Social Phobia and Educational and Interpersonal Impairments in Adolescence : A Prospective Study

Peer reviewe

Family and friend support for adolescents with diabetes

The present paper describes two studies of social support provided by family members and friends for adolescents’ diabetes care. Using a structured interview, 74 middle-income and 62 socioeconomically disadvantaged adolescents with diabetes described the ways that family members and friends provided support for several aspects of diabetes care (insulin shots, blood glucose monitoring, eating proper meals, exercise, and «feeling good about their diabetes»). In both samples, family members provided more support than did friends for diabetes care, especially for daily management tasks; friends provided considerable emotional support for diabetes. Few differences in support levels were observed as a function of the adolescents’ socioeconomic status. However, more of the low-income adolescents had friends who did not provide any support for their diabetes care. Implications of the findings are discussed with respect to encouraging parents to remain involved in adolescents’ treatment, and involving peers as supportive companions for the lifestyle aspects of adolescents’ diabetes care.Este artigo descreve dois estudos sobre o apoio social de familiares e amigos a adolescentes com diabetes. Através de entrevistas estruturadas, 74 adolescentes de classe média e 64 de classe sócio-económica desfavorecida descrevem o apoio recebido em vários aspectos do tratamento da diabetes (injecções de insulina, análises da glicémia, alimentação adequada, exercício e no «sentir-se bem com a diabetes»). Em ambas as amostras, os familiares deram mais apoio nos tratamentos do que os amigos, especialmente nas tarefas quotidianas; os amigos deram sobretudo um apoio emocional considerável. Foram reduzidas as diferenças aos níveis de apoio em função do estatuto sócio- -económico dos adolescentes. No entanto, os adolescentes desfavorecidos tinham mais amigos que não davam apoio no tratamento da diabetes. Discutem-se as implicações dos resultados no sentido de encorajar os pais a participar no tratamento dos adolescentes, e de envolver os pares como companheiros que podem dar um apoio importante nos aspectos da vida social social mais afectados pela diabetes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Children’s Postdisaster Trajectories of PTS Symptoms: Predicting Chronic Distress

BACKGROUND: There are no studies of the distinct trajectories of children’s psychological distress over the first year after a destructive natural disaster and the determinants of these trajectories. OBJECTIVE: We examined these issues using an existing dataset of children exposed to Hurricane Andrew, one of the most devastating natural disasters in US history. METHODS: At 3-months postdisaster, 568 children (55 % girls; grades 3–5) residing in areas most directly affected by the hurricane completed measures of hurricane exposure and stressors, social support, coping, and general anxiety. Children also reported major life events occurring since the hurricane (at 7-months) and posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms at 3-, 7-, and 10-months postdisaster. RESULTS: Latent growth mixture modeling identified three trajectories of PTS reactions: resilient (37 %), recovering (43 %), and chronic distress (20 %). Predictors of the trajectories were examined. Odds ratios indicated that, compared to the resilient trajectory, girls were more likely to be in the recovering and chronically distressed trajectories, as were children reporting higher anxiety and greater use of coping strategies that reflected poor emotion regulation. Compared to the recovering trajectory, children in the chronically distressed trajectory had greater odds of reporting high anxiety, less social support, more intervening life events, and greater use of poor emotion regulation strategies. CONCLUSIONS: Hurricane exposure may be less effective in identifying children who develop chronic postdisaster distress than other child (anxiety, coping) and contextual variables (social support, life events). Effective screening after disasters is critical for identifying youth most in need of limited clinical resources

Codocencia para la formación inicial de docentes de inglés en educación STEAM+AICLE integrada

In Spain, primary education teachers teaching subject matter in a foreign language through Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) require new pedagogical competencies. Teaching in a second language often poses problems, as many teachers have no specific training in CLIL and often wish to gain greater self-confidence when teaching some subjects, for example, Natural Sciences, in a foreign language. In that scenario, two general objectives are proposed in this study within the framework of pre-service CLIL teacher training: to examine the impact of a co-teaching programme on the development of the pedagogical competences of pre-service English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers engaged in STEAM+CLIL integrated education; and 2) to study the impact of the programme on the perceived self-confidence of pre-service teachers when teaching CLIL. The results of this research involving three experimental cohorts of pre-service teachers showed an improvement in their pedagogical competencies at designing integrated STEAM+CLIL didactic units, compared to the respective control groups; and an increase in their perceived self-confidence when teaching EFL through CLIL. These results point towards an alternative pathway for primary school teacher training in a foreign language, particularly English. FUNDING INFORMATION. This research was funded by the European Commission which financed the research project STEAM Education and Foreign Language Learning in Europe - SeLFIE (2020-1-ES01-KA201-081850).En España, la enseñanza de asignaturas en una lengua adicional a través del Aprendizaje Integrado de Contenidos y Lengua Extranjera (AICLE) en Educación Primaria requiere nuevas competencias pedagógicas por parte de docentes. Esta situación suele plantear un problema, ya que muchos no tienen una formación específica en AICLE y consideran que necesitan más autoconfianza para enseñar dichas asignaturas en una lengua adicional, por ejemplo, en Natural Science. Ante este escenario, en este estudio se plantean dos objetivos generales en el marco del profesorado AICLE en formación: 1) examinar el impacto de un programa de codocencia en el desarrollo de competencias pedagógicas de futuros maestros de inglés como lengua extranjera en educación STEAM+AICLE integrada, y 2) estudiar el impacto de este programa en la autoconfianza hacia la enseñanza AICLE generada por los futuros maestros. Los resultados obtenidos en la investigación con tres cohortes experimentales de maestros en formación muestran una mejora de sus competencias pedagógicas para diseñar propuestas didácticas STEAM+AICLE integradas, en comparación con sus respectivos grupos de control; también a un aumento de su autoconfianza en la enseñanza de inglés como lengua extranjera a través de AICLE. Estos resultados parecen mostrar una alternativa para la formación docente de maestros de Educación Primaria en lengua adicional, particularmente inglés

