Introduction. The use of horses in therapy has a fairly long history. There are many references to the therapeutic benefits of this activity. Such therapies have been undergoing a boom internationally in recent years. However scientific research into the effective use of this activity in children with autism is still in the early stages of development.Method. The impact of a therapeutic horse-riding program on a set of psychosocial variables in a group of 8 autism spectrum disorder subjects of 7 to 16 years in age is evaluated. The study design was quasi-experimental, test-retest, with two groups – experimental and control. The measurement instruments were the "Behavior Assessment System for Children" (BASC), and a quality-of-life questionnaire based on a standard model used in mental health contexts. The treatment program comprised twenty-four 45-minute sessions.Results. The results show significant differences in some of the quality-of-life indicators and there were lower levels of aggressiveness (BASC).Discussion and conclusions. The horse riding is particularly well matched to the specific characteristics of persons with autism, since it is based on an individual activity but at the same time brings into play multiple interactions in a context which is more structured and less chaotic than other team sports.

The objective of this work is to study the quality of working life associated to psychosocial factors and risks, burnout syndrome and emotional intelligence, as well as being able to detect predictors of the said syndrome. The sample consisted of 311 professionals working in direct contact with an intellectual disability from 15 associations of Extremadura (Spain). The Spanish version of the CESQT questionnaire was administered to evaluate burnout syndrome, the Wong & Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS) was used to evaluate emotional intelligence, while the UNIPSICO Battery was used to evaluate the psychosocial factors of demands (work–family conflict and psychosomatic problems) and resources, such as social support and work satisfaction. The results indicate average values of burnout, revealing that work satisfaction, emotional intelligence, and social support are related to burnout syndrome. In addition, there are also positive correlations between psychosomatic symptoms and work–family conflict. Satisfaction at work, social support, and emotional intelligence (intrapersonal and interpersonal perception, use and regulation of emotions) predict burnout syndrome. What is more, the psychosomatic symptoms and work–family conflict explain, respectively, 17% and 17.9% of their variance. Thus, there is a need to develop intervention programs that encourage social support and the conciliation of family life, as well as training skills related to emotional intelligence, such as communication and conflict resolution.

En este estudio se exploran las relaciones entre factores de riesgo psicosocial, estr?s general percibido y salud mental. Adem?s, se pretende detectar los predictores del riesgo de patolog?a psiqui?trica. Se trata de un estudio transversal mediante encuesta a 550 docentes no universitarios con una edad media de 42 a?os y procedentes de 64 centros educativos. Se utiliz? el Cuestionario de Salud General de Golberg y William (1996) y se adaptaron cuestionarios de factores psicosociales. Los resultados muestran que la indisciplina, la falta de inter?s de los alumnos y la escasa colaboraci?n de las familias son las principales fuentes de estr?s. El profesorado que percibe altos niveles de estr?s presenta peor salud mental. Hay una relaci?n significativa entre un alto de nivel de estr?s y la falta de colaboraci?n de las familias e inter?s del alumnado. Los mejores predictores de salud mental son el nivel de estr?s percibido, el grado de satisfacci?n y el grado de compromiso.