Background: The controversy about whether psychotherapy outcome is the consequence of the techniques themselves, common factors or both is still current. The importance of common factors has been demonstrated, although it is also known that they alone are insufficient. At the present time, the contextual model grants heavy weight to the therapeutic alliance in the first sessions and seems to predict positive final results. Furthermore, monitoring sessions has demonstrated that this alliance improves.Objectives: To analyze the relationship between the therapeutic alliance and patient’s perceived improvement during the first five sessions of therapy, and find out whether the therapeutic alliance is maintained or unstable within that timeframe.Methods: Thirty-four patients at a university psychological care service who had had at least five therapy sessions participated. Of these, 70.46% were women (Mage = 24.24,SD = 6.73). The patients filled out the Outcome Rating Scale and Session Rating Scale the week before each session. Data were analyzed by the Dual STATIS method.Results: The compromise matrix explained 77.36% of the variability. The position of the vectors and the distribution of the position of the patients on the graph show that as their perception increased, therapeutic alliance remained stable. Moreover, the position of the vectors shows that the therapeutic alliance was forged in the first session and remained stable during the following sessions.Conclusion: This exploratory study demonstrated the importance of the first session in establishing the therapeutic alliance, and for it to remain stable, regardless of whether the rest of the therapeutic process has variations or changes. Novel use of the STATIS method for analyzing measurements in the first five sessions, showed that beginning the therapeutic intervention with a strong alliance, produced the favorable, lasting effects necessary for development of the intervention.

Los estereotipos negativos hacia la vejez es una percepción peyorativa sobre las personas mayores a las que se les asocia pérdida de capacidades, deterioro y enfermedad. Estos estereotipos están arraigados en la sociedad y se ven influidos por diversas variables socio-demográficas como la edad, el sexo, o el grado de contacto con estas personas entre otros. Estos estereotipos están presentes en la sociedad, desde los propios ancianos hasta los jóvenes. El objetivo de este trabajo consistió en evaluar la influencia de las variables sociodemográficas en los estereotipos viejistas en una muestra de estudiantes universitarios. La muestra estuvo de 183 estudiantes voluntarios de los grados de psicología, criminología y magisterio, de la universidad de Cádiz. Se les administró de forma telemática un cuestionario ad hoc con las variables sociodemográficas edad, sexo, y contacto con personas mayores dependientes y no dependientes, y el Cuestionario de Estereotipos Negativos hacia la Vejez (CENVE) (Blanca Mena, Sánchez Palacios, y Trianes, 2005). El análisis de las puntuaciones obtenidas en el cuestionario mostró que la muestra presentaba baja presencia de estereotipos negativos. Sin embargo, en el análisis de frecuencias, se determinó que el factor carácter-personalidad mostró una presencia alta de estereotipos negativos hacia la vejez, seguido del factor motivacional-social. Respecto al sexo, no se encontraron diferencias significativas entre hombres y mujeres en la presencia de estereotipos viejistas. Respecto a la variable contacto con personas mayores dependiente como no dependiente, no existieron diferencias significativas en función de para el CENVE y los tres factores. Por último, los resultados del ANOVA, mostró que los sujetos que no tenían ningún contacto con personas mayores no dependientes presentaban mayores estereotipos viejistas que aquellos que tenían algún tipo de contacto.

