Suma Psicologica最新文献

The aim of this research is to study the relationship between working memory, previous knowledge, and explanation-based inferences in expository text reading. To this effect, 167 undergraduates completed three working memory tasks, and two climate change and astronomy questionnaires, after reading two expository texts on these subjects. The results of the correlations and paths analyses show that, while working memory and specific previous domain knowledge are related to the generation of explanatory and reinstatement inferences, there is a mediation interaction relationship between these variables that explains their role in the generation of inferences.

The aim of this study is to determine the predictive capacity of socio-demographic and personal characteristics on subjective and psychological well-being in a Mexican population. A total of 976 Mexican adults completed scales of happiness, life satisfaction, positive and negative affect, psychological well-being, the Big Five personality traits test, as well as of optimism and self-esteem. The results showed that sociodemographic factors had a small effect size on the subjective and psychological well-being dimensions. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that subjective and psychological well-being was explained by a greater extraversion, conscientiousness, optimism, self-esteem, and less neuroticism. These results suggest that not only is the Big Five a more powerful predictor of both types of well-being than sociodemographic factors, but also that of self-esteem. The findings are consistent with those of other cultures, although there are differences, which are discussed in relation to how they should be approached by the Mexican authorities.

The aim of this study was to adapt and validate the Self- Regulation Strategy Inventory—Self-Report (SRSI-SR) (Cleary, 2006) to the Spanish language and to a university population. The study was conducted with 542 randomly selected university students. Construct validity through exploratory factor analysis with oblique rotation indicated the resulting tool, SRSI-SR Adapted, is configured by four factors: (a) environmental management, (b) task organisation, (c) seeking information, and (d) inappropriate regulation habits. The factors are assessed through 18 items on a four points Likert scale. The internal consistency of the tool is high (.81). It all provides scores by factor and one general. Further analysis showed that grade-repeater students have higher scores on inappropriate regulation habits factor when compared with non-repeaters. Finally, the usefulness of the tool is discussed.

The aim of this study was to determine the motivational profiles of physical education students, and to examine their relationship with physical activity and their intention of being physically active. An attempt was also made to verify whether these profiles and their relationship with physical activity and intention to be physically active remained stable in Spanish, Colombian and Ecuadorian adolescents. The sample consisted of 2670 students aged 12 to 16 (M = 14.30; SD = 1.66), from different schools from Madrid, Armenia, and Cuenca. The results show that there are three motivational profiles: Low-moderately motivated, highly motivated-low ego, and highly motivated. The data analysis also showed that the highly motivated profile had the highest score both in physical activity and in the intention to practice it, followed by highly motivated-low ego, and low-moderately motivated profiles. The characteristics of both profiles —as well as the relationships established with dependent variables— remained stable in the samples of the three countries. As a conclusion, highly motivated profile showed higher levels of physical activity and intention to be physically active in the future. There were similarities between adolescents from the different countries.

The discrepancy between what people say and what people do has been at the centre of debate in the study of pro-environmental behaviour. This article presents a systematic review of the available literature on the study of attitudes to the environment, which shows an inconsistency in the results of this approach to generate lasting changes in people's behaviour. A change is proposed in the orientation of research and environmental educational practice from verbal regulation, in particular the following of pro-environmental rules to reduce the gap between what is said and what is done in order to resolve problems related to the environment. The implications of this proposal on environmental education are analysed, as well as some paths for methodological development of this proposal.

This study aimed to characterize dieting and non-dieting university students by gender, based on their satisfaction with life and their food-related life, self-discrepancy, food behavior and health-related aspects. A non-probabilistic sample of 305 students from five Chilean state universities responded a questionnaire that included the Revised Restraint Scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Satisfaction with Food-related Life Scale, the Health-related Quality of Life Index, the Nutrition Interest Scale and the Self-Discrepancy Index. Socio-demographic characteristics, food behavior, and approximate weight and height were also enquired. Chronic dieters and non-dieters were distinguished according to the median score of the Revised Restraint Scale. 51.1% of women and 55.5% of men classified as chronic dieters, sharing characteristics such as nutrition concern, mental health problems, higher body mass index, and physical and economic self-discrepancy. Women dieters reported lower life satisfaction and satisfaction with food-related life, more health problems and health-related restriction of food, while men dieters showed higher social and emotional self-discrepancy.

