The relationship between family quality of life, mindful attention, and social support in families of people with autism spectrum disorder.

Background: In families of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the added difficulties they face may influence their perception of family quality of life (FQoL). It is important to identify factors which foster their perceived wellbeing and are susceptible to intervention. Our aim was to explore the association between mindful attention and FQoL in these families controlling their perceived social support. Method: Ninety-six parents of people with ASD were evaluated using the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS), the Support Questionnaire for Parents with Children with Disability, and the Spanish Family Quality of Life Scale for families with underage members with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Results: Multiple regression analyses revealed that high levels of mindful attention positively predicted FQoL after controlling the influence of social support. Conclusions: Practical implications are discussed in terms of family support interventions. We conclude that mindful attention interventions may be useful for families with children and adolescents with ASD to improve their FQoL.

Clinical characteristics of heart failure patients with mid-range ejection fraction.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to characterise and compare the clinical profile of heart failure (HF) with mid-range (HFmrEF), reduced (HFrEF) and preserved (HFpEF) left-ventricular ejection fraction. METHODS: We conducted a descriptive, observational study in 267 HF patients admitted to the Internal Medicine department of a tertiary hospital during 2010-2016. The study population was divided into three groups according to the ejection fraction rate: HFrEF (<40%), HFmrEF (40-49%), and HFpEF (≥50%). We analysed and compared their demographic, clinical, and analytical characteristics. RESULTS: The mean age of the study population was 79.5 (standard deviation, 8.14) years; 56.6% were males. The most common phenotype was HFpEF (58.1%), followed by HFrEF (21.7%) and HFmrEF (20.2%). Ischaemic cardiopathy was the primary aetiology in the HFmrEF and HFrEF groups, and arterial hypertension in the HFpEF group. The most common comorbidities among HFmrEF patients were diabetes (43.4%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (35.8%), and anaemia (35.8%); 49.1% had impairment of segmental myocardial contractility, and 35.8% ventricular dilatation. No differences in HF outcomes were observed among the three phenotypes. CONCLUSION: HFmrEF shows characteristics similar to both HFpEF and HFrEF. Further large-scale studies with longer follow-up are needed to ascertain if it is worth distinguishing this phenotype in clinical practice in terms of management and prognosis.

The relationship between sociocultural factors and autobiographical memories from childhood: the role of formal schooling.

Cross-cultural differences in autobiographical memory (AM) are associated with cultural variations. In models of the self and parental reminiscing style, but not many studies have analysed the relationship between AM and specific cultural practices such as formal schooling. Theoreticians like [Greenfield, P. M. (2009). Linking social change and developmental change: Shifting. pathways of human development. Developmental Psychology, 45, 401-418. doi: 10.1037/a0014726 ; Kagitçibasi, C. (2005). Autonomy and relatedness in cultural context. Implications for self and family. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 36, 403-422. doi: 10.1177/0022022105275959 ] and [Keller, H. (2007). Children development across cultures. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates] have considered formal schooling as an engine towards the model of independence; however, the empirical evidence in this regard is inconclusive: while some studies found evidence of a relation between formal schooling and characteristics of AM, others did not. To solve this inconsistency, the present study compared orally narrated childhood memories of Mexican adults with three different levels of education (from rudimentary literacy to university). Results support a relationship between formal schooling and AM in the predicted direction: More educated participants reported longer, more specific and more self-oriented memories than those with less schooling experience did. Some gender differences were also observed, with males generally reporting more individually and less socially oriented memories than females, except for university level participants. We conclude that these results support Greenfield's theory about formal schooling as a sociocultural factor that promotes the cultural pathway to independence, as well as complexity and context-boundedness of gender differences in AM.

Promoción de una parentalidad positiva en familias con adolescentes que padecen problemas de salud mental / No disponible

En este trabajo se presenta el diseño de un proyecto de investigación que cuenta con una doble finalidad. Por un lado, contribuir al conocimiento sobre las competencias y las necesidades de apoyo que presentan las familias con hijos adolescentes que padecen problemas de salud mental, tanto atendiendo al análisis de la literatura científica existente, como analizando las necesidades y las competencias que presentan este tipo de familias en nuestro contexto socio-cultural. Por otro lado, obtener la información necesaria para diseñar un programa de intervención destinado a apoyar y promover la parentalidad positiva en estas familias. De la información presentada se concluye que este proyecto se sitúa en consonancia con las recomendaciones nacionales e internacionales que instan al cambio desde modelos de la evaluación e intervención familiar centrados en el déficit hacia enfoques más positivos y capacitadores. Igualmente, se concluye que este proyecto puede representar un nuevo marco de intervención para la mejora de la calidad de vida de este colectivo que surge como fruto de un trabajo conjunto y coordinado que, mediante un enfoque multi-método y multi-informante, integra las aportaciones de los expertos, el conocimiento de los profesionales de salud mental y las vivencias y percepciones de los propios adolescentes y sus familias

This paper presents the design of a project with a twofold aim. Firstly, to contribute to the knowledge about the competences and support needs experienced by families of adolescents with mental health problems, both reviewing the available literature and studying the specific competences and needs experienced by these families in our context. Secondly, to obtain information to design an intervention programme to support and promote positive parenthood in these families. From the information presented can be drawn that this project is in accordance with the national and international recommendations that urge a change from deficit models to a strength-based perspective of family assessment and intervention. Likewise, the presented project provides a new intervention framework to improve the quality of life of these families. It resulted from a coordinated effort that, using a multi-method and multi-informant approach, integrates the contributions of experts, the knowledge and views of mental health professionals and the experiences and perceptions of adolescents affected by mental health problems and their families

Development of preparatory activity indexed by the contingent negative variation in children.

OBJECTIVES: The present study investigated the effect of age on task-specific preparatory activation induced by a spatial cue using the central cue Posner's paradigm. The behavioral responses and the contingent negative variation (CNV) generated between S1 (the warning stimulus) and S2 (the imperative stimulus) were compared between 16 healthy children (8-13 years old) and 17 healthy young adults (18-23 years old). METHODS: The EEG was recorded from 20 scalp sites of the International 10-20 system. The complete trial period included a central directional cue that was on for 300 ms and an attentive waiting period lasting 1360 ms. Finally, a peripheral target appeared, subtending a visual angle of 4.56 degrees and situated 2.28 degrees eccentrically in the horizontal meridian. The early and late components of the CNV appearing in the period between cue and target were analyzed. RESULTS: The CNV of children showed no contralateral cortical activation related to motor preparation. However, the young adults showed contralateral activation to the cue over motor areas. Both children and young adults showed cortical activation in posterior sensory areas, displaying a pattern of activation contralateral to the cue. Also, a positive parietal component appeared in children during the CNV period. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the motor preparation system in children is less mature than the sensory preparatory system. The children may have used strategies and brain areas different from those of the young adults to prepare for stimuli and responses.