Miguel Ángel Alcázar-Córcoles

Miguel Ángel Alcázar-Córcoles
Autonomous University of Madrid | UAM · Biological and Health Psychology

PhD

About

66
Publications
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2,523
Citations

Publications

Publications (66)
Article
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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the health and wellbeing of the global population. This paper presents the results of a longitudinal transcultural study that was begun at the peak of the pandemic (in April, 2020). An online survey was used to collect data from English-, Spanish-, and Portuguese-speaking participants. The surve...
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Introduction Online grooming is the process by which an adult manipulates a minor by using information and communication technologies to interact sexually with that minor. The objective of this study was to analyze the stability of online grooming victimization among minors and its relationship with demographic variables (e.g., gender, age, and sex...
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The study explores in depth the relationship between missing persons’ psychosocial and criminological characteristics/circumstances and violent-fatal outcomes (suicide and homicide). A relational analytical explicative study of 929 cases and controls was designed using a retrospective and stratified design. Data gathering was conducted through the...
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Hallucinations are currently associated almost exclusively with psychopathological states. While it is evident that hallucinations can indicate psychopathology or neurological disorders, we should remember that hallucinations also commonly occur in people without any signs of psychopathology. A similar case occurs in the case of hallucinogenic drug...
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The COVID-19 pandemic has made evident the need to develop effective strategies to cushion the psychological consequences of social catastrophes. Preliminary evidence suggests that the use of hallucinogens is a protective factor that mitigates against such stressors. However, the underlying mechanisms must be further explored. This study specifical...
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This investigation studied the interaction between seven risk factors included in the police risk assessment of the VioGén System and found that these factors formed groups based on the dimensions of violence and psychopathology. The 171 femicides analysed were categorised into four groups: normalised (23.4%), violent (25.7%), pathological (18.7%),...
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Ayahuasca is a plant decoction in traditional Amazonian medicine. Its ritual use has been internationalized, leading to policy challenges that countries should address. This study evaluates the impact of regular ayahuasca ceremony participation on health by assessing the health status of 377 participants in ayahuasca ceremonies in the Netherlands u...
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High scores in psychopathy were associated with acts of violence, and the prevalence of this condition is greater among the prison population than among the general population. In terms of its relation to femicide, two studies, one carried out in Sweden and another in Spain with a prison population, found that psychopathy is an uncommon condition a...
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Although research on missing persons has globally increased during the past few years, most of the studies conducted have focused on the description of socio-demographic and situational factors associated with this phenomenon. The aim of this study is to explore in-depth the relation between missing person's socio-demographic factors and missing pe...
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Background: One of the main public health strategies adopted at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic consisted of implementing strict lockdowns to stop the transmission of the virus. Despite being an effective measure, the confinement and the associated social isolation create a stressful, potentially lengthy situations that has been proven to ha...
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Background: In recent decades, ritualistic use of ayahuasca has spread throughout the world. Retrospective studies have suggested a good psychological safety profile, but prospective studies involving ceremony ayahuasca-naive participants are lacking. Methods: We conducted the study using a subsample from a previous study, for which first-time c...
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The phenomenon of homicide followed by suicide (HS) has a low prevalence worldwide, although the literature has identified that these cases represent a significant percentage in homicide subtypes such as intimate partner homicide or filicide. In the present study, HS (n = 41) and homicides in which the perpetrator did not commit suicide after the e...
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The particularities of bounded data are often overlooked. This type of data is likely to display a pattern of skewness because of the existence of an upper and lower limit that cannot be exceeded. In the context of factor analysis, when variables are skewed in opposite directions, using normal-theory factor analysis might lead to over-factoring. We...
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Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic decoction used as a traditional medicine in several Amazonian regions. The ritualistic use of ayahuasca has spread throughout many countries, making it necessary to study its risks and benefits. Two sub-studies were designed for this investigation. In sub-study 1, a psychiatric interview and a battery of questionnaires...
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Ibogaine is the most abundant alkaloid present in the African shrub Tabernanthe iboga. As a result of the lack of research on the acute subjective effects, the purpose of this study was to identify categories of the ibogaine experience and gain a better understanding of the internal processes while under its effects. We created a semistructured int...
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The number of patients using cannabis for therapeutic purposes is growing worldwide. While research regarding the treatment of certain diseases/disorders with cannabis and cannabinoids is also expanding, only a few longitudinal studies have assessed the mid-term impacts of medical cannabis use on psychological variables and quality of life (QoL). T...
