This paper aims to investigate the relationship between teacher's personality types, emotional intelligence and burnout and to predict the burnout levels of 147 teachers in the city of Mashhad (Iran). To this end, we have used three inventories: Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), and Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-I). We used Homogeneity Analysis and Multiple Linear Regression to analyze the data. The results exhibited a significant relationship between personality types and emotional intelligence and the three dimensions of burnout. It was indicated that the best predictors for emotional exhaustion were neuroticism and extroversion, for depersonalization were intrapersonal scale of emotional intelligence and agreeableness, and for personal accomplishment were interpersonal scale and conscientiousness. Finally, the results were discussed in the context of teacher burnout.

Affiliative stimuli are pleasant and highly biologically relevant. Affiliative cues are thought to elicit a prosocial predisposition. Here affiliative and neutral pictures were exposed prior to a reaction time task which consisted in responding to a visual target. Half the participants responded with finger-flexion, a movement frequently involved in prosocial activities. The other half responded with finger extension, a less prosocially compatible movement. Results showed that under the exposure to affiliative pictures, as compared to neutral ones, participants who used finger flexion were faster, while those using finger extension were slower. Performance benefits to the task, when flexing the finger, together with performance costs, when extending it, indicate the relevance of movement compatibility to the context. These findings put forward a possible link between affiliative primers and motor preparation to facilitate a repertoire of movements related to prosocial predispositions including finger flexion.

The general purpose of this work is to analyze the overlap between organizational identification and commitment. Specifically, our study focuses on the analysis of the differences and similarities between sense of belonging (a dimension of organizational identification) and affective commitment (a dimension of organizational commitment). In order to do this, we analyzed their discriminant validity and raised their relationship with variables that previous research had showed like precedent and subsequent variables of them: value congruence, perceived support, organizational citizenship behavior, and intention to continue in the organization. A total of 292 people at one organization completed surveys measuring the variables previously described. The results showed that sense of belonging and affective commitment are different concepts and they have different relationships with relation to precedent and subsequent variables. Affective commitment seems to be more useful than sense of belonging to predict organizational citizenship behavior aimed at the organization and intention to continue. Some practical implications are described.

There is a phenomenon contributing to the current pattern of alcohol consumption among youngsters in Spain known as “botellon”. From research financed by the National Plan on Drugs (2004-2007), data of 6009 youngsters (14-25 years old) were collected from three Spanish cities. Only individuals who engage in intensive consumption of alcohol (n = 2807) have been included. The purpose of this work has been to identify the different types of consumers at risk through a cluster analysis and to establish a profile for each particular group.

Four groups were differentiated by age, gender, alcohol consumption and years of consumption. It was observed that adolescent students and university students of the same sex consume similar quantities of alcohol, and justify their consumption alluding to personal factors, whereas university students refer to issues related to control of leisure. The consumption by males is the highest, and they are the most likely to seek drunkenness. They associate to a lesser degree their consumption with the possibility of developing an addictive process. In general, all youngsters consider that their consumption will have no negative consequences. These results indicate the need to come up with different alternatives, addressing the particularities of each group.

This is the first study developed in Portugal which investigates specific characteristics of dance and gymnastics environments that make them high-risk contexts for the development of eating disorders. Four focus groups were conducted with thirteen ballet students from a professional dance school and nine gymnasts from a gymnastics club (aged 12 to 17 years old), which were subjected to an inductive-deductive analysis procedure. Specific risk and protective factors were identified. Among their respective sources of influence, teachers and coaches are those who exert a stronger influence upon young athletes. We also explored some themes related to the influence of peers, parents, and environmental characteristics, which could have an important role on the development or prevention of disordered eating.

