Browsing by Author "Marí Sanmillán, María Isabel"

The domain of multiplication and division operations depends on both algorithm management and the ability to identify the semantic structure of the problem and to translate it into mathematical language. Many students present difficulties in identifying the semantic structure of the problem but not applying the algorithm when the problem is presented numericaly. The aim of the study is to validate an assessment tool of the processes involved in multiplication and division problems solving in order to identify the causes of mistakes. The administration to 368 ten-to-twelve yearsold children highlighted a three-factor structure of the test: a factor composed of tasks that require just the domain of the algorithm, a second one that demand the identification of the operation, and a third one requiring both processes. The reliability of the instrument has been satisfactory and a qualitative analysis of the responses to the error detection and correction is proposed.

El estudio de los factores que influyen en la adquisición de la lectura facilita la detección temprana de las dificultades del aprendizaje lector. Destacan como habilidades predictoras: el conocimiento fonológico, el conocimiento alfabético y la velocidad de denominación. Todas ellas se adquieren a lo largo de la escolaridad pero no tienen el mismo grado de implicación en las distintas fases del aprendizaje lector. Esto parece depender, en parte, del método de enseñanza de la lectura utilizado. Los objetivos de este estudio han sido identificar y analizar las habilidades implicadas en el inicio de la lectoescritura en Educación Infantil que predicen el nivel de comprensión lectora en Educación Primaria, y conocer el peso diferencial que la conciencia fonológica, la velocidad de nombramiento y otras habilidades implicadas en el proceso lector tienen durante los primeros años de instrucción en función del método empleado. Para ello se realizó un estudio longitudinal en el que participaron 130 alumnos de colegios de Valencia y Castellón. El 52% fue iniciado con un método fonológico-sintético y el 48% con un método global. Se tomaron medidas en 2º de Educación Infantil, 3º de Educación Infantil y 1º de Educación Primaria. Se utilizó el test RAN para medir la velocidad de nombramiento, la Batería BIL de Inicio a la Lectura y el Test de Comprensión Lectora ACL. El modelo de ecuación estructural ha mostrado que en ambos métodos la velocidad de nombramiento a los 4 años tiene un efecto significativo en las variables relacionadas con el inicio de la lectura, evaluadas a los 5 años, las cuales a su vez influirían en la comprensión lectora de dichos niños a los 6 años. Esto indica que la velocidad de nombramiento constituye el cimiento del proceso de codificación fonológica sobre el que se asienta el proceso lector. / The study of the factors that influence the acquisition of reading facilitates the early detection of reading learning difficulties. Phonological awareness, alphabetic knowledge, naming speed has been highlighted as predictive skills. All of them are acquired throughout school but they do not have the same degree of involvement in the different phases of reading learning. This seems to depend, in part, on the teaching method of the reading used. The objectives of this study were to identify and analyze the skills involved in the beginning of reading and writing in Early Childhood Education that predict the level of reading comprehension in Primary Education and know the differential weight that phonological awareness, naming speed and other skills involved in the reading process have during the first years of instruction depending on the method used. Therefore, a longitudinal study was carried out in which 130 students enrolled in educational centres located in the provinces of Castellón and Valencia. 52% of them were studying according to the syntheticphonological method and 48% were following the analytic method. Instruments applied was RAN (Rapid Automatized Naming Test) and BIL (Initial Reading Program), and ACL (Reading Comprehension Test). The structural equation model has shown that in both methods the naming speed at 4 years has a significant effect on the variables related to the beginning of the reading at 5 years and these variables influence the reading comprehension of these children at 6 years. This indicates that naming speed constitutes the foundation of the phonological coding process on which the reader process is based.

