Vicente E. Caballo

The Short-EMBU in Australia, Spain, and Venezuela: Factorial invariance, and associations with sex roles, self-esteem, and Eysenckian personality dimensions

The short(s)-EMBU (Swedish acronym for Egna Minnen Betraffande Uppfostran [My memories of upbringing]) consists of 23 items, is based on the early 81-item EMBU, and was developed out of the necessity of having a brief measure of perceived parental rearing practices when the clinical and/or research context does not adequately permit application of time-consuming test batteries. The s-EMBU comprises three subscales: Rejection., Emotional Warmth, and (Over)Protection. The factorial and/or construct validity and reliability of the s-EMBU were examined in samples comprising a total of 1950 students from Australia, Spain, and Venezuela. The data were presented for the three national groups separately. Findings confirmed the cross-national validity of the factorial structure underlying the s-EMBU. Rejection by fathers and mothers was consistently associated with high trait-neuroticism and low self-esteem in recipients of both sexes in each nation, as was high parental emotional warmth with high femininity (humility). The findings on factorial validity are in keeping with previous ones obtained in East Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, and Sweden. The s-EMBU is again recommended for use in several different countries as. a reliable, functional equivalent to the original 81-item EMBU.

Phobic anxiety in 11 nations. Part I: Dimensional constancy of the five-factor model

The Fear Survey Schedule-III (FSS-III) was administered to a total of 5491 students in Australia, East Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, and Venezuela, and submitted to the multiple group method of confirmatory analysis (MGM) in order to determine the cross-national dimensional constancy of the five-factor model of self-assessed fears originally established in Dutch, British, and Canadian samples. The model comprises fears of bodily injury-illness-death, agoraphobic fears, social fears, fears of sexual and aggressive scenes, and harmless animals fears. Close correspondence between the factors was demonstrated across national samples. In each country, the corresponding scales were internally consistent, were intercorrelated at magnitudes comparable to those yielded in the original samples, and yielded (in 93% of the total number of 55 comparisons) sex differences in line with the usual finding (higher scores for females). In each country, the relatively largest sex differences were obtained on harmless animals fears. The organization of self-assessed fears is sufficiently similar across nations to warrant the use of the same weight matrix (scoring key) for the FSS-III in the different countries and to make cross-national comparisons feasible. This opens the way to further studies that attempt to predict (on an a priori basis) cross-national variations in fear levels with dimensions of national cultures.

Differences between morning and evening types in performance

Abstract In this study, the differences in the activity rhythm of morning and evening types of university students were examined. The subjects were administered various tasks, including performance, concentration, and reaction time tasks; the level of self-reported activity was assessed. The tasks were applied first thing in the morning or very late in the evening. Significant differences were found in the reaction time and the level of self-reported activity.

The Multidimensional Nature and Multicultural Validity of a New Measure of Social Anxiety: The Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Adults

Much has been written about the situations most often feared by persons with social phobia, and several self-report measures are frequently used to assess such feared situations. However, it is not clear whether the situations feared by persons with social phobia form unidimensional or multidimensional factors. If these situations are multidimensional, reliance on a total score of feared situations would not reflect important differences between those dimensions. This research examined the multidimensional nature and multicultural validity of a newly developed instrument (the Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Adults [SAQ-A]) in two studies with a total of 539 patients diagnosed with social phobia and 15,753 nonpatients from 20 different countries. The structure (five clear and solid factors) and psychometric properties of the final instrument (the SAQ-A30) support the multidimensional nature of social anxiety and provide a new perspective in the assessment of social phobia.

Differences in social anxiety between men and women across 18 countries

Sex differences between men and women in social anxiety are largely unexplored. This study sought to shed some light on this topic. We administered self-report measures of social anxiety to community samples of 17,672 women and 13,440 men from 16 Latin American countries, Spain and Portugal, as well as to a clinical sample of 601 patients diagnosed with social anxiety disorder. Small but significant differences were found between men and women in the general degree of social anxiety and self-reported fears of interactions with the opposite sex, criticism and embarrassment, and speaking in public-talking to people in authority. These results point to small, but meaningful differences between men and women in social anxiety. Implications of these results for the self-report measurement of social anxiety in men and women are discussed.

