are other factors that influence consumption, the perception of advantages, such as the feeling of freedom and the influence of the peer group. The consumption of this substance in girls is changing, becoming more and more equal to that of boys. The family has an important role to play in preventing drug use. Conclusion Knowledge of these factors is of vital importance as a prior step to the development of efficient intervention measures adjusted to the needs identified and the characteristics of the population. Keywords I-Change model, Nursing, Cannabis, Qualitative researc

Sexual behaviour, human papillomavirus and its vaccine: a qualitative study of adolescents and parents in Andalusia

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections and can be prevented by vaccination. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding, by analysing interview responses of adolescents and parents, of how adolescent sexual behaviour is approached in families, how widespread knowledge about HPV is in Andalusia, the autonomous region with the lowest vaccination rate in Spain, as well as to learn more about the interviewees’ position regarding vaccination. Methods: A qualitative study by means of 15 focus groups of adolescents (N = 137, aged 14–17 years) and five focus groups of parents with children of those ages (N = 37) was conducted in the provinces of Granada, Seville and Jaén (Andalusia, Spain). The audio data were transcribed verbatim, coded and analysed thematically using NVIVO-10 software. Results: There were three major results: (1) There is a lack of communication between adolescents and parents regarding sexual behaviour; (2) In both groups, scarce knowledge about HPV and vaccination was found; (3) Parents mistrust vaccination due to a lack of qualified and verified information about its benefits. Conclusions: Healthy adolescent sexual behaviour is aided by communication within the family. Families need more information based on the evidence about HPV and vaccination. Health professionals are a key element in this process

The present projects past behavior into the future while the past projects attitudes into the future: how verb tense moderates predictors of drinking intentions

Three studies examined how the use of the present versus the past tense in recalling a past experience influences behavioral intentions. Experiment 1 revealed a stronger influence of past behaviors on drinking intentionswhen participants self-reported an episode of excessive drinking using the present tense. Correspondingly, therewas a stronger influence of attitudes towards excessive drinking when participants self-reported the episode in the past tense. Experiments 2 and 3 liked this effect to changes in construal level (Liberman, Trope, & Stephan, 2007; Trope & Liberman, 2003), with the present tense being similar to a concrete construal level and the past tense being similar to an abstract construal level.This research was supported by grants from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación PSI2008-04849 and Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad PSI2011-28720 and by grants from the National Institutes of Health (K02-MH01861 and R01-NR08325)

Potential interactions between phytotherapycs anthracenics laxatives products and other drugs. Detection in community pharmacies of Seville

Introducción: Los productos fitoterápicos más dispensados en España son los laxantes. Los laxantes antracénicos como el acíbar de aloe (Aloe spp.) o la corteza de cáscara sagrada (Rhamnus purshianus), entre otros, podrían estar implicados en interacciones farmacológicas debido al riesgo de hipopotasemia que produce su uso continuado. Objetivos: Realizar un análisis de la situación de dispensación de estos laxantes y detectar potenciales interacciones con otros fármacos en farmacias de la Provincia de Sevilla. Material/Métodos: Estudio descriptivo, observacional, realizado desde 14 farmacias comunitarias, mediante aplicación de un cuestionario acerca del uso de plantas medicinales. Se identificaron las interacciones potenciales descritas en las monografías EMA y ESCOP, y se analizaron los factores de riesgo para las mismas (edad avanzada, polimedicación y frecuencia de consumo). Resultados: La muestra fue constituida por 252 pacientes. El 24,6% (n=62) consumían laxantes antracénicos, más del 50% de forma diaria. El porcentaje de asociación con otros fármacos fue del 70%. Se han identificado potenciales interacciones en el 40% (n=26) de los pacientes, basadas en la asociación del laxante con fármacos diuréticos, con fármacos que podrían prolongar el intervalo QT, o con ambos a la vez. En todos ellos se detectó la existencia de uno o varios Factores de Riesgo para la Interacción (FRI). Conclusiones: Los resultados obtenidos reflejan la necesidad de formación actualizada por parte de los farmacéuticos comunitarios sobre los beneficios y riesgos de estos fitomedicamentos. Su dispensación protocolizada favorecería la identificación de posibles interacciones farmacológicas y su uso seguro y racional.Background: The most dispensed phytotherapeutic products in Spain are laxatives. Anthracenic laxatives such as aloe vera (Aloe spp.) or cascara sagrada (Rhamnus purshianus) could be involved in drug interactions due to the risk of hypokalemia caused by their continued use. Objectives: To carry out an analysis of the dispensing situation of these laxatives and detect potential interactions in pharmacies of the Province of Seville. Material / Methods: A descriptive, observational study made from 14 Pharmacy Offices, through the application of a questionnaire about the use of medicinal herbs. The potential interactions described in the EMA and ESCOP monographs were identified, and the risk factors for them (advanced age, polymedication and frequency of use) were analyzed. Results: The sample was constituted by 252 patients. 24.6% (n=62) consumed anthracene laxatives, more than 50% daily. The percentage of association with other drugs was 70%. Potential interactions have been identified in 40% (n=26) of the patients, based on the association of the laxative with diuretic drugs, with drugs that could prolong the QT interval, or with both at the same time. In all of them, the existence of one or several Risk Factors for Interaction (FRI) was detected. Conclusions: The results obtained show the need for updated training by community pharmacists on the benefits and risks of these phytoterapics products. Its protocolized dispensation would favor the identification of possible pharmacological interactions and their safe and rational use

Cambios evolutivos (14–21 años) en los patrones de ingesta puntual de alcohol en exceso y en sus factores explicativos

