No abstract

The features of the COVID-19 pandemic and the social operations to contain the spread of the virus might have limited or altered coping, including healthy habits such as exercise, this contributing to a myriad of negative consequences for the mental health of the global population. We explored the contribution of coping and physical activity to the management of anxiety in Spanish adults during an active phase of the epidemic, as well as the relationship between these strategies. A total of 200 young and adult individuals (70% women) voluntarily completed an anxiety inventory, a coping skills self-report and a personal data section including exercise practice. The participants reported in average a mild yet existing level of anxiety symptoms; a third reported noticeable symptoms. At the time of the study, the participants used more adaptive than maladaptive coping styles. Participants’ anxiety was inversely correlated with an active coping style, and positively with an avoidant style; physical activity correlated positively with an active coping style, and regular exercisers used more frequently active coping. Controlling for confounders, active coping, avoidant coping and exercise during the pandemic predicted anxiety symptoms. Other findings indicated that exercise was used as a coping strategy for dealing with emotional distress. Our results highlight the positive impact of functional coping and exercise for the management of negative states such as anxiety during the pandemic, and underline the importance of developing interventions aimed at enhancing coping skills for promoting physical and mental well-being of the population during health and social crises.

There is increasing interest in the study of flourishing as an indicator of subjective wellbeing. The objective herein was to adapt and study the psychometric properties of Diener’s Flourishing Scale (FS) among the Colombian population. Accordingly, a cross-sectional study was conducted with a non-probability sample of 1255 Colombian adults. The scale’s structure, invariance by gender, and convergent and concurrent validity were studied from a confirmatory perspective using structural equation models. The confirmatory factor analysis showed excellent fit indicators for the one-dimensional structure (CFI = 0.985, RMSEA = 0.039, SRMR = 0.020) as well as for the convergent (CFI = 0.909, RMSEA = 0.050, SRMR = 0.063) and concurrent (CFI = 0.966, RMSEA = 0.036, SRMR = 0.041) validity models. The correlations calculated among flourishing with positive and negative effects (PANAS), satisfaction with life (SWL), and optimism and pessimism (LOT) were statistically significant and as expected. Configural, metric, and scalar invariance across gender was confirmed. Percentiles were provided for the total score. The FS scale was a valid and reliable measure to assess high levels of wellbeing among the Colombian population.

Introduction: The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), developed by Diener, Emmons, Larsen, and Griffin in 1985, comprises five items with seven response options in terms of agreement–disagreement. Recently, there has been a suggestion to reduce the response options of the SWLS to optimize its applicability in different cultural contexts.Objective: The study aims to assess the psychometric properties of the SWLS with five response options in the Colombian population. Specifically, we studied the dimensionality, invariance by gender and age (among a group of adolescents and emerging adults under 25 years and a group of adults of intermediate age and established adulthood under 59 years), convergent validity (with optimism), and divergent (with pessimism) and concurrent validity with other measures of well-being (flourishing, positive, and negative affects).Methodology: This project was a cross-sectional study using a non-probabilistic sample of the general population. Participants were included if they identified themselves as Colombian and were at least 18 years of age. The final sample comprised 1,255 participants. The average age was 25.62 years (SD = 8.60) ranging from 18 to 67 years of age, and 35.8% of the participants were men. In addition to SWLS, we used the Flourishing Scale (FS), Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R), and Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE).Results: Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.842), composite reliability (0.851), and average variance extracted (0.537) showed very good values. CFA was conducted to test the one-dimensional structure of FS, showing excellent goodness of fit [χ(5)2 = 15.774, p < 0.001, CFI = 0.992, TLI = 0.985, RMSEA = 0.042, 90% RMSEA CI (0.020, 0.066), and SRMR = 0.016]. The correlations calculated among life satisfaction (SWLS) with flourishing (FS), positive and negative affects (SPANE), optimism, and pessimism (LOT-R) were statistically significant and as expected. Configural, metric, and scalar invariance across gender and age were confirmed. Percentiles were provided for the total score and for age.Conclusions: The SWLS with five response options has adequate psychometric properties in the Colombian population, and the use of this version (with 5 response options) is recommended due to its greater applicability.

