El “círculo victimal” en la victimización sexual infantil

Mediante este estudio nos hemos acercado a la victimización sexual infantil desde el concepto de “círculo víctimal”. Tras una contextualización en la que realizamos una revisión de la bibliografía más relevante desde la óptica adoptada, presentamos nuestro propio trabajo de campo con datos de Gipuzkoa. Se han analizado un total de 51 sentencias, principalmente condenatorias, emitidas tanto por la Audiencia Provincial de Gipuzkoa como por el Juzgado de Menores de San Sebastián –incluyendo en este caso no sólo sentencias sino también expedientes-. El periodo abarcado han sido los años 2004-2014. Dicho análisis nos ha permitido considerar las características del abuso, de la víctima y del agresor, el posible impacto victimal, así como la existencia o no de antecedentes de abusos en la infancia en la vida de los agresores. Los resultados se han contrastado con los estudios teóricos y empíricos de ámbito internacional referentes al “círculo victimal” en el ámbito de los abusos sexuales infantiles, deteniéndonos especialmente en si la víctima fue abusada en la familia o fuera de ella y si se convierte en abusador de su propia familia o de alguien fuera de ella. Adicionalmente, con el objeto de introducir la voz de los propios protagonistas, a través de fuentes secundarias, se han rescatado historiales de agresores de menores con antecedentes de abusos. Asimismo se ha completado el trabajo de campo con entrevistas a expertos

Craneoplastia: efectos de la reposición del cogajo óseo sobre la hemodinámica cerebral

Tesis inédita de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Medicina, Departamento de Cirugía, leída el 18-01-2016Depto. de CirugíaFac. de MedicinaTRUEunpu

The role of meta-cognitive certainty on pornography consumption

Background: The Problematic Pornography Use Scale (PPUS) was originally designed to help predicting pornography consumption. Despite the frequency with which this scale is used in the scientific literature, there is still relatively little evidence regarding the predictive validity of this important instrument. This current research introduces a construct capable of improving the ability of the scale to predict pornography consumption (meta-cognitive certainty). Method: Over two studies, participants completed the PPUS and the meta-cognitive certainty in their responses to the scale was measured (Study 1) or manipulated (Study 2). Self-reported porn consumption was the criterion measure in both studies, with an additional actual overt behavior relevant to consumption of porn included in Study 2. Results: As expected, the PPUS significantly predicted porn consumption, confirming the predictive validity of the scale. More importantly, meta-cognitive certainty was capable of moderating the extent to which scores on the PPUS could predict porn consumption, with greater consistency between the PPUS and reported behavior from those with high (vs. low) meta-cognitive certainty. Conclusions: These data suggest that considering meta-cognitive certainty may be useful for predicting when the link between the PPUS and porn consumption is stronger.Research was supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación y Universidades, Gobierno de España (ES) [PSI2017- 83303-C2-1-P]. Grant to Pablo Briño

Discriminación percibida, autoexclusión y bienestar entre las personas con VIH en función de los síntomas de la lipodistrofia

This study examined the effects of perceived discrimination on the well-being of people with HIV and the mediating role of self-exclusion as a function of the participants' symptoms of lipodystrophy. An ex post facto study with a sample of 706 people with HIV was conducted. Self-perception of lipoatrophy and lipohypertrophy, perceived discrimination, self-exclusion and psychological well-being were measured. Results of hierarchical cluster analysis showed participants could be categorized into three groups: no lipodystrophy, mixed syndrome with predominant lipoaccumulation and lipoatrophy. Results of structural equation modeling revealed that the negative effects of perceived discrimination on well-being were mediated to a large extent by self-exclusion. Invariance analysis revealed that the mediating role of self-exclusion was not the same in the three clusters. Complete mediation of self-exclusion in the groups without lipodystrophy and with predominant lipoaccumulation was confirmed. Regarding lipoatrophy, the negative effects of perceived discrimination were greater and only partly mediated by self-exclusion. In conclusion, having lipodystrophy exposed people to more discrimination; lipoatrophy was the most stigmatizing condition. Este estudio examinó los efectos de la discriminación percibida sobre el bienestar de las personas con VIH y el papel mediador de la autoexclusión en función de los síntomas de lipodistrofia de los participantes. Se realizó un estudio ex post facto con una muestra de 706 personas con VIH. Se midió la autopercepción de lipoatrofia y lipohipertrofia, discriminación percibida, autoexclusión y bienestar psicológico. Los resultados del análisis de agrupamiento jerárquico mostraron que los participantes podían clasificarse en tres grupos: sin lipodistrofia, síndrome mixto con lipoacumulación predominante y lipoatrofia. Los resultados del modelado de ecuaciones estructurales revelaron que los efectos negativos de la discriminación percibida sobre el bienestar estaban mediados en gran medida por la autoexclusión. El análisis de invarianza reveló que el papel mediador de la autoexclusión no era el mismo en los tres grupos. Se confirmó la mediación completa de la autoexclusión en los grupos sin lipodistrofia y con lipoacumulación predominante. Con respecto a la lipoatrofia, los efectos negativos de la discriminación percibida fueron mayores y solo parcialmente mediados por la autoexclusión. En conclusión, tener lipodistrofia expone a las personas a más discriminación; la lipoatrofia fue la condición más estigmatizante.