In order to design prevention programs, it is important to understand the evolution of drinking behaviour patterns among adolescents and young people. The aim of this paper is to analyse the changes in these patterns based on age and their role in explaining this behaviour in the Theory of Planned Behaviour framework. We used 273 participants divided into three sub-samples (3rd and 4th ESO [Educación Secundaria Obligatoria, ‘Compulsory Secondary Education’] students and university students). For older ages, the frequency of binge drinking is higher and the attitudes were also more positive towards alcohol consumption. Structural equation analyses show that drinking behaviour is explained by a different model in each agegroup: in older groups, the role played by positive attitude and perceived control is more important than in the younger; by contrast, the influence of reference groups decreases with age. Results show significant differences between age groups regarding the reasons that young people report for engaging or not engaging in this behaviourConocer la evolución de los patrones de consumo de alcohol en adolescentes y jóvenes constituye una información relevante para el diseño de programas de prevención. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la evolución de dichos patrones en función de la edad y su papel para explicar dicho comportamiento en el marco de la Teoría de la Conducta Planeada. Trabajando con 273 participantes divididos en tres grupos (estudiantes de 3º de ESO, estudiantes de 4º de ESO y estudiantes universitarios), se constata un aumento con la edad de la frecuencia personal de consumo puntual de alcohol en exceso y una actitud más positiva hacia dicho consumo. Así mismo, los resultados obtenidos al aplicar análisis de ecuaciones estructurales muestran que este comportamiento es explicado por un modelo distinto en cada grupo de edad, de forma que a medida que aumenta la edad de los jóvenes, aumenta el papel de la actitud positiva hacia el comportamiento y del control percibido en la explicación del consumo, disminuyendo el peso de los grupos de referencia. Los resultados también muestran importantes diferencias entre los distintos grupos de edad respecto a los motivos que los jóvenes atribuyen a la realización y no realización de esta conductaEsta investigación ha sido financiada con el proyecto PSI2011-28720 del Ministerio español de Economía y Competitivida

Abstractness leads people to base their behavioral intentions on desired attitudes

People sometimes want attitudes that differ from the ones they currently possess. These desired attitudes appear to be psychologically meaningful, but little is known about the properties of these evaluations. Because desired attitudes are hypothetical constructs (i.e., attitudes that one does not yet possess) and are distant in time (i.e., attitudes one could have in the future), we argued, based on construal level theory, that they should be represented in a relatively abstract manner, and consequently, we examined the implications of this abstractness for the characteristics and impact of desired attitudes. Consistent with this, we demonstrate that people perceive desired attitudes as more invariant across time and context, that desired attitudes are less impacted by changes in low-level features related to the attitude object (Study 1a and 1b) and that desired attitudes have a greater impact on behavioral intentions when people are in an abstract rather than concrete mindset (Studies 2–3). Although we did not make specific predictions regarding actual attitudes, they better predicted behavioral intentions in the concrete mindset (Studies 2–3). This last result should be taken with caution, considering that the level of abstraction shown by actual attitudes in Study 1a was at or slightly above the midpoint of our abstraction indexThis work was supported by MINECO (PSI 2014-53321-P

Cómo el tiempo verbal afecta a la interpretación de las acciones: el pasado simple conduce a las personas a un nivel de representación abstracto

Two experiments examined the influence of verb tense on how abstractly people construe action representations. Experiment 1 revealed that written descriptions of several daily events using the simple past tense (vs. simple present tense) resulted in actions and the action’s target being seen as less likely and less familiar, respectively. In Experiment 2 participants wrote about a personal episode of binge drinking (using the simple past tense vs. simple present tense), and the resulting narratives were coded using the Linguistic Category Model (see Semin & Fiedler, 1991). Results revealed that events were described at a more abstract level when texts were written using the simple past tense (vs. simple present tense). The results are discussed in the context of other effects of verb form and in relation to construal level of eventsDos experimentos examinan la influencia del tiempo verbal en el nivel de abstracción con el que las personas representan las acciones. El Experimento 1 mostró que descripciones escritas de eventos cotidianos utilizando el pasado simple indefinido (vs. presente simple) daba lugar a que las acciones descritas y los protagonistas de las mismas fueran evaluados como menos probables y menos familiares respectivamente. En el Experimento 2 los participantes escribieron sobre un episodio personal de borrachera (usando el tiempo verbal pasado simple vs. el tiempo verbal presente simple) y esas narraciones fueron analizadas utilizando el Modelo de Categorización Lingüística (LCM) (ver Semin & Fiedler, 1991). Los resultados mostraron que el episodio era descrito con mayor nivel de abstracción cuando las narraciones habían sido escritas utilizando el pasado simple indefinido (vs. presente simple). Los resultados son discutidos en el contexto de la influencia de otras formas verbales y en relación al nivel de constructo con el que se representan las accionesThis research was supported by grants from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (PSI 2011-28720) and by grants from the National Institutes of Health (K02-MH01861 and R01-NR08325

La intensificación y el uso de los factores de producción en horticultura

Hasta el principio de los años 80 la agricultura en la CEE seguía un comportamiento productivista. La generación de excedentes y la preocupación medioambiental cambiaron las líneas de actuación, y tomaron importancia otros conceptos como la extensificación que más tarde se ha relacionado con la sostenibilidad

Formalization and business Performance : Is operational performance a relevant link?.

There is no consensus in the organizational literature about the relationship between formalization and firm performance. Some studies have suggested that formalization is beneficial for organization performance, but others have generated contradictory results. In this research, we try to analyze the relationships between formalization, operational performance, and business performance. To test these hypotheses, the structural equation technique was used on data from a survey carried out on organic agro-food Spanish industrial firms. The results obtained show that operational performance fully mediates the relationship between formalization and business performance. Our findings contribute to the organizational literature, providing theoretical and empirical explanations of formalization implications