Ús de minicasos a les classes expositives de psicologia

L’assoliment de l’Espai Europeu d’Educació Superior implica nous rols per a professors i alumnes i la introducció de noves metodologies docents. En aquest article es presenta una experiència d’innovació en la docència de la Psicologia consistent en la incorporació de minicasos a les classes expositives de l’assignatura troncal i anual “Avaluació Psicològica” de segon curs de la llicenciatura de Psicologia. S’exposa el procediment i s’analitza l’opinió dels estudiants respecte a la utilitats dels minicasos per incrementar l’atenció, l’interès i la comprensió de l’assignaturaEl logro del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior implica nuevos roles para los profesores y alumnos, y la introducción de nuevas metodologías docentes. En el presente artículo se presenta una experiencia de innovación en la docencia de la Psicología consistente en la incorporación de minicasos en las clases expositivas de la asignatura troncal y anual “Evaluación Psicológica” de segundo curso de la licenciatura de Psicología. Se expone el procedimiento y se analiza la opinión de los estudiantes respecto a la utilización de los minicasos para incrementar la atención, el interés y la comprensión de la asignaturaThe achievement of the European Higher Education Area goals requires new roles of the professors and students, as well as the introduction of new educational methodologies. The aim of this article is to present an innovative approach to teaching psychology which consists of the application of minicases on the core subject of “Psychological Assessment”. The procedure and the student’s opinion about the utility of minicases to increase attention, interest and comprehension are discusse

Differences in Drug Use among Persons Experiencing Homelessness According to Gender and Nationality

The main aims of this article are to update the data related to drug and alcohol use in persons experiencing homelessness (PEH) who use shelters, and to see if there are significant differences in their drug use depending on their gender and nationality. The article presents an analysis of the interconnections between the results of drug dependence detection tools (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10), Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS)) according to gender and nationality with the intention of identifying specific needs that lead to new lines of research into better approaches to homelessness. A cross-sectional, observational and analytical method was used to analyse the experiences of persons experiencing homelessness who use various shelters in the cities of Madrid, Girona, and Guadalajara (Spain). The results show that there are no gender differences in the risks of using drugs and drug addiction, but there are differences in terms of nationality for drug addiction, with Spanish nationals showing a greater tendency to develop drug addiction. These findings have significant implications, as they highlight socio-cultural and socio-educational influence as risk factors in drug addiction behaviours

The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) amongst Young Spanish Adults

The interest in resilience has grown over the last few decades due to its relationships with health, well-being, and quality of life. Several instruments have been developed to measure resilience, with one of the most common being the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). This scale has been validated in many cultures with divergent results. This paper investigates the factor structure of the CD-RISC. Participants were 3,214 students (62.1% female, mean age = 21.01, SD = 2.86) who were randomly divided into two equal subsamples (n = 1,607). One subsample was used to explore which models best fit the data and these models were fitted using the other subsample. Confirmatory factor analysis did not support the original 5-factor CD-RISC. The analyses supported unidimensional scale structures for both the 22-item and 10-item versions of the scale. The shorter instrument reduces the time needed to answer the questionnaire, allows it to be combined with other instruments, and does not require large sample sizes

Facebook Intrusion as a Mediator Between Positive Capital and General Distress: A Cross-Cultural Study

Background: Social networking sites (SNSs) play an important role in many aspects of life nowadays, and it seems to be crucial to explore their impact on human well-being and functioning. The main aim of the study was to examine the mediating role of Facebook intrusion between positive capital and general distress. Positive capital was considered as comprising self-esteem, ego-resiliency, and self-control, while general distress was seen as having three dimensions: depression, anxiety, and stress. Methods: The sample consisted of N = 4,495 participants (M = 22.96 years, SD = 5.46) from 14 countries: Australia, Cyprus, Greece, Hong Kong, Lithuania, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Russia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and United States. We used the following methods: the Facebook Intrusion Questionnaire (FIQ), the Self-Esteem Scale (SES), the Brief Self-Control Scale (SCS), The Ego Resiliency Revised Scale and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Results: We found that Facebook intrusion was a mediator between self-esteem and general distress and between self-control and general distress. Limitations: The present study was based on a cross-sectional study, and the measures used were self-report measures. The majority of the participants were recruited using convenience sampling. Conclusions: The present findings contribute to a better understanding on how the social media have impact on individual mental health. Implications for future studies are discussed

