Antonia Jiménez-Iglesias

Analysis of the importance of family in the development of sense of coherence during adolescence

Aims: The aim of this work was to study the influence of several family dimensions on sense of coherence (SOC) in adolescence, controlling the possible effects from the demographic variables, gender and age. Methods: The sample consisted of 7580 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18, who had taken part in the 2010 edition of the WHO Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study in Spain. Results: The results showed that there were no significant gender differences in SOC levels. However, age had a significant influence on SOC. Higher levels of SOC were found in adolescents aged 13 and 14 compared to older participants. Family variables explained 18% of SOC variability, with affection, easy communication with parents, and parental knowledge as the most outstanding variables. In addition, positive relationships between parents and family affluence had a significant role in explaining SOC levels. Conclusions: The results suggest that the family context plays an important role in providing meaningful experiences for the development of a strong SOC in adolescence.

Building a composite factorial score for the assessment of quality of parent–child relationships in adolescence

The quality of parent–child relationships has important implications for adolescent development and well-being. However, whereas numerous measures of specific dimensions contributing to quality of parent–child relationships are available, scales that provide a global assessment of this content are scarce. Consequently, the assessment of quality of parent–child relationships poses a challenge to the researcher, especially when the need exists to consider its main aspects but long instruments can not be used due to diverse circumstances. This paper presents a composite factorial score on quality of parent–child relationships developed from four short measures of affection, communication, parental knowledge and family satisfaction that can contribute to solving some of those difficulties. This composite score can be a useful tool to assess quality of parent–child relationships, especially for studies devoted to the study of the relationships between experiences within the family and the adolescents well-being.

How can parents obtain knowledge about their adolescent children

Abstract The aim of this study is to analyse the influence of family dimensions on parental knowledge of their adolescent children, based on the country, gender and age of adolescents. This study adopts two different perspectives—national and international—with data taken from the results of the 2006 edition of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study undertaken in Spain and other member countries of the international network, namely, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. The results indicate that both fathers and mothers obtain knowledge about their adolescent children through the childrens disclosures, parental affection, parental solicitation and family activities. The discussion focuses on how these family dimensions promote parental knowledge.

Perceived Quality of Social Relations and Frequent Drunkenness: A Cross-Sectional Study of Spanish Adolescents

AIM The aim of the study was to examine, for female and male students separately, whether perceived quality of relationships with peers and parents and relations in school predict self-reported frequent drunkenness among Spanish adolescents. METHODS The Spanish data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Study (HBSC) 2010 survey were used including 1177 female and 1126 male students aged between 15 and 16 years. RESULTS For both genders, students reporting low school satisfaction had increased odds of frequent drunkenness. Among females, low and medium levels of classmate support were associated with decreased odds of frequent drunkenness, whereas low perceived maternal knowledge as well as medium and low satisfaction with the family increased odds of being frequently drunk. The proportion of male students reporting medium satisfaction with friendships had significantly lower odds of frequent drunkenness compared with those with high level of satisfaction with friendships. CONCLUSION We found different associations between perceived quality of social relations and frequent drunkenness among male and female students. Results showed that social relations seemed to better predictors of frequent drunkenness among female than male students and that other factors than social relations may contribute to explain excessive alcohol use among Spanish adolescents.

A synthesis of research on effectiveness of school-based drug prevention programmes / Claves de eficacia de los programas de prevención de consumo de sustancias en el contexto escolar: una meta-revisión

Abstract Relevant information on effectiveness of school-based drug prevention programmes is available. Despite this, there is still contradictory evidence that makes it necessary to continue to shed light on this issue. Based on a synthesis research method, the aim of this study was to determine the relevant variables that enhance the efficacy of these programmes and to determine the weight of their empirical evidence. Furthermore, several features of the evaluation designs whose variables had been proven effective were examined. A systematic review of periodical literature was conducted, which led us to extract 1,622 papers, of which 17 studies were analysed. An in-depth analysis of these publications led us to identify 29 key variables associated with the efficacy of the programme, which were ranked according to the weight of their empirical evidence. Moreover, the characteristics of the studies included in the review highlighted the need to improve the rigorousness and quality of the evaluation designs in this field.

The conceptualisation of school and teacher connectedness in adolescent research: a scoping review of literature

Abstract The aim of this scoping review was to map and summarise research relating to school and teacher connectedness, in order to increase current understanding of the ways these terms have been conceptualised in adolescent research. Specifically, this scoping review focuses on the analysis of the actual definitions used and the ways in which school connectedness and teacher connectedness are operationalised in existing measures. Using the terms connectedness, teacher and school as keywords, we searched SCOPUS, Web of Science, ERIC, the Cochrane Library and the EPPI Centre Database of Education Research for relevant peer-review articles published in English from 1990 to 2016. 350 papers were selected for the review. Many studies failed to provide a definition of school or teacher connectedness and there were some differences in the way these constructs were operationalised in the main measures. Future research should be thorough in the definition of these constructs, and ensure consistency between the definition used and the operationalisation of the connectedness construct in the selected measure. Unpacking the global concept of school connectedness and examining the role of its different components (global feelings towards school, teacher connectedness, relationships with classmates, etc.) separately may also contribute to building a more coherent body of evidence in this area. Reflecting on the place of school and teacher connectedness in the broader context of the literature on school climate and bridging distances between the research on school connectedness and that on related constructs is another necessary step to move this field forward.

