Body image has been associated with self-care and the assumption of either healthy habits or poor diets and eating disorders. As a vital element in the formation of a positive body image, the role of the family in childhood has been highlighted by a few studies. This study aimed to assess whether children’s body dissatisfaction could be predicted by their parents’ body dissatisfaction, body mass index (BMI), and approach to change. The sample consisted of 581 participants (366 parents and 215 children). The following instruments were used: anthropometric data, the Brief Scale of Body Dissatisfaction for Children, the IMAGE questionnaire (approach to change and drive for muscularity subscales), and the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness subscales). The results indicated that 19% of children, 22.8% of mothers, and 70.2% of fathers were overweight or obese. The multiple regression models developed for boys and girls explained 60 and 57% of the variance in body dissatisfaction, respectively. Several variables attributable to the mother (higher approach to change, higher drive for thinness, and higher BMI) and to the boys themselves (drive for muscularity, approach to change, and having a high BMI percentile) predicted a higher level of body dissatisfaction. For girls, only variables regarding themselves (approach to change, age, and BMI percentile) explained their body dissatisfaction. Relationships with the traits of the father were not detected for both models. The influence of sociocultural factors on the construction of gender and the negative consequences of mothers’ dieting for aesthetic purposes, on the development of children’s body image, are discussed.

El objetivo de este trabajo fue analizar los efectos de un programa de actividad física, con una duración de 8 semanas y basados en juegos reducidos, sobre la función ejecutiva en un grupo de chicas. Las participantes fueron 39 adolescentes del municipio de Priego (Córdoba, España), con edades entre los 15 y 16 años (M= 15.41, DT= .50), que eran físicamente inactivas. Se empleó un diseño cuasi-experimental pre-post con dos grupos aleatorizados, control y experimental. Las herramientas empleadas para medir las habilidades cognitivas fueron el test Dígitos y el test Letras y Números, de la Escala de Inteligencia de Wechsler para Niños (WISC-IV), el Trail Making Test (A y B) y el Test Stroop. Se realizó un análisis de la varianza bifactorial para determinar los efectos de la intervención. Los datos hallados en el estudio pusieron de manifiesto efectos significativos del programa de actividad física sobre la memoria de trabajo y la flexibilidad cognitiva. Este trabajo contribuye a elevar el número de evidencias existentes sobre los beneficios de la actividad física en el funcionamiento cognitivo de los adolescentes. Abstract. The aim of this paper was to analyze the impact of an eight-week physical activity program based on small-sided games on the executive function of a group of teenage girls. The sample comprised 39 physically inactive girls from Priego (Cordoba, Spain) aged 15 and 16 years old (M= 15.41, SD= .50). The research was based on a quasi-experimental pre-post study design with two randomized groups: control and experimental. The Digit Span and the Letter-Number Sequencing subtests from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV), the Trail Making Test (A and B), and the Stroop Test were used to measure cognitive skills. A bi-factorial analysis of variance was carried out to ascertain the effects of the intervention program. The findings revealed significant effects of the physical activity program on working memory and cognitive flexibility. This paper helps to increase the amount of existing evidence on the benefit that physical activity provides to adolescents’ cognitive functioning.

The attitude toward mathematics is shaped by cognitive components such as beliefs and cognitive processes. However, the importance of cognitive processes in attitude toward mathematics has not yet been researched. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the role of cognitive processes, creativity and cognitive flexibility, in the attitude toward mathematics of future teachers. For that purpose, 218 University students and preservice teachers, completed assignments on creativity and cognitive flexibility and a questionnaire on attitude toward mathematics. The results showed that the use of innovative details (a creativity subscale) rises the probability of exhibiting a positive attitude toward mathematics by 1.81. Besides, cognitive flexibility rises this probability by 2.32. The conclusion is that both, details and cognitive flexibility act as good predictors of a positive attitude toward mathematics. This has implications for educational practice in the planning of mathematics instruction in higher education, specifically, in future teachers.

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