Nicolás Ruiz Robledillo

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Verified

Nicolás verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

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• PhD Health Psychology
• Professor (Associate) at University of Alicante

Questionnaire (BPFQ) assesses attitudes and beliefs in university students with good psychometric properties. This study adapts the questionnaire to Spanish and examines its psychometric properties, as well as the differences between knowledge fields. A total of 607 students from the University of Alicante participated in this instrumental study. T...

Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is an innate personality trait that describes how individuals perceive and capture environmental information. The extensive literature suggests that people high in SPS may present health implications, such as depressive symptoms and prefrontal symptoms. Prefrontal symptoms are related to executive functioning, e...

Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), linked to processing external and internal stimuli, has drawn attention to its associations with clinical factors, particularly with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) variables. This study examined the relationships among SPS, stress, sleep quality, and HRQOL, establishing an explanation model. Eight hundr...

Attentional processes are cognitive functions directly related to academic performance, being mainly involved in several teaching-learning processes. Although there are several evaluation tools for the cognitive assessment of attention in the educational context, more research is needed on the development of new ecological and computer-based evalua...

An increasing number of studies are focusing their efforts on developing ecologically valid and computer- based tools for the neuropsychological evaluation, both in clinical and general populations. In this regard, emergent studies are demonstrating the advantages of computer-based tools for cognitive evaluation, especially in the case of certain d...

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder which entails several deficits in executive functioning and attention processes, typically emerging in early childhood and adolescence. Based on the negative impact of this disorder on academic performance, a growing body of contemporary researchers is directing attent...

The prevalence of executive dysfunction and attention deficits during childhood has increased dramatically during the last years, having been related to the diagnosis of some disorders such as the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Being one of the most prevalent neurodevelopmental conditions, it has been demonstrated that having this...

An increasing number of studies emphasize the advantages of developing ecologically valid computer-based tools for neuropsychological assessment, applicable to both clinical and non-clinical populations. These tools target cognitive functions like attention, memory, and processing speed, relevant to conditions such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivit...

SARS-CoV-2 respiratory infection is still under study today, mainly because of its long-term effects. This study aims to analyse health status and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in survivors of coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) who have developed pulmonary sequelae. Prospective observational study of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumoni...

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder diagnosed mainly in children, marked by inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity. The symptoms are highly variable, such as different ages of onset and potential comorbidities, contributing to frequent misdiagnoses. Professionals note a gap in modern diagnostic tools, making accurate identification challenging...

Introduction It has been shown that lifestyle is a highly modifiable determinant having a direct effect on the health status. Therefore, short and simple questionnaires assessing the lifestyle of the general and clinical population are needed to create interventions on behavioral aspects that can improve the health status. The Simple Lifestyle Indi...

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a common neurodevelopmental disorder in children, is marked by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, impacting daily life. Traditional ADHD diagnostics are lengthy and resource heavy. Using computer games for ADHD diagnosis and therapy represents a major advancement in mental health and neuros...

Approximately half of all adults living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) experience cognitive alterations related to difficulties in treatment adherence and, therefore, to a significant decrease in quality of life. In this sense, new studies are needed to identify potential mediators related to treatment in this association, such as trea...

Introduction The inextricable bond between humans and the environment underscores the pivotal significance of environmental sensitivity. This innate trait encompasses a wide array of ways individuals perceive, process, and react to various internal and external stimuli. The evaluation of this trait in children is generally conducted by parents. How...

Introduction. Research suggests that environmental sensitivity may be associated with greater sensitivity to emotional stimuli. Highly sensitive people appear to process emotional subtleties more deeply, which is related to overstimulation. These issues may explain why high sensitivity can influence health outcomes such as sleep quality. Depending...

Introduction. Environmental Sensitivity (ES) is defined as an innate trait that makes individual differences in the way of perceiving, registering and interpretating both environmental and inner information. From a neuropsychological perspective, previous studies have suggested that highly sensitive people show a reduced inhibitory control and incr...

In recent years, the issue of environmental sensitivity has generated interest not only among many researchers, but also practitioners. Reports indicating the poten�tial mental health risks related to increased sensitivity due to external and internal stimuli have also increased the interest of clinicians, psychologists and psychothera�pists in th...

Introduction: The assessment of group cohesion is a fundamental aspect in the context of higher education. However, there is a need for appropriate and specific instruments to assess this construct in the university context. Objective: To adapt and validate the University Group Environment Questionnaire (UGEQ) group cohesion measure to the Spanish...

Introduction: the assessment of group cohesion is a fundamental aspect in the context of higher education. However, there is a need for appropriate and specific instruments to assess this construct in the university context. Objective: to adapt and validate the University Group Environment Questionnaire (UGEQ) group cohesion measure to the Spanish...