This paper analyzes adolescents’ future expectations (FE) and their relationship with personal variables (age, sex, self-esteem, and life satisfaction) and contextual variables (perceived social support and level of risk). The sample includes 748 adolescents, aged 9-16 (M = 11.93, SD = 1.42), coming from contexts with different levels of social risk. The results show that FE decrease as age increases, with few differences found based on sex. More positive self-perceptions and perceived social support are associated with better FE. Concerning the level of risk, more vulnerable contexts have a higher negative effect on FE. The regression analysis reveals the predictive capacity of the studied variables. The structural equation model confirms the positive causal effect of psychological adjustment and perceived social support, as well as the negative influence of contexts with greater social disadvantages on adolescent FE. The results suggest the need to establish preventive programs aimed at promoting personal resources of children, especially those who come from vulnerable contexts. Este trabajo analiza las expectativas futuras durante la adolescencia y su relación con variables personales (edad, sexo, autoestima y satisfacción vital) y contextuales (apoyo social percibido y nivel de riesgo). La muestra está formada por 748 adolescentes, con edades comprendidas entre los 9 y 16 años (M = 11.93, SD = 1.42) procedentes de contextos con distinto nivel de riesgo social. Los resultados muestran que las expectativas futuras disminuyen a medida que aumenta la edad, con pocas diferencias encontradas en función del sexo. Autopercepciones y sentimientos de apoyo social más positivos se asocian a mejores expectativas futuras. En relación al nivel de riesgo, contextos más vulnerables tienen un efecto negativo en las expectativas futuras. Los análisis de regresión muestran la capacidad predictiva de las variables estudiadas. Finalmente, el modelo de ecuaciones estructurales confirma el efecto causal positivo del ajuste psicológico y del apoyo social percibido, así como la influencia negativa de los contextos con mayores desventajas sociales, sobre las expectativas de futuro. Los resultados encontrados proponen la necesidad de instaurar programas preventivos orientados a fomentar los recursos personales de los niños, especialmente en aquellos que pertenecen a contextos vulnerables.

Carers of Alzheimer’s suffer from caregiver overload, anxiety and depression. Changes in caregiving brought about by pandemic restrictions (COVID-19) may play a role. The aim was to explore the car...

The aim of this study is to examine the amount of the total variance of the subjective well-being (SWB) of psychotherapists from 12 European countries explained by between-country vs. between-person differences regarding its cognitive (life satisfaction) and affective components (positive affect [PA] and negative affect [NA]). Second, we explored a link between the SWB and their personal (self-efficacy) and social resources (social support) after controlling for sociodemographics, work characteristics, and COVID-19-related distress. In total, 2915 psychotherapists from 12 countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Finland, Great Britain, Serbia, Spain, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sweden, and Switzerland) participated in this study. The participants completed the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), the International Positive and Negative Affect Schedule Short Form (I-PANAS- 10.13039/100019474 SF ), the General Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Cognitive well-being (CWB; satisfaction with life) was a more country-dependent component of SWB than affective well-being (AWB). Consequently, at the individual level, significant correlates were found only for AWB but not for CWB. Higher AWB was linked to being female, older age, higher weekly workload, and lower COVID-19-related distress. Self-efficacy and social support explained AWB only, including their main effects and the moderating effect of self-efficacy. The results highlight more individual characteristics of AWB compared to CWB, with a more critical role of low self-efficacy for the link between social support and 10.13039/100006131 PA rather than 10.13039/501100011632 NA . This finding suggests the need for greater self-care among psychotherapists regarding their AWB and the more complex conditions underlying their CWB.

Research has shown that non-pharmacological therapies can be useful in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), significantly delaying cognitive decay. However, most AD interventions did not last beyond six months. Hence, little is known about the effect of these programs in the AD patients after six months of treatment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the twelve-month Comprehensive Program of Cognitive Training (CPCT) for a sample of AD patients and to compare the results with the average annual rate of change. Thirty-nine AD patients participated in the study. The CPCT consists of a set of cognitive stimulations, intervention in activities of daily life (ADL), and motor training for 12 months. All patients were evaluated at baseline and in three-month intervals via the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Cambridge Cognitive Examination (CAMCOG), the Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale (IADL), and the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS). After CPCT implementation, there were no significant differences in the MMSE, IADL, and GDS evaluations between baseline and twelve months. Concerning the CAMCOG evaluation, there was no significant difference between the baseline and sixth-month assessments. Overall, the participants’ cognitive functioning did not decline when compared to the average annual rate of change. The CPCT extends the benefit of non-pharmacological interventions for AD patients to twelve months. Its implementation might provide the patients’ relatives with some guarantee concerning the delay of the disease. Future research may investigate the efficacy of the CPCT in comparison with a control group and over a more extended period.