Concepción Moreno-Maldonado

Introduction: Social self-efficacy refers to peoples’ beliefs about their ability to establish effective social relationships. During adolescence, it has been related to positive social relationships, skills to cope with adverse experiences, and health. While prior research has focused on the general dimension of self-efficacy, this study aims to examine the reliability and validity of the subscale social self-efficacy in Spanish and Portuguese adolescents across gender, age, and country. Method: The sample, selected from the 2018 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, was composed of 20,691 13–18-year-old adolescents from Spain and Portugal (48.2% boys and 51.8% girls). The scale’s reliability and internal and external validity were examined systemically across sex, age, and country, as well as testing measurement invariance according to these variables. Results: Data showed adequate evidence of reliability ( α = 0.85), as well as internal and external validity, thus demonstrating the scale’s stability and applicability in similar research contexts. Conclusions: Social self-efficacy fosters individual and social well-being in youth, as well as healthy and positive development. Use of this subscale in evaluation and intervention programs could further our understanding about different dimensions of adolescent development.

Civic engagement is crucial in order to uphold democratic societies, however there is growing concern about a progressive decrease in youth sociopolitical participation and the existence of socioeconomic and gender inequalities, and therefore, an unequal distribution of political power. This study analyzes the influence of family socioeconomic level—both directly and indirectly through social concerns—on the adolescents’ expected sociopolitical participation as adults, from a gender perspective. The sample included 4,448 adolescents 13 to 18 year old, selected through random multistage sampling stratified by conglomerates. Results showed family material affluence to have a limited direct influence on expected sociopolitical participation, however a significant indirect impact through their concerns about social issues. Adolescents with a low socioeconomic level were more concerned about social issues, and therefore had higher expectations of socio-political participation than adolescents with a high socioeconomic level. In addition, these effects were similar for both boys and girls. Understanding how family socioeconomic status influences adolescent civic engagement and how these inequalities are reproduced among boys and girls will aid in designing interventions that promote knowledge and opportunities for participation—especially among the more disadvantaged groups—, which can reduce gender and socioeconomic gaps.

The Family Affluence Scale (FAS) is a widely used and validated instrument to measure adolescents’ socioeconomic status (SES). It is plausible that the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting social and economic changes have affected the capacity of the six-item FAS-III to measure adolescent SES, particularly the holiday and computer items. Using data from 247,503 adolescents from 16 European countries participating in the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study before (2013/14 and 2017/18) and during (2021/22) the pandemic, the present study aims to fill this gap. Findings showed that although the internal consistency of the scale decreased during the pandemic, related to the functioning of the computer and especially the holiday item, it was still acceptable in all countries. Furthermore, measurement invariance analysis showed that during the pandemic the item thresholds of the computer and particularly the holiday item deviated from the thresholds of these items before the pandemic. However, all item factor loadings were comparable to the factor loadings before the pandemic. In addition, during the pandemic the computer and holiday item and their correlations with health-related outcomes were mostly still in the expected direction. Removing these items from the scale yielded comparable or decreased scale criterion validity as compared to the original FAS-III scale in most countries. These findings inform future research that although mean differences in family affluence levels before and during the pandemic should be interpreted with caution, it is a suitable tool to study (changes in) socioeconomic health inequalities among adolescents during the pandemic.

Discussing sociopolitical issues with family or friends during adolescence, as well as staying informed through media outlets, is key to developing active civic engagement for both youth and future adults. Likewise, these communicative exchanges promote a sense of belonging and social skills which foster adolescents’ wellbeing. This research aims to analyze the influence of participation in communication about political and social issues on adolescents’ social self-efficacy, both directly and as well as indirectly through sense of unity, in two Mediterranean countries (Portugal and Spain). The sample was selected through random multistage sampling by conglomerates. The 36,992 adolescents (50.6% girls and 49.4% boys) participated in the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study in Portugal and Spain, and the age groups were distributed as following: 39.6% 13–14-years-old; 35.8% 15–16-years-old; and 25.6% 17–18-years-old. Analyses showed positive associations between the proposed indicator of civic engagement –news media use and political discussions– and social self-efficacy, both directly as well as through sense of unity, with similar results for adolescents in Portugal and Spain. Accordingly, educational programs promoting communication about sociopolitical issues could foster adolescents’ sense of unity and social skills, contributing to their positive development, wellbeing, and civic engagement. Curricular materials on current politics and social affairs could increase classroom dialogue based on respect, healthy peer relationships, and sense of belonging, fostering effective political socialization amongst youth and the development of democratic behaviors beneficial to society.

La participación de los estudiantes en debates, búsqueda de información, etc., sobre asuntos sociopolíticos, la eficacia política interna y las expectativas sociopolíticas de participación son indicadores de compromiso cívico adolescente. El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar la influencia de la Participación comunicativa sociopolítica de los adolescentes de España en las Expectativas de participación sociopolítica, de forma directa y a través de la Eficacia política interna según el género. Esta investigación basada en el proyecto “Barómetro OPINA” fué transversal y participaron 4711 adolescentes con edades comprendidas entre los 13 y los 18 años. Los instrumentos utilizados fueron tres escalas que medían los indicadores de compromiso cívico propuestos. Se realizaron comparaciones de media, un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales y un análisis de invarianza según el sexo. Los resultados obtenidos mostraron diferencias significativas en las puntuaciones de Expectativas de participación sociopolítica y Eficacia política interna. El modelo mostró buenos indicadores de ajuste sin efectos de mediación e invarianza según el sexo. Establecer debates sociopolíticos con familiares y amigos o ver noticias explica las creencias que tienen los jóvenes sobre cómo influir en la política y cómo intervenir en un futuro en situaciones que beneficien a su comunidad.

