On the putative role of intervening events in exogenous attention.

In exogenous attention, two main behavioural effects are usually observed across time: facilitation at short cue-target onset asynchronies (CTOAs), and Inhibition of Return (IOR) at longer CTOAs. The presentation of an intervening event (IE)-i.e., a cue presented at fixation between the peripheral cue and target period-favours the appearance of IOR. However, although there is a general consensus on this empirical modulation, there is no agreement about the putative role of IEs and/or the mechanism/s underlying their effect. While some authors consider IEs as a "cue-back", automatically reorienting attention to fixation, thus allowing IOR to occur, others have considered IEs as events modulating cue-target integration processes, consequently affecting exogenous cueing. Even in this later case, it is not clear whether IEs modulate cueing by inducing an attentional set (top-down) modulation or by inducing a trial-by-trial (bottom-up) online modulation. To disentangle this issue, in two experiments, we manipulated the proportion of trials in which the IE was presented, thus being able to measure the effect of the presence/absence and proportion of IEs. We observed a gradual influence of the % of IEs over cueing effects, which becomes less positive or more negative as the % of IEs increases. This pattern of findings fits well with the idea that facilitation and IOR depend on cue-target integration processes, and presents critical implications for the open debate about the mechanism/s underlying exogenous spatial cueing effects.

Reduction of emotional distraction during target processing by attentional manipulations.

Previous research has demonstrated that fully irrelevant distractors - i.e., not sharing any feature with the target - capture our attention and modulate our responses. In the present study, we explored this interference by irrelevant distractors in a series of three experiments wherein the emotional valence of distractors (negative vs. neutral valence) was manipulated along with endogenous and exogenous attention. We aimed at jointly investigating - within the same paradigm - the possible modulations over the interference effect by these three critical variables in a systematic way. Although we replicated the interference effect by distractors previously reported in Martín-Arévalo et al. (2015), results showed no attentional and only weak emotional valence modulations over the interference effect. We discuss the possible boundary conditions underlying the absence (or weakness) of modulations over the interference effect by distractors observed in our experiments.

Validez de cuatro cuestionarios para valorar la actividad física en adolescentes españoles / Validity of four questionnaires to assess physical activity in Spanish adolescents

ObjetivosEs necesario conocer la actividad física que realizan los adolescentes españoles para valorar cómo la falta de este hábito afecta al incremento de la prevalencia de la obesidad. Por ello, para medir la actividad física en estas edades es imprescindible tener instrumentos de medición válidos. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar la validez de cuatro cuestionarios de fácil aplicabilidad (las preguntas enKid y FITNESSGRAM, el cuestionario PACE y una escala comparativa) para medir la actividad física en adolescentes españoles, utilizando como criterio un acelerómetro.Métodos232 adolescentes rellenaron los cuestionarios y usaron durante siete días el acelerómetro ActiGraph. Se utilizó la correlación de Spearman (rho) para comparar los resultados de los cuestionarios y la actividad física total, moderada, vigorosa y moderada a vigorosa obtenida por el acelerómetro.ResultadosTodos los cuestionarios obtuvieron correlaciones moderadas en comparación con la actividad física total (rho=0,36–0,43) y moderada a vigorosa obtenidas por el acelerómetro (rho=0,34–0,46) en el total de la muestra. Se encontraron correlaciones más altas al comparar los cuestionarios con la actividad física vigorosa (rho=0,42–0,51) que con la moderada (rho=0,15–0,17). La pregunta FITNESSGRAM y el cuestionario PACE obtuvieron débiles correlaciones en las chicas, mientras que la pregunta enKid y la escala comparativa obtuvieron correlaciones moderadas para chicos y chicas.ConclusionesLos cuatro cuestionarios presentan una aceptable validez para valorar la actividad física de la población adolescente española(AU)

ObjectivesThe physical activity (PA) levels of Spanish adolescents must be determined to assess how the lack of PA may affect the increasing prevalence of obesity. Thus, to assess PA in this age range valid measurement instruments are essential. The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of four easily applied questionnaires (the enKid and FITNESSGRAM questions, the Patient-Centered Assessment and Counselling [PACE] questionnaire, and an activity rating) to assess PA in Spanish adolescents by using an accelerometer as the criterion instrument.MethodsA total of 232 adolescents (113 girls) completed the questionnaires and wore an ActiGraph accelerometer for 7 consecutive days. Spearman's correlation coefficient (rho) was used to compare the questionnaires and total PA, moderate PA, vigorous PA and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) assessed by the accelerometer.ResultsAll the questionnaires showed moderate correlations when compared against total PA (rho=0.36–0.43) and MVPA (rho=0.34–0.46) obtained by the accelerometer in the total sample. Higher correlations were found when comparing the questionnaires against vigorous PA (rho=0.42–0.51) than against moderate PA (rho=0.15–0.17). The FITNESSGRAM question and the PACE questionnaire obtained weak correlations in girls and the enKid question and activity rating were moderately correlated for boys and girls.ConclusionsThe four questionnaires evaluated showed acceptable validity in the assessment of PA in the Spanish adolescent population(AU)

[Reliability and validity of the PAQ-A questionnaire to assess physical activity in Spanish adolescents]. / Fiabilidad y validez del cuestionario de actividad física PAQ-A en adolescentes españoles.

