Psychometric Properties, Factor Structure, and Gender and Educational Level Invariance of the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS) in Spanish Children and Adolescents.

The present study aimed to investigate the factor structure and degree of measurement invariance of a Spanish adaptation of the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS) in primary and secondary school students (N = 1,504 students, 46.08% males, 7-19 years of age). The results of confirmatory factor analysis corroborated the original two-factor structure, although a modified two-factor model with one item loading simultaneously on both factors was better supported. Full measurement invariance was observed across gender, and partial measurement invariance was achieved across educational levels (primary and secondary education). The AMAS showed reasonable internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity. These results highlight the utility of the AMAS as a measure of math anxiety in primary and secondary school students whose scores can be compared by gender and educational level.

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test-Learning Potential: Usefulness for Assessing Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This study analyzes the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test-Learning Potential (WCST-LP) in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) versus children with typical development (TD). Its main aim was to assess: the test's construct validity; the effect of IQ on its pretest and LP scores; and whether the WCST-LP held any relationship to cognitive/EF and social abilities. Participants were 105 children (43 with ASD/62 with TD). Results showed evidence of construct validity in an ASD population (improvements from pretest to posttest), that full IQ influenced pretest performance but did not affect LP, and that a relationship between LP and verbal and social abilities existed only in children with ASD. Conclusions indicate the appropriateness of the WCST-LP in ASD prognosis assessment.

Discrepancies When Assessing Interpersonal Problem-Solving Skills in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Diagnostic Indicator.

In children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), there are often discrepancies between direct assessment and third-party reports. We compared these children with groups with/without difficulties in interpersonal problem-solving skills in order to determine whether these discrepancies appear and if they could be a diagnostic indicator for ASD. There were 91 participants (ages 7-13): 28 children with ASD, 36 in a high family risk situation, and 27 typically developing children, all tested with direct measures and third-party reports. Results showed discrepancies only in the ASD group. Consequently, direct performance measures and third-party reports seem to be evaluating different constructs in children with ASD. In addition, both types of measures discriminate between groups, such that both are needed, especially in diagnostic assessments.

Resolución de problemas interpersonales en niños en exclusión social: Valoración de un programa de entrenamiento / Resolution of interpersonal problems in children in social exclusion: Assessment of a training program

Resumen La exclusión social es uno de los mayores desafíos de las sociedades modernas especialmente para una de las poblaciones más afectadas: la infancia. Crecer en ambientes desfavorecidos tiene un impacto negativo en la salud, la educación o el desarrollo cognitivo, emocional y social. Una de las áreas especialmente afectadas en estos niños es la competencia social, entendida como la habilidad del sujeto para enfrentarse a situaciones sociales problemáticas de forma exitosa. Este trabajo se centra en las habilidades de resolución de problemas interpersonales, consideradas componentes fundamentales de la competencia social. El objetivo del estudio ha consistido en determinar si la implementación de un programa de entrenamiento en habilidades de resolución de problemas interpersonales consigue mejorar dichas habilidades en niños en situación de exclusión social a través de un diseño cuasi-experimental pre-post-tratamiento. Los participantes han sido 61 niños de 7 a 12 años de los cuales 34 se sitúan en situación de exclusión. Los resultados muestran mejoras en la habilidad de generar soluciones a los conflictos y en solución de problemas interpersonales. De los resultados se concluye que el programa genera mejoras en las habilidades entrenadas en niños en situación de exclusión. No obstante, se hace necesario seguir investigando el impacto de las intervenciones breves en esta población.

Abstract Social exclusion is one of the biggest challenges of modern societies especially for one of the most affected populations: children. Growing up in disadvantaged environments has a negative impact on health, education or cognitive, emotional and social development. One area particularly affected in these children is social competence - the subject's ability to deal with problematic social situations successfully. This work focuses on interpersonal problem-solving skills, which are deemed as being quintessential components of social competence. This paper sought to determine whether the implementation of a training program for solving interpersonal problems improves these skills in children in situation of social exclusion, through a quasi-experimental pre-post-treatment design. Participants were 61 children aged 7-12, of which 34 were situation of exclusion. The results show improvements in the ability to generate solutions to conflicts and in interpersonal problem-solving skills. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the program generates improvements in the skills trained in children in situation of exclusion. Nevertheless, it is necessary to conduct further research on the impact of brief interventions in this population.

