Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

The objective of this research was to assess the psychometric properties (validity and precision) of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) in students of a Brazilian public university. A total of 406 university students participated, with an average age of 23.31 years (SD= 5.73), most of them were women (68.2%), single (58.4%), with low risk alcohol consumption (74.4%), who answered the AUDIT test and sociodemographic questions. Descriptive analyzes, confirmatory factor (CFA) and internal consistency analyzes were performed. The results indicated a better fit of the three-factor model [χ2(32)= 0.89, p< .001; TLI= 0.99; CFI = 0.99; RSMEA= 0.036 (CI90%= 0.012 - 0.056); ECVI= 0.30] and adequate internal consistency (α= .85; Ω= .89). It is concluded that the instrument proved to be theoretically and metrically suitable, and it can be used in research aimed at assessing alcohol consumption patterns in samples similar to the one considered here.

Subjective well-being includes having positive / negative emotional experiences, prosperity and satisfaction with life. In addition, it depends on multiple psychosocial factors such as: rumination, optimism, resilience and the ability to receive support, which have been studied in particular and need to be examined together. Therefore, this study was set out to: 1) Identify the effect of the aforementioned variables on subjective well-being in adults, and 2) Explore their differences based on gender, age and schooling. There was a voluntary participation of 404 Mexican adults aged between 18 to 64 (M=37.56), with minimum secondary schooling. The findings show the significant role of some factors of optimism, resilience and rumination in the prediction of subjective well-being as well as differences in self-confidence, (optimism), negative emotional experience (well-being), the ability to receive support between genders, and the tendency to experience  more optimism, resilience and well-being as the individual gets older and schooling is higher. These results show how the positive features and life experience were associated with other kind of positive experiences for the well-being of individual.

The present study investigated the relationships among empathy, depression, anxiety, and stress among Brazilian Health Professionals (BHP). Two hundred participants (87% women), aged 22 to 67 (M = 35.1; SD = 9.7) responded the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, 1983), the Stress Symptoms Inventory (Lipp, 2000), the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Beck Anxiety Inventory. Positive correlations among depression, anxiety and stress were found, as well as among anxiety, depression, personal distress and fantasy. Regression analysis indicated that the cognitive aspects of empathy can predict symptoms of depression. Overall, results suggest that empathy can be associated with the Mental Health of the BHP. The paper discusses the need to be attentive for this specific relationship, considering its importance for professional practices of these workers, as well as for research on the field of Psychology of Health and other related fields.

This study aimed to investigate whether Social Skills and Coping Strategies predict the variable Problem Solving in psychology students. Participants were 409 psychology students from private institutions, with ages ranging from 18 to 34 years (M= 24.97; SD= 5.04). The Social Skills Inventory, the Problem-Solving Modes Scale and the Problem-Solving Skills Scale were used as instruments. The results showed that the Problem Coping Modes Scale and the Social Skills Inventory together accounted for 16% of the variance of the overall scale of the Problem Solving Skills Scale, which may be an indication of how students solved their problems. The results contribute to the development of problem-solving skills involved in the training of future psychologists and in the development of students.

Considering the new perspectives on male and female homosexuality and the coming out process, the aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions of young Brazilian homosexuals about the coming out on the family relationships. This is a study of multiple cases supported by the qualitative research approach. Eight homosexuals (five gays and three lesbians) were interviewed, with an average age of 26 years old. The interviews were submitted to content analysis, in which categories were constructed a posteriori, highlighting similarities and differences between the cases. In front of coming out process in a heterosexist context, the individual can make this event a moment of silence and shame, as well as deal with guilt. Family and friends constituted the main support network in front of homosexual disclosure, considered fundamental after coming out.

This work refers to a qualitative study whose propose is to characterize the labor trajectories of young women from popular sectors of Cordoba (Argentina) in their transition to adult life, setting the vulnerability factors that characterize them. We have worked with ten women between the ages of 20 and 26, who were attending two socio labor educational centers, and we have used their biographical stories as an instrument of data collection. The core categories identified as biographical axes related to the role of labor experience were: The inherited socio economic conditions, the gender conditions, the pathways towards the transition education–work and the incidence of labor qualifications in the construction of the future. The results have shown diversity in their insertion to the adult world, setting the equation of being young, women and poor as a barrier which delineates the options and necessities as well as the aspirations and obstacles which arise.

This study aims to analyze fathering practices and the meanings attributed to it by imprisoned men. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve fathers, incarcerated in a penal institution located in in southern Brazil. Transcribed data were analyzed through the Critical Discourse Analysis. Results are presented according to two themes: Deprivation of freedom X Deprivation of Fatherhood and Criminality X Fatherhood. Our findings indicate that the meanings attributed to fathering practices within deprivation of freedom context rely on different psychosocial factors and the prison context itself. The results presented here demonstrate that paternity in prison is a complex phenomenon and should be a focus of academic problematization. Its relevance is given both in the context of gender studies and in the studies involving the family and different settings.

The increase of the hydrometeorological risks due the environmental global change has intensified the susceptibility of livelihood in exposed households, leading the need of strengthen agency capacities and local empowerment. According to this, the investigation analyzes a subjective dimension of capacities and livelihoods of households affected by hydrometeorological disaster occurred in Copiapo city from Chile. For this, a qualitative case design was used, and 15 household heads affected by the disaster were selected. The data is produced through an episodic interview, using grounded theory as analysis strategy. The results obtained highlights the (i) tactical coping provisions, and (ii) the articulation between capitals, and opportunities structure in terms of livelihood. We conclude emphasizing the psychosocial aspects of vulnerability-capacity to disasters, as mediating factors between agency and community, state and commercial structures.

The present study aimed at apprehending the social representations (SR) of Brazilian university students about digital Cyber Dating Abuse (CDA). A total of 447 participants participated in the study, responding to the Free Word Association Technique and the Cyber Dating Abuse Questionnaire (CDAQ). The data pointed to a high prevalence of involvement in CDA, both in victimization (87.6% control / monitoring, 34.7%, direct aggression); (92.6% control/monitoring, 25.1%, direct aggression). In addition, the results indicated that the structuring elements of SR were anchored in contemporary relational uncertainty and the conception of dominance within intimate relationships. Concerning the evocations of the peripheral nucleus, CDA was anchored in the violation of the rights to privacy and its causes and consequences, permeating psycho-affective and social aspects. Finally, the data revealed that "jealousy" presents itself as the central and organizing element of RS of this phenomenon, motivating abusive virtual actions.

This study aims to describe the attachment representations of two mothers classified as unresolved in their state of mind with respect to attachment, as well as the specific characteristics of their interactions with their children: the quality of their care and the security of the child’s attachment. The Adult Attachment Interview was used to evaluate attachment representations, the Maternal Behavior Q-Set 2.1 was used for the quality of maternal sensitivity, and the security of the child’s attachment was evaluated with the Attachment Q-Set 3.0. The results show that while attachment is unresolved in both mothers due to their own experiences of childhood abuse, their sub-classification (secure attachment in one case and insecure in the other) is associated with differences in how they perceive and respond to the child’s needs, and in the security of the child’s attachment.