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Non-suicidal self-injury among adolescents and its interaction with personal and contextual factors. Epidemiological studies in mental health indicate an increase in the prevalence of non-suicidal self-injury behaviors in adolescents. However, scarce studies in Latin America explore in depth this problematic behavior. Two studies were conducted using a mixed methodology in order to characterize this phenomenon and to identify associated clinical variables in a group of 1517 adolescents and 43 patients. Additionally, the mediator effect of sensation seeking in the relationship between family attachment and self-injury was assessed. Quantitative results indicate a relationship between self-injury and personal and contextual variables as impulsivity, sensation seeking and family dynamics. Qualitative analysis indicated that self-injury is presented in comorbidity with other complex problematics at the affective, social, academic and familiar levels of the participants. Results relevance is discussed for the clinical context.Resumen: Diferentes estudios epidemiológicos en salud mental indican un aumento en la prevalencia de comportamientos autolesivos en adolescentes. Sin embargo, escasos estudios en Latinoamérica exploran esta problemática en profundidad. Por medio de dos estudios con metodología mixta, el presente trabajo  consistió en la caracterización de la autolesión y en la identificación de variables clínicas asociadas en una muestra de 1517 adolescentes y de 43 pacientes. Así mismo, se evaluó el efecto mediador de la búsqueda de sensaciones en la relación entre el apego familiar y la autolesión. Los resultados cuantitativos indican una relación entre la autolesión y factores personales y contextuales, tales como la impulsividad, la búsqueda de sensaciones y las dinámicas familiares. El análisis cualitativo indica que la autolesión se presenta en comorbilidad con otras problemáticas complejas en los niveles afectivo, social, académico y familiar de los pacientes. Se discute la relevancia de los resultados a nivel clínico.

Affect is involved in many psychological phenomena, but a descriptive structure, long sought, has been elusive. Valence and arousal are fundamental, and a key question–the focus of the present study–is the relationship between them. Valence is sometimes thought to be independent of arousal, but, in some studies (representing too few societies in the world) arousal was found to vary with valence. One common finding is that arousal is lowest at neutral valence and increases with both positive and negative valence: a symmetric V-shaped relationship. In the study reported here of self-reported affect during a remembered moment (N = 8,590), we tested the valence-arousal relationship in 33 societies with 25 different languages. The two most common hypotheses in the literature–independence and a symmetric V-shaped relationship–were not supported. With data of all samples pooled, arousal increased with positive but not negative valence. Valence accounted for between 5% (Finland) and 43% (China Beijing) of the variance in arousal. Although there is evidence for a structural relationship between the two, there is also a large amount of variability in this relation.

This study focuses on the problematic situations adolescents have to face resulting from their own alcohol use. These situations were described according to their type and frequency of occurrence, and possible explanatory variables were explored. In particular, we considered the effect of perceived peer intake of alcohol, social and family permissiveness, patterns of use and parental norms. The sample comprised 9276 adolescents from nine cities and municipalities in Colombia, with an average age of 14. Results indicate that the most common problematic situations experienced by the adolescents are: getting drunk, vomiting, and having problems at home or with one's boyfriend or girlfriend because of the drinking. As in previous studies, the behavior of peers is associated with severity of the drinking-related problems experienced by the adolescents. The study also suggests that easy access to alcohol is related to the perception that their peers use it, and appears to be more closely associated with the possibility of accessing alcohol at parties and among friends than with the perception that it is easy to buy it. It was also found that excessive drinking habits were associated with greater likelihood of negative consequences, that in Colombia the presence of alcohol use in the family is associated with fewer reports of extreme and difficult situations, and that having problems at home because of alcohol use is associated with a larger number of problems such as drunkenness and vomiting, among others.Key Words: Alcohol, social acceptance, accessibility, patterns of consumption, peer use perception. RESUMEN ABSTRACTEste estudio se centra en las situaciones problemáticas que los menores de edad enfrentan en relación al consumo propio de alcohol. Se caracterizaron dichas situaciones según su tipo y frecuencia y se exploraron posibles variables explicativas. En particular, se analizó el efecto de la percepción de consumo por parte de los pares, la permisividad social y familiar, los patrones de consumo de los menores y las normas familiares. Para ello se utilizó una muestra compuesta por 9276 estudiantes de secundaria, con una edad promedio de 14 años, en nueve ciudades y municipios de Colombia. Embriagarse, vomitar, tener problemas en casa por beber y pelear con la pareja por estar bebiendo alcohol, son las situaciones problemáticas más comúnmente experimentadas por los adolescentes. Al igual que en estudios anteriores, se encontró que el número de problemas relacionados con el consumo de alcohol es mayor si se considera que los amigos consumen alcohol. Así mismo, la facilidad de acceder al alcohol tiene una clara relación con la percepción de que sus pares consumen y parece estar más asociado a la posibilidad de acceder a éste en fiestas y entre amigos, que con la facilidad de comprar alcohol. También se encontró que tener hábitos de consumo excesivos se asocia a una mayor posibilidad de sufrir consecuencias negativas, que en Colombia la presencia de consumo en la familia se asocia con un reporte menor de situacion...

Colombia is one of the countries where corporal punishment (CP) is not yet banned. This study aims to contribute to the understanding of CP in Colombia with respect to prevalence, severity and chronicity. We used the Spanish version of the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale to assess 853 parental reports on the use of CP against their children in the four major cities of the country: Barranquilla, Bogotá, Medellin and Cali. Analyses of variances and logistic regressions were performed. Socio-demographic variables that are predictors of the use of CP are parental age, the number of children in the household and age of the children. The results indicated a high rate of prevalence (77%) but low levels of severity and chronicity, as reported by Colombian parents. Our findings suggest that CP is a normalised practice, which might be linked to direct or indirect exposure to the long-lasting armed conflict (more than 50 years) that the country endured. Recommendations for social policies are presented, particularly the design and implementation of locally relevant interventions for the prevention of this practice.

The current pandemic caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) and lockdown as a strategy to contain and control infections, showed new challenges in mental health care. This study focused on analysing the differences in emotional symptoms, concerns, and satisfaction with life during lockdown due to COVID-19 in young people with mental health problems and without pre-existing conditions. A cross-sectional study of two cohorts (clinical and community) was conducted with 422 young Colombians aged between 20 and 25 years old. Sociodemographic conditions, depression, anxiety, stress, positive and negative emotions and feelings, and life satisfaction were evaluated. Descriptive and comparative analysis were carried out. Young people with a history of mental health problems showed greater symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and less life satisfaction. Differences were observed in concerns about mental health, lockdown, and cohabitation problems. The pandemic and lockdown have had adverse effects on young people's mental health, and as such, it is necessary for health services to develop differentiated care programs, both in the period that the pandemic lasts and in the long term.

The authors are immensely grateful to the Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar for giving its endorsement and permission for the study (SIM E-2016-660327-0111), the authorities and legal guardians who signed the consent, the institutions that provided their support when applying the instruments, and above all, to the participating adolescents who donated their time and provided the information.