Attention and reaction time differences in introversion-extraversion

Abstract In the present study, we analysed the relationship between the Extraversion scale (measured with the Personality Inventory by Eysenck) with an attention test (measured with the Tolouse Pieron Test) and simple reaction time, in a sample of 90 young subjects (25 male and 65 female). In addition, the relationship between extraversion and arousal level was studied. Reaction time is moderated by neuroticism. The obtained results prove that statistically significant relations between any of the compared variables do not exist.

Psychometric properties of an innovative self-report measure: The Social Anxiety Questionnaire for adults.

This article presents the psychometric properties of a new measure of social anxiety, the Social Anxiety Questionnaire for adults (SAQ), composed of 30 items that were developed based on participants from 16 Latin American countries, Spain, and Portugal. Two groups of participants were included in the study: a nonclinical group involving 18,133 persons and a clinical group comprising 334 patients with a diagnosis of social anxiety disorder (social phobia). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a 5-factor structure of the questionnaire. The factors were labeled as follows: (1) Interactions with strangers, (2) Speaking in public/talking with people in authority, (3) Interactions with the opposite sex, (4) Criticism and embarrassment, and (5) Assertive expression of annoyance, disgust, or displeasure. Psychometric evidence supported the internal consistency, convergent validity, and measurement invariance of the SAQ. To facilitate clinical applications, a receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis identified cut scores for men and women for each factor and for the global score.

Sex differences in the perception of stressful life events in a Spanish sample: Some implications for the Axis IV of the DSM-IV

Abstract The role of stress in the development of disease has been the subject of considerable research in the last few years. Stressful life events have been related to many physical and psychological disorders. The DSM-IV devoted Axis IV to these kinds of events. There is, however, scant information on the possible mediating role of sex on perception of stressful life events, or on the validation in other cultures of the categories included in Axis IV of the DSM-IV. A new Scale for Stressful Life Events (SSLE) was developed and administered to 563 female and 213 male university students. Women tended to perceive most stressful life events as more distressing than men, particularly regarding events implicating aggression and withdrawal. Probably events of this kind have a more negative impact on women than on men. The DSM-IV categories for grouping psychosocial and environmental problems in Axis IV were not confirmed by factor analysis of the SSLE. These results show that the effects of sex and culture on the consideration of stressful life events cannot be ignored.

Evaluation of the Reliability and Validity of the Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Children in Adolescents with Social Anxiety Disorder

Little research has focused on the measurement of specific facets of social anxiety disorder (SAD) in adolescents. In this study, we report on the Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Children (SAQ-C; Caballo et al. 2016), a 24-item questionnaire which assesses six facets of social anxiety in youth: 1) Speaking in public/Interactions with teachers, 2) Interactions with the opposite sex, 3) Criticism and embarrassment, 4) Assertive expression of annoyance, disgust, or displeasure, 5) Interactions with strangers, and 6) Performing in public. The SAQ-C has been shown to have sound psychometric properties in large samples of non-clinical Latin-American and Spanish youth. The present study aimed to provide the first evaluation of the psychometric properties of the SAQ-C in a clinical sample of 58 English-speaking adolescents diagnosed with SAD in the United States. Findings support the reliability and validity of this new measure and reveal specific facets of social anxiety not adequately captured in other frequently used self-report measures. Implications of the findings for assessment and treatment are addressed.

Efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet in Metabolic Syndrome Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: Verify the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) in metabolic syndrome (MetS) patients. Design, Setting, Participants, and Intervention: In the Multimodal Intervention Program for Patients with Metabolic Syndrome clinical trial, 79 MetS patients completed the intervention. Of those, 48 belonged to the experimental group and 31 to the control group. The intervention received by the experimental group was CBT; the control group followed usual care and attended a workshop on healthy lifestyle. Main Outcome Measure(s) and Analysis: Anthropometric, biochemical, psychological, and lifestyle measures were taken before and after the intervention at 3 and 6 months. Analyses included paired t tests, ANOVA, and ANCOVA. Results: The ANOVA results showed a statistically significant interaction between the 2 groups in waist circumference (P = .009), triglycerides (P = .015), and adherence to the MedDiet (P = .026). The ANCOVA results indicated between‐group difference in waist circumference (P = .026 and .062 at 3 and 6 months, respectively), in triglycerides (P = .009 and .860 at 3 and 6 months, respectively), and in MedDiet (P = .024 and .273 at 3 and 6 months, respectively). Conclusions and Implications: In interventions in which CBT was applied, significant improvements were observed in MetS patients, especially in adherence to the MedDiet.