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Psicothema was founded in Asturias (northern Spain) in 1989, and is published jointly by the Psychology Faculty of the University of Oviedo and the Psychological Association of the Principality of Asturias (Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos del Principado de Asturias).
We currently publish four issues per year, which accounts for some 100 articles annually. We admit work from both the basic and applied research fields, and from all areas of Psychology, all manuscripts being anonymously reviewed prior to publication.

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Neurocognitive Functioning in Adolescents at Risk for Mental Health Problems

Rebeca Aritio-Solana1, Eduardo Fonseca-Pedrero1, Alicia Pérez-Albéniz1, Oliver Mason2, and Javier Ortuño-Sierra1

1 Universidad de La Rioja and
2 Surrey University

Background: The main goal of the study was to assess the neurocognitive performance in adolescents at high psychometric risk for mental health problems. Method: A sample of 48 participants at high risk for mental disorders and an age-gender matched healthy comparison group of 48 adolescents were identified from a community-derived sample of 1,509 adolescents. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire problems and the University of Pennsylvania Computerized Neuropsychological Test Battery for children (included 14 tasks assessing five neurobehavioral domains: executive functions, episodic memory, complex cognition, social cognition, and sensorimotor speed) were used. Results: Relative to healthy comparison participants, individuals at high risk showed significant impairments across almost all neurocognitive domains (executive functions, episodic memory, complex cognition, social cognition, and sensorimotor speed). Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that neurocognitive impairments can be shown in adolescents at high psychometric risk for mental health problems before the onset of more severe psychological problems.

Funcionamiento Neurocognitivo en Adolescentes con Riesgo de Trastornos Mentales. Antecedentes: el objetivo principal del estudio fue evaluar el funcionamiento neurocognitivo en adolescentes con alto riesgo psicométrico de presentar problemas de salud mental. Método: se seleccionó una muestra de 48 participantes con alto riesgo de trastornos mentales y un grupo de comparación de 48 adolescentes emparejados por edad y género a partir de la muestra total de 1.509 adolescentes. Se administró el Cuestionario de Capacidades y Dificultades y la Batería Neurocognitiva Computerizada de la Universidad de Pensilvania para población infantil y adolescente (incluidas 14 tareas que evalúan cinco dominios neurocognitivos: funciones ejecutivas, memoria episódica, cognición compleja, cognición social y velocidad sensoriomotora). Resultados: en relación con el grupo de comparación, los participantes de alto riesgo mostraron diferencias significativas en casi todos los dominios neurocognitivos. Conclusiones: estos hallazgos demuestran que diferentes alteraciones neurocognitivas pueden manifestarse en adolescentes con alto riesgo psicométrico de presentar problemas de salud mental antes de la aparición de dificultades psicológicas más graves.

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Impact factor 2022:  JCR WOS 2022:  FI = 3.6 (Q2);  JCI = 1.21 (Q1) / SCOPUS 2022:  SJR = 1.097;  CiteScore = 6.4 (Q1)