In order to characterize a typical clinical context, as opposed to an academic or research context, this article will analyze the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients who turn to a psychology clinic in need of professional help. This study was conducted using an initial sample of 1,305 patients at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) Clínica Universitaria de Psicología. Of the sociodemographic characteristics studied, it is noteworthy that the majority of patients were women (65%) and relatively young (the average age is 29.7 years-old). The disorders for which psychological help was most often needed were anxiety and mood disorders and relationship problems, which together made up 50% of cases. In 17.70% of cases, patients had at least one comorbid disorder in addition to the one that brought them to the clinic. The generalizability and implications of the results are discussed.

This study analyses the relationships between patients' dispositional optimism and pessimism and the coping strategies they use. In addition, the coping strategies repercussions on adjustment to chronic pain were studied. Ninety-eight patients with heterogeneous chronic pain participated. The assessment tools were as follows: Life Orientation Test (LOT), the Vanderbilt Pain Management Inventory (VPMI), the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the Impairment and Functioning Inventory for Chronic Pain Patients (IFI). The hypothetical model establishes positive relationships between optimism and the use of active coping strategies, whereas pessimism is related to the use of passive coping. Active coping is associated with low levels of pain, anxiety, depression and impairment and high levels of functioning. However, passive coping is related to high levels of pain, anxiety, depression and impairment and low levels of functioning. The hypothetical model was empirically tested using the LISREL 8.20 software package and the unweighted least squares method. The results support the hypotheses formulated regarding the relations among optimism, pessimism, coping and adjust of chronic pain patients. By analysing optimism among chronic pain patients, clinicians could make better predictions regarding coping and adjustment.

The main objective of the present investigation was to analyze the relationship between self-reported schizotypal and borderline personality traits in a sample of 759 college students (M = 19.63 years; SD = 2.03). For this purpose, the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQB; Raine and Benishay, 1995) and Borderline Personality Questionnaire (BPQ; Poreh et al., 2006) were administered. The results showed that schizotypal and borderline features are partially related at subclinical level. The exploratory factor analysis conducted on the subscales revealed a three-factor solution comprised of the following factors: Identity/Interpersonal, Lack of Control and Schizotypal. The canonical correlation analysis showed that schizotypal features and borderline personality traits shared 34.8 % of the variance. The data highlight the overlap between schizotypal and borderline personality traits in nonclinical young adults. Future studies should continue to examine the relationship and the degree of overlap between these traits in community samples.

This paper describes the demographic, gender violence and psychopathological characteristics of 399 men in a specialized treatment programme for gender violence. Furthermore, a comparison of all the variables studied among the subjects referred by the court to the treatment programme (n = 276) and those who were imprisoned (n = 123) was conducted. The results showed the existence of numerous statistically significant differences between groups, primarily in psychopathological variables and in cognitive bias about women and violence use. In general, imprisoned batterers showed more irrational beliefs both about women and about violence as a strategy to cope with everyday difficulties. Moreover, batterers in prison had significantly higher scores on all psychopathological symptoms as assessed by SCL-90-R, as well as in most of STAXI-2 subscales. According to these results, batterers in prison showed a higher severity in variables studied than those who were referred by the court to the treatment programme. Implications of these results for further research and clinical practice are also commented on.

Sexual attraction was considered a component of sexual orientation from the beginning of the second half of the 20th century to present times. However, some recent researchers have studied sexual attraction as an independent field measuring it by the Sexual Attraction Questionnaire (SAQ). This study analyzes sexual attraction through the SAQ in 400 university students from a Peruvian catholic university. These participants −191 women and 209 men- show a very diverse curricular background. The following hypotheses were tested: a) the structure of the SAQ, pointing out two concepts: attraction to men and attraction to women; b) the high inverse correlation between these two concepts or factors; c) the specific impact of this context in sexual attraction: higher percentage of attracted by none of the sexes and lower percentage of attracted to the opposite sex, in comparison with other contexts; and d) the Lippa prediction (2006, 2007), regarding a higher polarization of sexual attraction for men than for women. Results support the first three hypotheses. Clarifications are laid down with regard to the fourth one. Discussion focuses on theoretical and applied advantages of using the SAQ as opposed to the frequent use of a single item of sexual attraction for each sex.