The relationship between mood disorders and alcohol consumption has been studied in humans and animals, although it is still not fully clear how this relationship unfolds, much less during adolescence. The administration of reserpine — a monoamine depletor — is an approach traditionally used in adult rodents to induce depression-associated behaviours, but its usefulness in other developmental stages is still unknown. In this study, this model was evaluated in adolescent rats in order to study alcohol consumption, as well as its modulation by antidepressants in these animals. In Experiment 1, 30 day-old male Wistar rats were treated with reserpine (0.0 or 1.0 mg/kg, for 4 days, IP). Alcohol consumption was tested after observing depression-associated behaviours and assessing neuroendocrine indicators of this pathology. In Experiment 2, the rats were administered reserpine followed by an antidepressant (fluoxetine, 0.0 or 10.0 mg/kg, for 4 days, IG). Alcohol consumption was then tested. The results showed that reserpine significantly increased depression-associated behaviours and altered insular dopamine and thyroid hormone levels. Alcohol consumption tests showed that reserpine-treated animals — but not control animals — increased their consumption throughout the days. The second experiment partially replicated this profile, and no significant effect of antidepressants was observed in alcohol consumption. The results show that reserpine is instrumental in modelling depression-associated behaviours in adolescent rats. A relationship was found between this condition and alcohol intake, which could not be reversed by antidepressants.

The acquired preparedness model was examined in a sample of Argentinian adolescents. This model suggests that disinhibition has an indirect effect, through cognitive variables, on alcohol consumption. A sample of 343 adolescents from the city of Cordoba (Argentina) from public secondary education schools took part in the study. Standardised measurements were used to assess impulsivity, alcohol expectancies, social norms of alcohol drinking, and drinking patterns. A path analysis was conducted to determine the effect of these variables on quantity of alcohol consumption. Two theoretical models, that differed in the inclusion — or not — of social norms of alcohol drinking, were evaluated. The results, according to the acquired preparedness model, indicate that impulsivity influences alcohol consumption through alcohol expectancies. The model that incorporates the effect of social norms of alcohol drinking showed an excellent fit to the data. This study — the first in Argentina that evaluates this model — emphasises the usefulness of addressing impulse control and alcohol expectancies when developing interventions aimed at reducing alcohol consumption.

Attention deficit with hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most frequent neurodevelopmental disorders identified in children. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of ADHD behaviour in a sample of Mexican school-aged children. Data were obtained from 6639 pupils enrolled in public elementary schools in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Prevalence was based on parental reports collected using the full DSM-IV criteria. A total of 4399 questionnaires were received and analysed. According to the parents, 8.9% of the children met the DSM-IV ADHD criteria. The male:female ratio was 2:1. Distribution by subtypes was as follows: 147 children with combined type, 132 inattentive children, and 114 with the hyperactive-impulsive type. Prevalence was higher from first grade to third grade than it was from fourth to sixth grade. The calculated ADHD prevalence is consistent with the range reported by other countries. Studies conducted with large samples are useful in the design of intervention strategies in accordance with the target population.

The main aim of this study was to determine if there were any gender differences in early mathematical knowledge. In order to achieve this, estimated prediction factors were assessed in 200 schoolchildren of 5 years-old. Domain-general cognition variables were evaluated, such as fluid intelligence, working memory, short-term memory, executive functions, and early literacy. Statistical contrasts showed no significant differences between boys and girls. Discriminant analysis did not reveal a gender-based characteristic pattern. However, stepwise regression analysis indicated that, although emergent literacy and fluid intelligence explained the variation in early mathematical knowledge for boys and girls, the third explanatory variable was short-term memory for girls, and working memory for boys. The article concludes that gender differences were not statistically different in relation to general and specific domain predictor variables for early maths skills.