Development and validation of a questionnaire to evaluate lifestyle-related behaviors in elementary school children.

BACKGROUND: The SI! Program promotes cardiovascular health through a multilevel school-based intervention on four lifestyle-related components: diet, physical activity, understanding the body and heart, and management of emotions. We report here the development and validation of the KAH (knowledge, attitudes and habits)-questionnaire adapted for elementary school children (6-7 years old) as a tool for the forthcoming evaluation of the SI! Program, where the KAH scoring will be the primary outcome. The efficacy of such an intervention will be based on the improvements in children's KAH towards a healthy lifestyle. METHODS: The questionnaire validation process started with a pool of items proposed by the pedagogical team who developed the SI! Program for elementary school. The questionnaire was finalized by decreasing the number of items from 155 to 48 using expert panels and statistical tests on the responses from 384 children (ages 6-7). A team of specialized psychologists administered the questionnaire at schools providing standard directions for the final administration. The internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's α coefficients. Reliability was measured through the split-half method, and problematic items were detected applying the item response theory. Analysis of variance and Tukey's test of additivity were used for multiple comparisons. RESULTS: The final KAH-questionnaire for elementary school children should be administered to children individually by trained staff. The 48 items-questionnaire is divided evenly between the 4 components of the intervention, with an overall Cronbach's α = 0.791 (α = 0.526 for diet, α = 0.537 for physical activity, α = 0.523 for human body and heart, and α = 0.537 for management of emotions). CONCLUSIONS: The KAH-questionnaire is a reliable instrument to assess the efficacy of the SI! Program on instilling healthy lifestyle-related behaviors in elementary school children.

Competencias emocionales y depresión en cuidadores familiares de personas mayores dependientes / Emotional competence and depression in informal caregivers

El estudio analiza la relación entre competencias emocionales, situación socio-familiar y sintomatología depresiva de 211 cuidadores familiares de personas mayores de 65 años dependientes. Se utilizó el Cuestionario de Desarrollo Emocional para Adultos, versión reducida (CDE-R, Pérez-Escoda, Bisquerra, Filella & Soldevila, 2010), el Inventario para la Depresión de Beck-II (BDI-II; Sanz, Vázquez & Perdigón, 2003) y el Cuestionario de situación socio-familiar elaborado ad hoc. Los resultados mostraron un nivel medio-bajo de competencia emocional, un 46,2 % de sintomatología depresiva en los cuidadores y una relación negativa estadísticamente significativa entre ambas variables. Mediante un análisis de regresión logística se obtuvo un modelo explicativo de la sintomatología depresiva que comprende 5 variables: horas dedicadas, ayuda del servicio de atención domiciliaria, regulación emocional, competencias de vida y bienestar y autonomía emocional. Se propone el desarrollo de la competencia emocional de los cuidadores familiares como intervención preventiva

This study analyses the relationship between emotional competencies, socio-cultural situation and depressive symptomatology for 211 family caregivers working with dependent relatives older than 65 years. This investigation used the Adult Emotional Development questionnaire reduced version (CDE-R; Pérez-Escoda, Bisquerra, Filella & Soldevila, 2010), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II; Sanz, Vázquez & Perdigón, 2003), and a questionnaire developed to analyze the caregivers socio-familiar situation. Results indicate that the level of emotional competence was medium-low and 46.2% of the caregivers showed depressive symptomatology in addition to a negative significant relationship between both variables. Using logistic regression analysis, a model explaining the depressive symptomatology was identified containing 5 variables: time devoted to caregiving, home visits from care professionals, emotional regulation, life-skills and emotional independence. Development of emotional competence is proposed as a preventive intervention