Interpersonal Problem-Solving Skills, Executive Function and Learning Potential in Preadolescents with High/Low Family Risk.

Situations generated by high family risk have a negative effect on personal development, especially during preadolescence. Growing up in the presence of risk factors can lead to negative consequences on mental health or on school performance. The objective of this study focuses on individual factors related to this phenomenon during preadolescence. Specifically, we seek to establish whether level of family risk (high vs. low risk) is related to interpersonal problem-solving skills, executive function and learning potential in a sample of preadolescents controlling age, sex, total IQ, verbal comprehension ability and the classroom influences. The participants were 40 children, 23 boys and 17 girls between the ages of 7 and 12, twenty of which had a record on file with the Social and Childhood Protection Services of Information deleted to maintain the integrity of the review process, and therefore, a high family risk situation. The other 20 participants had a low family risk situation. Results show that the preadolescents from high family risk performed worse on interpersonal solving-problem skills and executive function (p < .05, b from -119,201.81 to 132,199.43, confidence interval from -162,589.78/-75,813.8 to 84,403.05/179,995.8). Nevertheless, they showed the same ability to learn as the participants from low family risk. These results highlight the negative effects of high family risk situation in preadolescents and give value of taking into account protective factors such as learning potential when assessing preadolescents from high family risk.

Interpersonal problem-solving skills, executive function and learning potential in preadolescents with high/low family risk

Situations generated by high family risk have a negative effect on personal development, especially during preadolescence. Growing up in the presence of risk factors can lead to negative consequences on mental health or on school performance. The objective of this study focuses on individual factors related to this phenomenon during preadolescence. Specifically, we seek to establish whether level of family risk (high vs. low risk) is related to interpersonal problem-solving skills, executive function and learning potential in a sample of preadolescents controlling age, sex, total IQ, verbal comprehension ability and the classroom influences. The participants were 40 children, 23 boys and 17 girls between the ages of 7 and 12, twenty of which had a record on file with the Social and Childhood Protection Services of Information deleted to maintain the integrity of the review process, and therefore, a high family risk situation. The other 20 participants had a low family risk situation. Results show that the preadolescents from high family risk performed worse on interpersonal solving-problem skills and executive function (p < .05, b from -119,201.81 to 132,199.43, confidence interval from -162,589.78/-75,813.8 to 84,403.05/179,995.8). Nevertheless, they showed the same ability to learn as the participants from low family risk. These results highlight the negative effects of high family risk situation in preadolescents and give value of taking into account protective factors such as learning potential when assessing preadolescents from high family risk (AU)

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Discrepancies between direct and indirect measures of interpersonal and neurocognitive skills in autism spectrum disorder children.

BACKGROUND: Subjects with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) show persistent deficits in social interaction. In order to explore the scope of their deficits, it is of great interest to compare the different interpersonal skills and executive functions of ASD subjects to those of children with typical development. Assessing these skills usually involves a large variety of informants (parents, teachers, other family members) and of measures, with frequent discrepancies between direct performance measures and indirect measures (third-party report). Different explanations of this mismatch between measures have been addressed in previous studies. OBJECTIVES: We wish to analyze whether there are differences between children with ASD and children with typical development on several direct performance measures of interpersonal and neurocognitive skills and one third-party report on real-life performance of interpersonal skills; we also want to look at whether discrepancies appear between the two types of measurements in the two groups of participants. METHOD: A total of 68 Spanish children between the ages of 7 and 12 years participated; 34 were children with ASD, and 34 showed typical development. All participants were tested for recognition of emotions, solving interpersonal conflicts, and executive function. RESULTS: Significant differences between the two groups were not found on most of the direct performance measures, but they did appear in the report by third parties, in favor of the group with typical development. There was also a significant association between neurocognitive and social variables in the latter group. CONCLUSIONS: There were intergroup differences and discrepancies between the direct performance and indirect measures in children with ASD, and these must be explained. For this reason, future studies could seek to explain the cause of these discrepancies with a greater number of measures for each of the skills.

