Psychological and family factors associated with suicidal ideation in pre-adolescents

To assess the psychological and family factors associated with suicidal ideation in pre-adolescent children, we studied a sample of 361 students, average age 9 years old. Two groups were formed, on the basis of the presence (n = 34) or absence (n = 44) of suicidal ideation. Suicidal ideation was assessed with the Children's Depression Inventory and the Children's Depression Rating Scale-Revised. Depression, hopelessness, self-esteem, and perceived family environment were compared in both the suicidal ideation and the control groups. Students with suicidal ideation generally presented greater depressive symptoms and hopelessness, and lower self-esteem and family expressiveness, although there were differences both between sexes, and when the variable depression was controlled. Identifying these risk factors in pre-adolescents may have an impact on prevention of suicidal behavior at higher risk ages.     

Perceived Pros and Cons of Condom Use as Predictors of its Consistent Use with a Heterosexual Romantic Partner Among Young Adults

The present research examines the pros and cons of condom use as predictors of consistent condom use with a heterosexual romantic partner. Data from 619 undergraduate students (35.1 % males; mean of age?=?20.31) were collected using a voluntary and anonymous self-report survey. The pros and cons predicted consistent condom use during the last month among females, whereas only the pros were predictive of consistent condom use in men. Similarly, only the feelings of safety predicted consistent condom use among men. However, the reduction of pleasure for women, the side-effects of other contraceptive methods, the difficulty in asking for condom use when they were also using the pill and the fact that condom use interrupts and cools off foreplay were also predictors among women. Besides the superiority of the pros over the cons, in general, the present research identifies a number of important pros and cons that should be used to encourage condom use.     

Reluctance to Use Host Social Services by Ethnic Minorities: The Role of Consensual Separation,Threat to Heritage Culture and Misunderstanding of the Host Society Language

The main goal of this study was to examine the relationships between two types of separation orientations, namely forced and consensual separation, and the use of French social service community centers. Participants were two groups of young women, both members of ethnic minorities: Turkish (n?=?42) and North African (n?=?41). The results showed that young Turkish women were more oriented towards consensual separation than young North African women. Preference for a separation strategy was positively associated with both the perception of a threat to heritage culture and difficulties in understanding the language of the social workers. The more participants perceived social workers as a source of threat to their heritage culture and as speaking a language they had difficulty understanding, the less frequently they made use of the services offered at the community centers. Socio-demographic variables such as education level and marital status were found to play a significant role in these findings.     

Psychometric analysis of the AF5 multidimensional scale of self-concept in a sample of adolescents and adults in Catalonia

The aim of this study is to carry out a psychometric study of the AF5 scale in a sample of 4.825 Catalan subjects from 11 to 63 years-old. They are students from secondary compulsory education (ESO), from high school, middle-level vocational training (CFGM) and from the university. Using a principal component analysis (PCA) the theoretical validity of the components is established and the reliability of the instrument is also analyzed. Differential analyses are performed by gender and normative group using a 2 x 6 factorial design. The normative group variable includes the different levels classified into 6 sub-groups: university, post-compulsory secondary education (high school and CFGM), 4th of ESO, 3rd of ESO, 2nd of ESO and 1st of ESO. The results indicate that the reliability of the Catalan version of the scale is similar to the original scale. The factorial structure also fits with the original model established beforehand. Significant differences by normative group in the four components of self-concept explored (social, family, academic/occupational and physical) are observed. By gender, significant differences appear in the component of physical self-concept, academic and social but not in the family component.     

Presentation modality effect on false memories in younger and older adults: the use of an inference paradigm

Classically, false memories are studied using the DRM paradigm (Deese, 1959; Roediger & McDermott, 1995), involving use of words lists. The words of each list are linked to a critical word not presented. Participants create a false memory in recognising and/or recalling this critical word. In most cases older adults have more false memories than younger adults in this paradigm. To use less strategy-dependent material, we compared predictive inferences activated during text reading in young and healthy older participants. For example, in the sentence "The fragile porcelain vase was thrown against the wall" the predictive inference was that the vase is broken. After reading or hearing the texts, the participants had false memories in recalling and/or recognising the predictive inferences. Older adults had more false recognitions than younger adults when they read or heard the text. However, the difference did not reach significance with the cued recalled task. It is concluded that, in more ecological situations such as text reading, abilities in older adults can be preserved.     

Expectations of efficacy,social influence and age as predictors of helmet-use in a sample of Spanish adolescents

Despite the proven effectiveness of helmets in avoiding or reducing the severity of brain injuries and the law requiring their compulsory use, both by drivers and passengers of motorcycles, approximately 20% of Spanish adolescent motorcycle users do not wear them. This study analysed the pattern of motorcycle and helmet-use in a sample of Spanish adolescents (age range 14–17; n = 874) and the relationship this safety measure has with belief in its effectiveness and its use by friends and relatives. Overall more males than females ride motorcycles and this difference increased with age. Motorcycle drivers and passengers who always wear helmets consider them to be more effective than those who do not use a helmet all of the time. The best predictors of helmet-use among motorcycle drivers were their beliefs regarding the helmet-use of their friends and relatives. In the case of passengers, knowing that their friends always wear them and age were the best predictors of helmet-use. Programmes and campaigns promoting helmet-use must take into account the modelling effect of close referents or other role models in order to increase their effectiveness.     

The effect of long-term working memory through personalization applied to free recall: Uncurbing the primacy-effect enthusiasm

In this study, a personalization method (Guida, Tardieu, & Nicolas, European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 21: 862–896 2009) was applied to a free-recall task. Fifteen pairs of words, composed of an object and a location, were presented to 93 participants, who had to mentally associate each pair and subsequently recall the objects. A 30-s delay was introduced on half of the trials, the presentation rate was manipulated (5 or 10 s per item), and verbal and visuospatial working memory tests were administered to test for their effects on the serial curve. Two groups were constituted: a personalized group, for whom the locations were well-known places on their university campus, and a nonpersonalized group, for whom the locations did not refer to known places. Since personalization putatively operationalizes long-term working memory (Ericsson & Kintsch, Psychological Review, 102: 211–245 1995)—namely, the capacity to store information reliably and rapidly in long-term memory—and if we take a dual-store approach to memory, the personalization advantage would be expected to be greater for pre-recency than for recency items. Overall, the results were compatible with long-term working memory theory. They contribute to validating the personalization method as a methodology to characterize the contribution of long-term memory storage to performance in working memory tasks.     

Increasing safety-belt use in Spanish drivers: a field test of personal prompts

A variation of the ABAB experimental design was used to assess the impact of a verbal prompt on safety-belt use for those traveling by urban roads and highways in Spain. The personal prompt resulted in an increase (29.6%) in safety-belt use among drivers traveling on urban roads. This research shows that the impact of personal prompts can be generalized to cultures outside the United States.