Psicothema最新文献

Background: Detecting late talkers among children is important because they are at greater risk of subsequently manifesting persistent disorders in language development. Therefore, it would be beneficial to have quick measurement tools with adequate psychometric properties, which have not yet been developed. This study set out to develop, analyse and validate the factor structure of an observational scale for detecting Late Language Emergence (LLE) in Spanish-speaking children aged 2-3 years that could be applied not only by language professionals but also teachers in early childhood education centres for children aged 0-3 years.

Method: The sample comprised 364 children aged 24-38 months (M = 31.93; SD = 3.512; 49.7% girls).

Results: The estimated reliability coefficients ranged from ω = .77 to ω = .97. Factor analyses indicated that the best model explaining the scale's assessment criteria was articulated around five factors: phonology, lexical semantics, morphosyntax, comprehension and communication. The correlations between the dimensions of the scale and those of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory were statistically significant.

Conclusions: The scale to detect late talkers among Spanish children appears to be a concise, simple instrument with suitable psychometric properties.

Background: Likert-type scales, first introduced by Rensis Likert in 1932, have become one of the most widely used assessment tools across a range of scientific and professional domains, owing to their simplicity and effectiveness. The purpose of the present study is to critically review their use and to propose a set of practical guidelines aimed at optimizing their construction, analysis, and application.

Method: A systematic literature review of guidelines focused on the development, analysis, scoring, use, and interpretation of Likert scales was carried out.

Results: Several key areas for improvement in the construction and use of Likert-type scales were identified, including the operational definition of constructs, item formulation, selection of the number of response categories, response analysis, collection of validity evidence, item calibration, and score interpretation.

Conclusions: Based on the findings, a practical guide comprising fifteen recommendations is proposed: ten focused on the appropriate design, construction, and analysis of Likert scales, and five aimed at guiding appropriate use of pre-existing scales by researchers and practitioners.

Background: Significant progress has been made in providing empirical support for psychological interventions designed to improve the health and behavior of children and young people with pediatric health problems. The objective of this study was to carry out a review of empirically supported psychological treatments for various health problems in the child and adolescent population.

Method: Psychological treatments with empirical support for 12 pediatric health problems were reviewed based on the levels of evidence and how much they are recommended in the Spanish national health system Clinical Practice Guides.

Results: Psychological treatments to address various health problems in the child and adolescent population have empirical support. The level of evidence ranges from low to high depending on the health problem. The review shows uneven deployment in different health problems.

Conclusions: This review will help psychology professionals and healthcare managers to make decisions regarding psychological treatments for addressing pediatric health problems.

Background: Indirect attitude change effect occurs when a change in attitudes toward an object (i.e., focal attitude) is accompanied by a change in attitudes toward other related objects (i.e., distal attitude). The current research examines to what extent the amount of thinking (elaboration) involved in changing focal attitudes can moderate this indirect change effect. We expect that indirect change will be more likely to occur under high elaboration conditions (i.e., elaboration-indirect change effect).

Method: Across two studies, participants' thought valence toward a healthy diet (Study 1) and toward coffee (Study 2) was manipulated to be positive or negative. The amount of elaboration accompanying the thought generation tasks was either measured (Study 1) or manipulated (Study 2). Finally, focal and distal attitudes were assessed in both studies to test the proposed elaboration-indirect change effect.

Results: Focal attitudes were generally associated with distal attitudes. More importantly, the amount of thinking moderated this effect, with increased elaboration leading to more indirect change from focal to distal attitudes.

Conclusions: Elaboration moderates indirect attitude change.

Background: Online trolling refers to a specific form of disruptive behavior in digital environments, aimed at interrupting interactions, provoking other users, and drawing them into fruitless arguments. The Dark Tetrad personality traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy and sadism) have been linked to various forms of antisocial behavior in virtual contexts.

Method: A systematic literature review was conducted across the PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, ERIC, and Web of Science Core Collection databases to identify relevant studies examining these variables. A total of 24 relevant articles from 11 countries were identified, comprising a combined sample size of 14,044 participants. Four random-effects meta-analyses were performed using Pearson's r coefficients.

Results: The results reveal a positive association between all four personality traits and greater tendency to engage in online trolling. Meta-regression analyses show that the assessment instruments used moderated some of the observed associations. No evidence of publication bias was detected.

Conclusions: In general, the relationship between Dark Tetrad traits and online trolling was found to be positive, helping to explain individual differences in it.

Background: The Positive Organizational Culture construct is a set of shared practices, values, and behaviors within an organization that promote healthy and motivating working environments. This study develops a new scale called the Positive Organizational Culture Scale (POCS) to assess how organizational values affect well-being and work performance.