Se presenta la experiencia de aplicación de un ciclo de mejora en la asig - natura Intervención Psicológica con Personas Mayores que se imparte en cuarto curso del grado en Psicología en las sesiones de grupo mediano. Se incluyen es- trategias de aprendizaje basado en problemas mediante la profundización en casos prácticos con el apoyo del visionado vídeos, noticias y materiales, de ma- nera que se promoverá el trabajo autónomo del alumnado. Se proponen técnicas de role playing que facilitarán la integración de contenidos mediante la puesta en práctica de las propuestas de intervención. Finalmente, se introduce un sis - tema de evaluación mediante actividades entregables y la autoevaluación del alumnado mediante la corrección de su cuestionario inicial en la última sesión. Se analiza la aplicación de este ciclo de mejora, mediante escaleras de aprendi- zaje del nivel de conocimiento de los estudiantes y su grado de satisfacción con el propio proceso de enseñanza. Los resultados son positivos tanto en el apren- dizaje como en la satisfacción tanto de las docentes implicadas como del alum- nado. Por último, se analizan los resultados de la evaluación como herramienta para identificar prácticas que han sido eficaces, posibles mejoras en el diseño y dificultades en el proceso de aprendizaje del alumnado. Palabras clave: Intervención psicológica en personas mayores, grado en psi- cología, docencia universitaria, desarrollo profesional docente, aprendizaje ba - sado en problemas.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe the well-being and mental health of Spanish adolescents by gender identity using a nationally representative sample. Methods: The sample comprised 1212 15–18-year-old adolescents who participated in the 2018 Spanish edition of the international Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study. Of the total sample, 90 were identified as binary transgender adolescents, 213 as nonbinary transgender adolescents, and 909 as cisgender adolescents (selected through a matching process from an original sample of 17,375 cisgender adolescents). Comparisons of frequencies and means (chi-square, t-test, and analysis of variance) were used to analyze self-reported health, life satisfaction, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), psychosomatic complaints, and sense of coherence (SOC). Results: Nonbinary transgender adolescents reported the lowest levels of perceived excellent health (p < 0.001), the highest frequency of psychological complaints (p < 0.001) and physical complaints (p < 0.05), and a lower SOC (p < 0.05) compared with both cisgender and binary transgender adolescents. Likewise, nonbinary transgender adolescents reported lower levels of life satisfaction (p < 0.001) and HRQOL (p < 0.001) than cisgender adolescents. Conclusions: The differences found between binary and nonbinary transgender youth highlight the diversity within the transgender community. Both research and intervention programs should consider the unique experiences within the transgender community to adapt sensitively to their needs.

Civic engagement plays a positive role in adolescent wellbeing, as well as being the basis for maintaining a democratic society. This research analyzed how perceived support from developmental contexts contributes to adolescent civic engagement –assessed through their expectations of future sociopolitical participation–, mediated by sense of unity, and differences according to sex, age, and socioeconomic status. The sample included 3,715 participants (13–18 years old) from the 2019OPINA Barometerwho were selected using multistage random sampling stratified by conglomerates. The measures assessed sex, age, family, friends, classmates, and teacher support, the expectations of future sociopolitical participation, and sense of unity. Socioeconomic status was assessed by the Family Affluence Scale (FAS). Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, mean comparisons, and structural equation models using bootstrapping and measurement invariance. Results showed developmental contexts to significantly affect expected sociopolitical participation only through the mediator role of the sense of unity. In addition, peer support (both friends and classmates) showed a stronger direct influence on sense of unity –and indirect influence on the expectations of future sociopolitical participation– than family and teachers. The model was invariant across sex, age, and FAS. This research highlights that a sense of unity, derived from feeling part of a larger dependable structure, is crucial for establishing behaviors in the interest of the common good, and that this social connectedness is learned in the most immediate developmental contexts, specifically, that of peers.

The use of composite indices and subjective measures to evaluate socioeconomic position, taking into account the effect of inequalities on adolescent health-related behaviors, can contribute to understanding the effect of inequalities on health during adolescence. The aim of this study was to examine the direct and indirect contribution of objective and subjective socioeconomic factors in a broad range of health and lifestyles outcomes. The data come from a representative sample of adolescents (N = 15,340; M age = 13.69) of the Health Behavior in School-aged Children study in Spain. Structural equation modeling was used for data analysis. A global index for evaluating objective socioeconomic position predicted both health and healthy lifestyles. Subjective socioeconomic status mediated the relationship between objective socioeconomic position and health but did not have a significant effect on healthy lifestyles when objective indicators were considered. Lastly, fit indices of the multiple-mediator model—including the direct effect of objective socioeconomic position on health and its indirect effects through the subjective perception of wealth and lifestyles—explained 28.7% of global health variance. Interventions aimed at reducing the impact of health inequalities should address, in addition to material deprivation, the psychological and behavioral consequences of feeling poor.