Confirmatory factor analysis of an inventory of perception of insecurity and fear of crime

This paper focuses on the study of the factorial structure of an inventory to estimate the subjective perception of insecurity and fear of crime. Made from the review of the literature on the subject and the results obtained in previous works, this factor structure shows that this attitude towards insecurity and fear of crime is identified through a number of latent factors which are schematically summarized in (a) personal safety, (b) the perception of personal and social control, (c) the presence of threatening people or situations, (d) the processes of identity and space appropriation, (e) satisfaction with the environment, and (f) the environmental and the use of space. Such factors are relevant dimensions to analyze the phenomenon. Method: A sample of 571 participants in a neighborhood of Barcelona was evaluated with the proposed inventory, which yielded data from the distributions of all the items provided. The administration was conducted by researchers specially trained for it and the results were analyzed by using standard procedures in the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) from the hypothesized theoretical structure. The analysis was performed by decatypes according to the different response scales prepared in the inventory and their ordinal nature, and by estimating the polychoric correlation coefficients. The results show an acceptable fit of the proposed model, an appropriate behavior of the residuals and statistically significant estimates of the factor loadings. This would indicate the goodness of the proposed factor structure

The adequacy of different robust statistical tests in comparing two independent groups

In the current study, we evaluated various robust statistical methods for comparing two independent groups. Two scenarios for simulation were generated: one of equality and another of population mean differences. In each of the scenarios, 33 experimental conditions were used as a function of sample size, standard deviation and asymmetry. For each condition, 5000 replications per group were generated. The results obtained by this study show an adequate type error I rate but not a high power for the confidence intervals. In general, for the two scenarios studied (mean population differences and not mean population differences) in the different conditions analysed, the Mann-Whitney U-test demonstrated strong performance, and a little worse the t-test of Yuen-Welch

The formulation of argument structure in SLI: an eye-movement study

This study investigated the formulation of verb argument structure in Catalan- and Spanishspeaking children with specific language impairment (SLI) and typically developing age-matched controls. We compared how language production can be guided by conceptual factors, such as the organization of the entities participating in an event and knowledge regarding argument structure. Eleven children with SLI (aged 3;8 to 6;6) and eleven control children participated in an eyetracking experiment in which participants had to describe events with different argument structure in the presence of visual scenes. Picture descriptions, latency time and eye movements were recorded and analyzed. The picture description results showed that the percentage of responses in which children with SLI substituted a non-target verb for the target verb was significantly different from that for the control group. Children with SLI made more omissions of obligatory arguments, especially of themes, as the verb argument complexity increased. Moreover, when the number of arguments of the verb increased, the children took more time to begin their descriptions, but no differences between groups were found. For verb type latency, all children were significantly faster to start describing one-argument events than two- and three-argument events. No differences in latency time were found between two- and three-argument events. There were no significant differences between the groups. Eye-movement showed that children with SLI looked less at the event zone than the age-matched controls during the first two seconds. These differences between the groups were significant for three-argument verbs, and only marginally significant for one- and two-argument verbs. Children with SLI also spent significantly less time looking at the theme zones than their age-matched controls. We suggest that both processing limitations and deficits in the semantic representation of verbs may play a role in these difficulties

Las prácticas de lectura en estudiantes universitarios

This is a preliminary exploratory study of reading among university students. It aims to analyze their actual reading practices, not the reading skill itself. We describe the study-related reading practices of a sample of 243 psychology students and 156 teacher trainees from the University of Barcelona, applying un indirect measurement test of their exposure to written material and establishing a correlation between exposure and academic level. We also describe types of material support that students use during study-related reading. The analysis of our own students' study-related reading is not only a theoretically and methodologically complex task, but an academically committed one as well, since it involves an examination of our own teaching system.El presente es un primer estudio exploratorio que tiene como objetivo la descripción de las lecturas de los estudiantes universitarios a partir de su exposición al material impreso de manera diferencial. No se trata de estudiar la capacidad de lectura concebida como habilidad, sino de describir las prácticas o el ejercicio de tal habilidad. Se describen las lecturas de estudio (y no las lecturas de otro tipo) de una muestra circunscrita de 243 estudiantes de Psicologia y de 156 estudiantes de Magisterio de la Universidad de Barcelona. Para ello aplicamos un test de medida indirecta de la exposición al material escrito y establecimos la correlación con el nivel académico de los alumnos. Por otra parte, realizamos una breve descripción del tipo de soporte material que usan los estudiantes durante su lectura universitaria. El estudio de las prácticas de lectura en un grupo definido de lectores, cuando son nuestros propios estudiantes, es una tarea no sólo teórica y metodológicamente compleja, sino también comprometida profesionalmente, en tanto implica interrogarse sobre el propio sistema de enseñanza

