Salud & Sociedad: investigaciones en psicologia de la salud y psicologia social

Paranormal beliefs in a sample of psychology students of chilean universities

Se presenta una revisión sobre las creencias en lo paranormal de una muestra de estudiantes de psicología (n = 360) pertenecientes a diversas universidades Estatales y Privadas (tradicionales y no tradicionales). La psicología durante décadas ha luchado por el reconocimiento de su estatuto científico, lo que en principio se opondría a la creencia en la magia y otras formas de superstición, así como un firme compromiso con la evidencia empírica y la racionalidad argumentativa. Este estudio revela cómo una proporción importante de los estudiantes mantiene creencias supersticiosas o tiene dudas sobre la ocurrencia de dichos fenómenos. El estudio de estas creencias es de suma relevancia pues podría llegar a tener efectos sobre las prácticas clínicas y la calidad de las prestaciones que reciben las personas.

This paper presents a review of the beliefs held by students regarding the paranormal. The participants were psychology students (n = 360) from public (traditional) and private (non-traditional/for profit) universities. In principle, psychology opposes belief in magic and other forms of superstition and is instead committed to empirical evidence and rational argument. Psychology has therefore struggled for decades with the question of the scientific status of the paranormal. This study demonstrates that a significant proportion of students hold superstitious beliefs or have doubts about the occurrence of such phenomena. Study of these beliefs is of the utmost importance, as it could affect both clinical practice and the quality of care people receive.

Self-acceptance as a risk factor of attempted suicide in adolescents

El propósito fue evaluar si la auto-aceptación es un factor de riesgo del intento de suicidio en adolescentes. Participaron 665 estudiantes de 14 a 20 años (M = 16.7; DE= 1.36); 79 jóvenes (12%) reportaron intento de suicido, 24 fueron varones (M= 16.6 años; DE= 1.21) y 55 mujeres (M= 16.7 años; DE= 1.44). Se trabajó con dos muestras equivalentes, una con jóvenes que reportaron intento suicida (n= 79) y otra sin intento de suicidio (n= 69). Instrumentos: Escala de Auto-aceptación, con cinco dimensiones (rechazo-personal, insatisfacción personal, rechazo-carácter, auto-aceptación de aspectos positivos y auto-aceptación de aspectos negativos) y cinco preguntas sobre intento de suicidio. Los resultados mostraron que los predictores de auto-aceptación para el intento suicida fueron diferentes dependiendo del sexo de los adolescentes, la regresión logística sugiere que en los hombres la aceptación de sus aspectos negativos es un factor protector, pero en el caso de las mujeres, las que reportaron rechazo a su persona tienen un mayor riesgo de repetir el intento suicida.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate self-acceptance in adolescents as a risk factor in attempted suicide. From one sample of 665 students between 14 and 20 years old (M = 16.7; SD = 1.36), only 79 adolescents (12%) reported attempted suicide, of whom 24 were men (M = 16.6) and 55 women (M = 16.7; SD = 1.44). The study included two sample groups, one a group of young people who had reported suicide attempts (n = 79), the other group was composed of people who had not reported suicide attempts (n = 69). A self-acceptance questionnaire which evaluated five dimensions (personal rejection, personal dissatisfaction, character dissatisfaction, self-acceptance of positive aspects and self-acceptance of negative aspects) was administered, and subjects were asked five questions about suicide attempts. The results showed that self-acceptance predictors of suicide attempts were different between the sexes: logistic regression suggests that self-acceptance of negative aspects is a protective factor for men; women who reported personal-rejection have an increased risk of repeating suicide attempts.