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Introduction This paper presents an analysis of the data of the technical team (psychologist, social worker and educator) of the juvenile court of Toledo (Spain) from 2001 to 2012. Methodology Descriptive study of the annual series of a sample of 3333 juvenile offenders and their psychosocial, educational and criminal characteristics. Results In...
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Decision-making deficits are strong predictors of poor clinical outcomes in addiction treatment. However, research on interventions that address decision-making deficits among people with addiction is scarce and has not been analyzed. We aimed to systematically review evidence on neuropsychological interventions for decision-making deficits in addi...
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Assessing the health status of ayahuasca users has been challenging due to the limitations involved in randomized clinical trials and psychometric approaches. The main objective of this study is the implementation of an approach based on public health indicators. We developed a self-administered questionnaire that was administered to long-term ayah...
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El objetivo fue determinar el efecto que la impulsividad y la desesperanza tienen sobre el riesgo de suicidio después de controlar por las variables demográficas, recibir visita y consumo de drogas. Se aplicaron las escalas de impulsividad y de riesgo de suicidio de Plutchik y la escala de desesperanza de Beck a 151 jóvenes, 58,3% hombres y 41,7 mu...
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Introducción En este artículo se analizan los datos del equipo técnico (psicólogo, trabajador social y educador) del juzgado de menores de Toledo (España) desde el año 2001 a 2012. Metodología Estudio descriptivo de la serie anual de una muestra de 3.333 menores infractores y de sus características psicosociales, educativas y delictivas. Resultad...
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Introduction: Mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders are among the most prevalent psychiatric disorders in the population. Although several pharmacological treatments are available, they are not effective for a significant proportion of patients and are associated with several adverse reactions. Therefore, new treatments should be explored. Rec...
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The limited literature on online child grooming has focused mainly on studying the characteristics of perpetrators and victims that facilitate the sexual abuse of minors. Little attention has been given to the perceptions of the perpetrators about the abuse process and the strategies used to sustain it over time. In the present study, after identif...
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Ayahuasca is a psychedelic decoction originating from Amazonia. The ayahuasca-induced introspective experience has been shown to have potential benefits in the treatment of several pathologies, to protect mental health and to improve neuropsychological functions and creativity, and boost mindfulness. The underlying psychological processes related t...
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Serotonergic psychedelics act as agonists at cortical 5-HT2Areceptors and seem to induce personality changes. We conducted a systematic review of studies assessing the effects of these drugs on personality. Papers published from 1985 to 2016 were included from PubMed, LILACS, and SciELO databases. Three hundred and sixty-nine studies were identifie...
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The objective of this study was to develop a questionnaire to assess the online sexual solicitation and interactions of minors with adults in order to document the extent of this problem. The questionnaire was constructed in four phases: (a) a review of the previous literature; (b) interviews with convicted online child-sex offenders; (c) a review...
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Background and aims Ibogaine is a natural alkaloid that has been used in the last decades as an adjuvant for the treatment of opiate withdrawal. Despite the beneficial results suggested by animal studies and case series, there is a lack of clinical trials to assess the safety and efficacy of ibogaine. Moreover, the majority of reports described cas...
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Introduction: There is a renewed interest in incorporating personality variables in criminology theories in order to build models able to integrate personality variables and biological factors with psychosocial and sociocultural factors. The aim of this article is the assessment of personality dimensions that contribute to the prediction of antiso...
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Psychopathy is characterised by emotional disturbances that affect interpersonal behaviour and decision-making. The objective of this paper is to review the most recent contributions to the field of neuroscience of psychopathy and the implications that this disorder has on the criminal legal field. In regards to this last aspect, we evaluate the is...
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Se han estudiado las propiedades psicométricas de la escala de personalidad EPQ-A (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, forma A) en una muestra de adolescentes de El Salvador, México y España, formada por 1.035 participantes con una edad media de 17 años (en la muestra del EPQ-A). La consistencia interna del EPQ-A se ha calculado mediante el coeficie...
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We think that the development of a psychometric instrument is never complete and that it is always subject to review, and this should apply to any other scientific instrument or technique.
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Objective: In the present study we explored the psychometric properties of three widely used questionnaires to assess the subjective effects of hallucinogens: the Hallucinogen Rating Scale (HRS), the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ), and the Addiction Research Center Inventory (ARCI). Methods: These three questionnaires were administered...
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La neurobiología de la agresión y la violencia es de interés para la psicología jurídica porque buena parte de la conducta delictiva tiene componentes violentos. En esta revisión se definen en primer lugar ambos conceptos, para diferenciar a continuación los tipos de agresión (impulsiva vs. instrumental) que aparecen en la literatura científica y f...
