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Connectedness to nature influences the well-being and health of individuals, communities, and the planet. Although many validated scales exist, none includes the three fundamental aspects of any attitude: the affective, behavioural, and cognitive components. The study's main objective was to develop and validate an integral tool, the ABC e (ABC-CNS), which would enable the measurement of the affective, behavioural, and cognitive aspects of this construct. The questionnaire was administered to 1,375 students (878 Ecuadorian and 497 Spanish). Exploratory factor analysis retained the three expected factors. Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed a robust adjustment for the tridimensional structure, but cross-cultural invariance was not attained: Although the ABC-CNS is valid for both Ecuador and Spain, the scores cannot be compared in both cultural contexts analysed. The pattern of relations with other psychological variables (proenvironmental values, appreciation and preservation of nature, and individual and classmates' proenvironmental behaviours) provided evidence of the structure and construct validity. The ABC-CNS scale is an integral, reliable, and short tool to measure connectedness to nature through the proposed dimensions. The tool is suitable for environmental professionals and researchers to assess individuals' connectedness to nature, a psychological variable that may affect a person's mental health and proenvironmental behaviour.

Objective: Investigating factors that promote cardiovascular health outcomes is essential for secondary prevention. In a sample of coronary heart disease patients, we examined the direct and indirect effects of selected psychological factors on physical activity behavior and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) over 18 months. Method: Patient-reported data were collected over three time points. Through structured equation modeling, a longitudinal path analysis was conducted to estimate the indirect effects of baseline HRQoL and cardiac self-efficacy on reported physical activity behavior and HRQoL (evaluated at 18 months) through the mediation of anxiety and depression symptoms, patients' reported intention to change the behavior, and emotions regulation strategies (evaluated at 9 months). Results: A total of 410 patients were included. Significant indirect effects of baseline HRQoL (β= .05, 95% CI [-0.001, 0.111]) and cardiac self-efficacy (β = .105, 95% CI [0.06, 0.16]) on physical activity behavior were found, with anxiety symptoms and emotions regulation strategies as significant mediators. Additionally, the mediation of reported intention in the association between cardiac self-efficacy and physical activity levels was estimated. At the final follow-up, we also found a significant direct association between physical activity behavior and HRQoL (β =.12, p,.01), which was indirectly impacted by baseline HRQoL (β = .006, 95% CI [0.000, 0.017]) and cardiac self-efficacy (β = .012, 95% CI [0.003, 0.027]). Conclusions: This study underlines the significance of addressing stress management, anxiety symptoms reduction, and cardiac self-efficacy enhancement when targeting better cardiovascular health outcomes. Identifying cardiovascular risk profiles based on these findings may benefit future clinical practice and further inform secondary prevention policy guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers tend to suffer high levels of emotional exhaustion, a variable that is associated with poor mental health and lower job performance. The present study analyzed how emotional demands, emotional dissonance, and self-efficacy to cope with stress interact in predicting teachers' emotional exhaustion. To conduct this longitudinal research, 108 Andalusian teachers (57.3% women; mean age = 45.30, SD = 8.68) completed an online survey at three different time points. Moderated mediation analysis suggested that emotional dissonance mediated the relationship between emotional demands and emotional exhaustion, with self-efficacy acting as a moderator between the two. Teachers who perceived high emotional demands saw their levels of emotional dissonance increase, which in turn led to an increase in emotional exhaustion. In addition, self-efficacy acted as a protective factor against emotional exhaustion, buffering the negative effect of emotional dissonance. Strengthening these protective variables through interventions that increase levels of self-efficacy to cope with stress and reduce levels of emotional dissonance could help prevent teachers' emotional exhaustion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim is to validate the Spanish version of the Cardiac Self-Efficacy (S-CSE) Scale by examining its psychometric properties and to test the invariance for women and men. Two groups − 722 and 522- of patients completed the S-CSE Scale and other psychosocial measures during a medical revision several months after being diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. Construct validity was psychometrically evaluated using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with a split of the first sample and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with a second split of the same sample. Scale structure was confirmed using the second sample. Convergent, discriminant, and external validity were tested. Results revealed that the S-CSE Scale was represented by three dimensions (control symptoms, control illness, maintain functioning) obtaining excellent reliability indexes and it appeared to be invariant for women and men. The S-CSE scale is a useful tool for monitoring the general well-being of these patients to promote individualized interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pandemic situation caused by COVID-19 led countries to adopt harsh and prolonged (over time) measures that--along with the high number of infections and deaths and continuous negative information--have affected the mental health of individuals. In this study, the impact on mental health of the COVID-19 health crisis in Spain was explored through the perceived efficacy of pandemic containment measures as a moderator of the relationship that COVID-19 perceived risk establishes with stress and depression. A questionnaire composed of scales conceived to measure COVID-19 perceived risk, perceived efficacy of COVID-19 prevention measures, stress, and depression was completed by 478 adults living in Spain (66.9% females, Mage = 36.30, SD = 15.32) between May 16, 2021, and June 6, 2021. The results confirmed the moderating role of perceived efficacy. Perceived efficacy acted as a protective factor for stress and depression by decreasing the negative impact that perceived risk had on both variables related to mental distress. Also, the perception that participants had about the effectiveness of prevention measures appeared to be a relevant protective factor regarding mental health during the pandemic. This study highlights the relevance of psychological interventions and government policies that improve positive risk communication and provide adequate information regarding the effectiveness of health-prevention measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic and resultant lockdown and containment measures have instigated substantial changes in our daily lives and have affected many people's mental health. This paper reports two studies exploring gender-based differences with regard to the impact of COVID-related confinement on individuals' self-efficacy to regulate negative emotions (RESE-NE) and anxiety. Methods: Study 1 (cross-sectional; 269 participants; 52% women) explored the evolution of RESE-NE and anxiety. To this end, participants assessed their status at two time points: a retrospective