Featuring BRCA1 and BRCA2 germline mutational landscape from Asturias (North Spain).

The singular BRCA1/2 mutational landscape of Asturias is updated 10 years after the first study. We analyzed BRCA1 and BRCA2 pathogenic variants in 1653 index cases. In total, 238 families were identified to carry a pathogenic variant, 163 families in BRCA1 and 75 families in BRCA2. This yielded a prevalence rate of 14.4%. Seven recurrent variants were found accounting for 55% of the cases. Among them, three are widely distributed (BRCA1 c.211A>G, c.470_471del and c.3331_3334del) and four had been reported as novel in Asturias: two in BRCA1 (c.1674del and c.2901_2902dup) and two in BRCA2 (c.2095C>T and c.4040_4035delinsC). A common haplotype was established for all recurrent variants indicating a shared ancestral origin. Three splicing analyses are shown: BRCA1:c.5152+3A>C and BRCA1:c.5333-3T>G that lead to skipping of exon 18, and 22 respectively, and BRCA1:c.5278-1G>T giving rise to two transcripts, one lacking exon 21 (p.Ille1760Glyfs*60) and one lacking the first 8 nucleotides of exon 21 (p.Phe1761Asnfs*14), supporting pathogenicity for these variants.

Validation of the Adolescent Dating Violence Victim-Blaming Attitudes Scale.

Dating violence (DV) is a social problem that affects adolescents worldwide. Prevalence figures show that this type of violence is starting at an increasingly younger age, which is why it is important to study attitudes toward DV, as they are an important risk factor. Victim-blaming attitudes justify this type of violence by excusing perpetrators and blaming victims. The present study aimed to validate an instrument developed to assess victim-blaming attitudes in DV cases among the adolescent population: The Adolescent Dating Violence Victim-Blaming Attitudes Scale (ADV-VBA). Two samples of high school students were recruited using a two-stage stratified sampling by conglomerates, one consisting of 758 adolescents (48% females) and the other of 160 (50% females), whose ages ranged from 12 to 18 years. We found that this instrument presented good reliability and validity evidence, showing good internal consistency, a clear one-factor latent structure, and a close relation to other related constructs, such as ambivalent sexism and perpetration and victimization of DV. We also found that items did not present differential item functioning across gender and the instrument was especially informative for assessing moderate to high levels of victim-blaming attitudes. A short five-item version is also presented for use when time and space constraints exist. Our results indicate that the ADV-VBA scale is a psychometrically sound measure to assess victim-blaming attitudes in cases of adolescent DV.

The Perceived Severity of Adolescent Dating Violence (PS-ADV) Scale: A Validation Study / Escala de Percepción de la Gravedad de la Violencia en el Noviazgo en Adolescentes: un estudio de validación

Objectives: Dating violence is a widespread social problem with increasing prevalence among adolescents. The perceived severity of dating violence is an important factor related to key aspects of this type of violence, such as acceptability, justification, attitudes toward intervention, and victims’ willingness to seek help. The aim of this study was to validate an instrument to assess the perceived severity of dating violence in a sample of adolescents: the Perceived Severity of Adolescent Dating Violence (PS-ADV) scale. Method: Two groups of high school students, one with 621 adolescents (47.2% females) and another with 300 (50% females), aged 13-18 years were selected by a two-stage stratified sampling procedure. Results: The results indicated that the PS-ADV scale has excellent internal consistency (α = .89) and a clear one-factor latent structure (CFI = .96, TLI = .94, RMSEA [90% CI] = .074 [.062, .087]). For validity, the PS-ADV scores were related negatively to victim-blaming attitudes and ambivalent sexism (hostile and benevolent sexism), and positively to empathy (empathic concern, perspective taking, fantasy). Conclusions: This study provides evidence that the PS-ADV scale is a psychometrically sound measure for assessing the perceived severity of dating violence among adolescents. (AU)

Objetivos: La violencia en el noviazgo es un problema social generalizado con una prevalencia cada vez mayor entre los adolescentes. La gravedad percibida de la violencia en el noviazgo es un factor importante relacionado con aspectos clave de este tipo de violencia, como la aceptabilidad, la justificación, las actitudes hacia la intervención y la disposición de las víctimas a buscar ayuda. El objetivo de este estudio fue validar un instrumento para evaluar la gravedad percibida de la violencia en el noviazgo en una muestra de adolescentes: la escala de Percepción de la Gravedad de la Violencia en el Noviazgo en Adolescentes (PS-ADV). Método: Se seleccionaron dos grupos de estudiantes de secundaria, uno con 621 adolescentes (47.2% mujeres) y otro con 300 (50% mujeres), en edades comprendidas entre los 13 y los 18 años, mediante un procedimiento de muestreo estratificado en dos etapas. Resultados: Los resultados indicaron que la escala PS-ADV tiene una excelente consistencia interna (α = .89) y una clara estructura latente de un factor (CFI = .96, TLI = .94, RMSEA [90% CI] = .074 [.062, .087]). En cuanto a la validez, las puntuaciones del PS-ADV se relacionaron negativamente con las actitudes de culpabilización de la víctima y el sexismo ambivalente (sexismo hostil y benevolente) y positivamente con la empatía (preocupación empática, toma de perspectiva, fantasía). Conclusiones: El estudio demuestra que la escala PS-ADV es una medida psicométricamente sólida para evaluar la gravedad percibida de la violencia en el noviazgo entre los adolescentes. (AU)