Objective: The demands of parenting are usually associated with some stress, and elevated levels of stress may affect the parent–child relationships and parenting practices. This is especially the case of families where children have special needs conditions or disorders, like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).Method: This study examined parenting stress among mothers of children and adolescents with ADHD. The sample comprised 126 mothers of girls (36; 29%) and boys (90; 71%) aged 6–17 years old.Results: Mothers reported their own stress levels as well as the children and adolescents’ variables (severity of their ADHD symptoms, conduct, and emotional problems) and family–contextual variables (negative impact on family’s social life, impact on couple relationship, and perceived social support). Hierarchical multiple regression showed that (a) negative impact on social life and conduct problems were the strongest predictors of mother’s stress. Bootstrap mediation analyses revealed that (b) the association between child and adolescent’s ADHD and parenting stress was mediated by children’s conduct problems and by negative impact on family’s social life, and not by children’s emotional problems nor by mother’s perceived social support. The mediation analysis also suggested (c) a pathway from child/adolescent’s ADHD through children’s conduct problems and then through their negative impact on family’s social life to mother’s parenting stress.Conclusion: These results suggest that both child/adolescent’s and family factors should be considered in the designing of interventions for reducing parenting stress in families of children and adolescents with ADHD.

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Under the perspective of the Theory of Planned Behavior, the objective of this study was to know the gender differences in the variables involved in the use of effective preventive measures in sexual relations against HIV in a sample of university students from Spain and Portugal. Furthermore, it is examined whether these factors produce different predictions concerning the adoption of safe sexual behaviour for young man and women in each country. The sample consisted of 683 university students, 319 Portuguese (64% female and 36% male) from the University of Algarve and 364 Spanish students (51% female and 49% male) from the University of Huelva. Data were obtained by means of a questionnaire. The data revealed that there are gender differences which apply in both countries, highlighting that the young women have more positive attitudes, greater perceived behavioural control and intention of condom use than young men. However, they protect themselves less that their male counterparts: the percentage of females who say using condoms as a contraceptive method is less than the percentage of males, and especially with their steady partners. The results are discussed in relation to gender role norms, to have a steady partner or not, gender relations, the associated meaning to sexual relations for men and women and their implications for the design of sexual educational programmes for them. Keywords: HIV/AIDS; gender differences; university students; preventive sexual behaviors.Bajo el enfoque de la Teoría de la Conducta Planeada, el objetivo de este estudio fue analizar las diferencias de género en cuanto a las variables que están implicadas en el uso efectivo de medidas preventivas en las relaciones sexuales frente al VIH, en una muestra de estudiantes universitarios de España y Portugal. Además, se analizó si estas variables provocan diferencias en las predicciones relacionadas con la adopción de conductas sexuales seguras por chicos y chicas en cada país. La muestra estaba formada por 683 estudiantes universitarios, 319 portugueses (64% mujeres y 36% hombres) de la Universidade do Algarve y 364 estudiantes españoles (51% mujeres y 49% hombres) de la Universidad de Huelva. Los datos fueron recogidos a través de un cuestionario. Los datos revelaron que hay diferencias de género que se mantienen en ambos países, destacando que las chicas tienen actitudes más positivas, una mayor percepción de control del comportamiento y una mayor intención de uso del preservativo que los chicos. Sin embargo, las chicas se protegen menos que sus homólogos masculinos: el porcentaje de mujeres que dicen usar el preservativo como un método anticonceptivo es menor que el porcentaje de hombres, y especialmente con sus parejas estables. Los resultados se discuten en relación con el papel de las normas de género, con el hecho de tener pareja estable o no, las relaciones de género, el significado asociado a las relaciones sexuales entre hombres y mujeres y sus implicaciones para el diseño de programas de educación sexual. Palabras clave: VIH...

School satisfaction is conceptualized as a crucial factor influencing children´s happiness and consequent healthy functioning in multiple developmental areas. Research to date has mainly evaluated how contextual factors related to the interactions between the student, teachers and classmates influence children’s happiness, not considering other important factors more related to their own student experiences. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of school satisfaction on happiness in 10-year-old children from Europe. Children’s global school satisfaction levels, as well as different separate indicators of school satisfaction (i.e., satisfaction with other children in class; school marks; school life experience as a student; things they have learned; and relationships with teachers) were considered. The study comprised a sample of 7.445 10-year-old children from seven European countries. First, correlation analysis showed that the overall school satisfaction measure, as well as its different indicators, had positive associations with happiness levels. Second, regression analyses confirmed the effect by indicators of global school satisfaction on happiness. The indicators with the strongest effects were the satisfaction with their life as a student and the satisfaction with other children in the class, while the smallest effects were found regarding the satisfaction with the relationships with teachers and the things learned. These results point out the need to consider personal and contextual indicators of school satisfaction in a program design to foster happiness in 10-year-old children.

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