Women and neowomen: a study about the male perception of female Attractiveness

La relación hombre mujer ha variado a medida que las expectativas de género se han ido diversificando en el mundo moderno. Esta investigación evaluó el efecto de la competencia sobre la percepción masculina del atractivo femenino. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 80 varones, quienes participaron en un estudio con una fase experimental. Se les pidió evaluar el atractivo a dos mujeres, una femenina, y otra femenina y competente. Posteriormente contestaron un cuestionario sobre la misma temática. Ambos resultados indican que los hombres que adhieren al estereotipo femenino tradicional consideran más atractivas a las mujeres femeninas, mientras que los que no adhieren, prefieren a la mujer competente y femenina. Se discuten las implicancias de estos resultados en las relaciones amorosas.

The male-female relationship has altered as the expectations of gender have developed and diversified in the modern world. This study assesses the effect of competence upon male perception of female attractiveness. The sample was composed of 80 male participants who took part in an experimental stage study. They were asked to evaluate the attractiveness of two types of women: one feminine and the other feminine and competent. Subsequently they were asked to answer a questionnaire about the same topic. Both results indicate that those male who adhere to the traditional feminine stereotype consider those feminine women more attractive while those who do not adhere to that stereotype prefer women who are both competent and feminine. Implications of these results are analyzed within the context of love relationships.

Psychological well-being, age, and, gender among spanish undergraduates

Se analizaron las diferencias en bienestar psicológico en función de la edad y el sexo, en una muestra de 180 estudiantes universitarios (138 mujeres, 76.7%; 42 hombres, 23.3%) con edades entre 18 y 55 años, M = 22.91, DT = 6.71. Se utilizó una adaptación española de las Escalas de Bienestar Psicológico de Ryff y para los análisis de las diferencias se llevó a cabo la prueba de Mann-Whitney para la comparación entre grupos. Los participantes adultos maduros (30-55 años) puntuaron significativamente más alto que los jóvenes (18-29 años) en Autoaceptación, Dominio del Entorno, Crecimiento Personal y Propósito en la Vida, y las mujeres significativamente más alto que los hombres en Crecimiento Personal. Las diferencias asociadas a la edad podrían relacionarse con cambios significativos en las tendencias motivacionales a lo largo del ciclo vital, y las diferencias en función del género podrían explicarse por orientaciones axiológicas distintas entre hombres y mujeres.

Differences in psychological well-being as functions of age and gender were analyzed in a sample of 180 Spanish undergraduates (138 women, 76.7%; 42 men, 23.3%) aged 18-55, M = 22.91, SD = 6.71. A Spanish adaptation of the Ryff's Scales of Psychological Well-Being and the Mann-Whitney test were used to analyze the differences. The mature participants (30-55 years) scored significantly higher than the youthful participants (18-29 years) in environmental mastery, personal growth, self-acceptance, and purpose in life. Women scored significantly higher than men in personal growth. The differences related to age may be linked to significant changes in motivational trends between youth and maturity, and differences by gender may be explained by different axiological orientations between men and women.

Social workers' attitudes toward carriers of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in community health centers

Los sistemas de salud enfrentan problemas de calidad del servicio y negligencia médica-asistencial que desvirtúa su función y desprestigia a su talento medico asistencial. En el marco de tal problemática, resulta fundamental estudiar la relación entre profesionistas de la salud y usuarios del seguro médico. El objetivo del presente estudio fue establecer las propiedades psicométricas de un instrumento que midió la norma y la actitud hacia portadores de VIH. Con una muestra de 130 profesionistas del Trabajo Social se estimó la confiabilidad y validez así como las relaciones entre variables sociodemográficas, socioeconómicas, normativas y actitudinales. A partir de un modelo estructural (X2 = 16.734; 13 gl; p = .000; RMR = .000; GFI = 1.00), se encontró que el principal hallazgo fue la relación directa y positiva entre norma y actitud (β = .70) y la relación indirecta y negativa entre sexo y actitud a través de la norma (β = -.47). En referencia a otros estudios, se discutieron los alcances y límites así como las recomendaciones para ampliar el estudio a otros profesionistas de la salud con la inclusión de otras variables cognitivas en el modelo expuesto.

