Self-reported emotional intelligence, burnout and engagement among staff in services for people with intellectual disabilities

This study examined the relationship among dimensions of self-reported Emotional Intelligence, Engagement and Burnout, using the Trait Meta-Mood Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale in a sample of Spanish professionals who work at institutions for people with intellectual disabilities. The results showed that Emotional Clarity was significantly associated with Personal Accomplishment (r=.25) and Dedication (r=.25). Further, Repair to moods was significantly correlated with all Engagement dimensions (.20 Vigor, .30 Dedication, .36 Absorption) and with Personal Accomplishment (.31). These findings extend previous research with college students in which Clarity and Repair to moods subscales were relevant predictors of well-being indexes and interpersonal functioning and suggest that the Trait Meta-Mood Scale subscales also show significant relationships with emotional functioning and work-related variables in a professional sample.     

Brief strategic family therapy: lessons learned in efficacy research and challenges to blending research and practice

In this article, we present key lessons that we have learned from (1) a long program of research on an empirically supported treatment, brief strategic family therapy (BSFT), and (2) our ongoing research and training efforts related to transporting BSFT to the front lines of practice. After briefly presenting the rationale for working with the family when addressing behavior problems and substance abuse in adolescent populations, particularly among Hispanic adolescents, we summarize key findings from our 30-year program of research. The article closes by identifying barriers to the widespread adoption of empirically supported treatments and by presenting current work within the National Institute on Drug Abuse's Clinical Trials Network that attempts to address these barriers and obstacles.     

Social inequalities in suicide mortality: Spain and France, 1980-1982 and 1988-1990

In this study we analyzed the socioeconomic differences in mortality from suicide in the economically active male population aged 25-64 years in Spain and France in 1980-1982 and 1988-1990; in the case of Spain the data came from the Eight Provinces Study (Regidor, Gutierrez-Fisac, & Rodríguez, 1995). Individuals were grouped into four categories: professional/managerial, clerical/sales/ service, agricultural, and manual workers. For 1980-1982, among those aged 25-44, professionals and managers had the lowest risk of mortality in Spain, and clerical/sales/service workers in France. These socioeconomic differences in mortality increased in 1988-1990. In 1980-1982, among those aged 45-64, clerical/ sales/service workers had the lowest risk of mortality from suicide relative to the other occupational groups in both countries, but this difference was not maintained in 1988-1990. Thus, differences in suicide mortality for men by occupational status depended in the present study upon both the nation studied and the time period chosen for study.     

Self-talk and affective problems in college students: valence of thinking and cognitive content specificity

The aim of this study was to develop a Self-Talk Inventory for young adults. This inventory consisted of two scales. The Negative Self-Talk Scale included three categories of self-talk (depressive, anxious, and angry thoughts) and the Positive Self-Talk Scale, three categories (minimization, positive orientation, and coping self-instructions). Participants were 982 undergraduate students (Mean age = 20.35 years, SD = 2.16). They completed the self-talk scales together with the following scales to measure symptoms of affective disorders: the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI-T). Factor analyses confirmed the hypothesized structure for the Self-Talk Inventory. The relations between self-talk and symptoms of affective disorders (depression, anxiety, and anger) were also evaluated. In general, states-of-mind -SOM- ratios and negative cognitions showed a greater association with psychological symptoms than did positive cognitions. Results concerning the cognitive characteristics of depression, anxiety, and anger were mixed and partially supported the cognitive content specificity theory.     

Determinantes familiares,escolares y grupales del consumo de drogas en la adolescencia. Implicaciones para el Tratamiento

Resumen

El propósito del presente artículo es el de llamar la atención acerca de la necesidad de recoger los datos que señalan la importancia de los grupos familiar, escolar y de iguales, de cara a la elaboration de programas concretos de prevención y tratamiento de incidencia en estos tres entornos del adolescente. Con este fin, en primer lugar se analizarán los principales hallazgos de las investigaciones que relacionan la familia, la escuela y el grupo de iguales con la aparición de drogodependencias en los adolescentes. Como segundo paso se apuntarán las líneas generales de aplicación de estos hallazgos en programas de prevención e intervención.     

Increasing ethnic minority participation in substance abuse clinical trials: lessons learned in the National Institute on Drug Abuse's Clinical Trials Network

Underrepresentation in clinical trials limits the extent to which ethnic minorities benefit from advances in substance abuse treatment. The objective of this article is to share the knowledge gained within the Clinical Trials Network (CTN) of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and other research on recruiting and retaining ethnic minorities into substance abuse clinical trials. The article includes a discussion of two broad areas for improving inclusion-community involvement and cultural adaptation. CTN case studies are included to illustrate three promising strategies for improving ethnic minority inclusion: respondent-driven sampling, community-based participatory research, and the cultural adaptation of the recruitment and retention procedures. The article concludes with two sections describing a number of methodological concerns in the current research base and our proposed research agenda for improving ethnic minority inclusion that builds on the CTN experience.     

Questionnaire of executive function for dancers: an ecological approach

There is a current debate about the ecological validity of executive function (EF) tests. Consistent with the verisimilitude approach, this research proposes the ballet executive scale (BES), a self-rating questionnaire that assimilates idiosyncratic executive behaviors of classical dance community. The BES was administrated to 149 adolescents, students of the Cuban Ballet School. Results present a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of .80 and a split-half Spearman-Brown coefficient r (SB) = .81. An exploratory factor analysis describes a bifactorial pattern of EF dimensions, with a self-regulation component, which explains more than 40% of variance, and a Developmental component, which accounts for more than 20% of variance. The questionnaire's total scores fit linear regression models with two external criteria of academic records, confirming concurrent validity. These findings support the hypothesis that the internalization of specific contextual cultural meanings has a mediating influence in the development of EF.