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Background There is debate about whether the difficulties that children with different degrees of oppositionality (ODD) and callous–unemotional traits (CU) have in processing emotions are global or specific. The aim of this study is to identify difficulties in recognizing emotion (happiness, anger, sadness and fear) through a go/no-go task in children with different levels of ODD and CU traits. Method A total of 320 8-year-old children were assessed through questionnaires filled out by teachers about oppositional defiant symptoms and CU traits and were then distributed into four groups: LowCU–HighODD, HighCU–LowODD, HighCU–HighODD and a comparison group (LowCU–LowODD). Results The analyses of variance comparing the 4 groups showed that the two groups with high ODD were less accurate than the control group in recognizing the emotion when the stimuli expressed happiness, fear or neutral emotion. The HighCU–HighODD group differed in the quality of the response (correct/wrong responses) but not in the reaction time in relation to the comparison group. The LowCU–HighODD group was faster to respond to emotions than the comparison group. Implications The results show that the deficit in emotion processing is not restricted to specific distressing emotions such as fear or sadness, but they point to a global impairment in emotion processing in children scoring high in the constructs studied. The results also suggest that the difficulties that children with combined CU traits and oppositional conduct problems have in processing emotions are more of an emotional rather than an attentional nature.

Objective Recently, the DSM-5 has developed a new diagnostic category named "Substance-related and Addictive Disorders". This category includes gambling disorder (GD) as the sole behavioral addiction, but does not include sex addiction (SA). The aim of this study is to investigate whether SA should be classified more closely to other behavioral addictions, via a comparison of the personality characteristics and comorbid psychopathology of individuals with SA with those of individuals with GD, which comes under the category of addiction and related disorders. Method The sample included 59 patients diagnosed with SA, who were compared to 2190 individuals diagnosed with GD and to 93 healthy controls. Assessment measures included the Diagnostic Questionnaire for Pathological Gambling, the South Oaks Gambling Screen, the Symptom CheckList-90 Items-Revised and the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised. Results No statistically significant differences were found between the two clinical groups, except for socio-economic status. Although statistically significant differences were found between both clinical groups and controls for all scales on the SCL-90, no differences were found between the two clinical groups. The results were different for personality characteristics: logistic regression models showed that sex addictive behavior was predicted by a higher education level and by lower scores for TCI-R novelty-seeking, harm avoidance, persistence and self-transcendence. Being employed and lower scores in cooperativeness also tended to predict the presence of sex addiction. Conclusions While SA and GD share some psychopathological and personality traits that are not present in healthy controls, there are also some diagnostic-specific characteristics that differentiate between the two clinical groups. These findings may help to increase our knowledge of phenotypes existing in behavioral addictions.

Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the short Egna Minnen Betraffande Uppfostran–Adolescent version (S-EMBU-A) in a clinical context. Methods The S-EMBU-A is a 22-item self-report questionnaire, based on the original 64-item EMBU-A, that assesses perceived parental rearing style in adolescents, comprising 3 subscales (Rejection, Emotional Warmth, and Overprotection). The questionnaire was administered to a clinical sample of 281 Spanish psychiatric outpatients aged 13 to 18 years. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed, analyzing the adolescents' reports about their parents' rearing style. Results Confirmatory factor analysis yielded an acceptable fit to data of the 3-factor model (comparative fit index=0.90; root mean squared error of approximation=0.054) and parameters were equivalent for the ratings assigned to fathers and mothers. Satisfactory internal consistency reliability was obtained for the 3 scales (Cronbach α ≥ .74). The influence of gender (of adolescents and parents) and age on scale scores was inappreciable. High scores for Rejection and low scores for Emotional Warmth were related to bad relationships with parents, absence of family support, presence of rejection, harsh discipline, and lack of parental supervision. Conclusions The Spanish version of S-EMBU-A can be used with psychometric guarantees to identify rearing style in psychiatric outpatients, because evidence of quality in clinical setting matches that obtained in community samples.