Interpersonal Counseling in the Treatment of Adolescent Depression : A Randomized Controlled Effectiveness and Feasibility Study in School Health and Welfare Services

In order to offer early and accessible treatment for adolescents with depression, brief and effective treatments in adolescents' everyday surroundings are needed. This randomized controlled trial studied the preliminary effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of interpersonal counseling (IPC) and brief psychosocial support (BPS) in school health and welfare services. The study was conducted in the 28 lower secondary schools of a large city in Southern Finland, randomized to provide either IPC or BPS. Help-seeking 12-16-year-old adolescents with mild-to-moderate depression, with and without comorbid anxiety, were included in the study. Fifty-five adolescents received either 6 weekly sessions of IPC or BPS and two follow-up sessions. Outcome measures included self- and clinician-rated measures of depression, global functioning, and psychological distress/well-being. To assess feasibility and acceptability of the treatments, adolescents' and counselors' treatment compliance and satisfaction with treatment were assessed. Both treatments were effective in reducing depressive disorders and improving adolescents' overall functioning and well-being. At post-treatment, in both groups, over 50% of adolescents achieved recovery based on self-report and over 70% based on observer report. Effect sizes for change were medium or large in both groups at post-treatment and increased at 6-month follow-up. A trend indicating greater baseline symptom severity among adolescents treated in the IPC-providing schools was observed. Adolescents and counselors in both groups were satisfied with the treatment, and 89% of the adolescents completed the treatments and follow-ups. This trial suggests that both IPC and BPS are feasible, acceptable, and effective treatments for mild-to-moderate depression in the school setting. In addition, IPC seems effective even if comorbid anxiety exists. Our study shows that brief, structured interventions, such as IPC and BPS, are beneficial in treating mild-to-moderate depression in school settings and can be administered by professionals working at school.Peer reviewe

Learning curve for laparoscopic cholecystectomy has not been defined: A systematic review

Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is one of the most performed surgeries worldwide but its learning curve is still unclear. Methods: A systematic review was conducted according to the 2009 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. Two independent reviewers searched the literature in a systematic manner through online databases, including Medline, Scopus, Embase, and Google Scholar. Human studies investigating the learning curve of laparoscopic cholecystectomy were included. The Newcastle–Ottawa scale for cohort studies and the GRADE scale were used for the quality assessment of the selected articles. Results: Nine cohort studies published between 1991 and 2020 were included. All studies showed a great heterogeneity among the considered variables. Seven articles (77.7%) assessed intraoperative variables only, without considering patient's characteristics, operator's experience, and grade of gallbladder inflammation. Only five articles (55%) provided a precise cut-off value to see proficiency in the learning curve, ranging from 13 to 200 laparoscopic cholecystectomies. Conclusions: The lack of clear guidelines when evaluating the learning curve in surgery, probably contributed to the divergent data and heterogeneous results among the studies. The development of guidelines for the investigation and reporting of a surgical learning curve would be helpful to obtain more objective and reliable data especially for common operation such as laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Psychometric Findings for a Spanish Translation of the Diabetes Self-Management Profile (DSMP-Parent-Sp)

