Gestión del estrés

Acercamiento téorico al concepto de estrés y a sus manifestaciones. Análisis del estrés laboral y presentación de la técnica de mindfulness como herramienta para evitarlo. Incluye un ejemplo de protocolo de mindfulness para su aplicación en un contexto de gestión del impacto emocional en la profesión de intérprete judicial.Área de Formación Permanente e Innovación Docent

Una comparación longitudinal de los modelos de los trastornos de ansiedad de la terapia metacognitiva y la terapia de aceptación y compromiso

Metacognitive therapy (MCT) suggests that anxiety disorders are caused by the cognitive attentional syndrome (CAS), which is supported by dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) emphasizes the role of cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance in the development of these disorders. In this study, it was hypothesized that the ACT concepts of cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance would mediate the relationship between dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs and anxiety/stress symptoms. A longitudinal design was employed. One hundred and six nonclinical participants responded twice to an online survey with a lapse of nine months. Cognitive fusion at Time 2 mediated the effect of negative metacognitive beliefs at Time 1 on anxiety symptoms at T2, whereas both cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance mediated the effect on stress symptoms. Cognitive fusion mediated the effect of positive metacognitive beliefs only on stress symptoms. These results warrant further comparison of the MCT and ACT models.La terapia metacognitiva (MCT) sugiere que los trastornos de ansiedad son causados por el síndrome atencional cognitivo (CAS), que es apoyado por creencias metacognitivas disfuncionales. La terapia de aceptación y compromiso (ACT) enfatiza el rol de la fusión cognitiva y la evitación experiencial en el desarrollo de estos trastornos. En este estudio se hipotetizó que los conceptos de fusión cognitiva y evitación experiencial mediarían la relación entre las creencias metacognitivas disfuncionales y los síntomas de ansiedad/estrés. Se utilizó un diseño longitudinal. Ciento seis participantes respondieron en dos ocasiones a una encuesta online en el lapos de nueve meses. La fusión cognitiva en el Tiempo 2 medió el efecto de las creencias metacognitivas en el Tiempo 1 en los síntomas de ansiedad en el Tiempo 2, mientras que la fusión cognitiva y la evitación experiencial mediaron el efecto en los síntomas de estrés. La fusión cognitiva medió el efecto de las creencias metacognitivas positivas sólo en los síntomas de estrés. Los resultados justifican comparaciones adicionales de los modelos de MCT y ACT

Psychological symptoms of the outbreak of the COVID-19 confinement in Spain

We studied the short-term psychological effects of the COVID-19 crisis and the quarantine on 3550 adults from the Spanish population in a cross-sectional survey. Symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress were analyzed using the 21-item version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale. Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder were analyzed using the Impact of Event Scale. Symptomatic scores of anxiety, depression, and stress were observed in 20% to 30% of respondents. Symptomatic scores indicating psychological stress were found in 47.5% of respondents. Similar to the findings of other multiple studies, confinement has been found to have significant emotional impact in the Spanish population

Progress-Oriented Workshops for Doctoral Well-being: Evidence From a Two-Country Design-Based Research

This paper explores an intervention approach (in the form of workshops) focusing on doctoral progress, to address the problems of low emotional well-being experienced by many doctoral candidates. Doctoral education suffers from two severe overlapping problems: high dropout rates and widespread low emotional well-being (e.g., depression or anxiety symptoms). Yet, there are few interventional approaches specifically designed to address them in the doctoral student population. Among structural, psychosocial, and demographic factors influencing these problems, the self-perception of progress has emerged recently as a crucial motivational factor in doctoral persistence. This paper reports on an iterative design-based research study of workshop interventions to foster such perception of progress in doctoral students? everyday practice. We gathered mixed data over four iterations, with a total of 82 doctoral students from multiple disciplines in Spain and Estonia. An approach to preventive interventions that combines research-backed education about mental health and productivity, peer sharing and discussion of experiences, and indicators of progress, as well as self-tracking, analysis, and reflection upon everyday evidence of their own progress. The paper provides initial evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed interventions, across two institutions in two different countries. Further, our data confirms emergent research on the relationships among progress, emotional well-being, and dropout ideation in two new contexts. Finally, the paper also distills design knowledge about doctoral interventions that focus on progress, relevant for doctoral trainers, institutions, and researchers.This research has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innova-tion programme under grant agreement No. 669074 (CEITER). It has also received funding from the European Union’s Erasmus Plus programme, grant agreement 2019-1-NO01-KA203-060280 (DE-TEL). The Universidad de Valladolid co-authors acknowledge funding of the European Regional Development Fund and the National Research Agency of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innova-tion, and Universities, under project grant TIN2017-85179-C3-2-R (SmartLET), and PID2020-112584RB-C32, the European Regional Development Fund, and the Regional Government of Cas-tile and Leon, under project grant VA257P18