Neuropsychological rehabilitation and quality of life: A meta-analysis

The purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis on the effects of neuropsychological rehabilitation procedures on the quality of life in non-Spanish-speaking individuals with some cognitive deficit. Sixteen studies published during the 2001-2012 period which yielded relevant information regarding the sample sizes used, the types of statistical contrasts, the evaluation instruments or pathologies among others, were analyzed. We carried out study following the usual estimation procedures, based on the definition of the effect size and the scrutiny of their relationship with relevant variables (e.g., sample sizes, type of population), or methodological variables (e.g., type of research or sampling design). The data analysis shows a statistically significant effect ( r + = .38; p < .001) in all the variables associated with the characteristics of the intervention (duration, type of intervention, gender, year of publication and, more importantly, quality of life and neuropsychological outcomes). As a general conclusion, we were able to determine that Quality of Life (QoL) can improve, under certain conditions, through neuropsychological rehabilitation, but this change is not permanent

Mild cognitive impairment and fMRI studies of brain functional connectivity: the state of the art

In the last 15 years, many articles have studied brain connectivity in Mild Cognitive Impairment patients with fMRI techniques, seemingly using different connectivity statistical models in each investigation to identify complex connectivity structures so as to recognize typical behavior in this type of patient. This diversity in statistical approaches may cause problems in results comparison. This paper seeks to describe how researchers approached the study of brain connectivity in MCI patients using fMRI techniques from 2002 to 2014. The focus is on the statistical analysis proposed by each research group in reference to the limitations and possibilities of those techniques to identify some recommendations to improve the study of functional connectivity. The included articles came from a search of Web of Science and PsycINFO using the following keywords: f MRI, MCI, and functional connectivity. Eighty-one papers were found, but two of them were discarded because of the lack of statistical analysis. Accordingly, 79 articles were included in this review

Estimation of logistic regression models in small samples. A simulation study using a weakly informative default prior distribution

In this paper, we used simulations to compare the performance of classical and Bayesian estimations in logistic regression models using small samples. In the performed simulations, conditions were varied, including the type of relationship between independent and dependent variable values (i.e.,unrelated and related values), the type of variable (i.e., binary and continuous), and different Binomial distribution values and symmetry (i.e., symmetry and positive asymmetry). Iteratively reweighted least squares was used as the estimate method to fit the models in both the classical and Bayesian estimations. A weakly informative default distribution was chosen as the prior distribution for Bayesian estimation. The simulation results demonstrate that Bayesian estimations provide more stable distributions but are notable to solve problems generated by asymmetric distributions based on small samples. Additional research using different kinds of priors that is addressed at solving problems caused by asymmetry is needed

Executive functions, Personality traits and ADHD symptoms in adolescents: A mediation analysis

Certain personality traits and cognitive domains of executive functions (EF) are differentially related to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in adolescents. This study aimed to analyze the five-factor model (FFM) personality characteristics in adolescents with ADHD, and to examine whether EF mediate the relationships between FFM personality traits and ADHD symptoms. A comprehensive diagnostic assessment, including ADHD clinical interviews, ADHD rating scales, neuropsychological EF testing (i.e., working memory, flexibility and inhibition) and a personality assessment was carried out in a sample of 118 adolescents (75 ADHD and 43 control participants, 68% males), aged 12 to 16 years, and their parents and teachers. Adolescents with ADHD had lower scores than control participants on Conscientiousness and Agreeableness, and higher scores on Neuroticism. Structural equation models (SEM) showed that Conscientiousness directly influenced inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms, while Neuroticism, Agreeableness, and Extraversion directly affected hyperactive-impulsive symptoms. Only Conscientiousness exerted indirect effects on inattention, but not on hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms, via EF; higher scores on Conscientiousness were related to higher scores on EF, which in turn were related to lower scores on inattentive symptoms. These findings corroborate the relationships between ADHD symptoms, FFM personality traits and EF and indicate the mediating effect of EF on the relationship between Conscientiousness and inattention

Vulnerability and perceived insecurity in the public spaces of Barcelona / Vulnerabilidad y percepción de inseguridad en el espacio público de la ciudad de Barcelona

The concept of vulnerability is directly linked with perceived insecurity and fear of crime, especially with regard to women and older people in our cities. However, it is not the only paradigm contemplated in the analysis of this phenomenon. In addition to a model of vulnerability, some scholars propose a model of disorder and a model of social integration. The aim of this article is to set out some of the results obtained from a questionnaire about perceived insecurity in eight public spaces in the city of Barcelona. It analyses the relationship between the variables of gender and age, and factors in the questionnaire linked to the model of vulnerability (coping, prior experiences and social representation), disorder (perceived environmental quality and tolerance towards uncivil behaviours) and social integration (satisfaction/identification and social cohesion). The findings indicate that the models of vulnerability and disorder have a greater impact on perceived insecurity in the case of women, whereas older people displayed no differences from other groups with regard to perceived insecurity, associated with a greater influence of the model of social integration