La influencia de las diferencias entre el padre y la madre sobre el ajuste adolescente

espanolEste trabajo se centra en analizar como influyen en el consumo de sustancias (tabaco, alcohol y cannabis) y el bienestar psicologico adoles-cente (calidad de vida relacionada con la salud y satisfaccion vital) las dife-rencias entre el padre y la madre en afecto, promocion de la autonomia, re-velacion, interes y conocimiento. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 10170 chicos y chicas espanoles de 13 a 18 anos de familias biparentales que par-ticiparon en la edicion 2006 del estudio Health Behaviour in School-aged Chil-dren (HBSC). Los resultados mostraron que los adolescentes que indicaron que su padre y madre coincidian en presentar altos niveles en las dimensio-nes familiares analizadas consumieron menos sustancias y tuvieron mejor bienestar psicologico. Por el contrario, el ajuste de los adolescentes cuyos progenitores (padre y madre) tenian bajos niveles en esas dimensiones fa-miliares fue peor. Concretamente, la dimension mas importante para el consumo de sustancias fue el conocimiento parental y para el bienestar psi-cologico lo fue el afecto parental; la revelacion adolescente solo fue rele-vante para el consumo de alcohol y la calidad de vida, mientras que la pro-mocion parental de la autonomia lo fue para la calidad de vida EnglishThis paper analyzes how the differences between father and mother in affection, promotion of autonomy, disclosure, solicitation and knowledge influence on substance use (tobacco, alcohol and cannabis) and psychological well-being (health-related quality of life and life satisfaction). The sample was composed of 10170 boys and girls aged 13 to 18 years from two-parent families who participated in 2006 edition of Health Behav-iour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study. Results indicated that adolescents whose both parents had high values for the different family dimensions used less substance and scored higher in psychological well-being. In con-trast, the adjustment of adolescents whose both parents had low values for the different family dimensions was worse. Specifically, the most important dimension for substance use was parental knowledge and for psychological well-being was parental affection; adolescent disclosure was only relevant for alcohol use and quality of life, and parental promotion of autonomy for quality of life

Prevalence of emergency contraceptive pill use among Spanish adolescent girls and their family and psychological profiles

BackgroundAdolescent girls’ family context and psychological characteristics play important roles in their sexual behavior, including the use of the emergency contraceptive pill (ECP). This study aims to (1) determine the prevalence of ECP use among girls who have had sexual intercourse and (2) comparatively analyze their family and psychological profiles according to whether they have used ECPs.MethodsThe sample of 1735 Spanish girls aged 15 to 18 came from a representative sample of the 2014 edition of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study. Of this sample, 398 girls had sexual intercourse and reported their ECP use. Data collection for the HBSC study was performed through an online questionnaire to which adolescents responded anonymously in school. Data analyses were descriptive and bivariate and were performed with the statistical program IBM SPSS Statistics 23.ResultsThe results demonstrated that 30.65% of girls who had sexual intercourse used ECPs. Noticeable differences in paternal knowledge and communication with the father were observed between girls who used the ECP at least once and those who did not use it. In contrast, differences between girls who used the ECP once and those who used it twice or more were pronounced with regard to parental knowledge, communication with parents, maternal affection, life satisfaction, sense of coherence and depression.ConclusionsThis work demonstrates a high prevalence of ECP use and a more positive family and psychological profile for girls who used ECP once compared with those who used it twice or more.

The Contribution from Relationships with Parents and Teachers to the Adolescent Sense of Coherence: Do Prosociality and Hyperactivity-inattention Also Play a Significant Role?

Sense of coherence (SOC) is receiving increasing attention from a number of disciplines interested in the study of adolescent positive development. Given the significant links between SOC and well-being, attention is now moving to the precursors of SOC. The aim of this study was to analyze the contribution of relationships with parents and teachers (contextual factors) to young people’s SOC while taking into account the potential role of individual differences in prosociality and hyperactivity-inattention (individual factors). The sample consisted of 2,979 adolescents aged 15–18 who had participated in the 2010 edition of the World Health Organization (WHO) survey ‘Health Behaviour in School-aged Children’ (HBSC) in Spain. Data were collected by means of anonymous online questionnaires, and statistical analyses included factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Both contextual and individual factors made significant contributions to the adolescents’ SOC. Importantly, the significance of relationships with parents and teachers remained once prosociality and hyperactivity-inattention were taken into account.

Brothers and Sisters—“More” is Better? Effects on School, Violence and Health

Aims: The aim of this study was to understand the differences between adolescents with and without brothers and sisters, in what concerns to risk behaviours, health and the relationship with their peers and family. Sample: The Portuguese HBSC (Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children) survey included a total of 6026 students where 47.7% were boys. Results: Male adolescents with three or more brothers drink and smoke more, feel sadder, are more nervous and angrier, have more worries, and more frequently act as bullies. Boys who are only child are more satisfied with life and report more frequently that they like school. Boys with more than three sisters practice more physical activity. Girls with one brother are less victimized and have better relationships with their friends.