Bullying,Cyberbullying, Student Life Satisfaction and the Community of Chilean Adolescents

Feeling support from the community is a vital aspect of adolescents’ quality of life. Negative experiences at school, such as bullying and cyberbullying can have an adverse impact on adolescents’ life satisfaction that can expand to different domains of their lives including community variables. The goal of the present study was to examine the association between peer victimization, life satisfaction and community support among Chilean adolescents. We used a sample of 497 youths enrolled in grades 9 to 12 of public and private schools in different Chilean districts. Results indicate a negative association between bullying and cyberbullying behavior on community support through life satisfaction. Peer victimization can have negative consequences for youths at a personal level on their assessments of life satisfaction, which can expand to feeling less support from the community. Feeling less support from the community can be detrimental to healthy youth development and adolescents’ quality of life. Community prevention efforts can thus provide emotional support for youth victims of bullying and cyberbullying.

     

Adolescents Satisfaction with Life in Venezuela

Applied Research in Quality of Life - The study of satisfaction with life in the country of adolescents in the city of Caracas - Venezuela, is measured using subjective social indicators, in order...     

Reliability and validity of the Basic Depression Questionnaire

Background/ObjectiveDepressive disorders have a high prevalence around the world. They present a great comorbidity with other disorders like anxiety, thereby making a differential diagnosis very difficult. The Basic Depression Questionnaire was designed to palliate this issue by isolating specific depression symptoms. Our aim is to study the reliability, factorial structure, and differential item functioning of this questionnaire. Method: The sample consisted of 1,397 adults without psychological problems (M_age = 29.76, SD = 11.25, 64.78% women) who completed the CBD. Results: We observed that none of the items presented differential functioning. A monofactorial structure was established. In this model a good fit was obtained by confirmatory factor analysis and a strict invariance by sex. The ordinal alpha was used to check the reliability and it fetched an index of .95. Conclusions: The Basic Depression Questionnaire has adequate psychometric properties. The absence of differential item functioning and the invariance by sex are guarantees of an adequate use to diagnose depression for men and women. So, its clinical use can help to differentiate between the specific diagnoses for depressive disorders and anxiety disorders.     

Emotional eating as a mediator between anxiety and cholesterol in population with overweight and hypertension

Although the relationship between cholesterol and mood states (especially anxiety) has been well studied, few researches have included the role of eating styles in this relationship. This study explored the associations among eating styles, negative emotional symptoms, and levels of cholesterol (and other medical variables) in a population with hypertension and overweight or obesity, analyzing the possible mediation mechanisms involved. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 68 adults with hypertension and overweight/obesity, and stepwise multiple regression analysis and mediation analyses were carried out to test the hypothesis that eating styles mediate the relationship between negative emotional symptoms and cholesterol. Several significant correlations among age, anthropometric, medical, and psychological variables (eating styles and negative emotional symptoms) were found. There was a significant indirect effect of anxiety on total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol through emotional eating. Results suggest that emotional eating has a relevant role in the rise in total and LDL cholesterol, acting as a mediator in the relationship between anxiety and cholesterol. This finding could have important implications, since it introduces a new variable in the relationship between emotions and cholesterol and, therefore, changes the way of understanding this relationship, and of treating high cholesterol in a hypertensive sample.     

Association of hypertension-related distress with lack of self-care among hypertensive patients

Research on factors associated with poor adherence to self-care focuses primarily on psychiatric emotional disorders such as depression and anxiety, whereas non-psychiatric chronic-disease-related emotional distress has received little attention in hypertensive patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of hypertension-related distress with the lack of self-care including low adherence to pharmacological treatment, lack of regular physical activity, low intake of fruits and vegetables and frequent intake of high-salt foods. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2014 in two family medical units affiliated with the Mexican Institute of Social Security. The study included 487 hypertensive patients >19 years of age. The conceptual framework for the study was based on the Health Promotion Model. The analysis included multiple Poisson regression models. We found that 21.1% of participants had hypertension-related distress. Low adherence to pharmacological treatment was identified in 45.8% of patients, whereas 46.8% lacked regular physical activity, 30.8% reported a low consumption of fruits and vegetables, and 54.6% frequently consumed foods high in salt content. Hypertension-related distress was associated with lack of regular physical activity and low intake of fruits and vegetables. These findings highlight the importance of addressing distress in order to improve self-care of hypertensive patients.     

Where have all the (ape) gestures gone?

Comparative analysis of the gestural communication of our nearest animal relatives, the great apes, implies that humans should have the biological potential to produce and understand 60–70 gestures, by virtue of shared common descent. These gestures are used intentionally in apes to convey separate requests, rather than as referential items in syntactically structured signals. At present, no such legacy of shared gesture has been described in humans. We suggest that the fate of “ape gestures” in modern human communication is relevant to the debate regarding the evolution of language through a possible intermediate stage of gestural protolanguage.     

Examining the Unique Characteristics of a Non-Probability Sample of Undocumented Female Sex Workers with Dependent Children: The Case of Haitians in the Dominican Republic

Haitians in the Dominican Republic (DR) are increasingly marginalized due to recent legislation that stripped Haitian-Dominicans of their citizenship and increased Haitian migrants’ deportation risk. Haitian female sex workers (FSWs) are particularly vulnerable, though little is known about them. This study will help public health efforts targeted at sex workers to better reach Haitian FSWs and address their needs by identifying a profile of characteristics unique to this group compared to Dominican FSWs. Data were collected in 2014 among Haitian and Dominican FSWs in Puerto Plata, DR. Surveys assessed respondents’ demographics, health consciousness, depression, and stigma. Adjusted logistic regressions showed that Haitian FSWs were disadvantaged: they had significantly lower rates of education, more children, and less permanent income. Furthermore, Haitian FSWs were more likely to work independently and for fewer hours. Interestingly, Haitian FSWs internalized less stigma than Dominicans. Though we can only speculate, this could be due to migration for sex work, or the lack of formal employment for Haitians. Initiatives to alleviate poverty, create formal jobs, and overturn discriminatory legislation may have the most impact for Haitian FSWs.     

Characterization of controlled gamblers and pathological gamblers using the social representation theory

Introduction

In industrialized countries, gambling disorder tends to become a major issue. The use of the social representation theory provides clues for a better understanding of pathological gamblers.

Perceptions on well-being at home of families with people with disabilities: A psycho-environmental perspective

Introduction

Although the home is of major importance in the lives of people with disabilities, few studies address disability in the literature on home and health. Moreover, people with disabilities and their family members’ perceptions of their homes has rarely been explored.