Emotional Intelligence Profiles in College Students and Their Fathers’ and Mothers’ Parenting Practices

The present study has two objectives: first, to analyze whether the dimensions that make up emotional intelligence (attention, clarity, and repair) give rise to different profiles of university students, and secondly, to determine whether these different profiles are differentially associated with the parenting practices that students report with regard to their fathers and mothers. Results obtained indicate the existence of different profiles of college students. The profile that corresponds to adequate emotional skills presents a lower score in attention, but higher scores in clarity, and especially in mood repair. The other two profiles are inadequate, in the first case because a higher score in emotional attention is accompanied by low scores in mood repair, and in the second case because low scores are presented in all three dimensions. Likewise, we verified the existence of significant differences in the educational practices of parents, the adequate profile is characterized by greater use of parenting dimensions considered to be positive, and at the same time, lower scores on dimensions considered to be negative. One of the dysfunctional profiles is associated with higher scores in positive practices, and is also associated with higher scores in practices considered to produce a negative effect. The second dysfunctional profile is associated with higher scores on the dimensions considered to be negative and lower scores on positive dimensions.     

Prevalence of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms in 4- to 17-Year-Old Children in the General Population

The purposes of this study were (a) to estimate the prevalence of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) symptoms in the general preschool and school population; and (b) to analyze the influence of gender, age, and socioeconomic status (SES) variables on AD/HD symptoms. Out of the 80,000 preschool and schoolchildren living in Manizales, Colombia, a random sample of 540 children was selected. Two gender, three age (4- to 5-year olds, 6- to 11 -year olds, and 12- to 17-year olds), and three SES (low, middle, and high) groups were used. The 18 DSM-IV symptoms corresponding to AD/HD Criterion A were assessed on a scale of 0 (never) to 3 (almost always). All three demographic variables established statistically significant differences: AD/HD symptoms were more frequent in 6-to 11-year-old, low-SES, male participants. DSM-IV Criterion A for AD/HD was fulfilled by 19.8% of the boys and 12.3% of the girls. However, this difference was marginally significant only in the AD/HD Subtype I: Combined. It was concluded that demographic variables are significant correlates of the AD/HD diagnosis. The prevalence found in this study was higher than usually reported, even though only the symptomatic DSM-IV AD/HD criterion was analyzed. We failed to confirm the assumed AD/HD gender ratio.     

Antiaggressive and motor effects of the DA release inhibitor CGS 10746B

In the present study the effects of a wide range of doses of the dopamine release inhibitor CGS 10746B were evaluated in spontaneous activity and in aggressive behaviour using the paradigm of isolation‐induced aggression. The two higher doses (8 and 16 mg/kg) produced a decrease in spontaneous motor activity. Antiaggressive effects were observed after administration of doses from 4 mg/kg upwards. At this dose, CGS 10746B diminished threat and attack, and although an increase in immobility was observed, no impairment of other motor behaviours was presented. With higher doses, aggression was practically abolished but with a concomitant effect on many other behaviours. When animals were separated depending on their latency of attack, those that showed a long attack latency (LAL) presented a stronger response to 4 mg/kg than those that had a short attack latency (SAL), which were not affected in their aggression by this dose. We can conclude that presynaptic dopamine function is necessary for the normal expression of aggressive behaviours, since CGS 10746B reduces aggression at doses that do not affect spontaneous motor activity. Aggr. Behav. 27:382–390, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Ethnicity,Social Support,and Depression Among Elderly Chilean People

Recent evidence regarding the relationship between social support and depression in elderly people shows the important role of ethnicity. This research describes the characteristics of social support in a sample of elderly people aged 60 and above living in northern Chile (n = 493), and analyzes the differences in the relationship between social support and depression between an indigenous group (Aymara population, n = 147) and a nonindigenous group (white, Caucasian, mestizo, n = 346). Various dimensions of social support were considered: structural elements, functional social support according to source, and community participation. The results show the existence of significant differences in the characteristics and dimensions of social support depending on sex, ethnicity, and marital status. Further, the central role of the family group is observed for both Aymara and nonindigenous elderly people. The hierarchical regression models obtained result in notable differences in the role of the structural, functional, and community elements of support in explaining depression for the ethnic groups considered.     

Performance as a function of shooting style in basketball players under 11 years of age

Shooting style in basketball refers to the height adopted by a player in holding the ball, specifically the height of the hand and the ball with regard to the line of sight before the final extension of the elbow during a shot. The literature differentiates between a high and a low style. This study analyzed shooting frequency in young boys as a function of style and which shooting style had the highest accuracy and success in real games. Participants were 81 boys from eight basketball teams, aged 9-11 years. The sample consisted of 5,740 standard shots in 56 games. The design was nomotethic, follow-up, and multidimensional. The results indicated that low style predominated over the high style, although overall accuracy and efficacy were better using the high style. Various strategies and practical considerations are suggested for teachers and coaches to focus on teaching the high style.     

Perception of the teaching-learning process and academic achievement in diverse instructional contexts of Higher Education

In Higher Education, performance and Teaching-Learning (T-L) contexts are highly current concerns. Based on the DEDEPRO model, interdependence can be established between instructional contexts and levels of performance as they relate to the T-L process. Partitipants were 2020 pupils from two Spanish universities. Measurements of both variables were used in a quasi-experimental and correlational design. The univariate and causal analyses showed the effect of context on the T-L process and on performance; thus, the interdependent relationships between the latter and perception of the T-L process. Partial interaction effects also appeared, as well as a causal model of academic performance. Results are discussed and implications for the ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) are analyzed.     

Changes in cytochrome oxidase activity following spatial working memory learning in rats treated with tacrine

We evaluated change in cytochrome oxidase (COx) activity of the hippocampus and related structures of the limbic system following spatial working memory learning in rats after treatment with tacrine (8.0mg/kg). Control groups treated with saline and tacrine and an untreated group were added. Acetylcholinesterase optical density levels were also measured. The tacrine and saline groups showed similar behavioral results, but a decrease in COx activity was found in the tacrine group in the prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, anterior thalamus, hippocampus and nucleus basalis of Meynert. Similarly, acetylcholinesterase levels of the tacrine group were lower in most of the regions. Learning-related increase in COx activity was found in the prefrontal cortex and dentate gyrus in the saline group. The tacrine group presented the same increase in the anterodorsal thalamus, dentate gyrus, CA3 and mammillary nuclei. These results suggest that inhibition of the acetylcholinesterase produces a different pattern of learning-related neuronal activity in the limbic system of the rat.     

Change of attitudes towards disability in primary school students

In this paper, the development and results of a program are presented, carried out with students in 3rd and 4th grade of primary school, 128 children aged from 8 y 10 years old, 75 assigned to the experimental group and 53 to the control group. In order to assess the changes achieved and whether they were maintained, a pre- and post-treatment Likert-scale of adjectives describing discapacities and a 3-year follow-up measure were applied. As in the previous applications of the program, the results suggest the efficacy of the program, that is, positive changes were achieved in the rating of terms related to disability as well as in the attitudes towards disabled people and these changes were maintained throughout the follow-up. In order to test their influence on attitudes, some variables considered determinants of attitudes toward disability were also contrasted, such as gender, age, acquaintance and experience with the topic of disability, disabled children's integration, and disability type.