The objective of this study is to present the psychoeducational program Egokitzen, a post-divorce intervention for parents and preliminary data on its efficacy, by means of a quasi-experimental design with a wait-list comparison group. This program-Egokitzen-has been recently published following years of development, pilot tests and adaptation, and comprises 11 weekly intervention sessions that focus on three major blocks of content: (a) divorce in itself, (b) interparental conflict; and (c) parenting styles and discipline. Thirty-four parents, with a total number of 51 children-aged 2-23 years-took part in the study. Participants completed measures of interparental conflict, family communication, perception of family relationships, parental symptomatology and children's aggressive and anxiety/depression symptoms before, after the intervention and 6 months on completion of the program. Significant differences were found in terms of the perceived conflict and children's mental health symptoms, especially in the 6-moth follow-up period. More structural variables, such as communication, family satisfaction or parent-child relationships, seem to require more time for noticeable change and stability. We can conclude that, even though the results are exploratory, the Egokitzen program is a very promising initiative for helping prevent and fostering the healthy psychological development of children who are going through the parental divorce process.

This paper describes a 4-month pilot study that tested the suitability of a physical activity intervention for first graders (children aged 6 and 7 years) in a public school in Santiago, Chile. Teachers were trained to deliver the programme in the classroom during the school day. Teachers were surveyed to determine if this intervention fit within their curriculum and classroom routines and they reported in a focus group that it was suitable for them. All children actively participated in the programme and positive changes in their attitudes towards physical activity were observed by their teachers. Anthropometrics, blood pressure and hand grip strength were measured in the students. A significant reduction was observed in children with high waist circumference ≥ 90th percentile, and in mean systolic blood pressure. However, statistical power values for those comparisons were rather low. Anthropometry and hand grip strength were not modified. The latter calculations and the lack of a control group are showing the weaknesses of this pilot study and that further research with a larger sample size and an experimental design is strongly needed.

The psychometric properties of the adapted Spanish version of the Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale were examined. The main goal was to investigate the reliability and construct validity of the conceptual structure of Condon's proposal. Five hundred twenty-five pregnant women, attending maternal education classes in Bizkaia (Spain), answered the translated and back-translated version of the Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale. This scale comprises 19 items with five answer choices divided into two subscales: quality of attachment and intensity of attachment. Participants also answered a questionnaire about the reproductive history that was developed ad hoc for the present study. The Spanish adaptation of the Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale final version comprises 12 items: seven items have been removed due to their inadequate psychometric properties. Internal consistency of the inventory is moderate-high (.73) and it ranges from .68 (intensity of attachment) to .75 (quality of attachment) for the dimensions. Three alternative structural models were proven using a confirmatory factor analysis. Lastly, the two-related-factor model was chosen, as it obtained suitable fit indexes (χ (2) = 102.28; p < .001; goodness-of-fit index (GFI) = .92; comparative fit index (CFI) = .95; root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = .042, 90 % CI [.030-.054]). Due to its adequate psychometric properties, the Spanish version of the Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale can be proposed as a suitable instrument for the purpose of measuring antenatal attachment. The study of antenatal attachment helps to detect possible difficulties for the mother in establishing an affective relationship with the foetus. This may affect the foetus growth, delivery and the future mother-child relationship.

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