En el aprendizaje de la lectura están implicadas habilidades como la conciencia fonológica, la conciencia alfabética o la velocidad de nombramiento. Los distintos métodos de enseñanza influyen de modo diferencial en su adquisición. Este estudio analiza 1) el efecto diferencial de los métodos analíticos y fonológico-sintéticos en la adquisición de estas habilidades básicas, 2) si las diferencias encontradas en función del método siguen el mismo patrón en los 4 primeros cursos de iniciación lectora y 3) la eficacia diferencial de los métodos de enseñanza de la lectoescritura sobre el rendimiento lector en cada curso. Para ello se realizó un estudió transversal. Participaron 614 niños de Educación Infantil (4 y 5 años) y Educación Primaria (6 y 7 años) de colegios de Valencia y Castellón. Los instrumentos aplicados fueron el test RAN (Rapid Automatized Naming) y la batería BIL (de inicio a la lectura) a los 4 y 5 años. Y el test de comprensión lectora ACL, el DST-J (Dyslexia Screening Test) y una subprueba del PROLEC-R a los 6 y 7 años. Los análisis consistieron en unas pruebas t y un MANOVA de dos factores para cada nivel educativo. Los resultados muestran que habilidades como la conciencia fonológica, la velocidad de nombramiento o la conciencia alfabética tienen mayor relevancia durante los primeros años escolares, mientras que la velocidad de nombramiento es la única variable preponderante a los 6 y 7 años. Así mismo, se ha encontrado un mejor rendimiento del método fonológico-sintético en la etapa de Educación Infantil ya que potencia las habilidades con más peso en la fase inicial. Sin embargo, en Educación Primaria es el método global proporciona resultados más exitosos en el rendimiento lector. Se confirma así una influencia diferencial de los métodos en cuanto al rendimiento lector dependiendo de la etapa educativa. / Learning reading involves skills such as phonological awareness, alphabetic knowledge and naming speed. Different teaching methods have a different effect on their acquisition differently. This study analyses 1) the differential effect of analytic and synthetic phonological methods of acquiring reading skills, 2) whether the differences found, according to the method, followed the same pattern in the first four years of initial reading and 3) the effectiveness of the methods of teaching reading on reading performance in each one of the four years of initial reading studies. Therefore, cross-sectional study was conducted. Sample consisted of 614 children of kindergarten (aged 4 and 5), and first and second grade students (aged 6 and 7) from schools located in Valencia and Castellon. Instruments applied was RAN (Rapid Automatized Naming Test) and BIL (Initial Reading Program) (aged 4 and 5), and ACL (Reading Comprehension Test), DST-J (Dyslexia Screening Test) and a subtest of PROLEC-R (Battery for the Evaluation of Reading Processes revised) (aged 6 and 7). The analysis consisted of some t-tests to compare the effect of the two study methods at different developmental stages on the analyzed variables and two-factor (year and method) MANOVAs were used for each educational level. Results show the weight of the major reading skills involved vary throughout the process, so phonological awareness, naming speed or alphabetic knowledge have greater relevance during the early school years, while naming speed stands apart as the only variable at ages 6 and 7, when reading requirements change. The synthetic phonological method enhances the most important skills in learning to read in kindergarten, while in Primary Education, the global method provides more successful results in reading performance. The differential influence method has on reading performance also depends on the educational stage.

Although the relation between Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) and Reading is clear, there is no a standardized test to measure the speed of naming in early literacy. The aim is to explore and confirm the factorial structure of the RAN test developed by Wolf and Denkla (2003) in children. RAN test was administred to 442 children aged 4-5 years. Results highlighted two factors: a “nonalphanumeric components” factor which includes “RAN colors” and “RAN images” and an “alphanumeric components” factor which collects “RAN letters” and “ RAN numbers”. Moreover, results highlighted a gradual shift of weight that each component of the test has in the two analyzed years and a consequent reduction in the discrimination ability of the test. In conclusion, this study not only allows to analyze the structure of the instrument “RAN”, but also describes how the speed of naming works over the early literacy.

Sex differences are poorly studied within the field of mental health, even though there is evidence of disparities (with respect to brain anatomy, activation patterns, and neurochemistry, etc.) that can significantly influence the etiology and course of mental disorders. The objective of this work was to review sex differences in adolescents (aged 13–18 years) diagnosed with ADHD (according to the DSM-IV, DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5 criteria) in terms of substance use disorder (SUD), prevalence, pharmacological therapy and mental health. We searched three academic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus) and performed a narrative review of a total of 21 articles. The main conclusions of this research were (1) girls with ADHD are more at risk of substance use than boys, although there was no consensus on the prevalence of dual disorders; (2) girls are less frequently treated because of underdiagnosis and because they are more often inattentive and thereby show less disruptive behavior; (3) together with increased impairment in cognitive and executive functioning in girls, the aforementioned could be related to greater substance use and poorer functioning, especially in terms of more self-injurious behavior; and (4) early diagnosis and treatment of ADHD, especially in adolescent girls, is essential to prevent early substance use, the development of SUD, and suicidal behavior.