Health systems face problems of quality of service and medical malpractice which undermine their role and their medical calling and which also discredit medical care. In the context of such problems, it is essential to study the relationship between health care professionals and users of health insurance. The objective of this study was to establish the psychometric properties of an instrument that measured norms and attitudes toward HIV carriers. Using a sample of 130 professional social workers, the authors estimated the reliability, validity and the relationships between sociodemographic, socio-economic, and attitudinal norms. From a structural model (X2 = 16,734, 13 df; p = .000, RMR = .000, GFI = 1.00), the principal finding was the positive relationship between norm and attitude (β = .70) and the negative indirect relationship between sex and attitude through the norm (β = -.47). The scope and limits of these findings are discussed with reference to other studies, and a recommendation to expand the study to other health professionals and to include other cognitive variables in the model set is made.

Percepção sobre a doença renal crônica de pacientes em hemodiálise: revisão sistemática

O objetivo do artigo foi realizar uma revisão sistemática sobre percepção da doença renal crônica de pacientes em hemodiálise, entre janeiro de 2001 e dezembro de 2012 nas bases de dados Academic Search Premier e Medline with Full Text. Foram encontrados 13 artigos publicados em diferentes revistas da área da saúde. Os resultados indicaram que a percepção negativa da doença foi relacionada à não-adesão ao tratamento, a comportamentos de autocuidado, sintomas de depressão, qualidade de vida, mortalidade, sobrevida e na adesão ao tratamento à medicina complementar e alternativa. Conclusão: o conceito de percepção da doença é útil para compreensão do impacto da doença renal crônica e do tratamento em hemodiálise para a qualidade de vida desses pacientes

The purpose of this article is a systematic review of the international literature on hemodialysis patients' perception of chronic kidney disease. It was carried out between January 2001 and December 2012 using the databases Academic Search Premier and Medline with Full Text. The authors found 13 articles published in health-related magazines. Results show that negative illness perception was related to non-adherence to the recommended treatment, self-care behaviors, depression symptoms, quality of life, mortality, survival, and adherence to complementary and alternative medical treatments. The authors conclude that perception of the illness is useful in understanding the impact of chronic kidney disease and hemodialysis treatment on these patients' quality of life.

Abstract of research projects in psychology financed scientific and Technological national fund - FONDECYT, 2012 approved

Durante el año 2012 se resolvieron los concursos FONDECYT regular 2013 y de Iniciación a la investigación 2012. En el concurso de Iniciación a la Investigación, se presentaron 550 proyectos, de los cuales fueron aprobaron 293. De estos, 7 corresponden a Psicología (de un total de 15 proyectos postulados), por un valor de 299.125 millones de pesos, lo que constituye el 1,8% del total del financiamiento otorgado en esta categoría. En el concurso regular, de 1135 proyectos postulados, se aprobaron para financiamiento 631. De estos, 10 proyectos corresponden a Psicología (de un total de 22 presentados), por un valor de 1.001.786 millones, lo que equivale al 1,3% del monto total asignado a este concurso. Se presentan en este artículo especial, los resúmenes de 16 proyectos aprobados para el área, los cuales comenzaron a ejecutarse en noviembre del 2012 (iniciación) y que estarán ejecutándose hasta el periodo 2014-2015.

During 2012 the Grants from FONDECYT for Regular Competitions 2013 and for Introduction to Research 2012 were resolved. For Introduction to Research, 550 projects was submitted and 293 projects were approved. Of these, 7 corresponded to Psychology (from a total of 15 projects nominated), with an amount of 299.125 million pesos, representing 1,8 % of total awarded funding in this category. In Regular Competition, from 1135 projects submitted for funding and 631 were approved. Of these, 10 projects are from Psychology (out of 22 submitted), valued at 1.001.786 million, equivalent to 1.3% of the total amount allocated for this competition. In this special report, summaries from 16 projects approved in the area are presented. They began to run in November 2012(Introduction) and will run until the period 2014-2015.