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Objetivo. El objetivo del presente estudio ha sido la va-lidación y baremación de la Escala de Riesgo de Violencia de Plutchik (EV) en población adolescente hispanohablante. Material y métodos. Para ello se obtuvo una muestra de adolescentes de El Salvador, México y España formada por 1035 participantes con una edad media de 16,2 años. Los adolesce...
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Objetive: The objective of the present study was the validation and scaling of the Plutchik's Violence Risk Scale (EV) in adolescent Spanish-speaking population. Methods: For this purpose, a sample of adolescents from El Salvador, Mexico and Spain was obtained. The sample consisted of 1035 participants with a mean age of 16.2. There were 450 ado...
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The objective of the present study was to validate and score the Plutchik´s Impulsivity Scale (IS) in adolescent offenders in Spanish-speaking population. A sample of adolescents from El Salvador, Mexico and Spain was obtained. The sample consisted of 1035 participants with a mean age of 16.2. The forensic population included 450 adolescents (those...
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Nowadays, there is an increasing field of researches that link the novelty seeking dimension with the cerebral reward system: the mesocortical dopaminergic system. The objective of this review is to analyze the relationships between novelty seeking, risk, and reward, and their links with externalization behaviours (antisocial, risk, and drug abuse...
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The legal disposition Ley Orgánica 5/2000 (L.O. 5/2000) regarding the criminal responsibility of youth have fostered the role of the psychologist within the legal context. In this study we present a descriptive analysis of the work carried out by the Forensic Team (consisting of one psychologist, one social worker, and one educational worker) of To...
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Background Internet and mobile-based interventions provide a unique opportunity to deliver cost-effective, accessible, time-unlimited support to people with psychosis. The aims of this study were to systematically compile and analyze the evidence on the acceptability, feasibility, safety and benefits of online and mobile-based interventions for psy...
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Using personality, psychopathology, and neuropsychological assessment instruments, our team assessed the therapeutic effects of an ayahuasca ritual treatment. Data was collected at the Institute of Applied Amazonian Ethnopsychology (IDEAA), in the Brazilian Amazon Basin. Psychological assessments were obtained both before and at the end of the trea...
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Ayahuasca is an Amazonian psychoactive plant beverage containing the serotonergic 5-HT(2A) agonist N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and monoamine oxidase-inhibiting alkaloids (harmine, harmaline and tetrahydroharmine) that render it orally active. Ayahuasca ingestion is a central feature in several Brazilian syncretic churches that have expanded their...
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Structural and functional abnormalities of the cerebral circuits involved in affect regulation are associated with the display of violent behaviors. The prefrontal cortex hypofunction linked to the subcortical structural hyperactivity is related to impulsive aggression. To review the current state of the neuropsychological studies concerning the po...
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Impulsivity is a multifaceted construct central to several forms of psychopathology. Recently, Lynam, Smith, Whiteside, and Cyders (2006) developed the UPPS-P scale, a multidimensional inventory that assesses 5 personality pathways contributing to impulsive behavior: negative urgency, lack of perseverance, lack of premeditation, sensation seeking,...
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The relationship between frontal lobe damage and criminality is especially complex. The neural substrates of psychopathic behavior seem to involve structural and functional abnormalities in the frontal lobes and the limbic system. AIM. To analyze the repercussions that brain structural and functional abnormalities in psychopathic individuals may ha...
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The purpose of this study was to investigate the safety of different doses of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy administered in a psychotherapeutic setting to women with chronic PTSD secondary to a sexual assault, and also to obtain preliminary data regarding efficacy. Although this study was originally planned to include 29 subjects, political pressures...
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El problema del acoso escolar (bulling en la extendida terminología anglosajona) se ha caracterizado hasta hace bien poco por ser un fenómeno oculto, que pese a haber estado presente desde siempre en las relaciones entre los menores en los centros educativos y fuera de los mismos, no ha generado estudios, reflexiones o reacciones ni desde el ámbito...
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Tesis doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Psicología, Departamento de Psicología Biológica y de la Salud , Fecha de lectura:25 de septiembre de 2007 Bibliogr.: p. 537-639. Índice
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The principal aims of this review are: (a) to offer a perspective of the principal challenges that forensic neuropsychology handles in its scientific and professional development, and the empirical advances that have been developed to deal with these challenges; and (b) analyze the potential effects of these advances on the application of the disci...
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Resumen En este trabajo consideramos la violencia de género multicausal con la prioritaria influencia de factores culturales, sociales, personales y de relación. Proponemos que para una intervención concreta se actúe sobre lo que denominamos pilares básicos de la violencia de género: la impunidad, la diferencia de poder y los resultados de la viole...
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Resumen. Se revisa la posible relación entre la adicción combinada de alcohol y cocaína, muy frecuente en la actualidad, y la aparición de comportamiento antisocial, agresividad y violencia. La farmacodinámica diferencial a partir del consumo de ambas sustancias tiene como resultado la formación de un metabolito, denominado cocaetileno, con propied...

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