OBJECTIVE: Few validated measures exist to evaluate self-management of diabetes in families with limited English proficiency. The present study evaluated the psychometric properties and the factorial equivalence of a Spanish translation of the parent report version of the Diabetes Self-Management Profile (DSMP-Parent-Sp). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Hispanic families of youth (mean 13.7 years old) with type 1 diabetes were recruited from three clinics in South Florida and represented a wide range of nationalities and acculturation levels. A total of 127 parents reported on their child\u27s self-management behaviors using either the original DSMP-Parent (59.8%) or the DSMP-Parent-Sp (40.2%). In addition, youth reported their self-management using the original DSMP in English, and physicians rated their perceptions of the youth\u27s self-management. Glycemic control was indexed by A1C in the past 3 months and collected from medical chart review. RESULTS: Item analysis confirmed that the DSMP-Parent-Sp items related to the overall composite score in expected ways, and internal consistency estimates were adequate. Paired correlations demonstrated strong parent-child concordance and a significant relationship with physician perceptions of self-management. Evidence of concurrent and convergent validity, as well as strict factorial invariance, was demonstrated. CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary findings indicate that the DSMP-Parent-Sp is a reliable and valid parent report measure of the diabetes self-management behaviors of Hispanic youths. In addition, there is preliminary evidence that the translated measure may be considered equivalent to the original English measure when used to measure self-management in Hispanic youth with diabetes

Peer Deviance, Social Support, and Symptoms of Internalizing Disorders among Youth Exposed to Hurricane Georges

This study examined the influence of peers in meeting DSM-IV symptom criteria for an internalizing disorder in adolescents exposed to Hurricane Georges. Participants included a representative community sample of 905 youth (N = 476 boys) ages 11-17 residing in Puerto Rico. Data were gathered on hurricane exposure, symptoms of internalizing disorders, peer social support, peer violence, and peer substance use through in-person structured interviews with adolescents and caretakers from 1999-2000 in Puerto Rico, 12-27 months after Hurricane Georges. Hurricane exposure, peer violence, and peer substance use predicted whether adolescents met DSM-IV symptom criteria for a measured internalizing disorder. An interaction was found between hurricane exposure and peer violence, which indicated that hurricane exposure was significantly related to meeting DSM-IV symptom criteria for an internalizing disorder among adolescents who do not report associating with violent peers. However, for participants who reported high levels of peer violence, hurricane exposure did not convey additional risk for meeting DSM-IV symptom criteria for an internalizing disorder. With the increasing role peers play in adolescents’ lives, understanding the influence of peers on the development of internalizing symptoms following hurricane exposure may assist in planning developmentally sensitive response plans

Análisis de Invarianza y Diferencias de Medias Latentes Entre Adolescentes Americanos, Españoles y Chinos Usando la Escala de Ansiedad Social para Adolescentes (SAS-A)

Background: Social anxiety is one of the most prevalent disorders among adolescents (Stein et al., 2017). The main aim of this study was to analyze the equivalence of scores on the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A) using structural equation modeling and identify differences in latent means of social anxiety in China, Spain, and the USA. Method: Random sampling was used to recruit participants, which included 536 Chinese (46% girls), 1,178 Spanish (55.3% girls) and 866 North American (55.1% girls) adolescents. The participants’ ages ranged between 14 and 17 years old. Results: The SAS-A three-factor correlated model of social anxiety remained invariant between the Spanish and North American adolescents, but results could not be replicated in the Chinese adolescents [M2 = ΔS-Bχ2 (Δdf, p) = 4732.56 (36, < .01)]. Analyses of latent differences between Spain and the USA showed that Spanish adolescents had higher scores than North Americans for Fear of Negative Evaluation (TS = -9.630; d = .44) and for Social Avoidance and General Anxiety towards people (TS = -2.717; d = .12). Conclusions: The results are interpreted according to the cultural traits of individualism-collectivism and self-construal, and practical implications are discussed.Antecedentes: la ansiedad social es uno de los trastornos con mayor prevalencia en adolescentes (Stein et al., 2017). Así, el propósito principal de este estudio fue analizar la invarianza de la Escala de Ansiedad Social para Adolescentes (SAS-A) mediante un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales y examinar las diferencias de medias latentes en ansiedad social en adolescentes de China, España y EE.UU. Método: los participantes se seleccionaron a través de muestreo aleatorio: 534 chinos (46% chicas), 1.178 españoles (55,3% chicas) y 866 norteamericanos (55,1% chicas), con edades comprendidas entre los 14 y 17 años. Resultados: las puntuaciones del modelo de tres factores correlacionados de ansiedad social de la SAS-A resultaron invariantes entre adolescentes españoles y norteamericanos, pero estos resultados no fueron replicados en adolescentes chinos [M2 = ΔS-Bχ2 (Δdf, p) = 4732.56 (36, < .01)]. El análisis de medias latentes entre España y EE.UU. mostró que los adolescentes españoles manifestaban niveles más altos de Miedo ante las evaluaciones negativas (TS = -9.630; d = .44) y Evitación social y ansiedad general hacia las personas (TS = -2.717; d = .12). Conclusiones: estos hallazgos fueron interpretados atendiendo al de individualismo-colectivismo y las concepciones culturales de la propia persona, analizando sus implicaciones prácticas