The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health emergency that could potentially have a serious impact on public health. Fear has been one of the most frequent psychological reaction in the population during the current pandemic. The aim of this study was to compare fear of COVID-19 between genders and to examine whether the differences between genders may be predictors of fear of COVID-19 scores. A cross-sectional webbased survey design was adopted. The sample comprised 772 Cuban participants. The Fear of COVID-19 Scale was used to explore fear reactions in the sample. An independent-samples t test was conducted to compare the fear of COVID-19 scores between genders, and multinomial logistic regression was modeling to identify variables independently associated with fear of coronavirus. In our sample, on average, female participants experienced significantly greater fear of COVID-19 than men. The gender of participants significantly predicted the level of fear of COVID-19. Being female was a predictor of medium and high levels of fear of COVID-19. The odds of a female with middle fear levels compared to low fear was 3.13 times more than for a male, and the odds of a female with high fear levels compared to low fear was 3.45 times more than for a male. Our results corroborate international research that indicate a greater psychological vulnerability in women during the COVID-19 pandemic. This result points to the need to design interventions that reduce the negative impact of the current outbreak on women's mental health.

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Readers should note the following correction to this article. In the last sentence of the section, The Fear of COVID-19 Scale, the Cronbach alpha coefficient stated for the Cuban population should be 0.80 rather than 0.87. Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

The resurgence of COVID-19 could deepen the psychological impacts of the pandemic which poses new challenges for mental health professionals. Among the actions that should be prioritized is the monitoring of the groups that have shown greater psychological vulnerability during the first stage of the pandemic. The first aim of our study is to explore the fear reactions to COVID-19 between genders during the second wave of the outbreak in Cuba. Second, establish possible predictors of fear of COVID-19 in relation to gender. Specifically, we will evaluate how anxiety related to COVID-19, health self-perception, and worry about the resurgence of COVID-19 predict fear reactions among women and men in the Cuban population. A cross-sectional online study was designed. The research was conducted between August 16 and October 18, 2020. A total of 373 people completed the online survey. A socio-demographic questionnaire, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale and the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale were used. An independent-samples t-test was conducted to compare the fear, worry, anxiety and self-perceived health scores, between genders. The relationship between those variables and fear of COVID-19, was investigated using Pearson correlation coefficient. Finally, multiple linear regression was used to evaluate the possible associations (predictors) related to fear of COVID-19. In our study, women, compared to men, presented greater fear reactions, greater concern about resurgence of COVID-19 and poorer self-perceived health. Anxiety reactions in our sample showed no differences between genders. In women, anxiety of COVID-19, worry about resurgence of COVID-19, and self-perceived health are associated with fear reactions to COVID-19. In the case of men, the self-perceived health showed no associations with fear reactions. Our results confirm the results of several related investigations during the first wave of the pandemic where women have shown greater psychological vulnerability compared to men. However, we cannot rule out that the real impact of the pandemic on mental health in men is much greater than that described by the studies conducted to date. Additional studies are needed on the psychological impact of COVID-19 on men.

ABSTRACT. The Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) and the INECO Frontal Screening (IFS) are two instruments frequently used to explore cognitive deficits in different diseases. However, studies reporting their use in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are limited. Objective: To compare the sensitivity and specificity of FAB and IFS in mild cognitive impairment (multiple-domain amnestic MCI subtype — md-aMCI). Methods: IFS and FAB were administered to 30 md-aMCI patients and 59 healthy participants. Sensitivity and specificity were investigated using the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis. Results: The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of IFS for MCI patients was .82 (sensitivity=0.96; specificity=0.76), whereas the AUC of FAB was 0.74 (sensitivity=0.73; specificity=0.70). Conclusions: In comparison to FAB, IFS showed higher sensitivity and specificity for the detection of executive dysfunctions in md-aMCI subtype. The use of IFS in everyday clinical practice would allow detecting the frontal dysfunctions in MCI patients with greater precision, enabling the early intervention and impeding the transition to more severe cognitive alterations.

The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between sociodemographic factors and fear of COVID-19 in a Cuban population. A web-based study with a cross-sectional design was conducted. The sample comprised 1145 participants. To explore fear, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale was used. Our results suggest that women were more likely to experience medium to high levels fear compared to men. Additionally, knowing a person positive to COVID-19 significantly increases fear levels in Cuban participants.

En la actualidad, las universidades han cerrado sus puertas y se ha implementado un proceso educativo basado en el aprendizaje en línea. El presente artículo expone los resultados de un estudio cuyo principal objetivo fue explorar las preferencias del alumnado de Psicología de la Universidad Central “Marta Abreu” de Las Villas, en relación con el empleo de plataformas virtuales dentro del proceso docente de educación a distancia. Se desarrolló una investigación cuantitativa, con un diseño transversal de tipo descriptivo, mediante cuestionario, con alcance descriptivo, en febrero de 2021. Se empleó un cuestionario a través del software libre Google Forms®. Se realizó un muestreo no probabilístico e intencional. Un total de 72 estudiantes completó el cuestionario. Los datos fueron procesados usando SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences), versión 25, mediante el empleo de la estadística descriptiva. Los resultados mostraron que del grupo de plataformas disponibles para el proceso de educación en línea, la mayoría del alumnado emplea WhatsApp alegando que resulta frecuente su uso entre colegas de estudio, que se encuentran familiarizados con su funcionamiento y que facilita la comunicación. La segunda opción de elección fue el correo personal, y, en tercer lugar, la plataforma Moodle. Conocer las preferencias y motivaciones del alumnado, para dar respuestas a sus quehaceres académicos, orienta al profesorado y la dirección en cuanto al reconocimiento de diversas plataformas, y no solamente de aquellas dictadas institucionalmente. Por tanto, debe hacerse un llamado a la flexibilidad, a la diversidad de posibilidades, un ajuste necesario a lo que el alumnado considera motivante y atrayente.

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