María del Carmen Pichardo Martínez

Attentional deficits in fibromyalgia and its relationships with pain, emotional distress and sleep dysfunction complaints.

Cognitive complaints are common among subjects with fibromyalgia (FM). Yet, few studies have been able to document these deficits with cognitive tasks. A main limitation of existing studies is that attention has been broadly defined and the tasks used to measure attention are not designed to cover all the main components of the attentional system. Research on attention has identified three primary functions of attention, known as alerting, orienting and executive functioning. This study used the attentional network test-interactions task to explore whether and which of the three attentional networks are altered in FM. Results showed that FM patients have impaired executive control (greater interference), reduced vigilance (slower overall reaction time) and greater alertness (higher reduction in errors after a warning cue). Vigilance and alertness showed several relations with depression, anxiety and sleep quality. Sleep dysfunction was a significant predictor for alertness, whereas there were no significant predictors for vigilance. These findings highlight that the treatment of sleep difficulties in FM patients may help with some of their cognitive complaints.

Prácticas de crianza y competencia social en niños de 3 a 5 años

La competencia social es una de las habilidades basicas para el desarrollo de la persona en la sociedad. La familia es el primero y mas importante agente socializador en la primera infancia, pues durante ese periodo de tiempo los ninos aprenden las destrezas sociales, actitudes y habilidades necesarias para adaptarse al contexto social donde viven. Con el presente trabajo se pretende conocer la relacion entre las practicas de crianza que ejercen los padres y la competencia social que desarrollan los hijos. Participaron 206 alumnos de edades comprendidas entre 3 y 5 anos y los padres de las 206 familias correspondientes. Los resultados muestran que el control parental es una de las practicas de crianza con mas efectos positivos en la competencia social de los hijos. Por el contrario, otras practicas de crianza, como la utilizacion del castigo fisico o la expresion de afecto negativo, se relacionan con conductas socialmente inadaptadas.

Effectiveness of a treatment programme for immigrants who committed gender-based violence against their partners

BACKGROUND In recent years, the number of immigrant perpetrators who attend treatment programmes for partner violence has increased. In this study, the effectiveness of a psychological treatment programme for immigrant men who have committed a gender-based violent crime was evaluated. METHODS The sample was composed of 300 individuals (150 immigrants and 150 citizens) who received treatment in the batterer intervention programme developed in Pamplona (Navarra). A two-group design was used (immigrants and citizens) with multiple, repeated evaluations (pre-treatment, post-treatment, and 12-month follow-up). RESULTS Results showed the usefulness of the programme, with no statistically significant differences in the success and improvement rates observed between the immigrant and citizen patient groups. Post-treatment success rate was 34.6% both in the immigrant group and the citizen group. The improvement rate was 51.3% in both groups. Results at 12-month follow up were nearly the same. The combined rate of success and improvement was 87.3% among immigrants and 86.6% among citizens. In addition, the associated psychopathologic symptoms exhibited significant improvement. CONCLUSIONS The tested programme was shown to be effective in the treatment of immigrant batterers.

Gender Differences in Patients with Fibromyalgia Undergoing Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia: Preliminary Data

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic musculoskeletal pain syndrome that significantly affects patients’ quality of life. Its main symptoms are pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbances.

Men and women with fibromyalgia: Relation between attentional function and clinical symptoms

OBJECTIVES This study was the first to explore whether individuals with fibromyalgia (FM) have different cognitive alterations (i.e., in alertness, orienting, and executive control) depending on their sex. We also analysed possible gender differences in the relationships between cognitive functioning and some of the main symptoms of FM. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. METHODS Two clinical groups with FM (n = 58 women and n = 20 men) and two healthy control groups (n = 21 women and n = 27 men) aged between 30 and 60 years old participated in this study. Pain intensity, sleep disturbance, depression, anxiety, pain catastrophizing, and daily functioning were evaluated with self-report measures. Attentional function was assessed with the ANT-I task (Attentional Network Test-Interactions). RESULTS Mixed ANOVAs showed impairment in vigilance and executive control in both male and female patients with FM compared with controls. Control men were faster than control women, but FM eliminated sex differences. In addition, attention deficit was associated with worse daily functioning in women but not in men with FM. Emotional distress and sleep disruption seemed to contribute differently to these cognitive alterations in both sexes. CONCLUSIONS Therapy strategies aimed at reducing emotional distress and sleep disruption are likely to improve cognitive function by enhancing vigilance. Therapies aimed at reducing emotional distress seem to improve attentional function more in women than in men; those aimed at improving sleep quality are likely to reduce a vigilance/alertness deficit in women and executive problems in men.

The impact of pain on anxiety and depression is mediated by objective and subjective sleep characteristics in fibromyalgia patients.

Objectives:Pain is the cardinal feature in fibromyalgia syndrome (FM) and increases the risk of anxiety and depression. Patients with FM frequently report sleep disturbances as well. Sleep may mediate the association between pain and emotional symptoms, an idea which has been scarcely studied. The objective of this study was to uncover the role of subjective and objective sleep characteristics as mediators of the relationship between pain and anxiety and depression in FM. Materials and Methods:Fifty-five female with FM (mean age, 47.62±7.64 y) were assessed to obtain self-reported measures of pain, sleep quality, anxiety and depression levels, and self-efficacy to cope with pain. An ambulatory polysomnographic recording was performed to assess sleep architecture. Results:Subjective poor sleep quality was found in all participtants. Pain correlated with subjective and objective sleep parameters, self-efficacy, anxiety, and, marginally, with depression. The mediated regression analysis suggested that the best models to explain the impact of pain on anxiety and depression included, as mediators, subjective sleep quality, objective sleep efficiency, and self-efficacy (these models explained 34% of the variance), with objective sleep efficiency being the mediator with the highest influence (P<0.05). Discussion:These findings show a high prevalence of sleep problems in individuals with FM and suggest that they play a role in the relationship between pain and anxiety and depression. In fact, the impact of chronic pain on the later emotional variables was mediated not only by self-efficacy but also by subjective sleep quality and, especially, by objective sleep efficiency.

Sleep quality, clinical and psychological manifestations in women with systemic lupus erythematosus

Sleep problems are a common complaint in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. We analyzed sleep quality with subjective and objective measures in a sample with SLE and its possible relationships with the main manifestations of the disease.

Impact of a court-referred psychological treatment program for intimate partner batterer men with suspended sentences

In this article, the impact of a court-mandated psychological treatment program for men who had committed an offense of intimate partner violence is tested. The sample consisted of 235 men who received a suspended sentence after being charged and sentenced for an offense in relation to intimate partner violence. The success rate in the posttreatment period was 37.4%, and the improvement rate was 48.1%. Therefore, in 85.5% of cases, the treatment program was effective. Results after 12 months of follow-up were almost identical. Moreover, there was a significant decrease in associated psychopathological symptoms. Regarding prediction of therapeutic results, batterers who were older, who had more distorted thoughts about violence, and who had not been victims of childhood abuse were at a significantly greater risk of treatment failure.

Self-concept in low-vision children and their peers without visual problems

This study examined differences in self-concept between children with congenital low vision and their sighted peers. The sample consisted of thirty-four eight- to eleven-year-old children, seventeen with congenital low vision (nine boys and eight girls) and seventeen who were sighted. The findings revealed that the children with low vision scored lower than those with normal vision in aspects of their relationships with classmates but higher in their relationships with parents. No differences were found on other general or specific facets of the self-concept, such as physical ability, physical appearance, verbal ability, mathematics, or general subjects.