The aim of the present study was to analyze the latent structure of executive functions (EFs) in Spanish-speaking children and to test measurement invariance across socioeconomic status (SES). We sampled 248 children, aged 8 to 12, who were divided into two groups: 124 children from a medium socioeconomic status (MSS) and 124 children from a low socioeconomic status (LSS). We applied a neuropsychological battery consisting of various EF tasks and performed confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and multi-group CFA (MGCFA). CFA showed best fit for the three factor solution: (a) Working memory, (b) Cognitive flexibility, and (c) Inhibition. Moreover, the MGCFA revealed that the three-factor solution was invariant (configural, metric, and structural) across SES, allowing valid comparison between the groups (MSS and LSS) of factors. Finally, bifactorial MANOVA revealed a significant effect of SES and group age but not for the interaction between the two in the three EF dimensions indicative of quantitative group differences. Results are discussed in terms of the dimensional nature of the EF construct and the effects of SES on executive functioning.

In this study we examined autobiographical memory for emotional experiences from an integrative perspective, analyzing nature, distribution, content and phenomenological assessment of the experiences. Undergraduate students produced positive or negative life experiences, dated them and indicated their emotional level. Afterwards, they chose an experience to narrate, and rated their memory for the experience. The positive and negative experiences were grouped into 14 categories, although most of them fell into four areas: studies, family, friends and couple. The number of positive and negative experiences progressively increased from very few childhood memories to a larger percentage of more recent events. The distribution was equivalent, except during adolescence, in which a greater number of negative than positive experiences were recorded. The negative narratives included more emotional details, references to cognitive processes, mental rehearsal and justifications than the positive narratives. But the positive experiences obtained higher ratings in vividness and sensorial details than the negative experiences.

The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ, Blatt, D’Afflitti, & Quinlan, 1976, 1979), a self-report measure used in personality research, assesses the constructs of Dependency and Self-Criticism as vulnerability factors in depression (Blatt, 1974, 1990, 2004) and psychopathology more generally (Blatt, 2008; Blatt & Shichman, 1983). This study establishes a Portuguese version of the DEQ with six samples: a bilingual sample to test the measurement equivalence of the Portuguese DEQ, and two college student samples, two community samples and a clinical sample, to test the reliability, factor structure and criterion, convergent and predictive validity of this translation of the DEQ. A measure of depression (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; CES-D; Radloff, 1977) and of general psychopathology (Brief Symptom Inventory; BSI; Derogatis, 1993) evaluated the convergent validity of the DEQ. Findings indicate satisfactory reliability and validity of the Portuguese DEQ, and the value of the DEQ for investigating the relationship between personality and depression and between personality and psychopathology more generally. It is important to note, however, that these conclusions are based on a limited clinical sample. Additional reliability and validity data are needed with a larger clinical sample.

The main goal of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Cuestionario para Evaluar la Asertividad (CEA-ESO). This questionnaire is the Spanish version of the Children’s Assertive Behavior Scale (CABS) on which students self-rate their inhibited, assertive, and aggressive relational styles. The questionnaire was administered to 640 students of Compulsory Secondary Education (CSE) aged between 11 and 16 years old, from various schools of the province of Barcelona, Spain. The homogeneity analysis carried out suggests a bidimensional structure in contrast to the tridimensional structure proposed for the original version of the CABS, that is, the CEA-ESO is effective for the discrimination of students’ assertive and aggressive behaviors, but inhibition is weakly represented. The reliability analyses of the questionnaire reveal a scale originally targeting students over 15 years of age, but with adequate internal consistency also for age groups between 12 and 14 years. The advantages of using a single instrument for the entire period of CSE are commented on. The Spanish adaptation of the CABS is considered an adequate instrument to assess assertiveness at school, but further research is required to confirm its capacity to discriminate students’ three interpersonal relational styles.