Objective The risk for suicide attempts is elevated in anorexia nervosa (AN), yet we know little about the relation between suicide and personality in this group. We explored the prevalence of lifetime suicide attempts in women with AN and compared those who had and had not attempted suicide on eating disorder symptoms, general psychopathology, and personality both relative to a healthy control group and then across AN subtypes. Method One hundred four outpatients with restricting AN, 68 outpatients with purging AN, and 146 comparison individuals participated in the study. Results The prevalence of suicide attempts differed significantly across the 3 groups (P = .003), with 0% in the controls, 8.65% in the restricting AN group, and 25.0% in the purging AN group. Depression measures were elevated in those with suicide attempts. Within the restricting AN group, those who attempted suicide scored significantly higher on Phobic Anxiety, measured by means of the Symptom Checklist–Revised, than those who did not (P = .001). Conclusion The presence of purging and depressive symptoms in individuals with AN should increase vigilance for suicidality; and among restrictors, greater anxiety may index greater suicide risk.

Background: We provide the first validation data of the Spanish version of the Egna Minnen Beträffande Uppfostran—Child Version (EMBU-C) in a clinical context. The EMBU-C is a 41-item self-report questionnaire that assesses perceived parental rearing style in children, comprising 4 subscales (rejection, emotional warmth, control attempts/overprotection, and favoring subjects). Methods: The test was administered to a clinical sample of 174 Spanish psychiatric outpatients aged 8 to 12. Confirmatory factor analyses were performed, analyzing the children's reports about their parents' rearing style. Results: The results were almost equivalent for father's and mother's ratings. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded an acceptable fit to data of the 3-factor model when removing the items of the favoring subjects scale (root mean squared error of approximation .73), whereas control attempts scale showed lower values, as in previous studies. The influence of sex (of children and parents) on scale scores was inappreciable and children tended to perceive their parents as progressively less warm as they grew older. As predicted, the scores for rejection and emotional warmth were related to bad relationships with parents, absence of family support, harsh discipline, and lack of parental supervision. Conclusions: The Spanish version of EMBU-C can be used with psychometric guarantees to identify rearing style in psychiatric outpatients because evidences of quality in this setting match those obtained in community samples.

Objective The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of sex as a moderator variable for gambling and clinical profiles in a large sample of Spanish treatment-seeking patients for pathologic gambling (PG). Method Clinical and personality profiles were compared between 143 male and 143 female pathologic gamblers who sought consultation at a specialized hospital unit. Multiple regressions explored the incremental predictive accuracy of sex on PG severity in consideration of sociodemographic and psychologic characteristics. Results Men gambled most frequently using slot machines and lotteries, spent more money, and had most arguments with family and friends. Although the age of onset of PG was 7.1 years higher for females, the severity was equal for both sexes. Women evidenced more general psychopathology, with higher mean scores in all the Symptom ChekList-90 items scales (except for hostility and psychoticism), and had significantly higher scores for harm avoidance and lower scores for self-directedness than the male group. However, sex alone did not obtain a significant incremental validity for PG severity. Conclusions These results may provide guidance for obtaining accurate diagnostic information about PG, properly identifying patients with specific needs and planning sex-specific targets.

We provide the first validation data on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ(3-4)), a brief screening tool for behavioral and emotional problems, in preschool children. Parents of a community sample of 1341 Spanish 3-year-olds and teachers of a sample of 622 children responded to the SDQ(3-4) and different measures of psychopathology. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded adequate fit of the model to the original structure. Internal consistency (omega coefficient) for total scores was .87 for parents and .91 for teachers. Convergent validity of SDQ(3-4)-parents' reports with Achenbach's taxonomy and diagnostic interview was good, but low for SDQ(3-4)-teachers' reports. The SDQ(3-4) showed predictive accuracy for discriminating use of mental health services and functional impairment. This is the first work presenting empirical evidence of the reliability and validity of the parents' and teachers' SDQ(3-4) for preschoolers. The SDQ(3-4) presents acceptable psychometric properties for use in the identification of preschool children who might have behavioral or emotional problems.