This study examined how self-efficacy, eustress, and flow interact with academic engagement. First, it aimed to test a theoretical model that proposes that self-efficacy and eustress promote both flow and engagement and that, in turn, the state of flow promotes academic engagement in undergraduate student. We hypothesized that the theoretical model would be invariant for two countries: the Philippines and Argentina. Secondly, this research aimed to compare the levels of self-efficacy, eustress, study-flow and academic engagement experiences in students from both countries. One hundred seventy-six Filipinos and 171 Argentinean students participated in the study by completing inventories using the Utrecht Student Engagement Scale (Schaufeli, Martínez, et al., 2002), Optimal Experience Survey (Mesurado, 2008), Self-efficacy Scale (O'Sullivan, 2011), and Eustress Scale (O'Sullivan, 2011). Results show that the theoretical model fits the data well in both countries and is invariant across the Philippines and Argentina. Self-efficacy has a positive effect on flow and engagement, whereas eustress has a significant positive relationship with flow but is not directly associated with engagement. However, eustress has an indirect effect, through flow, on student engagement. On the other hand, there are different levels of engagement, flow, self-efficacy, and eustress. Argentinean students scored higher on absorption, dedication, self-efficacy, and flow. Filipino students, meanwhile, scored higher on eustress.

This article has a dual purpose. First, it proposes to investigate adolescents’ opinion and acceptance of the new online program called “Hero.” Second, this article studies the program’s effectiveness in promoting prosocial behavior. The sample included 51 men and women participants between the ages of 12 and 16 (average age 15.02; SD = 1.07; 49% men). All of the adolescents attended high school and belonged to a middle socioeconomic status. The results indicated that the majority of the users enjoyed participating in the Hero program and thought that it was easy to use and useful, that what they learned could be transferred to daily life, and that they would recommend the program to other adolescents. Moreover, the Hero intervention was effective in promoting prosocial behavior toward strangers and family members but not in promoting prosocial behavior toward friends.

Empathy is a basic socio-emotional process of human development that involves the ability to perceive, share, and understand the emotional states of others. This process is essential to successful social functioning. However, despite its significance, empathy has been difficult to define and measure, particularly when incorporating both its emotional and cognitive aspects. The purpose of this study was to develop an Empathy Questionnaire for children aged 9–12 years based on a model of social cognitive neuroscience and to analyze its construct validity and reliability. This questionnaire aimed to integrate the following aspects: emotional contagion, self-other awareness, perspective-taking, emotional regulation, and empathic action. Three studies were conducted. Study 1 evaluated the discriminative power of the items and studied the underlying structure of the instrument using exploratory factor analysis. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test the model obtained. Finally, the goal of Study 3 was to analyze the convergent and discriminant validity of the questionnaire and the internal consistency of its dimensions. The final version of the instrument contained 15 items that operationalized the previously listed dimensions. The results of the 3 studies indicated that the questionnaire had good validity and reliability. This study has important implications for research and clinical practice. Given its simplicity and brevity, this new self-report scale may work well as a screening method to evaluate the key psychological issues underlying numerous child behaviors that predict the success or failure of social relationships, individual quality of life, and mental well-being.

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The aim of the present study is to analyze the relation between authoritative and permissive parenting styles with the kinds of adolescent peer relationships (attachment, victimization, or aggression), and of the latter ones, in turn, with academic self-efficacy, and academic performance, in three waves that range from the early-mid adolescence to late adolescence. Five hundred Spanish adolescents, of both sexes, participated in a three-wave longitudinal study in Valencia, Spain. In the first wave, adolescents were either in the third year of secondary school or the fourth year of secondary school. The mean age in the first wave was 14.70 (SD = 0.68; range = 13–16 years). Child Report of Parental Behavior Inventory (Schaefer, 1965; Samper et al., 2006), Peer Attachment (from the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment by Armsden and Greenberg, 1987), Victimization (from the Kit at School, Buhs et al., 2010), Physical and Verbal Aggression Scale (Caprara and Pastorelli, 1993; Del Barrio et al., 2001), items of academic self-efficacy, and items of academic performance were administered. Structural equations modeling—path analysis was employed to explore the proposed models. The results indicated that parenting styles relate to the way the adolescents develops attachments to their peers and to academic self-efficacy. The mother's permissive style is an important positive predictor of aggressive behavior and a negative predictor of attachment to their peers. At the end, peer relations and academic self-efficacy are mediator variables between parenting styles and academic performance.

In this study, the author analyzed the relationship between (a) parenting and attachment and (b) self-competence, loneliness, and depression in children aged 8-12 years. The author administered (a) the Argentine Scale of Perception of the Relationships with Parents (M. C. Richaud de Minzi, 2004), (b) the Kerns' Security Scale (K. A. Kerns, L. Klepac, & A. K. Cole, 1996; M. C. Richaud de Minzi, C. Sacchi, & J. E. Moreno, 2001, Argentine adaptation), (c) the Self-Perception Profile for Children (S. Harter, 1985; M. C. Richaud de Minzi et al.), (d) the Dimensions of Depression Profile for Children and Adolescents (S. Harter & M. Nowakowski, 1987), and (e) the Louvain Loneliness Scale for Children and Adolescents (A. Marcoen, L. Goossens, & P. Caes, 1987; M. C. Richaud de Minzi et al.) to 1,019 children (8-12 years of age, 483 boys, 536 girls). Results indicated that attachment and parent-child relationship styles were differentiated constructs. Parents' acceptance promoted secure attachment and positive outcomes in children. Moreover, fathers' lack of interest had a marked negative effect. The author found differences in the perceptions and influences of fathers and mothers, which follow the cultural patterns of gender attribution.

Desde la primera utilización del término empatía en Psicología, a principios del siglo XX, su uso se ha extendido por las distintas ramas de esta ciencia, lo que ha dado lugar a la proliferación de teorías y categorías concebidas para explicar su funcionamiento o describir sus componentes. En el presente artículo se revisan algunas discusiones sobre los alcances y los límites del concepto de empatía y se intenta aclarar las particularidades y las relaciones entre términos que conviven en la investigación sobre el tema: contagio emocional, empatía emocional, toma de perspectiva, teoría de la mente y mentalización. Se propone además una integración de este campo conceptual en un esquema amplio, al buscar dar cuenta de la complejidad del constructo de Empatía.

Though the relationship between executive functions (EFs) and mathematical skills has been well documented, little is known about how both EFs and IQ differentially support diverse math domains in primary students. Inconsistency of results may be due to the statistical techniques employed, specifically, if the analysis is conducted with observed variables, i.e., regression analysis, or at the latent level, i.e., structural equation modeling (SEM). The current study explores the contribution of both EFs and IQ in mathematics through an SEM approach. A total of 118 8- to 12-year-olds were administered measures of EFs, crystallized (Gc) and fluid (Gf) intelligence, and math abilities (i.e., number production, mental calculus and arithmetical problem-solving). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) offered support for the three-factor solution of EFs: (1) working memory (WM), (2) shifting, and (3) inhibition. Regarding the relationship among EFs, IQ and math abilities, the results of the SEM analysis showed that (i) WM and age predict number production and mental calculus, and (ii) shifting and sex predict arithmetical problem-solving. In all of the SEM models, EFs partially or totally mediated the relationship between IQ, age and math achievement. These results suggest that EFs differentially supports math abilities in primary-school children and is a more significant predictor of math achievement than IQ level.