Checking whether changes in the perception of the quality of life related to health, after the nursing intervention, influence these patients’ motivation to change. This was a two‐staged study undertaken in entertainment‐sector workers in Spain: the first part was transversal and observational, and the second was semi‐experimental. First part undertook in 284 entertainmentsector workers, selected by non‐probabilistic sampling, while second part undertook in 50 entertainment‐business workers, selected by consecutive sampling from those who consumed substances. A short group‐based motivational intervention session was implemented by nursing staff, and a before and after evaluation was completed. The EuroQol‐5D and Test for the Evaluation of the Quality of Life in Addicts to Psychoactive Substances (TECVASP) were used. The patients’ motivation to change was evaluated through the Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale. The results analysis showed that the nursing intervention reduced the participants’ perceptions of their health‐related quality of life (t = 4.23; P = 0.00009) and of their quality of life in addicts to psychoactive substances (t = 3.38; P = 0.00140). There was an increase in the motivation of 6 workers (12%) to seek treatment of their addiction (χ = 13.02; P = 0.0091). The post‐test contemplation stage score was predicted (F = 6.56; P = 0.003; R = 0.46) with post‐test TECVASP score and pre–post difference in TECVASP score. By reducing the patients’ perception of their quality of life, this brief nursing intervention facilitated a favourable increase in the motivation for change among these workers and was effective in 12% of cases.

En literatura existen muy pocos estudios que analicen las habilidades que están a la base del desarrollo de la escritura. Así mismo, pocas escalas evalúan dichas habilidades escritoras en sus primeras etapas. Entre ellas, la escala SHELL (School-Home Early Language and Literacy assessment) destaca por su aplicación temprana; sin embargo, esta prueba carece de una validación fiable y robusta en España. El objetivo de este trabajo es proponer un análisis factorial y validar las subescalas que se relacionan con la evaluación del inicio de la escritura de la prueba SHELL. El instrumento se aplicó a 442 niños (219 niños de 4 años y a 223 niños de 5 años) quienes cursaban respectivamente 2º y 3º de Educación Infantil en Valencia y Castellón, España. Tras el análisis de la distribución muestral y haber determinado su idoneidad, el análisis factorial exploratorio y análisis factorial confirmatorio permitieron destacar una estructura factorial compuesta por dos factores: un primer factor en el que saturan los componentes de “letras” y “lectura” de las palabras presentadas y un segundo factor donde sólo encontramos el componente de “ordenación de letras”. El análisis de fiabilidad de la escala destaca índices satisfactorios en ambos factores. Esto nos permite afirmar no solamente que la escala tiene una buena consistencia interna, sino también que es un test fiable y robusto para la evaluación del inicio del aprendizaje de la escritura. / Validation and Spanish adaptation of the Shell scale to evaluate emergent writing skills for children aged 4 and 5. In literature there are very few works that analyze the skills that are the basis of the development of writing. Likewise, very few scales assess such as early writing skills at very early ages. Of them, the SHELL (School-Home Early Language and Literacy assessment) stands out for its early application. However, this test lacks of a robust validation in Spain. The objective of this work was to propose a factorial analysis and to validate the subscales related to the evaluation of the emerging writing skills using the SHELL test. The instrument was applied to 442 children (219 aged 4 and 223 aged 5), who were respectively in the 2nd and 3rd year of kindergarten. After analyzing the sample distribution and having determined its suitability, the EFC and CFA developed allowed to emphasize a factorial structure of the test of two factors: a first factor in which saturate the components of “letters” and “reading” of the presented words, and a second factor in which we only find the “ordering” variable of administered stimulus words. The analysis of the reliability of the scale highlighted satisfactory indices in both factors. This allows us to affirm not only that the scale presents a good internal consistency, but also that it is a reliable and robust test for the evaluation of the emerging writing learning.