The objective of this study was to verify the factor validity and structure of the “Irritation Scale” in a sample of 578 Spanish university students. At the same time, the study aimed to verify the criterion-related validity of the scale, analyzing the results obtained through correlation with other variables, such as general self-efficacy, self-regulation, depression, and certain personality dimensions. The results obtained through the Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling approach (ESEM) using Mplus confirmed the presence of two factors in the Irritation Scale, as observed in other international studies within a workplace setting. The significant correlations obtained between the Irritation Scale and the variables considered in the study confirmed the construct validity and verified that irritation is significantly and positively associated with depression and academic burnout, and is negatively associated with general self-efficacy and self-regulation.

The Quality of Life (QoL) in psychiatric patients is currently of great relevance. This study aims to examine, through a multi-informant approach, the QoL perception in schizophrenic patients, analyzing differences between the informants, as well as the relationship between negative symptoms and QoL. Participants were 32 schizophrenic patients, their caregivers (relatives or psychosocial educators; 25 and 3, respectively), and a team of four professionals of Outpatient Centers of Mental Health in Guipuzcoa, Spain. The assessment of patients’ QoL was obtained with application of Satisfaction with Life Domains Scale and Karnofsky Performance Status Scale. Self-informant QoL was assessed with Seville Quality of Life Questionnaire and Social Adjustment Scale Self-reported. The negative symptoms were measured with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale and the Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms. Patients showed an average high life satisfaction. There were significant discrepancies among informants’ reports, with the lowest evaluation given by the professional team and the highest by the patients. Evaluations made by caregivers and patients yielded similar results. These findings suggest that patients and their caregivers present a more optimistic perception of their QoL.

The aims of this study are to assess L1 and L2 variables that influence the reading acquisition of students of Moroccan origin in the South of Spain and compare their reading ability with native Spanish-speaking children. Participants were 38 students of Moroccan origin and 37 native Spanish-speaking students from the same classes. We used an oral vocabulary test and a reading comprehension test, which taps lexical, semantic, and syntactic reading processes, and reading fluency. The results indicated that immigrant students differed from native Spanish-speaking students in word reading, reading fluency, and the use of punctuation marks, but there were no significant differences in reading comprehension. In native Spanish-speaking students, reading comprehension correlated significantly with oral vocabulary and the other reading processes, but in the students of Moroccan origin, only receptive oral vocabulary in L2 correlated with the use of punctuation marks. Being in schools with educational resources specifically aimed at helping the Moroccan pupils was associated with a higher level of word reading in immigrant students.

The development of either internal or external employability of temporary workers has been considered a mechanism of protection since it ensures that employment can be maintained. According to the social exchange theory and the norm of reciprocity, when temporary workers perceive that the training promoted by the organization furthers employability, they are inclined to feel obligated to reciprocate with positive attitudes toward the organization. With a sample of temporary agency workers from three distinct industry organizations (N = 279), the current study investigated the relationship between training that promotes both internal and external employability and affective commitment as well as the role of voluntariness as a moderator of these relationships. The hypotheses were tested by using regression analysis. The results indicated that the perception held by temporary workers that the training they received is a promoter of their internal employability is positively correlated with their affective commitment towards the organization. Furthermore, the data revealed that this relationship is weaker for the group of temporary workers with high voluntariness. On the other hand, there was not a significant relationship between the training that promotes external employability and the affective commitment of temporary workers. Likewise, voluntariness did not moderate this relationship.

This study aimed to investigate the meaningfulness that Brazilian and French artists find in their work, considering the historic French cultural influence in the Brazilian creative industry. The specific objective was to cross-culturally validate a model of meaningfulness in work that was developed in French Canada and that includes five latent variables: learning and development, utility of work, quality of working relationships, autonomy, and moral correctness. The present study used a French Canadian measurement instrument that was developed for the health care and management occupations in Quebec. A total of 648 individuals, 280 in France and 368 in Brazil, provided online responses that were then analyzed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analysis (MGCFA). The five–factor structure of the meaningfulness in work model was found to be similar for the two samples of artists—although this model was a better fit to the data for the Brazilian creative professionals than the data for their French counterparts. The analyses showed that the two groups understand the structure of the meaningfulness factors in a similar manner (configural and metric invariance). The study also showed that conceived as a social and economic core activity, work is present in the context of the arts as well as in the traditional sectors of the economy for which the model was developed.