Acoso escolar y condición del Espectro Autista: relación con el Afrontamiento en la Adolescencia Temprana

Trabajo de Fin de Máster del Máster en Profesor de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria y Bachillerato, Formación Profesional y Enseñanza de Idiomas, curso 2020-2021[ES] Investigaciones previas sobre el acoso escolar en adolescentes con Trastorno del Espectro Autista (TEA) se han basado en menores con un diagnóstico clínico; sin embargo, se desconocen las características del acoso que reciben aquellos que solo presentan algunos rasgos de autismo sin que esta condición limite su funcionalidad y adaptación al entorno. El propósito de este estudio descriptivo-correlacional fue conocer las experiencias de acoso que se producen en el alumnado de 5º y 6º de Educación Primaria e identificar algunos factores, como el afrontamiento, que contribuyan tanto a la vulnerabilidad como a la protección de ser víctima de acoso. Participaron 103 alumnos, de los cuales 56.3% eran varones y 43.7% mujeres, con edades que oscilaban entre los 10 y los 13 años. Para la recogida de información se utilizaron tres instrumentos: el “Cuestionario AQ para niños” (AQ-Child), la Escala de Conductas de Acoso (CAI-CA) y la Escala de Afrontamiento (CAI-A). Se hizo un estudio descriptivo, se calculó el coeficiente de correlación de Pearson y se aplicó la técnica estadística del análisis de la varianza (ANOVA). Los resultados indican tasas elevadas de acoso ocasional. Los alumnos con mayor cociente autista y los que prestan atención a los detalles, fueron los que recibieron más amenazas y empleaban estrategias de afrontamiento centradas en el problema. Mientras que aquellos que encontraban dificultades para la socialización fueron más excluidos del grupo de iguales y utilizaban en mayor medida la autofocalización negativa frente a este tipo de acoso. Estos resultados tienen importantes implicaciones para que los Equipos de Orientación Educativa y Psicopedagógica y los Departamentos de Orientación intervengan con el fin de reducir el acoso y faciliten el acceso a las actividades sociales y al aprendizaje de estrategias de afrontamiento eficaces que faciliten la transición a Secundaria.[EN] Previous research on school bullying in adolescents with an autism spectrum condition has been conducted with minors with a clinical diagnosis; however, the characteristics of the harassment suffered by those who only present some the feature characteristics of autism, without the condition limiting their functionality and adaptation to the environment, are unknown. The purpose of this descriptive-correlational study was to identify the bullying experiences of students in 5th and 6th grade of Primary Education and to recognise some factors, such as coping, that contribute to both the vulnerability as well as the protection from being bullied. 103 students participated, of which 56.3% were male and 43.7% female, with ages ranging between 10 and 13 years. Three instruments were used to collect the data: the Spanish version of the “Autism Spectrum Quotient for Children” (AQ-Child), the “Peer Bullying Behaviours Questionnaire” (CAI-CA) and the “Peer Bullying Questionnaire-Coping Scale” (CAI-A). A descriptive study, a Pearson´s correlation coefficient and a statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) were carried out. The results indicate high rates of occasional bullying. Students with more autistic traits and those who pay more attention to detail received more threats from their peers and used coping strategies focused on the problem. Whereas those who experienced socialisation difficulties were more frequently excluded from the peer groups and used negative self-targeting to a greater extent when facing this type of harassment. These results have important implications so the Educational and Psychopedagogical Counselling Teams and Counselling Departments to intervene in order to reduce bullying and facilitate access to social activities and learning of effective coping strategies to ease the transition to Secondary School

Estrés Percibido, Estrategias de afrontamiento y bienestar psicológico en jóvenes

Trabajo Fin de Grado curso 2015-2016[ES]La situación socioeconómica en España, caracterizada por la crisis y el desempleo y los cambios vitales a los que se ven expuestos los jóvenes, hacen que se enfrenten a múltiples situaciones que pueden ser percibidas como estresantes y que pueden afectar a su bienestar psicológico. Esta investigación examinó la relación existente entre el bienestar psicológico, el estrés percibido y las diversas estrategias de afrontamiento empleadas por los jóvenes, además de las diferencias en las variables sociodemográficas evaluadas y también identificó las variables que mejor contribuyen a explicar el bienestar psicológico. Los participantes fueron 106 jóvenes, de los cuales 42.45% eran hombres y 57.55% mujeres, con edades comprendidas entre los 17 y los 30 años (M=22.01; DT= 3.043). Los instrumentos empleados fueron la “Adaptación española de las Escalas de Bienestar Psicológico”, el “Inventario de Estrategias de Afrontamiento” (CSI) y la “Escala de Estrés Percibido” (PSS-14). Se realizó un estudio descriptivo, un análisis de correlación de Pearson, un análisis de regresión múltiple, pruebas “t de Student” y ANOVA. Los resultados mostraron que los jóvenes que percibieron mayores niveles de estrés, tenían un menor nivel de bienestar psicológico y empleaban más las estrategias “autocrítica”, “expresión emocional”, “pensamiento desiderativo” y “retirada social”. Las mujeres manifestaron mayores niveles de estrés percibido que los hombres y tenían preferencia por las estrategias “expresión emocional” y “apoyo social”, mientras que los chicos optaban por la “retirada social”. El estrés percibido es la variable que más contribuye a explicar el bienestar psicológico. Estos resultados subrayan la importancia de continuar examinando y promoviendo el bienestar psicológico y las estrategias de afrontamiento más eficaces para poder hacer frente exitosamente a las dificultades que acontezcan en los proyectos vitales de los jóvenes

