Fernán Arana

Trastornos alimentarios en mujeres adolescentes: un estudio comparativo entre pacientes, estudiantes de danza y estudiantes de escuelas medias

Resumen Objetivos Analizar y comparar habitos alimentarios, percepcion de la imagen corporal y otras variables psicosociales relevantes en trastornos alimentarios en pacientes con trastorno alimentario, estudiantes de danza y estudiantes de escuelas medias. Materiales y metodos La muestra estuvo conformada por 440 mujeres adolescentes de Buenos Aires, entre los 13 y los 18 anos de edad: 50 pacientes con trastornos alimentarios, 107 estudiantes de danza y 283 estudiantes de escuelas medias. Las participantes completaron un Cuestionario sociodemografico y de sintomatologia especifica de trastornos alimentarios , el Eating Disorder Inventory-2 ( EDI-2 ) y el Figure Scale ( FS ). Resultados Las estudiantes de danza no se diferenciaron de las estudiantes de escuelas medias en variables habitualmente asociadas con los trastornos alimentarios (insatisfaccion con la imagen corporal, conducta “dietante”, actividad fisica intensa para bajar de peso, autoprovocacion de vomitos, consumo de laxantes y amenorrea secundaria). Las pacientes fueron las que presentaron con una frecuencia significativamente superior estas caracteristicas y puntajes mayores en nueve de las once subescalas del EDI-2 . Conclusion Una proporcion bastante elevada de pacientes y de estudiantes de danza (respecto a las estudiantes de escuelas medias) presento distorsion de la imagen corporal. Por lo tanto, las estudiantes de danza se asemejan mas a las estudiantes de escuelas medias que a las pacientes, en diversas caracteristicas asociadas con los trastornos alimentarios, exceptuando la distorsion de la imagen corporal.

PERFECCIONISMO Y DESEMPEÑO ACADÉMICO EN ESTUDIANTES UNIVERSITARIOS DE LA CIUDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BUENOS AIRES

The aim of this article is to analyze the relationship between perfectionism and academic performance of university graduate students in the City of Buenos Aires. 465 university undergraduates participated in this study: Psychology students (52.2%), Engineering students (26.2%) and Medicine students (21.6%). The resulting scores used to set the different perfectionism profiles (adaptative perfectionists- AP, maladaptive perfectionists- MP, and non perfectionists- NP), are similar to those expected according to current theory and to our previous studies. Regarding the relationship between the different student

Perfectionism in Argentina and the United States: Measurement Structure, Invariance, and Implications for Depression

ABSTRACT The Revised Almost Perfect Scale (APS–R; Slaney, Mobley, Trippi, Ashby, & Johnson, 1996) was designed to measure perfectionistic strivings (standards), perfectionistic concerns (discrepancy), and preferences for neatness and organization (order). In this study, English and Spanish (Arana, Keegan, & Rutsztein, 2009) versions of the APS–R were compared in samples of 283 college students in Argentina and 311 U.S. students. The results offered support for cross-national scalar invariance for discrepancy and order items but standards items, with a few exceptions, raised concerns about their cross-national comparability. Tests of latent means revealed no differences between the countries for discrepancy, but the order factor mean was higher in the U.S. sample. Age and gender had negligible effects on measurement models. Discrepancy was strongly related to depressive symptoms for both samples. Unlike in the U.S. sample, there was a significant association for the Argentina sample between standards and discrepancy. Overall, results indicated that discrepancy items performed well, order items were adequate with some measurement adjustments, and standards items should be revisited for their cross-cultural utility. Translation issues and general values in Argentina and the United States (e.g., collectivism–individualism) are discussed that might affect how perfectionism is understood and measured in different cultural contexts.

A Brief Cognitive Behavioural Intervention for Maladaptive Perfectionism in Students: A Pilot Study

BACKGROUND Researchers focused on developing therapeutic strategies for perfectionism given its well-established link to the onset and maintenance of several mental disorders. Meta-analytical findings provided support for the efficacy of cognitive behavioural (CB) approaches. However, most studies have focused on the efficacy of interventions, without analysing their efficiency. AIMS To explore the feasibility of a brief (five weekly sessions) CB group intervention focused on reducing perfectionistic concerns in Argentine students. We also aimed to identify participants who benefited from the intervention and to explore their differences with non-respondents. A third aim was to explore the potential merits of the intervention in a different cultural context as this is the first attempt to adapt an English-spoken protocol to the Spanish language. METHOD A quasi-experimental design with two time points was used. Twenty-four out of 84 participants (mean age = 27.75 years, SD = 8.3) were classified as maladaptive perfectionists. RESULTS Paired t-tests and reliable change index comparisons revealed that most students (75%) statistically and clinically reduced their levels of perfectionistic concerns as well as their perfectionistic strivings. General distress, operationalized as anxious and depressive symptoms, was also decreased. Students who completed and responded to the intervention were more dysfunctional in academic and psychological measures at baseline than non-completers and non-improvers. CONCLUSIONS Findings support the feasibility, preliminary efficacy and efficiency of this five weekly session intervention when applied to a sample of Argentine university students.

Cross-Cultural Validity of the Ruminative Responses Scale in Argentina and the United States:

Although frequently used in the United States, the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) has not been extensively studied in cross-cultural samples. The present study evaluated the factor structure of Treynor et al.’s 10-item version of the RRS in samples from Argentina (N = 308) and the United States (N = 371). In addition to testing measurement invariance between the countries, we evaluated whether the maladaptive implications of rumination were weaker for the Argentinians than for the U.S. group. Self-critical perfectionism was the criterion in those tests. Partial scalar invariance supported an 8-item version of the RRS. There were no differences in factor means or factor correlations in RRS dimensions between countries. Brooding and Reflection were positively correlated with self-critical perfectionism in both countries, with no significant differences in the sizes of these relations between the two samples. Results are discussed in terms of psychometric and cross-cultural implications for rumination.