A growing number of school-aged children experience or are at risk for a myriad of psychological and behavioral problems such as anxiety and depression that interfere with their interpersonal relationships, school performance, and potential to become productive citizens -hence the importance of school prevention. This study assessed the effectiveness of the Spanish version of the FRIENDS for Life program [AMISTAD para siempre], a social and emotional program that uses cognitive-behavioral techniques to prevent anxiety and depression. Eight schools from a northern city in Mexico were randomly selected and assigned to either an intervention or standard curriculum instruction. Fifteen teachers implemented the intervention, and 16 served as control. Participants were 1,030 fourth and fifth grade students (ages 8-13). The impact of the program was evaluated immediately after the intervention and after 6 months. The program showed a positive effect by reducing symptoms and risk for depression and increasing the proactive coping skills of the overall sample. Suggestions for further research and implications for practice are offered.

The goal of this research is to know and compare the emotions and reactions to confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic in children and adolescents with high abilities and community samples. This is a mixed study with an exploratory reach that is descriptive, and which combines survey and qualitative methodologies to examine the emotions and reactions to confinement experiences of children and adolescents aged between 5 and 14 years. An online poll was designed with 46 questions, grouped into three sections: (1) General Data, (2) Reactions to the health contingencies of COVID-19, and (3) Positive and negative emotions. This last section was included the Oros’ positive emotions questionnaire (2014) and the scales of the negative effect of the PANAS Schedule positive and negative affect on children and adolescents between 8 and 14 years old (Sandin, 2003). Data were collected online with a convenience sample. Quantitative data were analyzed with the SPSS statistics program and qualitative data with Alceste software. Among the main findings is the fact that there are no significant differences between the groups by ability in terms of reactions and emotions; however, there are differences between age groups and sex. The study discusses the implications for educational intervention in situations like the current pandemic.

We analyzed 12 studies from North America, South America, Europe, and Oceania (New Zealand) on the association between fear of crime and subjective well-being. These studies gather data from 39 countries and 407,474 subjects. Heterogeneity was found between the studies. The random effect model showed an average effect of =-.15 (ρ =-.21). Two of the studies estimated fear of crime with a single generic question and five studies assessed subjective well-being through one item of satisfaction with life. Meta-regression showed that the effect was superior in younger samples, with affective measurement of well-being in comparison with cognitive ones, of mono-item (versus multi-items) and in the countries of Latin America, suggesting that in contexts of greater frequency and seriousness of the crime the fear of crime negatively affects subjective well-being. The diffuse or concrete nature of the measure of fear did not show a significant moderator effect. Limitations of the study and proposals for future research are discussed. Los efectos del miedo al delito en el bienestar subjetivo: revisión metaanalítica R E S U M E N Se analizaron 12 estudios de Norteamérica, Latinoamérica, Europa y Oceanía (Nueva Zelanda) con respecto a la asociación entre el miedo al delito y el bienestar subjetivo. Los estudios reúnen información de 39 países y 407,474 sujetos. Se encontró heterogeneidad entre los estudios. El modelo de efectos aleatorios mostró un efecto promedio de =-.15 (ρ =-.21). Dos estudios evaluaron el miedo al delito con una sola pregunta genérica, mientras que cinco estudios midieron el bienestar subjetivo con un ítem de satisfacción con la vida. La meta-regresión mostró que el efecto fue superior en muestras más jóvenes, con medidas afectivas del bienestar subjetivo en comparación con medidas cognitivas de un solo ítem (versus medidas poli-item), y en países de Latinoamérica, sugiriendo que en contextos de mayor frecuencia y severidad del crimen el miedo al delito afecta negativamente al bienestar subjetivo. La naturaleza difusa o concreta de la medida de miedo al delito no mostró un efecto moderador. Se debaten las limitaciones del estudio y las propuestas para futuras investigaciones.

In the transition into adulthood, family and school play a critical role protecting the adolescent from engaging in behaviors that could cause mental health problems. Nevertheless, there are other social groups and structured activities that have shown to act as an educational activity and as a protective factor as well. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between belonging to different types of social groups and the positive and negative mental health indicators of Mexican adolescents. Participants were 840 Mexican adolescents ranging between 12 and 17 years old. Results indicated that belonging to artistic and scout groups reported a statistically significant correlation with higher levels of emotional intelligence. Belonging to sport and artistic groups reported a statistically significant correlation with higher levels of resilience. No statistically significant results were found on anxiety, depression, and/or disruptive behaviors. Further research is needed, especially investigating possible predictive and moderating variables.

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