Method: The sample consisted of 1,420 workers in Chile, with an average age of 39.48 years (SD = 11.13). Over half (55.0%) worked in the public sector, 34.5% worked in private organizations, and 10.5% worked in private non-profit organizations. The study examined item descriptions, the scale's internal structure, its measurement invariance regarding sex and organization, and its relationship with other psychological variables (organizational climate, professional burnout, psychosomatic symptomatology).

Results: The POCS showed a good fit to a correlated two-factor structure (People-Oriented Culture and Results-Oriented Culture; CFI = .94; RMSEA = 0.08), demonstrating measurement invariance regarding sex and type of organization. The findings show that the POCS has 36 items exhibiting satisfactory psychometric properties and a structure consisting of two first-order factors, which exhibit distinct associations with the other recorded variables.

Conclusions: The POCS provides relevant information for formulating actions aimed at enhancing the work environment in the Chilean context.

Background: Incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) as standardized patients (SPs) in psychology education may enhance experiential learning and student confidence. The aim of the study was to analyze the effectiveness of using AI-based simulations to develop communication skills and influence psychology students' affective state.

Method: A mixed-methods intervention study was conducted with 31 third-year psychology students. Participants engaged in clinical simulations using ChatGPT as an SP. Quantitative data on affective state, communication attitudes, and perceptions of knowledge and skills were collected pre- and post-intervention via questionnaires. Qualitative data were obtained through open-ended questions and a focus group. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and thematic analysis.

Results: Significant reductions in negative affect and increases in perceived knowledge and skills were observed post-intervention. No significant changes were found in communication attitudes. Qualitative findings supported the quantitative results, indicating improved confidence and reduced anxiety during simulated patient interactions.

Conclusions: Utilizing AI as SPs is an effective pedagogical tool that enhances experiential learning, increases student confidence in professional skills, and positively influences the affective state. This innovative approach offers a valuable supplement to traditional teaching methods in psychology education.

Background: Developing assessments in multiple languages is hugely complex, impacting every stage from test development to scoring, and evaluating scores. Different approaches are needed to examine comparability and enhance validity in cross-lingual assessments.

Method: A review of literature and practices relating to different methods used in cross-lingual assessment is presented.

Results: There has been a shift from source-to-target language translation to developing items in multiple languages simultaneously. Quantitative and qualitative methods are used to link and evaluate assessments across languages and provide validity evidence.

Conclusions: This article provides practitioners with an overview and research-based recommendations relating to test development, linking, and validation of assessments produced in multiple languages.

Background: Sexting is now widely acknowledged as a common sexual behavior among adolescents and young adults. However, the occurrence of abusive interactions, such as non-consensual sexting, warrants attention. Prevalence rates of non-consensual sexting vary between countries, influenced by gender and age. The present study examined the relationship between three facets of callous-unemotional (CU) traits (i.e., callousness, uncaring, and unemotional) and the sharing of non-consensual sexts across different relationship contexts (i.e., acquaintances, strangers, or partners).

Method: Data were drawn from a cross-countries project encompassing 11 countries: Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, Russia, Turkey, Uganda, and the USA. The sample comprised 6093 young adults (3682 girls; 2401 boys), aged 13 to 30 (M=20.35; SD=3.63).

Results: Results from a logistic mixed-model indicate that CU traits predict non-consensual sexting, with high callousness and uncaring, and low unemotional traits associated with non-consensual sexting involving partners and strangers. Younger individuals and women were more likely to engage in all forms of non-consensual sexting compared to older individuals and men.

Conclusions: It is important to promote sexual education programs to increase emotional self-awareness and challenge gender stereotypes in order to reduce adverse outcomes associated with sexting.

Background: With repeated measures, the traditional ANOVA F-statistic requires fulfillment of normality and sphericity. Bootstrap-F (B-F) has been proposed as a procedure for dealing with violation of these assumptions when conducting a one-way repeated measures ANOVA. However, evidence regarding its robustness and power is limited. Our aim is to extend knowledge about the behavior of B-F with a wider range of conditions.

Method: A simulation study was performed, manipulating the number of repeated measures, sample sizes, epsilon values, and distribution shape.

Results: B-F may become conservative with higher values of epsilon, and liberal under extreme violation of both normality and sphericity and small sample sizes. In these cases, B-F may be used with a more stringent alpha level (.025). The results also show that power is affected by sphericity: the lower the epsilon value, the larger the sample size required to ensure adequate power.

Conclusions: B-F is robust under non-normality and non-sphericity with sample sizes larger than 20-25.