An overall statistic for testing symmetry in social interactions

The present work focuses on the skew-symmetry index as a measure of social reciprocity. This index is based on the correspondence between the amount of behaviour that individuals address toward their partners and what they receive in return. Although the skew-symmetry index enables researchers to describe social groups, statistical inferential tests are required. This study proposes an overall statistical technique for testing symmetry in experimental conditions, calculating the skew-symmetry statistic (Phi) at group level. Sampling distributions for the skew-symmetry statistic were estimated by means of a Monte Carlo simulation to allow researchers to make statistical decisions. Furthermore, this study will allow researchers to choose the optimal experimental conditions for carrying out their research, as the power of the statistical test was estimated. This statistical test could be used in experimental social psychology studies in which researchers may control the group size and the number of interactions within dyads.     

Cross validity of the UCLA Loneliness Scale factorization

Loneliness is an unpleasant experience that takes place when a person's network of social relationships is significantly deficient in quality and quantity, and it is associated with negative feelings. Loneliness is a fundamental construct that provides information about several psychological processes, especially in the clinical setting. It is well known that this construct is related to isolation and emotional loneliness. One of the most well-known psychometric instruments to measure loneliness is the revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, which has been factorized in several populations. A controversial issue related to the UCLA Loneliness Scale is its factor structure, because the test was first created based on a unidimensional structure; however, subsequent research has proved that its structure may be bipolar or even multidimensional. In the present work, the UCLA Loneliness Scale was completed by two populations: Spanish and Italian undergraduate university students. Results show a multifactorial structure in both samples. This research presents a theoretically and analytically coherent bifactorial structure.     

Validation and adaptation of the PACES scale of enjoyment of the practice of physical activity for Spanish adolescent girls

The goal of this study is to validate a Spanish version of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES, Kendzierski & DeCarlo, 1991), in the population of Spanish adolescent girls, and also to obtain a reduced version of the scale. For this purpose, reliability analysis was conducted, and construct validity was assessed in two steps: exploratory factor analysis and structural equation model with confirmatory factor analysis. The scale was administered to a sample of 2777 adolescent girls of Secondary Education, ages between 12-18 years. The results show the reliability of the instrument and the construct validity with a good fit of the model. The adapted scale was reduced to six items, a shorter and efficient scale that allows us to measure the enjoyment of physical activity.     

Parenting styles and their relationship with hyperactivity

The present study aims to determine the relationship among factors that make up the parenting styles according to the PCRI (Parent-Child Relationship Inventory) and hyperactivity reported by parents through the BASC (Behaviour Assessment System for Children). We selected a sample of 32 children between 3 and 14 years old (23 male and 9 female) with risk scores in hyperactivity and another similar group with low scores in hyperactivity. After administering both instruments to the parents, we carried out a binomial logistic regression analysis which resulted in a prediction model for 84.4% of the sample, made up of the PCRI factors: fathers' involvement, communication and role orientation, mothers' parental support, and both parents' limit-setting and autonomy. Moreover, our analysis of the variance produced significant differences in the support perceived by the fathers and mothers of both groups. Lastly, the utility of results to propose intervention strategies within the family based on an authoritative style is discussed.     

Development of the brief Spanish Cocaine Craving Questionnaire-General

Combining two different samples of cocaine users (N = 183), we tested the factor structure of a brief (12-item), Spanish version of the Cocaine Craving Questionnaire-General using confirmatory factor analysis. The four-factor model provided excellent fit to the measure. Moreover, the measure significantly differentiated between recent cocaine users and abstainers, as well as between participants with different levels of severity of drug-use history. Factor 1 expresses highly intense and overwhelming desires, Factor 2 expresses lack of self-control over cocaine use, Factor 3 items express lack of positive reinforcement expectancies, and Factor 4 expresses stimulating expectancies for cocaine use. The results revealed the validity of the CCQ-General brief as an instrument to assess cocaine craving in Spanish and supported the conceptualization of cocaine craving as a multifaceted construct.     

