Sara Malo

Delayed educational pathways and risk of social exclusion: the case of young people from public care in Spain

It is assumed that education may be one of the key aspects in preventing social exclusion and that children in both residential and family foster care would seem to be at risk of exclusion due to unequal opportunities in compulsory and post-compulsory education, particularly when leaving care. On the basis of findings from a European research project, this article examines the educational pathways in Spain among 18–22 year olds who were in care at 16. The qualitative results presented here were taken from initial and follow-up interviews with young people from a public care background, interviews with care managers and nominated adults—mainly social educators. Results showed that delays in educational pathways were frequent among these young people, even those who showed educational promise and were highly motivated. Factors associated with such delays were related to (1) professionals and managers in the child protection system not prioritising their education; (2) low expectations among adults providing them with support; (3) invisibility within the educational system of the specific support needs of this population and (4) additional difficulties this population encounters in the transition to adulthood. If policies are to be developed to address all of the above factors, it is crucial to assess what urgent changes are required to empower the potential human and social capital of this population, increase equality in their educational opportunities and reduce their high risk of social exclusion.

Subjective well‐being: what do adolescents say?

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to analyse how 10‐ to 15‐year‐old adolescents define their own perceptions of well‐being and the factors influencing it at their age. Ten focus groups were organized, two from each age group. One group for each age included the students with the lowest scores in subjective well‐being (SWB) and the other included those with the highest, according to their responses to previously administered psychometric scales. The views of the participating adolescents were explored by means of a content analysis. In general, the children mentioned both positive and negative elements of participating in defining what constitutes well‐being. According to these children, well‐being is related to both affects and attitudes, relations with family and friends being key factors in it. Differences in the information provided reveal some variations according to age and SWB score. Children scoring lower in SWB tend to refer more to relationships with friends and basic needs covered, whereas those scoring higher tend to refer more to family relationships and not having problems. The results of this research can contribute to both social policy design and appraisal as they provide an in‐depth understanding of how SWB works at these ages.

Los medios audiovisuales entre los progenitores y los hijos e hijas

Resumen En el presente artículo se exponen los resultados de una investigación realizada con una muestra de adolescentes (N = 1211) entre 12 y 16 años y otra de sus progenitores (N = 462) para explorar cómo las diferentes respuestas generacionales ante la presencia de diversos medios audiovisuales en su entorno próximo afectan las interacciones familiares entre progenitores e hijos/as. Los resultados apuntan al hecho que los progenitores tienden a sobredimensionar tanto el interés como las informaciones de que dispone su propio hijo o hija acerca de la mayor parte de los medios audiovisuales explorados, así como la satisfacción que proporcionan las conversaciones con los adultos acerca de cualquier actividad con estos medios. Los progenitores realizan atribuciones diferentes sobre el uso de medios audiovisuales según se refieran a un hijo o a una hija. Se aprecia una importante diferencia entre la satisfacción con las conversaciones que los y las adolescentes mantienen con sus iguales y la que proporcionan las conversaciones con los adultos respecto a cualquiera de sus actividades con los medios.

Assessing Mindfulness on a Sample of Catalan-Speaking Spanish Adolescents: Validation of the Catalan Version of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure

BACKGROUND Interest in mindfulness has increased over the last decade, resulting in several mindfulness-based interventions being developed and their efficacy empirically demonstrated. The practice of mindfulness has been associated with low levels of anxiety or depression and improved quality of life or personal well-being. The aim of this study is to translate the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM) and adapt it to Catalan so as to analyze its internal consistency and construct and convergent validity. METHOD The CAMM was administered to a sample of secondary school students ranging in age from 11 to 16 years old. RESULTS The Catalan version of the CAMM shows a good fit with the unidimensional model and internal consistency similar to the original version (α = .80). Furthermore, CAMM scores correlated positively with subjective well-being, temperamental dimensions of effortful control and self-esteem. CONCLUSIONS The Catalan Version of CAMM is a valid and reliable measure of mindfulness skills.

Satisfaction with Present Safety and Future Security as Components of Personal Well-Being Among Young People: Relationships with Other Psychosocial Constructs

This study focuses on Spanish students of post-compulsory secondary education (15- to 24-year-olds) and has the following objectives: (1) to analyse the relationships between satisfaction with present safety and future security and the items conforming the Catalan adaptation of Cummins et al.’s (Soc Indicators Res 64:159–190, 2003) PWI-7 (satisfaction with health, standard of living, life achievements, groups of people you belong to and relationships with other people) and the Overall Life Satisfaction (OLS) scale (for overall life satisfaction); (2) to explore the relationships between present safety and future security and other psychosocial constructs and (3) to identify potential gender differences and similarities between the above variables and relationships.

Personal Well-being and Interpersonal Communication of 12–16 Year-Old Girls and Their Own Mothers: Gender and Intergenerational Issues

Perceptions and evaluations of a paired sample of girls aged 12–16 and their own mothers (N = 358) are analysed in relation to interactions, interpersonal communication and personal well-being related variables. The frequency with which adolescents and mothers share different daily activities is explored, as well as the frequency they talk about different topics (such as television, free time, sports, and family) with each other.

Las aspiraciones materialistas y su relación con el bienestar psicológico y otros contructos psicosociales en dos muestras de adolescentes catalanes

Resumen En la presente comunicación se analizan las relaciones entre las aspiraciones materialistas (grado en el cual a los adolescentes encuestados les gustaría ser apreciados por las otras personas a la edad de 21 años en una serie de valores), el bienestar psicológico (satisfacción con diferentes ámbitos de la vida y con la vida globalmente) y algunos constructos psicosociales (autoestima, apoyo social percibido por parte de la familia y los amigos y percepción de control), en dos muestras de adolescentes catalanes de entre 12 a 16 años. Estas muestras fueron obtenidas en diferentes años: 2003 (N = 2715) y 2006 (N = 5051), a través de un cuestionario de características similares, administrado en diferentes centros educativos, siendo la segunda de las muestras representativa de la población catalana de estas edades. Se describen los resultados obtenidos a partir de la aplicación de diferentes Análisis de Componentes Principales (ACP) realizados con el listado de valores incluido en el cuestionario. Las relaciones entre la dimensión de valores materiales, que está formada en ambas muestras por el valor atribuido al dinero, el poder y la imagen, y el resto de constructos explorados serán también analizadas y discutidas en el presente trabajo.