Aim The aim of the article is to systematize the knowledge regarding the theoretical background of the notion referred to in numerous studies as high sensitivity. The basis for the undertaken analyses is the concept of sensory processing sensitivity, which is important for the theoretical development of the issue of environmental sensitivity. Due t...

Cel Celem artykułu jest usystematyzowanie wiedzy dotyczącej teoretycznych podstaw zagadnienia, które w wielu opracowaniach określane bywa mianem wysoka wrażliwość. Podstawą dla podjętych analiz jest koncepcja wrażliwości przetwarzania sensorycznego, mająca istotne znaczenie dla teoretycznego rozwoju zagadnienia wrażliwości środowiskowej. Koncepcja,...

The Mediterranean Lifestyle (MLS) has been related to better health and quality of life. However, there is no consensus on how to assess this lifestyle. The main objective of this work was to systematically review the methodology used in different studies on the evaluation of the MLS. The specific objectives were (1) to analyze the MLS components e...

SARS-CoV-2 respiratory infection and the course of its sequelae remain to be defined. The aim of this study is to analyze health status and Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in a Spanish sample of survivors of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. Methods: Prospective observational study of patients who survived SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia,...

Peer-feedback has demonstrated to be one of the best methodologies to improve the teaching-learning process in the university context. Previous studies have demonstrated that, peer-feedback increases motivation for learning, improves the teaching-learning process, enhances a positive climate in class and allow students to improve several academic s...

SPS is a temperamental trait that characterizes approximately 30% of society. Research confirms that highly sensitive people (HSP) process information and stimuli from the environment more intensively and also more deeply than others. People who fall within this group are more sensitive to both positive and negative environments. The evidence from...

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused several changes in society, especially in the educational context, where several learning methodologies and social interactions have been modified significantly. This fact could have had a negative impact on academic stress levels of students and the classroom climate, especially in the university context. The main...

It has been demonstrated that athletes in competitive sports suffer from high levels of competitive anxiety, especially in the case of females. In this sense, it is necessary to identify possible risk and protective factors of those athletes in this collective who suffer from this type of anxiety. However, few studies analyze the relationship betwe...

Environmental sensitivity is the ability to perceive, register and process information about the environment, which differs among children and adolescents. The Highly Sensitive Child (HSC) scale has been used to assess environmental sensitivity in youngsters. The HSC scale is a short and 12-item adapted version of the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)...

The Questionnaire on Sensory Processing Sensitivity in Children (QSPSinCh) is designed to measure the personality trait of Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS) in children aged 3 to 10 years. SPS is a phenotypic personality trait, characterised by deep cognitive, sensory and emotional processing of environmental information. SPS presents a wide ran...

Health care personnel constitutes the most vulnerable group of professionals, as they are employed in a work context with higher exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in health personnel (n = 2858) of two health departments in the Valencian community between March 2020 and April 2021, a...

Introduction The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) stills remains a serious public health problem. HIV acquisition has several negative health consequences, such as a cognitive deterioration or health-related quality of life (HRQoL) impairment. Although these negative consequences could be directly related to a significant increase in self-stigma...

Background: Sensory processing has been described as the ability to register, modulate, and organize sensory information to respond to environmental demands. Different theoretical approaches have studied the differential characteristics of sensory processing, such as Dunn's model. From this framework, high sensitivity in sensory processing has bee...

Chemsex, a new risky sexual behavior involving participation in sexual relations under the influence of drugs, has shown a significantly increased prevalence in recent years. This fact entails a serious public health issue, especially when Chemsex is practiced by individuals with an HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) diagnosis. Hence, analyzing the...

Sensory Processing Sensitivity, characterized by a more deeply cognitive, sensory and emotional information processing, has been previously related to several mental health problems. However, the studies are rare and an integration of the obtained findings needs to be addressed. We conducted a systematic review of studies using scientific databases...

Suicide is one of the main premature causes of death in patients with schizophrenia. However, little is known about the relationship between neurocognitive functioning and suicidality in violent offenders with schizophrenia who have been sentenced to psychiatric treatment after committing violent crimes. We examined the neurocognitive functioning o...

The increase in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission cases poses a serious public health concern. Although several previous studies have been conducted with the aim of identifying the risk factors for HIV transmission, the number of cases has been increasing, especially in youth. The present study is aimed at the identification of person...

Introduction: Obesity is one of the most important health problems worldwide. The prevalence of obesity has increased dramatically in the last decades and is now recognized as a global epidemic. Given the dramatic consequences of obesity, new intervention approaches based on the potential of technologies have been developed. Methods: We conducted a...