assessment of the period before confinement in Spain, and a current assessment during confinement. Study 2 (longitudinal; 114 participants; 72.2% women) explored the evolution of the variables by adding a post-confinement time point and analyzed the mediating role of RESE-NE in the positivity–anxiety and resilience–anxiety relationships. Results: The results confirmed that: (a) RESE-NE decreased and anxiety increased more among women than among men during confinement (Study 1); (b) women recovered their pre-pandemic levels of mental health more slowly than did men following confinement; and (c) the mediating role of RESE-NE could be observed in the two relationships under analysis. Conclusion: In practical terms, the research highlights the need to pay special attention to women undergoing mental health interventions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to the differential burden that the pandemic may entail for men and women and to the contrasting social roles traditionally attributed to them. From the gender differences identified, it is possible to infer how stereotypes and social roles influence the behavior and mental health of men and women, leading them to cope differently with stressful situations such as confinement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explores the relevance of cooperation and students' environmental disciplinary concentration on decision-making with respect to environmental issues--specifically the use of water, a limited common-pool resource. For this purpose, 61 environmental sciences students and 46 educational sciences students played the role of farmers and made decisions about irrigating their fields in the simulation "Irrigania." Prior to the simulation exercise, participants were randomly assigned to an experimental condition (competition or cooperation). Results demonstrated that both a cooperation situation and students' environmental disciplinary concentration are related to the use of more pro-environmental and less selfish irrigation strategies in the simulation. Moreover, high levels of cooperation were able to counteract the lack of students' disciplinary concentration on environmental problems; inversely, high levels of disciplinary concentration on environmental problems were able to counteract the competitive situations. This study highlights the relevance of programs that provide learning of (1) cooperative contexts that may reinforce cooperative frameworks on which students could base their behaviors, and (2) broader disciplinary concentration related to environmental problems that could lead to students feeling powerful in respect of knowing how to act against those problems and, thus, behaving in less selfish ways, with positive implications for the planet.

In this study, an explanatory model of protective behaviors against COVID-19 transmission based on the theory of planned behavior is tested using a sample of 904 individuals by adding two relevant variables in the COVID-19 context: skepticism and responsibility toward COVID-19 transmission. Responsibility and the intention to behave in a protective way act as mediators in predicting protective behaviors. The model is invariant between younger and older people, although some path differences were found: the perception that individuals have about the extent to which their reference group adopts protective behaviors directly influences individual protective behavior for younger but not older people, for whom subjective social norms were only indirect predictors of such behavior. Additionally, the rates in all the variables showed that the group under 35 took more risks in the context of protective behaviors against COVID-19: they exhibited more skepticism, lower behavioral control, perceived fewer positive social norms regarding protective behaviors, felt less responsible for spreading the disease, had less intention to behave in a protective way, and finally adopted fewer protective behaviors. Developers of intervention strategies and campaigns should contemplate such variables and focus on differences according to age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this study was to develop and validate a reliable and valid scale that allows the measurement of the perception that teachers have of attention to diversity in the classroom: the Perception of Attention to Diversity Scale (PADS). To this end, 456 teachers answered a survey. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed a robust adjustment of the expected bifactorial structure. The two factors identified were the perception of attention (a) related to the Specific Educational Needs, with five items, and (b) related to cultural diversity, with four items. The patterns of relationship between the scale and its factors with other psychological variables supported the construct validity. The study provides a useful tool both to measure the perception that teachers have of the levels of attention to diversity they offer in the classroom, and to analyze the relationship that such perception can have with different study variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of a multicomponent, eHealth‐based self‐efficacy intervention to promote subjective well‐being and self‐efficacy in patients with cardiovascular disease, exploring sex differences. Design: A pilot study of a two‐arm non‐randomized controlled trial. Methods: Forty‐two cardiovascular patients (31% women) participated in the study. The experimental group received a personalized psychoeducational session and a 14‐days eHealth intervention. Subjective well‐being (positive and negative affect) and self‐efficacy (chronic and cardiac) were assessed at baseline, post‐psychoeducational session, post‐eHealth intervention and at two follow‐ups. Results: The levels of the experimental group in positive affect, at post‐eHealth and follow‐up 1, and self‐efficacy, at post‐eHealth, and both follow‐ups, were statistically significantly higher compared to the control group (all ps <.05). When considering sex, the intervention was effective only for men. The results highlight the potential of eHealth interventions for cardiac patients and underline the importance of considering a gender perspective in their treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Connectedness to nature influences the well-being and health of individuals, communities, and the planet. Although many validated scales exist, none includes the three fundamental aspects of any attitude: the affective, behavioural, and cognitive components. The study's main objective was to develop and validate an integral tool, the ABC Connectedness to Nature Scale (ABC-CNS), which would enable the measurement of the affective, behavioural, and cognitive aspects of this construct. The questionnaire was administered to 1,375 students (878 Ecuadorian and 497 Spanish). Exploratory factor analysis retained the three expected factors. Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed a robust adjustment for the tridimensional structure, but cross-cultural invariance was not attained: Although the ABC-CNS is valid for both Ecuador and Spain, the scores cannot be compared in both cultural contexts analysed. The pattern of relations with other psychological variables (proenvironmental values, appreciation and preservation of nature, and individual and classmates' proenvironmental behaviours) provided evidence of the structure and construct validity. The ABC-CNS scale is an integral, reliable, and short tool to measure connectedness to nature through the proposed dimensions. The tool is suitable for environmental professionals and researchers to assess individuals' connectedness to nature, a psychological variable that may affect a person's mental health and proenvironmental behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]