BACKGROUND: Questionnaires are feasible instruments to assess physical activity (PA) in large samples. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the PAQ-A questionnaire in Spanish adolescents using the measurement of PA by accelerometer as criterion. METHODS: In a sample of 82 adolescents, aged 12 to 17 years, 1-week PAQ-A test-retest was administered. Reliability was analyzed by the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and the internal consistency by the Cronbach's alpha Coefficient. Two hundred thirty-two adolescents, aged 13-17 years, completed the PAQ-A and wore the ActiGraph GT1M accelerometer during 7-days. The PAQ-A was compared against total PA and moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) obtained by the accelerometer. RESULTS: Test-retest reliability showed ICC = 0.71 for the final score of PAQ-A. Internal consistency was alpha = 0.65 in the first self-report, alpha = 0.67 in the retest in 82 adolescents sample, and alpha = 0.74 in the 232 adolescents sample. The PAQ-A was moderately correlated with total PA (rho = 0.39) and MVPA (rho= 0.34) assessed by the accelerometer. The PAQ-A obtained significantly moderate correlations in boys but not in girls against the accelerometer. CONCLUSIONS: The PAQ-A questionnaire shows an adequate reliability and a reasonable validity for assessing PA in Spanish adolescents.

[Validity of four questionnaires to assess physical activity in Spanish adolescents]. / Validez de cuatro cuestionarios para valorar la actividad física en adolescentes españoles.

OBJECTIVES: The physical activity (PA) levels of Spanish adolescents must be determined to assess how the lack of PA may affect the increasing prevalence of obesity. Thus, to assess PA in this age range valid measurement instruments are essential. The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of four easily applied questionnaires (the enKid and FITNESSGRAM questions, the Patient-Centered Assessment and Counselling [PACE] questionnaire, and an activity rating) to assess PA in Spanish adolescents by using an accelerometer as the criterion instrument. METHODS: A total of 232 adolescents (113 girls) completed the questionnaires and wore an ActiGraph accelerometer for 7 consecutive days. Spearman's correlation coefficient (rho) was used to compare the questionnaires and total PA, moderate PA, vigorous PA and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) assessed by the accelerometer. RESULTS: All the questionnaires showed moderate correlations when compared against total PA (rho=0.36-0.43) and MVPA (rho=0.34-0.46) obtained by the accelerometer in the total sample. Higher correlations were found when comparing the questionnaires against vigorous PA (rho=0.42-0.51) than against moderate PA (rho=0.15-0.17). The FITNESSGRAM question and the PACE questionnaire obtained weak correlations in girls and the enKid question and activity rating were moderately correlated for boys and girls. CONCLUSIONS: The four questionnaires evaluated showed acceptable validity in the assessment of PA in the Spanish adolescent population.

Fiabilidad y Validez del Cuestionario de acitividad física PAQ - A en adolescentes españoles / Reliability and Validity of the PAQ-A Questionnaire to Assess Physical Activity in Spanish Adolescents

Fundamentos: Los cuestionarios son una herramienta útil para valorar la actividad física (AF) en grandes poblaciones. El objetivo de esta investigación fue valorar la fiabilidad y validez del cuestionario de AF PAQ-A en adolescentes españoles utilizando como criterio de referencia la medición de la AF por acelerómetro.Métodos: En una muestra de 82 adolescentes entre 12 y 17 años se evaluó la fiabilidad test-retest de la versión española del cuestionario PAQ-A en una semana. La fiabilidad se calculó mediante el Coeficiente de Correlación Intraclase (CCI), y la consistencia interna mediante el coeficiente α de Cronbach. En otra muestra de 232 adolescentes de 13 a 17 años se administró el PAQ-A, a la vez que se midió su AF durante 7 días mediante el acelerómetro ActiGraph GT1M. La asociación entre los resultados del PAQ-A y de la AF total y AF de moderada a vigorosa (AFMV) obtenidos por el acelerómetro se analizó mediante la correlación de Spearman (rho).Resultados: La fiabilidad test-retest del PAQ-A mostró un CCI = 0,71 para la puntuación final del cuestionario. La consistencia interna mostró un coeficiente α = 0,65 para el primer cuestionario, α = 0,67 para el retest en la muestra de 82 adolescentes, y un coeficiente α = 0,74 en la muestra de 232 adolescentes. El PAQ-A mostró correlaciones moderadas con la AF total (rho = 0,39) y la AFMV (rho = 0,34) medidas mediante el acelerómetro. El PAQ-A obtuvo correlaciones moderadas y significativas para los chicos y no para las chicas al comparse con las medidas del acelerómetro.Conclusiones: El cuestionario de AF PAQ-A presenta una adecuada fiabilidad y una razonable validez para valorar la AF en adolescentes españoles (AU)

Background: Questionnaires are feasible instruments to assess physical activity (PA) in large samples. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the PAQ-A questionnaire in Spanish adolescents using the measurement of PA by accelerometer as criterion.Methods: In a sample of 82 adolescents, aged 12 to 17 years, 1week PAQ-A test-retest was administered. Reliability was analyzed by the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and the internal consistency by the Cronbach’s α Coefficient. Two hundred thirty-two adolescents, aged 13-17 years, completed the PAQ-A and wore the ActiGraph GT1M accelerometer during 7-days. The PAQ-A was compared against total PA and moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) obtained by the accelerometer.Results: Test-retest reliability showed ICC = 0.71 for the final score of PAQ-A. Internal consistency was α = 0.65 in the first selfreport, α = 0.67 in the retest in 82 adolescents sample, and α = 0.74 in the 232 adolescents sample. The PAQ-A was moderately correlated with total PA (rho = 0.39) and MVPA (rho= 0.34) assessed by the accelerometer. The PAQ-A obtained significantly moderate correlations in boys but not in girls against the accelerometer.Conclusions: The PAQ-A questionnaire shows an adequate reliability and a reasonable validity for assessing PA in Spanish adolescents (AU)