Background: This study analyzes the relationship between depression and anxiety levels and positive and negative affect, self-esteem, and perceived social support from family and friends in an early and middle adolescent sample. These are psychological variables that are often associated with the prediction of emotional disorders, especially depression. Methods: Participants (N = 467) were a representative sample of this group of adolescents and were recruited from schools in the city of Concepción, Chile. Part of the sample (N = 177) was assessed three additional times—at one-, two-, and four-month intervals. Results: Results showed a practical stability of all measures across the four intervals, with no significant differences between sexes. Anxiety and depression displayed a similar pattern of significant relationships with affectivity, self-esteem, and social support. Depression had a higher correlation coefficient (−0.47) with positive affect, and so did anxiety with negative affect (0.58). Conclusions: Taking into account 23 initial scores on affectivity, self-esteem, and social support in predicting both depression and anxiety scores at one-month, two-month, and four-month intervals, positive affect was present in three regression analyses, predicting depression scores; negative affect was present in anxiety scores. Results are discussed according to previous findings, as well as the tripartite model.

Background: The aims of the study were to establish an adjustment model to analyze the relationship among mindfulness, balanced time perspective (BTP) and psychological well-being (PWB) in college students and to explore gender differences among the variables. Method: The sample consisted of 380 college students, 220 women and 160 men, uniformly distributed according to the university’s faculties. Results: The results indicate that the synergy between mindfulness and BTP predicts the variance of PWB by 55%. Regarding gender differences, it was found that women have a greater tendency towards Past Positive than men and men a higher tendency towards Present Hedonistic than women. In addition, in the group of women, a stronger relationship was found among the variables and, consequently, a greater predictive value for PWB (58%), displaying an enhanced disposition to high PWB compared to men. Conclusions: Together, mindfulness and BTP promote optimal psychological functioning and alleviate or reduce discomfort. Thus, their promotion and training in universities is especially important given the high prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in college students.

This study relates emotional regulation strategies with dispositional mindfulness and the mediating role of time perspective. It is based on the fact that one of the mechanisms of mindfulness consists in providing protective emotional regulation strategies. At the same time, a direct relationship between dispositional mindfulness and time perspective has been observed. To do this, a representative sample of 320 Chilean adolescents from the city of Talcahuano, whose age ranged between 14 and 17 years old, and who were attending high school, was evaluated. The Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, and the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire were applied. Regression analysis results verified the close relationship between emotional regulation and dispositional mindfulness (R2 = 0.54), as well as with the factors of time perspective (R2 = 0.41), explaining, between both of them, 60% of the variance of difficulties in emotional regulation. The possible mediational role of time perspective between dispositional mindfulness and emotional regulation is established.

The high prevalence of mental disorders related to anxiety and depressive mood during childhood and adolescence requires a constant screening of the levels of such variables. For that purpose, instruments that are valid, reliable and easy to administrate are needed. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) represents an instrument with those characteristics. The aim of this study was to adapt the HADS, in a representative sample (between 8 and 16 years old) of Chilean children and adolescents. The study was conducted in four stages: cognitive interviews (N=10), confirmatory factor analysis (N=467), test-retest with two weeks (n=126) and one-month (n=227) intervals. The results indicated that the adapted HADS, with an extension of 12 items, would have a structure of two factors (anxiety and depressive mood), adequate reliability for the anxiety subscale ( = .75), but not for depression ( = .65), an absence of a significant correlation between factors, and differences according to gender and type of school. It is concluded that the adapted HADS is reliable for its use with Chilean adolescents. This study supports the two-factor structure of anxiety-depression. However, the structure of three factors also reached significant adjustment coefficients.