Sex and Polytobacco Use among Spanish and Turkish University Students

Polytobacco use has become increasingly popular among young adults, particularly males, and can be defined as the concurrent use of regular cigarettes and other tobacco products (e.g., e-cigarettes). The present study investigated the use of legal smoking products (cigarettes, waterpipe and electronic cigarettes) among young adults (n = 355) in Spain and Turkey. The survey measured demographics, lifetime and past month tobacco use, waterpipe and e-cigarette use, whether waterpipes and e-cigarettes contained nicotine and reasons for using these substances. The majority of the Turkish (men = 80% and women = 63.9%) and Spanish sample (men = 61.4% and women = 69.3%) were polytobacco users. The most common reason for using e-cigarettes was “to experiment, to see what is like” (Turkish sample: men 66.7% and women 57.1; Spanish sample: men 72.7% and women 93.8%). The most common reason to use regular cigarettes was “to relax and relieve tension” (Turkish sample: men 88.9% and women 77.6%; Spanish sample: men 78.1% and women 76%), while for waterpipe users, the most common reason was “to experiment, to see what it is like” (Turkish sample: men 93.3% and women 80%; Spanish sample: men 78.9% and women 93.8%). The implications for prevention and future research are discussed

L'autocontrol en el procés d'abandonament de la conducta de fumar

En el marc del model transteòric de canvi (Prochaska, DiClemente i Norcross, 1992) i del model de l'autocontrol (Rachlin, 1989), s'examinen les característiques de la conducta de fumar així com la percepció de la magnitud i la demora de les conseqüències positives i negatives d'aquest consum, a fi de conèixer la seva relació amb l'etapa de canvi en la cessació tabàquica.Amb aquest objectiu s'entrevista a una mostra representativa de 281 membres (54,8% homes i 45,2% dones; mitjana d'edat = 37,26 anys, DT = 8,77; 48,8% no fumadors, 27,4% fumadors i 23,8% exfumadors) del personal acadèmic i d'administració i serveis de la Universitat de Girona.Els resultats mostren que més de la meitat dels fumadors es troben a l'etapa de Precontemplació (sense intenció ferma d'abandonar el consum de tabac en els propers 6 mesos) i la majoria d'exfumadors se situen a l'etapa de Manteniment (mínim de sis mesos sense fumar).També s'observen diferències en algunes de les variables examinades segons l'etapa de canvi de manera que els fumadors en Contemplació-Preparació (amb intenció ferma d'abandonar el consum de tabac en els propers 6 mesos) presenten un elevat índex de perjudicis percebuts, informen d'haver rebut més consell mèdic i realitzen amb major freqüència inhalacions a cada cigarreta.En canvi, els fumadors en Precontemplació són els qui més responen consumir tabac baix en nicotina mentre que els exfumadors en Acció o Manteniment són els qui més tendeixen a relacionar de manera immediata fumar i les seves conseqüències negatives a curt i mitjà termini, i els qui presenten major puntuació en l'índex de beneficis percebuts. Aquestes dades corroboren la importància de les intervencions clíniques específiques en les diferents etapes de l'abandonament del consum de tabac, suggereixen que les campanyes preventives s'haurien de focalitzar preferentment en les conseqüències negatives immediates de fumar i apunten a la conveniència de tenir en compte la notable valoració positiva dels beneficis de fumar per part dels exfumadors en els programes de prevenció de recaigudes. Així mateix, la constatació del poder explicatiu de la variable demora en la diferenciació dels subjectes en funció de l'etapa de canvi, planteja la conveniència d'incloure aquesta variable en les avaluacions dels pros i contres de fumar a fi de conèixer amb major precisió els seus pesos relatius.Whitin the frame of the transtheoretical model of change (Prochaska, DiClemente and Norcross, 1992) and the self-control model (Rachlin, 1989) the features of smoking cessation are studied as well as the perception of the magnitude and delay of both positive and negative consequences of this consumption, in order to know its relation with the changing stage when giving up smoking.To reach this goal a representative sample of 281 people are interviewed (54,8% men and 45,2% women; average age: 37,26 years old, SD: 8,77; 48,8% non-smokers, 27,4% smokers and 23,8 ex-smokers) of the academic and administrative staff at the University of Girona.The results show that more than a half of smokers are at the Precontemplation stage (without a strong intention of giving up smoking within the next six months) and most of ex-smokers are at the Maintaining stage (six months minimum without smoking).Some differences are also observed in some of the examined variables according to the changing stage, in a way that smokers who are at the Contemplation-Preparation stage (with a strong intention of giving up smoking within the next six months) show a high index of perceived cons of smoking and they also inform they have been given more medical advice. On the other hand, ex-smokers who are in the Action stage or Maintaining stage are those who tend closely relate smoking and its inmediate and delayed consequences, also those who show the highest scoring on the perceived benefit index. This data corroborates the importance of specific clinical actions in the different stages of giving up smoking process, it also suggest that preventive campaigns should focus preferably on the inmediate negative consequences of smoking and write down the convenience of taking into account the notable positive valuation of the benefits of giving up smoking on behalf of the exsmokers in the preventive relapse programs.Also this data evidence the convenience of including the delay parameter in the pros and cons of smoking evaluation with the aim of knowing with more precision their relative weights