Body dissatisfaction in Latin and Spanish adolescents

The present paper has two aims: firstly to analyse and compare body dissatisfaction of Spanish and Latin adolescents, and secondly to determine the impact of sociocultural factors and Body Mass Index (BMI) on dissatisfaction. The sample is made up of 403 adolescents, 191 Spaniards and 212 Latin-Americans, all of them students in Basque Country high schools. They were assessed by the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), the CIMEC-26 (a questionnaire designed to assess the influence of the aesthetic body model), and the BMI. The results show that the Latin adolescents have a higher level of body dissatisfaction than the Spanish. This is due to the greater influence in the Latin adolescents of sociocultural factors.     

Say-do correspondence to improve disruptive behaviors in adults with Down's syndrome

The most acknowledged strategies for the treatment of disruptive behaviours are those that are based on direct contingency management. Other procedures allow the therapist, or educational agent, not to be present in the context in which the behavioural change has to take place: the say-do correspondence training procedures, which have proven effective across behaviours and populations. Nevertheless, there is surprisingly little evidence of the effectiveness of such procedures with populations presenting developmental disabilities. This study describes the implementation of say-do correspondence training to modify 5 disruptive behaviours present in 5 adult subjects diagnosed with Down's syndrome, showing very positive results. The advantages of using say-do correspondence training procedures in developmental disabilities are discussed.     

Acculturation of Host Individuals: Immigrants and Personal Networks

There has been a vast amount of research on the changes experienced by immigrants, but little is known about the changes experienced by host individuals. This article focuses on the role of host individuals in the networks of relations between immigrant populations and the communities from the dominant culture, as well as the changes experienced by host individuals because of their continuous contact with immigrants. This research applied a network approach to the study of the acculturation of host individuals. Two independent studies were carried out: a systematic analysis of the personal networks of Argentinean (n = 67), Ecuadorian (n = 59), Italian (n = 37) and German (n = 37) residents in Seville and Cadiz (Spain) (Study 1); and an ethnographic study with human service workers for Latin American immigrants in Boston (USA) (Study 2). With two different strategies, the role of host individuals in personal networks of foreigners in the United States and Spain was analyzed. The results show that host individuals tend to have less centrality than compatriots, showing an overall secondary role in the personal networks of immigrants. The lowest average centrality was observed in recent and temporal migrants, whereas the highest corresponded to the individuals with more time of residence in Spain. The personal networks of human service providers in the United States vary in ethnic composition and in their structural properties, and therefore shape different types of integrative bridges for immigrants.     

Are the effects of Unreal violent video games pronounced when playing with a virtual reality system?

This study was conducted to analyze the short-term effects of violent electronic games, played with or without a virtual reality (VR) device, on the instigation of aggressive behavior. Physiological arousal (heart rate (HR)), priming of aggressive thoughts, and state hostility were also measured to test their possible mediation on the relationship between playing the violent game (VG) and aggression. The participants--148 undergraduate students--were randomly assigned to four treatment conditions: two groups played a violent computer game (Unreal Tournament), and the other two a non-violent game (Motocross Madness), half with a VR device and the remaining participants on the computer screen. In order to assess the game effects the following instruments were used: a BIOPAC System MP100 to measure HR, an Emotional Stroop task to analyze the priming of aggressive and fear thoughts, a self-report State Hostility Scale to measure hostility, and a competitive reaction-time task to assess aggressive behavior. The main results indicated that the violent computer game had effects on state hostility and aggression. Although no significant mediation effect could be detected, regression analyses showed an indirect effect of state hostility between playing a VG and aggression.     

Modulating effects in learned helplessness of dyadic dominance-submission relations

In this experiment, learned helplessness was studied from an ethological perspective by examining individual differences in social dominance and its influence on the effects of helplessness. Ninety animals were used, 30 randomly selected and 60 selected because of their clear dominance or submission. Each condition (dominant, submissive, and random) was distributed in three subgroups corresponding to the triadic design. The test consisted of an escape/avoidance task. The results showed that the animals in the uncontrollable condition performed worse than those in the controllable and no treatment conditions. Social submission and dominance reduced vulnerability of the subjects against learned helplessness. Submission had a facilitating effect on subsequent learning, independently of whether pretreatment was controllability or uncontrollability. Learned mastery was observed in the submissive condition, because submission benefited the subjects in the controllable condition in comparison with the untreated subjects, and dominance impaired the subjects in the controllable condition.