Relevant Factors in Adolescent Well-Being: Family and Parental Relationships.

Health-related quality of life, teachers' opinion of academic performance and self-perceived health are indicators of well-being in the adolescent stage. Some variables, such as those related to the quality of family and parental relationships, may influence these indicators and thus condition well-being during this stage of life and beyond. In this research, the aforementioned variables are analyzed jointly. It is a cross-sectional study in which 1375 adolescent schoolchildren between 11 and 18 years of age participated. Different instruments such as KIDSCREEN-10 and the questionnaire used in the international study Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children were used. The results obtained allow us to conclude that HRQoL, the teacher's opinion of performance and the perception of health status improve as adolescents perceive a more favorable family climate, also helped by good relations between parents. Finally, it is proposed to continue with the efforts made in the school, family environment and other areas because of the enormous potential for generating quality of life in the adolescent stage and the consequent positive repercussions this has on adulthood.

Psychopathological Risk Factors Associated with Body Image, Body Dissatisfaction and Weight-Loss Dieting in School-Age Adolescents.

Determining the comorbidity patterns leading to suffering behavioural eating disorders (BED) that are identifiable in the early stages of life, can help prevent their becoming chronic, as well as preventing the consequences deriving from the cost and effectiveness of intervention programs. The paper focuses mainly on analysing the association between behavioural/emotional risk factors and body image, body satisfaction and diet in school children, as well as confirming whether there are differences based on sex. Several questionnaires (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and several items of Health Behaviour in School-age Children) including these variables were distributed and completed by the 647 adolescents (16 year olds on average) who took part in the research project. The findings confirmed a differentiated risk profile in adolescent girls in that they had greater prevalence of emotional symptoms as a general psychopathological trait, although this was offset with their prosocial behaviour. Additionally, the findings also allowed us to conclude that the factors that predict vulnerability to BEDs are sex, the presence of emotional symptoms and social and behavioural issues. At the end of this paper, we discuss some implications and consequences that should be taken into account for future work.

The Quality of Breakfast and Healthy Diet in School-aged Adolescents and Their Association with BMI, Weight Loss Diets and the Practice of Physical Activity.

Dietary habits are an important factor in the protection of adolescent health. The quality and frequency of breakfast and the various food groups can affect the wellbeing of this population group in both the short and long term. Research indicates that there is a range of relevant variables in the study of diet at this stage: following a weight loss diet, body mass index and the practice of physical exercise, amongst others. In this paper, all three variables are analysed, together with others of a demographic nature (sex and age). This is a descriptive cross-sectional survey that was carried out on 1318 adolescents aged 11 to 18. The Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) international study questionnaire, sponsored by the World Health Organisation, was used. In general terms, the data revealed that the majority of adolescents do not have adequate eating patterns. The quality and frequency of breakfast and the consumption of food types are associated with almost all the variables under study; additionally, there are significant differences by sex and school year. Finally, proposals are made to prevent eating disorders, which are appearing at an increasingly young age.

Eficacia de la exposición y la reestructuración cognitiva en jóvenes adultos con trastorno de ansiedad social / Effectiveness of exposure and cognitive restructuring in young adults with social anxiety disorder

A través de esta investigación analizamos la eficacia de los componentes psicológicos de exposición y de reestructuración cognitiva, empleados, tanto como únicos componentes, como en función de distintas combinaciones sobre las variables de ansiedad social “ miedo a la evaluación negativa “ (FNE; Watson Y Friend, 1969) y “ansiedad y evitación social” (SAD; Watson y Friend, 1969). La muestra se compuso de 85 sujetos diagnosticados de fobia social (APA 1994) asignados aleatoriamente a tres modalidades de intervención: a) tratamiento mediante exposición y reestructuración cognitiva empleados de forma combinada (10 sesiones9 b) tratamiento mediante el bloque de exposición (5 sesiones) seguido del bloque de reestructuración cognitiva (5 sesiones) y c) grupo control evaluado a los tres meses que posteriormente fue adscrito al tratamiento mediante el bloque de reestructuración cognitiva (5 sesiones) seguido del bloque de exposición (5 sesiones). Los resultados demuestran que las modalidades de tratamiento fueron muy eficaces en los principales momentos de evaluación, no existiendo diferencias significativas entre ellas: los componentes psicológicos empleados y sus distintas combinaciones mostraron un grado de eficacia similar en el modo en el que fueron empleados

The purpose of this research is to analyse the efficacy of the psychological components, exposure and cognitive restructuring, used as single techniques and depending on their different combinations on social anxiety variables: the “fear of negative evaluation” (FNE; Watson y Friend, 1969) and the “social avoidance and distress” (SAD; Watson y Friend, 1969). The sample was made up of 85 patients diagnosed with social phobia (APA, 1994),who were randomly assigned to three different treatments: a) exposure and cognitive restructuring components, both integrated in every session (10 sessions); b) exposure block (5 sessions) followed y cognitive restructuring block (5 sessions); c) a control group that after three months was assigned to the treatment cognitive restructuring block 85 sessions) followed by exposure block (5 sessions). Results show that these different experimental groups were very effective in the main evaluations, without significant differences between them; the psychological components used and their different combinations showed a similar level of efficacy in the way and modality in which they were used