Diseño y validación de una escala de soporte social para adolescentes / Design and validation of a social support scale for adolescents

Introducción: el soporte social es de gran importancia en la adolescencia; aquellos adolescentes con mayor soporte tienen mejores estrategias de salud. Existen pocos instrumentos para evaluar el soporte social en todas sus dimensiones y las fuentes de éste, ninguno ha sido validado en español. El objetivo de este estudio es evaluar la validez y confiabilidad de un nuevo instrumento para identificar el soporte social y la fuente de este soporte en adolescentes. Material y métodos: la escala de soporte social para adolescentes (ESSA) consiste en un cuestionario de autoaplicación de 22 ítems, con cinco opciones de respuesta tipo Likert que van de nunca a siempre, con seis subescalas: familia, mejor amigo, compañeros de clase, profesores, otras relaciones, y salud general y oral. Los datos de la ESSA se recogieron de estudiantes de secundaria (N = 191; edad media 16.1 ± 1.2 años). Los análisis psicométricos incluyeron análisis factorial de ejes principales, consistencia interna (alfa de Cronbach) y correlaciones de la escala con la Escala Multidimensional de Apoyo Social Percibido (MSPSS) y la Escala de Depresión 20 del Centro de Estudios Epidemiológicos (CESD20) (correlaciones de Spearman, p). Resultados: el análisis factorial de ejes principales mostró que la escala explica el 72.23% de la variabilidad. La escala completa mostró una consistencia interna adecuada, con un alfa de Cronbach = 0.92 [0.90-0.93]. En cuanto a la validez discriminativa, la correlación con las puntuaciones de la escala CES-D20 fue ρ = -0.32, la escala mostró una fuerte correlación con las puntuaciones MSPSS (p = 0.81). Los resultados fueron estables en la repetibilidad (ICC = 0.93). Conclusiones: la ESSA es válida y confiable. Este instrumento podría ser adecuado para una amplia gama de aplicaciones de investigación entre la población adolescente (AU)

Introduction: social support is of great importance in adolescence; those who have more support have better health strategies. There are few instruments to evaluate social support in all its dimensions and the sources of this support, and none has been validated in Spanish. The aim of this study is to evaluate the validity and reliability of a new instrument to identify social support and the source of this support for adolescents. Material and methods: the adolescent social support scale (ADSSS) consists of a 22-item self-report questionnaire with 5 Likert-type responses ranging from never to always and six different subscales: family, best friend, classmates, teachers, other relationships, and general and oral health. ADSSS data were collected from high school students (N = 191; mean age 16.1 years [standard deviation = 1.2]). Psychometric analyses included main axis factor analysis, internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha), and scale correlations with the multidimensional scale of perceived social support (MSPSS) and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-20 (CES-D20) (Spearman correlations, p). Results: main axis factor analysis showed that the scale explained 72.23% of the variability. The entire scale showed adequate internal consistency, with Cronbach's alpha = 0.92 [0.90-0.93]. For discriminative validity, the correlation with CES-D20 scores was p = -0.32, and the scale showed a strong correlation with MSPSS scores (p = 0.81). The results were stable across repeated measurements (ICC = 0.93). Conclusions: the ADSSS has good reliability and validity. This instrument could be suitable for a broad range of research applications among adolescents (AU)

Using the Expanded Andersen Model to Determine Factors Associated with Mexican Adolescents' Utilization of Dental Services.

Many factors contribute as facilitators of or barriers to adolescents' use of dental services. Guided by the expanded Andersen model for dental service utilization, the aim of this study was to identify factors associated with the use of dental services among adolescents ages 12-16 in south Mexico City (n = 247). Adolescents answered a questionnaire on predisposing factors (age and gender), enabling factors (socioeconomic status, oral health support, parental years of education, and previous dental treatments), and psychosocial and behavioral factors (attitudes towards oral health; knowledge of gingivitis; alcohol, drug, and tobacco use; and depressive symptoms), and they underwent a visual clinical exam to determine their need factors (caries and gingivitis). The adolescents reported whether or not they had attended a dental visit in the last year for any reason. Multiple logistic regression was used to evaluate these factors. Having oral health support increased the odds of a dental visit by 2.69 (95% CI = 1.24-5.84). Previous dental treatment increased the odds of a dental visit by 2.25 (95% CI = 1.12-4.52). The presence of depressive symptoms reduced the odds of a dental visit by 4% (OR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.94-0.99). Enabling and psychosocial factors of oral health support and previous dental treatment were positively associated with the utilization of dental services, while depressive symptoms were negatively associated.