Ángel Prieto-Fidalgo

The exponential growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education has given rise to a new phenomenon: AIlessphobia, the fear of lacking access to AI for educational tasks. To measure this emerging construct, a specific instrument is needed. Therefore, this study aimed to validate a Spanish version of an AIlessphobia assessment scale for adolescents. The research involved 1,905 (49.2% boys) students aged 11-14 from 26 schools (mean age 12.60±0.82 years). Results revealed that 64.4% of participants had used AI applications or websites, primarily for academic purposes. The confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated adequate fit indices for a two-factor correlated model and sex invariance. The scale showed high item-total correlations, satisfactory factor loadings, and strong reliability indicators. A positive correlation was found between AIlessphobia and nomophobia. No significant sex differences were observed across Secondary Education courses. Scores between 18-22 points per dimension or above 36 points total could indicate problematic levels. The study concludes by discussing practical implications and educational needs.

Background: Interpretation bias and safety behaviours (Safe-B) have been proposed as factors perpetuating social anxiety (SA). However, longitudinal research on how they contribute to SA in everyday life is scarce.Aim: The aim was to examine whether interpretation bias predicts daily Safe-B and SA. A mediated moderation was hypothesized, where the relationship between daily social stressors and Safe-B would be moderated by interpretation bias, and Safe-B, in turn, would mediate the association between stressors and SA levels. In addition, it was hypothesized that prior levels of SA would predict higher Safe-B use, especially in co-occurrence with stressors.Method: An intensive longitudinal design was employed, with 138 vocational training students (51% men, mean age 20.15 years). They completed initial measures of SA and interpretation bias and 7-day diaries with measures of social stressors, Safe-B, and SA. They reported SA levels two months later.Results: Both stressors and interpretation bias in ambiguous situations predicted Safe-B, which in turn predicted daily SA levels. However, neither interpretation bias nor Safe-B predicted SA levels at the follow-up, and interpretation bias did not moderate the association between stressors and daily SA. In addition, the relationship between stressors and Safe-B was stronger in people with higher initial SA levels.Conclusions: The results suggest that Safe-B are a mechanism through which earlier SA levels and interpretation bias contribute to higher SA levels in daily life.

Theoretical models of social anxiety (SA) propose bidirectional relationships between SA, interpretation biases, and safety behaviors (Safe-B). However, longitudinal studies evaluating these bidirectional relationships are scarce. The main objective of this study was to analyze the bidirectional relationships between interpretation biases (from ambiguous situations and ambiguous faces), Safe-B, and SA. A two-time longitudinal study was carried out with the participation of 575 vocational training students (M = 19.49, SD = 2.41). Both the interpretation biases measured through ambiguous situations and ambiguous faces and the Safe-B predicted higher levels of SA in the second time. In turn, a bidirectional relationship was found between SA and Safe-B. However, no bidirectional relationships were found between interpretation biases and Safe-B and between biases and SA. Among others, the limitations of the study include the high attrition rate (30.4%) and the high proportion of male students (62.1%). The findings highlight the role of interpretation bias and Safe-B in SA. In turn, as a new initiative, the study supports the bidirectional relationship between Safe-B and SA. Implications are discussed throughout the manuscript.

Social anxiety (SA) and depression have been associated with negative interpretation biases of social stimuli. Studies often assess these biases with ambiguous faces, as people with SA and depression tend to interpret such faces negatively. However, the test–retest reliability of this type of task is unknown. Our objectives were to develop a new interpretation bias task with ambiguous faces and analyse its properties in terms of test–retest reliability and in relation to SA, depression, and looming maladaptive style (LMS). Eight hundred sixty-four participants completed a task in which they had to interpret morphed faces as negative or positive on a continuum between happy and angry facial expressions. In addition, they filled out scales on SA, depressive symptoms, and LMS. Eighty-four participants completed the task again after 1–2 months. The test–retest reliability was moderate (r = .57–.69). The data revealed a significant tendency to interpret faces as negative for people with higher SA and depressive symptoms and with higher LMS. Longer response times to interpret the happy faces were positively associated with a higher level of depressive symptoms. The reliability of the present task was moderate. The results highlight associations between the bias interpretation task and SA, depression, and LMS.

Las intervenciones en salud mental mediante videoconferencia han adquirido cada vez más relevancia. Sin embargo, el corpus científico parece aún poco desarrollado. Así, el objetivo de la presente revisión es recoger la evidencia disponible acerca de la utilización de la videoconferencia en la atención psicológica y psiquiátrica en el contexto hispanohablante. Mediante un cuidadoso proceso de búsqueda, se examinaron los estudios científicos centrados en la intervención por videoconferencia. De los 1.569 estudios analizados 30 cumplieron los criterios para el análisis de tipología y de ellos 7 se incluyen en la revisión. Se analizaron los hallazgos de los estudios encontrados utilizando seis criterios básicos: Cantidad de información, adherencia al tratamiento, alianza terapéutica, barreras geográficas, satisfacción de los pacientes y respuesta al tratamiento. Los resultados arrojados por los estudios reflejaron datos positivos de la videoconferencia en los seis criterios evaluados. Así, se concluye que los estudios apuntan a la conveniencia del uso de la videoconferencia en la atención en salud mental. Sin embargo, debido al reducido número de estudios desarrollados en contexto hispanohablante y la disparidad en cuanto a criterios y metodologías empleadas entre éstos, las conclusiones deben considerarse preliminares. Se arrojan algunas recomendaciones para futuras investigaciones.

The incremental theory of personality interventions (ITPI) teaches adolescents that people can change. Researchers have found that these interventions can reduce the perpetration of bullying and cyberbullying. Moreover, there is reciprocity between perpetrating bullying behaviors and being a victim of them. The objective of this study was to examine whether the ITPI reduces the reciprocity between victimization and perpetration of bullying and cyberbullying. A sample of 858 high school students (52% boys) aged 12 to 17 at pretest (M = 14.56, SD = 0.97) participated in a double-blind randomized controlled trial (452 participants were assigned to the experimental condition and 406 to the control condition). Measures of bullying and cyberbullying were taken at baseline, six-month, and 12-month follow-ups. The results indicated that victimization was a strong predictor of perpetration for bullying and cyberbullying over time. Perpetration was not a predictor of victimization. Consistently, for both forms of aggressive behavior, the intervention reduced the intensity of the association between victimization and perpetration. This effect was not moderated by the age or sex of the participants. Finally, the effectiveness of the ITPI was moderated by age. Specifically, among the youngest (< 14.48 years), those who received the ITPI showed a slight tendency to reduce aggressive behavior that contrasted with the growing trend in the control group. Among the oldest participants (> 14.48), the trajectories were similar in the two groups. Our findings show that influencing adolescents’ reactions to peer aggression victimization is one of the mechanisms that could explain the beneficial effects of the ITPI and other preventive interventions.

Psychosocial risks can negatively affect adolescents’ physical, psychological, and social health. Grounded on the cumulative risk theory, the objective of this study was to analyze the differences in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) depending on the accumulation of several psychosocial risks (bullying, cyberbullying, cyberdating abuse, sexting, online grooming, and problematic Internet use). The participants were 3,212 Spanish adolescents (53.7% females) with a mean age of 13.92 ± 1.44, who completed self-report online questionnaires that assessed each of the aforementioned risks and HRQoL. Overall, 41.4% of the female participants and 36.8% of the males presented at least one risk, with significant differences between sexes. The percentage of participants who presented an accumulation of three or more risks was 8.2%. Risk accumulation was related to a lower HRQoL score than those who presented no risks. The scores in HRQoL decrease at up to four risks, point at which the differences ceased to be significant.