According to Mohr and Fassinger (2006), identity is seen as both self-identification and collective identification with values, beliefs, traits or behaviours and attachments. Their Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) multidimensional identity model accounts for important variables regarding the constitution of identities. This model not only accesses numerous dimensions of the lives of LGB individuals, but is also based on a body of research that recognizes how LGB difficulties are caused by societal intolerance and marginalization (Mohr & Fassinger, 2000). The Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identity Scale (LGBIS; Kendra & Mohr, 2008) constitutes an operationalization of this multidimensional model, and the aim of this article is to present its construct validity by analysing its factor structure using a sample of Portuguese lesbian, gay and bisexual participants. Results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, as well as from factor invariance analysis across sub-samples are presented. In a general way, the factor structure obtained in this study follows the original proposal of Kendra and Mohr's (2008) LGBIS. Moreover, scale sensitivity analyses are presented in order to check for eventual differences in the factor structure and/or factor intercorrelations regarding participant gender and sexual orientation. These results are then discussed in the light of LGB identity models.

This study used depression (CDI – Kovacs, 1981), anxiety (MASC – March, 1997) and coping strategy (CRI-Y – Moos, 1993) scales and studied the fitness and discriminant validity of reduced versions. The sample consisted of 916 Portuguese pupils, 54.3% feminine, aged 10 to 21 years old. The participants were selected from a set of public schools nation-wide. Two classes were chosen from the 5th to the 12th grades.

A set of principal component analyses was carried out in a randomly chosen sample (n = 394) and all the three reduced measures were found to be strongly correlated with the previous. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) using the other part of the sample (n = 522) revealed adjustment indexes suggesting a good fit for both the whole model and gender and age groups separately. All scales revealed a good internal consistency. Globally, girls were more anxious and developed more coping strategies than boys. Older students tended to be less depressed, while younger adolescents present higher scores in depression and anxiety and less coping strategies. Reduced scales are sensitive to gender and age differences and can be used in school settings in order to establish a baseline and roadmaps for both universal and selective mental health school based programs.

In this article, we study the psychometric properties of a short scale (TRANS-18) which was designed to detect safe behaviors (personal and vehicle-related) and psychophysiological disorders. 244 drivers participated in the study, including drivers of freight transport vehicles (regular, dangerous and special), cranes, and passenger transport (regular transport and chartered coaches), ambulances and taxis. After carrying out an exploratory factor analysis of the scale, the findings show a structure comprised of three factors related to psychophysiological disorders, and to both personal and vehicle-related safety behaviors. Furthermore, these three factors had adequate reliability and all three also showed validity with regard to burnout, fatigue and job tension. In short, this scale may be ideally suited for adequately identifying the safety behaviors and safety problems of transport drivers. Future research could use the TRANS-18 as a screening tool in combination with other instruments.

The aim of this research is to examine the psychometric properties of a Spanish version of the Human System Audit transformational leadership short-scale (HSA-TFL-ES). It is based on the concept of Bass developed in 1985. The HSA-TFL is a part of the wider Human System Audit frame. We analyzed the HSA-TFL-ES in five different samples with a total number of 1,718 workers at five sectors.

Exploratory Factor Analysis corroborated a single factor in all samples that accounted for 66% to 73% of variance. The internal consistency in all samples was good (α = .92 - .95). Evidence was found for the convergent validity of the HSA-TFL-ES and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. These results suggested that the HSA-TFL short-scale is a psychometrically sound measure of this construct and can be used for a combined and first overall measurement.

The Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA) is an example of the efforts to integrate categorical and dimensional assessment methods. The latest editions of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Youth Self-Report (YSR) included the DSM-Oriented Scales, constructed in rational manner based on the items making up these inventories. Objective: To analyze the psychometric properties of the DSM-Oriented Scales of the CBCL and YSR. Method: A clinical sample of 420 children and adolescents (aged 8-17 years) was assessed with the CBCL and YSR, with a structured diagnostic interview and with measures of functional impairment to study the reliability and validity of the DSM-Oriented Scales. Results: Internal consistency ranged from moderate to good for all the scales except the DSM-Anxiety Problems Scale. Agreement between parents and children ranged between moderate and low values. Kappa coefficients showed moderate agreement in the different symptoms. The DSM-Oriented Scales presented acceptable diagnostic power for DSM-IV disorders and a significant relationship with measures of functional impairment. Conclusion: The DSM-Oriented Scales constitute a useful approach from the dimensional model to the DSM-IV disorders in Spanish clinical population.

The aim of this study was to analyze the reliability and validity evidence of scores on the Spanish version of Self-Description Questionnaire II (SDQ-II). The instrument was administered in a sample of 2022 Spanish students (51.1% boys) from grades 7 to 10. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine validity evidence based on internal structure drawn from the scores on the SDQ-II. CFA replicated the correlated 11 first-order factor structure. Furthermore, hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis (HCFA) was used to examine the hierarchical ordering of self-concept, as measured by scores on the Spanish version of the SDQ-II. Although a series of HCFA models were tested to assess academic and non-academic components organization, support for those hierarchical models was weaker than for the correlated 11 first-order factor structure. Results also indicated that scores on the Spanish version of the SDQ-II had internal consistency and test-retest reliability estimates within an acceptable range.

In line with self-determination theory (SDT: Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2002) the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness has been identified as an important predictor of behavior and optimal functioning in various contexts including exercise. The lack of a valid and reliable instrument to assess the extent to which these needs are fulfilled among Portuguese exercise participants limits the evaluation of causal links proposed by SDT in the Portuguese exercise context. The aim of the present study was to translate into Portuguese and validate the Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale (BPNES: Vlachopoulos & Michailidou, 2006). Using data from 522 exercise participants the findings provided evidence of strong internal consistency of the translated BPNES subscales while confirmatory factor analysis supported a good fit of the correlated 3-factor model to the data. The present findings support the use of the translated into Portuguese BPNES to assess the extent of basic psychological need fulfilment among Portuguese exercise participants.

The objectives of the study were to analyze the psychometric properties, factor structure and internal consistency of the Spanish version of the Thought-Shape Fusion Questionnaire (TSF-Q), as well as to determine its validity by evaluating the relationship of the TSF-Q to different instruments.

Two groups were studied: one comprising 146 patients with a diagnosis of anorexia (n = 82), bulimia (n = 33) or unspecified eating disorder (n = 31), and another group of 115 undergraduates with no history of psychological disorder. All participants completed the TSF-Q, TAF-Q, EDI-2, STAI, BDI and SCL-90-R. Differences in TSF-Q scores between the diagnostic subgroups were also analyzed.

Two factors were obtained which coincided with the two sections indicated by the authors of the questionnaire: conceptual and interpretative. The internal consistency of the TSF-Q and its subscales was determined by means of Cronbach's alpha, with values ranging between .93 and .96. The correlations with other instruments reflected adequate validity. There were no significant differences between the diagnostic subgroups.

The Spanish version of the TSF-Q meets the psychometric requirements for measuring thought-shape fusion and shows adequate internal consistency and validity.

This paper describes several simulation studies that examine the effects of capitalization on chance in the selection of items and the ability estimation in CAT, employing the 3-parameter logistic model. In order to generate different estimation errors for the item parameters, the calibration sample size was manipulated (N = 500, 1000 and 2000 subjects) as was the ratio of item bank size to test length (banks of 197 and 788 items, test lengths of 20 and 40 items), both in a CAT and in a random test. Results show that capitalization on chance is particularly serious in CAT, as revealed by the large positive bias found in the small sample calibration conditions. For broad ranges of θ, the overestimation of the precision (asymptotic Se) reaches levels of 40%, something that does not occur with the RMSE (θ). The problem is greater as the item bank size to test length ratio increases. Potential solutions were tested in a second study, where two exposure control methods were incorporated into the item selection algorithm. Some alternative solutions are discussed.