Being yourself and mental health: Goal motives, positive affect and self-acceptance protect people with HIV from depressive symptoms

Depression is a major problem for many people living with HIV. In general population-based studies, it was found that characteristics of personal goals, positive affect, and self-acceptance were associated negatively with depression, but almost no studies have investigated their role in HIV infection-related depression. This study examines a prospective model where autonomy and perceived progress in personal goals are positively associated with self-acceptance and positive affect, and these variables, over time, are negatively associated with depressive symptoms. Participants (N=70) responded first to measures of autonomy, progress in personal goals, perceptions of self-acceptance, and positive affect, and four months later, they completed measures of depression. Personal goals variables were observed to be differentially associated with well-being variables: whereas personal goals autonomy was directly associated with both well-being variables, progress in personal goals was directly associated with positive affect and indirectly with self-acceptance, through its association with positive affect. Longitudinally, both self-acceptance and positive affect were associated with depression, the former directly, and the latter indirectly, through its association with self-acceptance. Self-acceptance is revealed as an important predictor of depression in PLWH. Results are discussed in terms of the contributions of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being to the relief of depressive symptoms

The effects of perceived COVID-19 threat on compensatory conviction, thought reliance, and attitudes

This research examines how people can defend themselves from the threat associated with the COVID-19 pandemic by relying more on their recently generated thoughts (unrelated to the threat), thus leading those thoughts to have a greater impact on judgement through a meta-cognitive process of thought validation. Study 1 revealed that the impact of the favourability of self-related thoughts on self-esteem was greater for those feeling relatively more (vs. less) threatened by COVID-19. Study 2 manipulated (rather than measured) the favourability of thoughts and assessed the perceived COVID-19 threat. Results also showed that the impact of thoughts on subsequent self-evaluations was greater for those feeling more threatened by COVID-19. Study 3 conceptually replicated the results using a full experimental design by manipulating both thought favourability andthe perceived COVID-19 threat, moving from the self to a social perception paradigm, and providing mediational evidence for the proposed mechanism of compensatory thought validation. A final study addressed some alternative explanations by testing whether the induction of threat used in Study 3 affected perceptions of threat while not having an impact on other featuresMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación, Gobierno de España (ES), Grant/Award Number: PID2020-116651GB-C31;PID2020- 116651GBC33/AEI/10.13039/501100011033; Consejería de Ciencia, Universidades e Innovación, Comunidad de Madrid, Grant/Award Number: SI3/PJI/2021-0047

A Social-Emotional Learning Program for Suicide Prevention through Animal-Assisted Intervention

The aim of the study was to carry out a pilot implementation and evaluation of the OverCome-AAI program, a pioneering program for the prevention of suicidal behavior through animal-assisted interventions for young people with high risk factors for suicidal behavior. The study sample consisted of 30 adolescents (11 boys and 19 girls) aged between 14 and 17 years (Mean age = 15.50, SD = 1.60) from the Basque Country (Northern Spain). After the intervention, subjects presented reductions in suicidal ideation, suicide plans, and non-suicidal self-harm, as well as a greater predisposition to seek help. A reduction in the intensity of mental pain was also found, although no differences were observed in indicators of hopelessness and depression. The preliminary results obtained in this pilot study suggest that the OverCome-AAI program may be effective in reducing suicidal behavior and non-suicidal self-harm in young people in residential care who present high risk factors for suicide.This research was funded by the call for research grants at the UPV/EHU 2017, grant number (US18/05), Agintzari Sociedad Cooperativa de Iniciativa Social, and by the call for research grants at the Basque Government, grant number (IT892-16)

Phages Preying on Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus cereus, and Bacillus thuringiensis: Past, Present and Future

Many bacteriophages (phages) have been widely studied due to their major role in virulence evolution of bacterial pathogens. However, less attention has been paid to phages preying on bacteria from the Bacillus cereus group and their contribution to the bacterial genetic pool has been disregarded. Therefore, this review brings together the main information for the B. cereus group phages, from their discovery to their modern biotechnological applications. A special focus is given to phages infecting Bacillus anthracis, B. cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis. These phages belong to the Myoviridae, Siphoviridae, Podoviridae and Tectiviridae families. For the sake of clarity, several phage categories have been made according to significant characteristics such as lifestyles and lysogenic states. The main categories comprise the transducing phages, phages with a chromosomal or plasmidial prophage state, γ-like phages and jumbo-phages. The current genomic characterization of some of these phages is also addressed throughout this work and some promising applications are discussed here