Psychometric properties of the Valuing Questionnaire in a Spaniard sample and factorial equivalence with a Colombian sample

Background. The Valuing Questionnaire (VQ) is considered as one of the most psychometrically robust instruments to measure valued living according to the acceptance and commitment therapy model. It consists of 10 items that are responded to on a 7-point Likert-type scale and has two factors: Progression and Obstruction. The Spanish version of theVQshowed good psychometric properties in Colombian samples. However, there is no evidence of the psychometric properties of the VQ in Spaniard samples. This study aims to analyze the validity of the VQ in a large Spaniard sample and analyze the measurement invariance with a similar Colombian sample. Method. The VQ was administered to a Spaniard sample of 846 adult participants from general online population. Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega were computed to analyze the internal consistency of the VQ. The fit of the VQ's two-factor model was tested through a confirmatory factor analysis with a robust maximum likelihood (MLR) estimation method. Afterward, we analyzed the measurement invariance across countries and gender. Convergent construct validity was analyzed with a package of questionnaires that evaluated experiential avoidance (Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II, AAQ-II), emotional symptoms (Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21, DASS-21), life satisfaction (Satisfaction with Life Scale, SWLS), and cognitive fusion (Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire, CFQ). Results. The internal consistency across samples was adequate (alphas and omegas were .85 for VQ-Progress and .84 for VQ-Obstruction). The two-factor model obtained a good fit to the data (RMSEA D 0.073, 90% CI [0.063, 0.083], CFI D 0.98, NNFI D 0.97, and SRMR D 0.053). The VQ showed strict invariance across countries and gender and showed theoretically coherent correlations with emotional symptoms, life satisfaction, experiential avoidance, and cognitive fusion. In conclusion, the Spanish version of the VQ demonstrated good psychometric properties in a large Spaniard sample

Psychometric properties of the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire-8 in two Spanish nonclinical samples

Background. The ATQ is a widely used instrument consisting of 30 items that assess the frequency of negative automatic thoughts. However, the extensive length of the ATQ could compromise its measurement efficiency in survey research. Consequently, an 8-item shortened version of the ATQ has been developed. This study aims to analyze the validity of the ATQ-8 in two Spanish samples. Method. The ATQ-8 was administered to a total sample of 1,148 participants (302 undergraduates and 846 general online population). To analyze convergent construct validity, the questionnaire package also included the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale-Revised (DAS-R), Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), Acceptance Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II), Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ), Generalized Pliance Questionnaire (GPQ), and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). To analyze internal consistency, we computed Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to test the one-factor structure of the ATQ-8. In so doing, a robust diagonally weighted least square estimation method (Robust DWLS) was adopted using polychoric correlations. Afterward, we analyzed measurement invariance across samples, gender, groupage, and education level. Lastly, we evaluated convergent construct validity by computing Pearson correlations between the ATQ-8 and the remaining instruments. Results. The internal consistency across samples was adequate (alpha and omega D .89). The one-factor model demonstrated a good fit to the data (RMSEAD0.10, 90% CI [0.089, 0.112], CFID0.98, NNFID0.97, andSRMRD0.048). The ATQ-8 showed scalar metric invariance across samples, gender, groupage, and education level. The ATQ-8 scores were significantly associated with emotional symptoms (DASS-21), satisfaction with life (SWLS), dysfunctional schemas (DAS-R), cognitive fusion (CFQ), experiential avoidance (AAQ-II), and generalized pliance (GPQ). In conclusion, the Spanish version of the ATQ-8 demonstrated adequate psychometric properties in Spanish samples