Estudio normativo del “test de 60 caras de Ekman” para adolescentes españoles / A normative study of the Ekman 60-faces test in Spanish adolescents

El "Test de 60 caras de Ekman" es ampliamente utilizado para medir la capacidad de reconocer emociones a través de expresiones faciales. Su uso extendido, también en España, contrasta con la ausencia de criterios normativos para población española. Este estudio evalúa las características psicométricas del test y genera baremos para adolescentes españoles. Los participantes han sido 1039 hombres y mujeres de entre 11 y 18 años de edad, de distintas comunidades autónomas del país. Los resultados muestran diferencias significativas en las puntuaciones del test (tanto totales como en cada una de las seis emociones) relacionadas con el sexo y la edad (dividida en dos rangos: 11-14 años y 15-18 años). Se presentan los análisis descriptivos de las puntuaciones, puntuaciones criterio para determinar la dificultad en la ejecución y percentiles, tanto para la puntuación total como para cada emoción, agrupados según sexo y edad. Los índices de fiabilidad encontrados son adecuados en la puntuación total del test y para cada una de las emociones. Estos resultados respaldan la utilización de esta prueba en esta población

The Ekman 60 Faces Test is widely used to assess emotion recognition ability from facial expressions. Its extended use in Spain contrasts with the absence of normative criteria for Spanish population. This study evaluates the psychometric characteristics of the test and generates adjusted normative scores for Spanish adolescents. Participants were 1039 men and women aged between 11 and 18 years of age from different autonomous communities in Spain. Results showed significant differences in test scores (total score and individual emotion scores) according to sex and age. Distinction among two ranges of age was made: 11-14 years of age and 15-18 years of age. The article includes descriptive analyses of the scores, percentiles and performance cut-off score to determine impairment, for the total score as well as for each emotion score, divided by sex and age. Reliability indexes were satisfactory for the total score and for each emotion score. These results allow the utilization of this test in Spanish adolescent population

Valoración de un programa de habilidades interpersonales en niños superdotados / Evaluation of an interpersonal skills program in gifted children

Algunos trabajos de investigación informan que cierto número de niños superdotados muestran problemas de adaptación social y habilidades sociales e interpersonales, mientras que otros consideran que esto no ocurre. Partiendo de lo anterior, Neihart, Reis, Robinson y Moon (2002) hablan de enfoque de resiliencia versus enfoque de riesgo. En este trabajo se considera el beneficio de aplicar programas de entrenamiento en habilidades interpersonales en niños superdotados para prevenir posibles problemas. Por ello, se pretende valorar la eficacia de un programa de entrenamiento en resolución de problemas interpersonales en esta población. En esta investigación participaron 40 niños superdotados de edades comprendidas entre 7 y 13 años, divididos en un grupo tratamiento y un grupo control de lista de espera. Los resultados mostraron diferencias significativas en las medidas de valoración directa en el grupo tratamiento tras la aplicación del programa. También se detectaron diferencias significativas entre el grupo tratamiento y el grupo control en las medidas postratamiento a favor del primero, y se confirmó la relación del potencial de aprendizaje de los niños con los beneficios obtenidos. En definitiva, el programa de entrenamiento se muestra eficaz en la mejora de las habilidades de solución de problemas interpersonales evaluadas en niños superdotados.

Certain research studies report that a number of gifted children show social adaptation issues, as well as problems with social and interpersonal skills, while others consider that this does not occur. In this regard, Neihart, Reis, Robinson and Moon (2002) speaks of a resilience approach versus a risk approach. From the risk viewpoint, this paper presents the benefits of applying training programs in interpersonal skills as to prevent potential problems in gifted children. For this reason, we aim to evaluate the effectiveness of a training program for solving interpersonal problems in this population. Participants include 40 gifted children aged 7 to 13, divided into a treatment group and a control - waitlisted - group. Program application results show significant differences in direct assessment measurements in the treatment group. An increase in effect sizes between the treatment group and the control group is also detected, in favor of the former, and a relationship between the children's learning potential and the benefits obtained is also confirmed. In short, the training program proves effective in interpersonal problem-solving skill improvement in children with high intellectual capacity.