The Medical Outcome Study-HIV Health Survey (MOS-HIV) is one of the most used questionnaires for the evaluation of the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in people living with HIV (PLWHIV) in both medical settings and research studies. This study aimed to estimate the average reliability of the MOS-HIV scores and to evaluate the characteristics...

The aims of the present study were to evaluate the prevalence of undiagnosed mental health conditions (UMHC) in people living with HIV (PLWHIV) on antiretroviral treatment and with long-term suppressed HIV viremia, and its association with neurocognitive impairment (NCI). A cross-sectional observational study on HIV subjects, ≥18 years old, on stab...

This study examined the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Spanish version of the Homophobic Content Agent Target (HCAT) scale in a sample of 1848 high school students. Participants completed an online survey including measures of homophobic bullying, depression, and anxiety. The factor structure showed adequate fit indices in Span...

Significant progress has been made in developing intervention programmes for adolescents at high risk of delinquency, school failure and emotional problems. The most effective programmes incorporate behavioural and skills training aimed at changing attitudes and promoting psychosocial and emotional skills in adolescents. This study examined the eff...

The prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has significantly increased in recent years. No specific instruments are available in Spanish for assessing health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) in people with MCI. The aim of this study was to adapt transculturally and validate the mild cognitive impairment questionnaire (MCQ) in Spanish people w...

Background: Older people have different nutritional requirements from those of the general population; in particular, they need a lower energy intake, higher protein content to preserve muscle mass, and a greater supply of vitamins and minerals to maintain good bone health. The objective of this study is to evaluate the degree of compliance with nu...

Suicide is the highest external cause of death in the majority of developed countries. In adolescents, the prevalence of suicide has increased significantly in recent years, becoming a serious public health concern. The main aim of the present study is to characterize suicidal behavior, and to evaluate the relationship between family and school con...

This study examined the relations between problematic cannabis use, physical assault, and getting involved in a motor vehicle accident under the influence of cannabis in a sample of adolescents randomly selected from 25 public and semiprivate high schools in Alicante (Spain). Participants (n = 648) completed The Spanish National Standardized Survey...

Bullying has been traditionally related to a significant reduction in well-being and Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) of adolescents. This negative impact on HRQoL seems to be modulated by the developed role in bullying (uninvolved, bully, victim or bully-victim). However, no studies have identified if these negative results are the same when...

The dramatic increase in the number of older people with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) entails a serious public health problem. MCI involves different degrees of dependence that has been previously related to a decrease in Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL), due to impairment in the performance of activities of daily living. Resilient coping,...

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) has previously been related to better quality of life in the general population. Further, children and adolescents have obtained better health outcomes when they have shown high adherence to the MD in recent studies. Nevertheless, the association between the adherence to this type of diet and subjective happ...

The increase in the prevalence of bullying and cyberbullying in recent years worldwide is undeniable. Although several intervention programs oriented towards the reduction of bullying and cyberbullying have been developed and implemented, significant disparities have been found regarding their efficacy. In most of the cases, the lack of the impleme...

Loneliness perception during adolescence has been increased dramatically in recent years. Changes in lifestyle and difficulties in social interaction could explain this increased phenomenon. As described in previous research, this fact has been associated with the development of high stress levels and dysfunctional lifestyles, in which eating habit...

This study examined the associations between eating or skipping breakfast and the quality of breakfast eaten on health-related quality of life (HRQOL), perceived stress and depression in 527 Spanish adolescents. Results showed differences in stress and two domains of HRQOL; Moods and Emotions and Parent Relations and Home Life between adolescent br...

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has been associated with certain eating habits, such as the Mediterranean diet (MD) and lifestyles. However, the specific role of gender in this association is not yet known. The objective of this study was to analyse the relationship between the consumption of the MD essential foods and lifestyle (tobacco and...

The prevalence of bullying has increased dramatically during recent years, with numerous negative consequences for the health and quality of life of bullied adolescents. Although negative psychological consequences of this type of situation have been widely investigated, no previous research has evaluated the effects of bullying victimization on di...

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been consolidated in healthcare settings as a highly useful therapeutic approach. Numerous studies have demonstrated their positive influence on physical and psychological well-being. In contrast, the scientific evidence concerning the potential beneficial effects of mindfulness on biological variables su...

The authors would like to acknowledge an error in the results section of this paper. Figures 1 and 2 are inverted. Figure 1 shows the increase of salivary IgA levels and Figure 2 shows the decrease of salivary cortisol levels.

As postulated by the stress process model, chronically stressed individuals, such as caregivers of people with chronic psychological disorders, have poorer cognitive performance and higher age-related cognitive decline than individuals not exposed to chronic stress. When analysing this topic in caregivers, the majority of research has been conducte...