Single-case learning analytics: Feasibility of a human-centered analytics approach to support doctoral education

Recent advances in machine learning and natural language processing have the potential to transform human activity in many domains. The field of learning analytics has applied these techniques successfully to many areas of education but has not been able to permeate others, such as doctoral education. Indeed, doctoral education remains an under-researched area with widespread problems (high dropout rates, low mental well-being) and lacks technological support beyond very specialized tasks. The inherent uniqueness of the doctoral journey may help explain the lack of generalized solutions (technological or otherwise) to these challenges. We propose a novel approach to apply the aforementioned advances in computation to support doctoral education. Single-case learning analytics defines a process in which doctoral students, researchers, and computational elements collaborate to extract insights about a single (doctoral) learner's experience and learning process. The feasibility and added value of this approach are demonstrated using an authentic dataset collected by nine doctoral students over a period of at least two months. The insights from this exploratory proof-of-concept serve to spark a research agenda for future technological support of doctoral education, which is aligned with recent calls for more human-centred approaches to designing and implementing learning analytics technologies

El rol predictivo y moderadores de la flexibilidad psicológica en el burnout

Recent research has found that psychological flexibility, the key construct of the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) model of mental health and behavioral effectiveness, is related to, and longitudinally predicts, a wide range of work-related outcomes. Less research, however, has been dedicated to explore the role of psychological flexibility as a protecting factor for the development of burnout syndrome. The current study examined whether: (a) general psychological flexibility and work-related psychological flexibility accounted for additional variance in burnout symptoms relative to work factors and other work-related constructs such as work engagement, work satisfaction, and psychological empowerment; and (b) work-related psychological flexibility moderated the relationship between exhaustion and cynicism. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 209 Spanish workers from different companies who completed questionnaires assessing the constructs of interest. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that psychological flexibility and work-related psychological flexibility accounted for additional variance in burnout symptoms. The moderator analysis showed that the relationship between exhaustion and cynicism was higher among participants with low levels of work-related psychological flexibility as compared to participants with high levels. These results suggest that interventions aiming to increase psychological flexibility might prevent the development of burnout syndrome.La investigación ha mostrado que la flexibilidad psicológica, el constructo central del modelo de salud mental y eficacia conductual de la terapia de aceptación y compromiso (ACT), está relacionada y predice longitudinalmente un amplio rango de variables relacionadas con el trabajo. Menor grado de investigación se ha dedicado a explorar el rol de la flexibilidad psicológica como factor protector del desarrollo del síndrome de burnout. El presente estudio analizó si: (a) la flexibilidad psicológica general y la flexibilidad psicológica relacionada con el trabajo explicaban varianza adicional de los síntomas de burnout comparado con factores laborales y constructos como compromiso laboral, satisfacción laboral y empoderamiento psicológico; y (b) la flexibilidad psicológica relacionada con el trabajo moderaba la relación entre agotamiento y cinismo. Se realizó un estudio transversal con 209 trabajadores españoles de diferentes empresas que completaron cuestionarios que miden los constructos de interés. El análisis de regresión jerárquica mostró que la flexibilidad psicológica general y la flexibilidad psicológica relacionada con el trabajo explicaron varianza adicional de los síntomas de burnout. El análisis de moderación mostró que la relación entre agotamiento y cinismo fue mayor entre los participantes con niveles bajos de flexibilidad psicológica relacionada con el trabajo comparado con los participantes con niveles altos. Los resultados sugieren que las intervenciones que tienen como objetivo incrementar la flexibilidad psicológica podrían prevenir el desarrollo del síndrome de burnout