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 Psicología 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.
María Álvarez-Voces and Estrella Romero
University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain)
Background: Despite the high prevalence of conduct problems in children, and their social and health impact, little is known about gender differences in their characteristics, determinants and implications. This three-year longitudinal study explored the diversity of individual trait configurations in children with conduct problems, assessing whether 1) the same profiles can be identified in boys and girls and, 2) the predictors and outcomes of these profiles are invariant across genders. Method: A multigroup analysis of latent profiles based on temperamental and psychopathic traits was performed on a sample of 401 young children (50.87% girls) with high scores in conduct problems. Results: Both the number of profiles and the means and variances of compositional variables were similar across genders, but the distributions were different. Four profiles were identified, and girls belonged to the least problematic group more frequently. While the predictors were invariant across genders, outcomes were not. Conclusions: This study contributes to the literature on heterogeneity in conduct problems by identifying specific constellations of traits in both boys and girls and shows the importance of considering gender in understanding the progression of conduct problems.
Antecedentes: Pese a la alta prevalencia de los problemas de conducta en niños y de su relevancia sociosanitaria, se sabe poco sobre las diferencias de género en sus características, determinantes e implicaciones. Este estudio longitudinal de tres años explora la diversidad de configuraciones de rasgos individuales en niños con problemas de conducta, evaluando 1) si pueden identificarse los mismos perfiles en niños y niñas y, 2) si los predictores y consecuencias de estos perfiles permanecen invariantes entre géneros. Método: Se realizó un análisis multigrupo de perfiles latentes basados en rasgos temperamentales y psicopáticos en 401 participantes (50,87% niñas) con altos problemas de conducta. Resultados: El número de perfiles y las medias y varianzas de las variables composicionales fueron similares entre géneros, pero las distribuciones fueron diferentes. Se identificaron cuatro perfiles, y las niñas pertenecían con mayor frecuencia al grupo menos problemático. Mientras que los predictores permanecieron invariables entre géneros, las consecuencias de dichos perfiles no. Conclusiones: Este estudio contribuye a la literatura sobre la heterogeneidad en los problemas de conducta mediante la identificación de constelaciones específicas de rasgos en niños y en niñas, y muestra la relevancia de atender al género para entender el desarrollo de los problemas de conducta.
SPANISH
ENGLISH
https://doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2023.44