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has often been linked to alcohol consumption. Alcohol abuse affects cognitive processing through its effects on the prefrontal cortex, generating influence in mental rigidity (MR). This study analyzes the influence of MR as a predisposing factor to violence. The sample consisted of 136 men with a history of IPV. Part...

Caring for an offspring with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been related to high stress levels and health disturbances. However, a protective effect against these negative health outcomes has been described in high-resilient caregivers. In this context, the main aim of the present study was to assess the association between resilient coping...

Seeking to prevent antisocial behavior, the study of the biological basis of empathy has gained certain relevance in recent years. Some studies have pointed out the involvement of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) and cortisol in empathy, but few have studied the relationship between the first and Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR), as a...

Caring for offspring diagnosed with eating disorders (EDs) entails being under high chronic stress, with negative consequences for health. However, most previous research has only evaluated self-report measures of health, biological markers being poorly studied. In this regard, the evaluation of the cortisol awakening response (CAR) could add signi...

Caring for an offspring with an eating disorder (ED) is associated with high levels of distress, and health problems. Indeed, ED caregivers have to cope with a range of challenges related to their caring role, which represents a chronic stress situation. This tends to alter body homeostasis and caregivers’ health status. This study aimed to analyse...

Innovation in assisted reproductive technologies together with increased infertility and new family structures are increasing the use of gestational surrogacy as a means to have children. Before, during and after the process, it is necessary to study the psychosocial characteristics of triad members: the gestational surrogate, intended parents, and...

Caring for children diagnosed with a chronic psychological disorder such as an eating disorder (ED) can be used as a model of chronic stress. This kind of stress has been reported to have deleterious effects on caregivers’ cognition, particularly in verbal declarative memory of women caregivers. Moreover, high depressive mood and variations in test...

El cuidado de un familiar con un trastorno de la conducta alimentaria (TCA) repercute negativamente en el cuidador, aumentando su percepción de estrés y deteriorando su calidad de vida. Los cuidadores informales de personas con TCA presentan mayores índices de ansiedad y depresión, y un peor estado de salud general. Se analizó la efectividad de un...

Caregivers of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are chronically exposed to high levels of stress. In turn, such stress is associated with high rates of negative health outcomes. However, few studies have analyzed the effects of psychotherapeutic interventions in improving health in this population. The main aim of the present study was to...

Depression has been associated with sleep disturbances in pregnancy; however, no previous research has controlled the possible confounding effect of anxiety on this association. This study aims to analyze the effect of depression on sleep during the third trimester of pregnancy controlling for anxiety. The sample was composed by 143 depressed (n =...

Caring for people with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been reported to have a negative impact on the caregivers' health. One of the most studied risk factors is the severity of the autistic symptomatology of the care recipient, greater severity of symptoms having been associated with poorer health outcomes in caregivers. However, to our know...

The existence of mild forms of autistic-like characteristics in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) has been defined as a broader autistic phenotype (BAP). Excessive prenatal exposure to testosterone (T) seems to play a role in its development. The aims of this study were to characterize whether ASD parents show masculinized b...

A procura da felicidade é universal e tan antiga como a humanidade, que a perse-guiu incesantemente desde as súas orixes. Este desexo de ser feliz é tan importante que, na actualidade, algúns países empezaron a medir o seu desenvolvemento en función do Índice de Felicidade per capita. Ademais, nas últimas décadas a ciencia da Psicoloxía pasou de oc...

Mindfulness-based interventions have demonstrated to be effective in reducing stress and health complaints in clinical populations. However, to our knowledge, biological health markers have not been used in studies of the effectiveness of mindfulness programs in caregivers of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). This study aimed to assess...

The negative consequences of caring for people with developmental disabilities have been widely described. However, the ability to bounce back from the stress derived from care situations has been less studied. Those caregivers who have shown this ability are considered as resilient. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between resilience a...

Caring for a relative with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) entails being under chronic stress that could alter body homeostasis. Electrodermal activity (EDA) is an index of the sympathetic activity of the autonomic nervous system related to emotionality and homeostasis. This study compares EDA in response to acute stress in the laboratory between pa...

Several studies have found disruptions in cortisol awakening response in informal caregivers. Institutional support may modulate these effects, and this study analyses how the health of caregivers is affected when institutional support is provided for families of people with high-functioning autism. Self-reported health, depression and cortisol awa...

Caring for offspring with autism spectrum disorders entails high levels of stress for a long period of time and is associated with several types of health complaints. Few studies have focused on specific effects of particular disorders in the spectrum. This study was carried out with the aim of evaluating the global health of parents of people with...

Instances of sustained cooperative behaviour in humans can be considered as an adaptive strategy that enhances the probability of reaching a goal. This study investigates psychophysiological responses to cooperation in healthy subjects, while considering outcome and gender as potential moderators of these responses. Salivary cortisol levels (Csal),...