Resumen El acogimiento familiar es una modalidad para el cuidado alternativo de niños y adolescentes sin protección parental. El objetivo de este estudio es realizar una revisión sistemática del acogimiento familiar en Iberoamérica. La metodología utilizada es la búsqueda en bases de datos como PubMed, Scopus, SciELO, PsycINFO, con información publicada entre 2010 y 2017. Se incluyeron 93 evidencias, observándose que el acogimiento familiar en Iberoamérica se está implementando. Uno de los aspectos cruciales es la terminología empleada por los diferentes países. En los tipos de acogimiento familiar en Iberoamérica, prevalece el acogimiento en familia extendida y sustituta (ajena). Se observó que cada país de Iberoamérica tiene un ente regulador de políticas públicas y de protección. Hay pocas publicaciones científicas relacionadas con el acogimiento familiar en Honduras, Nicaragua, Salvador, Bolivia y Venezuela; de las islas del Caribe, eso se observa principalmente en Haití y otros países como Cuba, Puerto Rico y República Dominicana. De otra manera, no se observa en Brasil, Colombia, Chile, Guatemala, Perú y España. El acogimiento familiar en Iberoamérica se desarrolla gradualmente. Los países analizados ratificaron la Convención sobre los Derechos del Niño, excepto Puerto Rico, por lo que reconocen el derecho del niño a vivir en familia a través de la implementación de las directrices sobre las modalidades alternativas de cuidado.

(1) Background: Diener’s Scale of Positive and Negative Experiences (SPANE) assesses the presence and intensity of positive and negative affects, since these are considered basic aspects of the study of well-being. This article studies its psychometric properties in the general Colombian population. (2) We conducted a cross-sectional study of a sample of 1255 Colombians and we used structural equation modeling to confirm the bifactor structure. Additionally, we studied invariance by gender, and convergent and concurrent validity. (3) We found acceptable fit indicators for the bifactor model (CFI = 0.889, RMSEA = 0.046, SRMR = 0.059) as well as for the convergent (CFI = 0.909, RMSEA = 0.050, SRMR = 0.063) and concurrent (CFI = 0.966, RMSEA = 0.036, SRMR = 0.041) validity models. We did not confirm total invariance across gender, although we found configural and metric invariance, so percentiles by sex were provided. (4) Conclusions: The SPANE is a valid and reliable measure to assess well-being among the Colombian population, although we alert researchers to the risk of comparing affectivity average scores between sexes.

Resumen El Cuestionario de Apoyo Social MOS es uno de los instrumentos que más se utilizan en la investigación y en la práctica gerontológica, pero no hay estudios acerca de su validez para la evaluación de ancianos colombianos. El objetivo de esta investigación fue valorar si la estructura de 4 factores descrita en otras poblaciones es válida, estudiar la fiabilidad y determinar diferencias atribuibles a género y convivencia con una pareja. Se trabajó con una muestra intencional de 463 mayores, de diversas regiones de Colombia. El análisis estadístico de los ítems evidenció ausencia de normalidad y altas correlaciones inter ítems e ítemescala (superiores a .60), por lo que se seleccionó el método de Mínimos Cuadrados no Ponderados (ULS) para el análisis factorial confirmatorio, con el que se evaluaron tres modelos (de un factor, de tres y de cuatro factores correlacionados) siendo el de 4 factores el que obtuvo mejores índices (NFI=.997; AGFI=.996; RMR=.056; NFI=.996). Los coeficientes alfa de las subescalas estaban entre .86 y .98. Se encontraron diferencias significativas en apoyo social percibido atribuibles al género y a tener pareja. Los resultados sustentan la validez del cuestionario MOS para la evaluación del apoyo social percibido por adultos mayores colombianos con dolor crónico.

Background: Having a valid tool to assess attitudes toward vaccination and identify the concerns that drive vaccine refusal can facilitate population studies and help guide public health interventions. The objective of this study has been to adapt the Vaccination Attitudes Examination (VAX) scale in Colombian university students and to study its psychometric properties in a non-probabilistic sample of 1074 Colombian university students. Methods: A confirmatory factor analysis was used to study the factorial structure. A structural equation model was tested to study concurrent validity and to check whether the factors predicted having received the coronavirus vaccine. Gender-based measurement invariance was also studied for the best model. Results: The results support the structure of four related factors. The composite reliability index was good for all the factors, but the average variance extracted was not as good for the second factor. There was strong measurement invariance by gender, and two factors are good predictors of being vaccinated or not. Conclusions: The VAX has shown construct and concurrent validity and is a reliable tool for evaluating attitudes towards vaccines in university students in Colombia. It may help guide the implementation of actions for the National Vaccination Plan and institutional policies.