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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Safety signals are conditioned inhibitory stimuli that indicate the absence of unconditioned stimuli. It is not clear whether the presence of safety signals is detrimental or beneficial in extinction-based interventions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of safety signals on autonomic and expectancy fear-related responses. METHODS: Following the conditional discrimination paradigm (AX +, BX-), undergraduate students (N = 48) underwent an aversive conditioning procedure, while safety signals were experimentally created. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions during extinction: presence or absence of safety signals. RESULTS: Significant reductions of fear-related responses were found in both groups. Expectancy measures showed that the presence of safety signals did not interfere with reduction of fear related responses at follow-up. LIMITATIONS: The analogue nature of the study affects its ecological validity. There are some methodological issues. CONCLUSIONS: Safety signals did not interfere with extinction learning. Attention may be a mechanism associated with the maintenance of fear responses.

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El objetivo del estudio es identificar qué variables pueden relacionarse con una mayor duración de los tratamientos psicológicos empíricamente apoyados. Se analizaron los datos de 122 pacientes de la Unidad de Psicología Clínica del Master de Psicología Clínica y de la Salud, divididos en tres grupos en función del número de sesiones de tratamiento recibidas: grupo 1º, 20 o menos; grupo 2º, entre 21 y 34, grupo 3º, 35 o más. Factores como edad, sexo, tipo de diagnóstico, diagnósticos en eje III y IV (DSM-IV-TR) o número de objetivos terapéuticos no señalaban diferencias significativas. Los factores que mejor explicaban la mayor duración del tratamiento eran: a) el número de técnicas aplicadas (9.7 en grupo 1º; 12.68 en grupo 2º y 14.65 en grupo 3º); b) la presencia de comorbilidad (el 69% de los casos con comorbilidad estaban en el grupo 3º, frente al 7.7% en el grupo 1º). Se discuten los resultados y se proponen líneas de actuación y/o reflexión (AU)

The purpose of this study was to find out what factors can explain a longer treatment length. The results of treatments developed with 122 patients at the Clinic of Psychology of the Master of Clinical and Health Psychology were analyzed. The patients were divided into three groups, according to the number of treatment sessions received: Group 1 (20 or less); Group 2 (21-34), and Group 3 (35 or more). Factors such as age, sex, type of diagnosis, diagnostic in axis III and IV (DSM-IV-TR) or number of therapeutic targets do not identified significant differences. The factors that explained the longer treatment length were: a) the number of applied techniques (9.7 in Group 1; 12.68 in Group 2 and 14.65 in Group 3); b), the presence of co-morbidity (69% of patients with co-morbidity were in the Group 3, versus 7.7% in the Group 1). Results are discussed and some intervention/reflection lines are proposed (AU)

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This research examines the internal consistency, convergent validity, and sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive value of the Spanish version of the Eating Disorder Examination-Self-Report Questionnaire (S-EDE-Q), as a screening questionnaire for eating disorders (ED) in a community sample. Participants were 1543 male and female Spanish-speaking students (age range: 12-21 years), who volunteered to complete the S-EDE-Q and the EAT-40. The Spanish version of the Eating Disorders Examination (S-EDE) interview, 12th edition, was administered to 602 of the students. Acceptable internal consistency for the four subscales of the S-EDE-Q was obtained (alpha > or = .74). Corrected point-biserial correlation performed with the 22 items included in the S-EDE-Q subscales showed acceptable values for all the items. The EAT-40 Dieting subscale correlated highly and positively with the four S-EDE-Q subscales (r > or = .70). Acceptable results in sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive value when compared with the EDE were found. Correlation between S-EDE and S-EDE-Q diagnoses was positive and significant. Overall, results support the psychometric adequacy of the S-EDE-Q as a screening questionnaire for ED in community samples.

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