Predictors of autism spectrum disorder diagnosis in a spanish sample of preterm children with very low birthweight: A cross-sectional study

Background and aims: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with a higher likelihood of being diagnosed in preterm populations. Likewise, low birthweight has also been connected with an increased likelihood of ASD. The objectives were to study the frequency and define the relationship between ASD, gestational age, birthweight, and growth percentiles for preterm children. Methods: A sample of preterm children with very low birthweight was selected from the Spanish population at 7-10 years old. Families were contacted from the hospital, and they were offered an appointment to conduct a neuropsychological assessment. The children who showed signs of ASD were referred to the diagnostic unit for differential diagnosis. Results: A total of 57 children completed full assessments, with 4 confirmed ASD diagnoses. The estimated prevalence was 7.02%. There were statistically significant weak correlations between ASD and gestational age (τb = -0.23), and birthweight (τb = -0.25), suggesting there is a higher likelihood of developing ASD for those born smaller or earlier in their gestation. Conclusion: These results could improve ASD detection and outcomes for this vulnerable population while also supporting and enhancing previous findings.This work was supported by the State Program of Research, Development and Innovation Oriented towards Social Challenges from Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (GrantNo. PSl2016‐80575‐R), the State Research Agency, Ministry of Science and Innovation (GrantNo: PID2019‐107177RB‐I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) and the Support Program for Research Projects of the Junta de Castilla y León, Order EDU/1192/2020 (Ref.: SA119P20). None of these funding sources had any involvement in study design; collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; writing of the report; or the decision to submit the report for publication.S

Effect of the ImPACT intervention on preterm children with autism spectrum disorder: a follow-up study

[ENG]BACKGROUND: Globally, 15 million babies are born prematurely (<37 weeks' gestation) each year (Blencowe et al., 2012). Advances in intensive neonatal care have greatly improved the survival rate of preterm infants. However, the incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders in this group, such as autism, is one of these behavioral conditions observed. There is scarce evidence of programs that monitor and teach parents about the development of this group when the first developmental concerns appear until the diagnosis is finally confirmed and not many studies report follow-up results. OBJECTIVES: To this end, we conducted the ImPACT (Improving Parents As a Communication Teachers) intervention (Ingersoll & Wainer, 2013) aimed to investigate results in broader gains in social, cognitive, language and adaptive functioning in young preterm children with a higher probability to have autism (measured with ADOS and M-CHAT-R/F) 6 months after finishing intervention. Moreover, this is the first study to use individual change indices in a pre-post-follow-up design with preterm infants with ASD, a comparison group, and a control group. METHODS: Eighteen children between the ages of 18 and 20 months and their families participated in the study. Children were recruited from a developmental disorder diagnostic and rehabilitation centre and from the Salamanca Clinical Hospital, and allocated to the three groups in accordance with the respective inclusion criteria: (1) preterm children at risk for autism who received intervention (experimental), (2) full-term children at risk for autism who received intervention (comparison), and (3) preterm children (control). In the intervention, children and their parents participated in fifteen weekly individualized 2-h session with a researcher that emphasized embedding strategies targeting imitation, joint attention and play into everyday routines and play activities. Children were evaluated 6 months after the end of the intervention. RESULTS: Findings indicate that children in the intervention groups maintained the improvements showed post-intervention. There were significant differences in imitation skills (.045), joint attention (.031), and play (.025) in the follow-up results compared to post-intervention. There were no significant differences between preterm and term children with autism in any area. Individual analyses showed similar results, except for ADOS-T module results and cognitive functioning, in which the mean of preterm children with autism showed reliable changes maintained 6 months after finishing intervention. CONCLUSIONS: These results shows that change can be made and maintained in core developmental areas for preterm children with a higher probability to develop autism, when applying a low-intensity intervention targeting social and communication skills. Even though such core areas of impairment are not easy to change, the intervention had an appreciable effect. Most of the participants improved significantly in socio-communicative skills, cognitive development, language, and adaptive behavior, and ASD signs were reduced. Thus, this study emphasized the need for further research and implementation of early interventions in young preterm children with autism and their parents when targeting social-communication skills as a main objective for intervention.Grants PID2019-107177RB-I00 and TED2021-129301B-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”, by the “European Union” and by the “European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR

Effect of a Focused Social and Communication Intervention on Preterm Children with ASD: A Pilot Study

While advances in intensive neonatal care have greatly improved survival rates among preterm infants, incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders in this group is still high, with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) being one of the most frequent. To this end, we conducted a social-communication intervention aimed at investigating efficacy in social-communicative skills. Eighteen children (preterm and full-term with ASD and preterm children) aged 18 through 20 months participated in the study. Our findings indicate that most participants in the intervention groups registered significant improvements in terms of socio-communicative skills, cognitive development, and language. Accordingly, these pilot data underscore the need for further research and implementation of early interventions in young preterm children with ASD.Grants PID2019-107177RB-I00 and TED2021-129301B-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”, by the “European Union” and by the “European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR