Actualidades en Psicología (AP) is an official publication of the University of Costa Rica sponsored by the Psychological Research Institute (IIP, for its initials in Spanish), an entity belonging to the same university. Its objective is to promote scientific production in all fields of psychological science and associated fields, which is achieved via the publication of original and unpublished articles that present results of empirical research, mixed studies, methodological contributions, narrative states of the art, meta-analyses and literature reviews. This freely accessible journal is aimed primarily at students and professionals in the area of psychology and related sciences. The journal publishes in Spanish, English and Portuguese. The journal has been published continuously since 2018; i.e., article are published one at the time until the complete issue is compiled (issue closings are held in June and December). The journal’s call for papers is likewise open and permanent; thus, authors are welcome to submit their manuscripts throughout the year. The submissions should reflect the guidance provided under “Authors Guidelines.” Submission, revision and processing of manuscripts is free of charge. The journal is interested in original research contributions to the psychological sciences, which must respect and adhere to the highest ethical and scientific rules. Current Trends in Psychology seeks to encourage scientific investigation, to promote the discussion of relevant ideas for psychological sciences, and to disseminate professional and academic information relevant to the discipline. The journal currently ranks high in the UCRIndex. Furthermore, it is indexed in: PsycINFO , la base de datos de la Asociación Americana de Psicología SCIELO , Biblioteca Científica Electrónica en Línea-Brasil REDALYC , red de revistas para América Latina, el Caribe, Portugal y España PEPSIC , Revistas Electrónicas de Psicología – Brasil DIALNET , base de datos de revistas españolas y latinoamericanas DOAJ , Directorio de revistas de acceso abierto; Universidad de Lund, Suecia LATINDEX , Sistema regional de información en línea para revistas científicas de América Latina, el Caribe, España y Portugal REDBIB , Red Iberoamericana de Innovación y Conocimiento Científico CLASE , Citas Latinoamericanas en Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades Google Académico ESCI (Índice de citas de fuentes emergentes) SCOPUS
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Psychometric Evaluation of Two Procrastination Measures in University Students: Irrational Procrastination Scale and Academic Procrastination Scale Short Form
Objective. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of two procrastination scales: the Irrational Procrastination Scale (IPS) and the Academic Procrastination Scale-Short Form (APS-SF). Method. A total of 397 undergraduate students from Peru completed virtual questionnaires that included the IPS and APS-SF scales as well as assessments of academic burnout and mindfulness. Results. The IPS and the APS-SF have strong psychometric properties and unidimensional structures, indicating their effectiveness in assessing academic procrastination. Additionally, the instruments exhibited reliable internal consistency, as evidenced by consistent alpha and omega coefficients. Significant associations were identified between academic procrastination, burnout, and mindfulness. These findings significantly contribute to the comprehension and management of academic procrastination in the university context, establishing a solid foundation for future research and intervention strategies. Objective. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of two procrastination scales: the Irrational Procrastination Scale (IPS) and the Academic Procrastination Scale-Short Form (APS-SF). Method. A total of 397 undergraduate students from Peru completed virtual questionnaires that included the IPS and APS-SF scales as well as assessments of academic burnout and mindfulness. Results. The IPS and the APS-SF have strong psychometric properties and unidimensional structures, indicating their effectiveness in assessing academic procrastination. Additionally, the instruments exhibited reliable internal consistency, as evidenced by consistent alpha and omega coefficients. Significant associations were identified between academic procrastination, burnout, and mindfulness. These findings significantly contribute to the comprehension and management of academic procrastination in the university context, establishing a solid foundation for future research and intervention strategies.
Copyright (c) 2025 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Severe Depression in Healthcare Workers: Sociodemographic and psychosocial factors during the COVID-19 pandemic
Objective. The study investigated the association between severe depression prevalence in healthcare workers and various factors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods. 610 participants completed an online questionnaire, including the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD). Crude and adjusted prevalence ratios were calculated using Poisson regression. Results. Severe depression prevalence was 62.8%. In the adjusted model, women, and those with a family income of up to 4 minimum wages had a higher outcome prevalence. Factors such as poor working conditions, high stigma perception, elevated concern levels, low professional recognition, and increased medication/psychiatric treatment usage were associated with higher severe depression prevalence during the pandemic. Strengthening public policies for healthcare personnel during public-health disasters is essential.
Psychometric properties of a scale of tolerance to corruption using moral dilemmas
Objective. Understanding the extent of citizen participation in corrupt practices presents a challenge given that the illicit and socially reprehensible nature of corrupt acts generates a social desirability bias into measures of corruption. The objective was to design a measurement to assess individuals’ propensity to either tolerate or resist corruption, employing eight moral dilemmas. Method. The instrument was administered to 173 participants for the exploratory factor analysis, followed by 282 participants for the confirmatory factor analysis. Results. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis revealed a single factor structure that grouped seven out of the eight dilemmas obtaining optimal goodness-of-fit indices and acceptable reliability. The measurement is useful for future research analyzing corruption.
Copyright (c) 2025 Christian Enrique Cruz Torres, Tonatiuh Garcia-Campos, Alejandra del Carmen Domínguez-Espinosa, Carlos Alberto Montesinos-González, Pablo Domínguez-Perera, Irene Salas-Menotti (Autor/a) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Recognizing the Need to Seek Help: Signals that Trigger Academic Help-Seeking among University Students
Objective. The present study examines the signals that students consider clear indicators for seeking help at university, as well as the variables associated with those students who realize they need assistance only after failing a course. Method. In the study, 753 students from different fields and universities responded to a questionnaire on motivational variables related to seeking academic help. Results. The results indicate that poor grades are the most important signal for seeking help. On the other hand, it was found that 10% of the sample who needed to fail the course to realize they required help were characterized by greater shame, less social and academic integration, and less vocational strength. They also had a lower appreciation of academic support.
Copyright (c) 2016 Actualidades en Psicología http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Verification of a Theoretical Model Between Empathy, Ethic Socialization and Cultural Orientation in Young Brazilian
The present study aims to investigate the association between empathy, transmission of moral and ethical values and cultural orientation in youth. Theoretically, empathy and the functional exchange of experiences layout of people is believed to be important for moral and ethical training of the young, as well as to the orientation of the conventional patterns culturally established. 427 subjects of both genders between the ages of 12- 19 years old of private and public institutions of the city of João Pessoa-PB and Patrocínio-MG answered the multidimensional Davis Interpersonal Reactivity test. This consists on a set of questions about the belief of parents and teachers conveying / teaching moral and ethical principles and scale attributes of individualist and collectivist cultural orientation. It was observed that empathy was positively associated to socialization and ethical collectivist orientation, but in relation to the individualistic orientation, the first two variables were negatively associated. Thus, those who develop empathic abilities in their interpersonal relationships, both contribute to the transmission of social and moral values, as well as to the orientation, cooperation and maintenance of interpersonal relationships.
Family influence on antisocial behavior in adolescents from Arequipa, Peru
The aim was to determine the influence of the family on antisocial behavior in non-institutionalized adolescents. The sample consisted of 929 high school students, between 14 and 17 years old. In the process, a battery of test about social-demographic data, antisocial behavior and family functioning: relationship, satisfaction, cohesion, adaptability and family communication was applied. We analyzed variables using structural equation models differentiated by sex. The results indicated that family functioning in both sexes and the number of siblings in males are considerable factors when discussing antisocial behavior. The risk factors are: child abuse and violence between parents in females, besides consumption of alcohol by parents in both sexes.
behaviornon-institutionalized adolescents
El psicólogo en los Centros de Salud: informes distantes del SUS
La investigación tuvo el objetivo de comprender las concepciones acerca de la salud y el papel profesional, en la vida cotidiana, entre psicólogos de las Unidades Básicas de Salud. Fueron realizadas diez entrevistas a Psicólogos de la región metropolitana de la ciudad de São Paulo. Se obtuvo información acerca de la trayectoria profesional, el trabajo diario, el papel del psicólogo, las concepciones de salud, las orientaciones teóricas, además de expectativas y desafíos. El Análisis de Contenido de las entrevistas apunta a que las acciones de los psicólogos son orientadas por presupuestos de la práctica clínica ejercidas en el ámbito del consultorio privado. Los datos sugieren que la identidad profesional se sustenta por los ideales clínicos, y que las prácticas son restringidas a la psicoterapia. Los cambios necesarios para una atención coherente con los principios del Sistema Único de Salud (SUS), solo ocurrirán si los espacios académicos y profesionales se convierten en ambientes democráticos de intensa reflexión crítica y de producción de nuevos saberes.
Adaptation of two measures of social support in argentinian university students
Social support is an important construct in education which influences behavioral, cognitive and affective terms. Although there are numerous instruments to assess this construct, in Argentina there are no published scales to assess perceived support by students. Therefore, our aim was to adapt Social Support for Children and Adolescents (Malecki, Demaray & Elliot, 2003) and Academic Support (Lent et al., 2005) scales in college students. For this projectIn this regard, data from 551 students of different degrees from the National University of Cordoba (Argentina) was collected. For both instruments, results showed satisfactory internal consistency values (composite reliability, ρ > .70) and the original structure was replicated for each measure using confirmatory factor analysis. Limitations and new lines of research are suggested.
Social support scale for children and adolescents
university studentsEliminar university students
Measuring Emotion Understanding with the Rasch Model
The aim of this study was to construct emotion understanding items from the Rasch Model approach by experimenting through comparison between verbal /image response format. The participants were 204 subjects from a Spanish community sample. A randomized experiment was carried out to test the effect of response format (verbal/image) and participants’ gender on the emotion understanding Rasch measurements. The effect on item difficulty of the social distance (close/far) was also contrasted. No interaction effect was found. Response format had a significant effect on measurement regardless of gender: the verbal response format was easier than the image one. There were significant gender differences on emotion understanding favoring women. Items describing situations with close receivers were significantly easier than the items showing far recipients.
Construction and Statistical Analysis of the Multidimensional Inventory of Romantic Jealousy: Preliminary Study
Aiming to construct and validate a test to measure jealousy, the Multidimensional Inventory of Romantic Jealousy (MIRJ) was developed from three axes: 1) the notion of jealousy, 2) the situations that generate it and 3) cognitive, affective and behavioral responses involved. The MIRJ consists of five Likert scales with five response options each. The inventory was validated by expert judgment on the content validity and exploratory factor analysis to construct the validity of each scale, showing higher reliability coefficients (α > .85). MIRJ has a fairly clear structure with independent dimensions that measure with reasonable accuracy the three axes. In Conclusion, romantic jealousy is a multidimensional construct with affective, cognitive and behavioral responses, triggered from a situation that represents the possible loss of a partner.
Norma Ivonne González-Arratia López-Fuentes
Psychometric Analysis of Attitudes Toward Mathematics Through the Graduated Response Samejima Model
The assessment of attitudes in education has been used as a tool for preventing the loss of subjects and the desertion. The aim of the study is to perform a psychometric analysis of the “Attitudes towards Mathematics” scale with Samejima´s graded response model (MRG). The sample was of 944 students from different university careers. To analyze the TCT and the MRG model was used. In conclusion, the scale has good psychometric quality. Finally, the benefits of using the MRG for assessing attitudes are presented.
Innovations in Measurement: Visual Analog Scales and Retrospective Pretest Self-Report Designs
The authors discuss limitations of two popular measurement procedures, the Likert scale and conventional pretest-posttest self-report design. Both techniques have limits and yet are often combined, leading to restricted fidelity for measuring change. The authors go on to discuss two innovations in measurement that provide researchers with greater assessment fidelity: Visual analog scales and the retrospective pretest design. Moreover, when used in combination, these innovations measurement techniques provide dramatic increases in the power to detect and quantify change.
Copyright (c) 2017 Actualidades en Psicología http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) as a Theoretical Framework to Understand Behavior Change
A theoretical framework to explain, predict, and modify health behaviors is presented which consists of various psychological constructs and a mediator mechanism. Risk perception, outcome expectancies, self-efficacy, intention, planning, and action control constitute the building blocks for a mediator model that is based on two processes: goal setting and goal pursuit. When it comes to the development of interventions to modify behaviors, one can target either the initial motivation phase or the subsequent volition phase. This is an open architecture framework allowing for various research designs and subsets of constructs. Hundreds of studies have been conducted based on this model. Three correlational and two intervention studies were chosen to illustrate the diversity of approaches targeting physical activity in Germany and Costa Rica, dental cleaning in India and Poland, and dust mask wearing in China. They differ in terms of the predictors that emerged as most relevant for behavior change.
Evaluation of a Multicomponent Tele-care Model for Supporting People with Prediabetes and Obesity in Chile
Background: Prediabetes is a reversible condition and its treatment a chance to change unhealthy practices. Objective: to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-component tele-care model to support people with pre-diabetes and obesity in Chile. Method: a randomized clinical trial in primary care setting, Santiago, Chile. Participants: 70 adults with pre-diabetes: BMI between 25 and 34 and access to mobile phone. GI (n = 33) received telephone counseling, SMS, educational materials and self-monitoring equipment and GC (n = 32) usual care and self-monitoring equipment. Measures of knowledge of prediabetes, unhealthy diet, physical activity, weight, waist circumference, glucose, triglycerides and total cholesterol were made pre and post intervention. Results: in GI the intervention to maintain stable knowledge level about pre-diabetes, and decrease triglycerides level was effective. The model did not exceed usual care for decrease in weight, waist circumference, glucose and cholesterol.
Open Access Scientific Evidence of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Patients with Fibromyalgia
Objective: To provide a summary of scientific open access resources Cognitive Behavioral Therapy interventions in patients with fibromyalgia. Method: Bibliographical search performed in Pubmed and PsycInfo, Latindex, Scielo and Redalyc online databases. No year of publication criterion was applied. Results: 377 citations were reduced to a list of 59 relevant publications, from 1993 to 2016. Most studies were performed in adult samples, in Spain or the United States, with pre-post quantitative design. Only 15 publications were open access. Conclusions: Empirical evidence is ample, yet mostly restricted. Open access material might promote interest in and encourage the design, implementation and evaluation of CBT interventions in the benefit of fibromyalgia patients, the health system and science.
Factors associated with treatment adherence of Brazilian patients undergoing hemodialysis
Objective: To evaluate patients’ adherence to hemodialysis (HD) and its relationship to psychosocial variables. Methods: Participated in the study 64 adult patients undergoing HD, assessed in regard to depression, anxiety, social support, disease and treatment knowledge, and adherence. Results: It was found association between sex and adherence to HD, to diet and to medication, as well as between schooling and overall adherence. There is association between disease knowledge and depression, with adherence to fluid restrictions. No association was found between adherence and anxiety. Conclusion: Identifying the determinants of treatment adherence is essential to devise efficacious strategies to improve patients’ quality of life.
Relationships between Social Support, Self-Regulation and Drug Consumptions among Portuguese Adults
In this study the relationships between perceived social support, self-regulation and consuming behaviors of tobacco and other psychoactive substances we investigated. The sample consisted of 340 adult participants. Social support correlated positively with self-regulation, but was solely in the aspect of satisfaction with social support that this trend was noted clearly. The number of support providers differed considerably with the use of tobacco, which suggests the affiliative scope of some psychoactive substances. Accordingly, the use of tobacco may be associated with a larger social network, but not with the quality of social support.
Other substancesEliminar Other substances
Quality of Life in Costa Rican Patients with Brain Tumors: Neuropsychological Contributions
The systematization of a clinical and educational experience in a hospital setting shows evidence of the neuropsychological contributions to the multidisciplinary care for patients with brain tumors. Four cases of people diagnosed with brain tumors are exemplified. The patients were treated at the Neurosurgical Unit at the Hospital Mexico, Costa Rica. Each patient underwent neuropsychological evaluations as part of the established protocol for neurosurgical interventions.Results showed a slight yet consistent trend of cognitive performance improvement after each surgery, and identified residual neurocognitive consequences that would have a direct impact on the patients quality of life. This paper discusses the challenges associated with health expectancy of prolonging life while preserving its quality and functionality.
Mindfulness and Symptoms of Depression in Mexican Adolescents High School Students
The objective of this research was to identify the relation between depressive symptoms and mindfulness levels in mexican adolescents high school students. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 930 baccalaureate students between 15 and 19 years old was performed. The instruments, CESD (depressive symptoms) and MAAS (mindfulness) were applied, finding a 17.3% prevalence of depressive symptoms, furthermore, 55.2% of participants had low levels of mindfulness, and also adolescents with depressive symptoms have higher levels of mindfulness. The relation between depression symptoms and mindfulness was negative (r= -0.53; <.001). Conclusion: Study the feature of full awareness or mindfulness as a positive psychological factor because it’s reducing effect is demonstrated in psychological symptoms such as depression.
Happiness Differences by Sex and Age in Peruvian University
The study, comparative descriptive, describes the differences of happiness in Peruvian youth and adults based on sex and age using the Lima Happiness Scale (Alarcon, 2006). 402 people, male (50 %) and women (50 %), between 16 and 35 years old (average = 19.59, SD = 3.75) of the city of Lima participated in the study. The results show that women are more likely to experience some degree of happiness; while people of the older age group have higher happiness scores than the younger age group. The results contribute to a better understanding of happiness and its relation to sociodemographic variables related to health and well-being. This provides important empirical information for the implementation of actions to promote the development of positive variables
Emotional Intelligence and Health in Aging: PECI-PM Program Benefits
Training emotional intelligence in the elderly, it has demonstrated its effectiveness in improving the quality of life. The aim is to analyze the health benefits of a program of cognitive stimulation and emotional intelligence for older people (PECI-PM). The sample consisted of 28 students of the University Senior Almeria, who completed the first phase of PECI-PM. For the (pre-post) assessment of health, the Spanish version of the SF-36 was applied. The results showed significantly higher scores after the intervention, the dimensions of health: social function, bodily pain, vitality and social function. The first implementation of the PECI-PM reveals positive effects of emotional training on perceived health in the elderly.
(De)Gendering Older Patients: Exploring Views on Aging and Older Patients in Romanian General Practitioners
Abstract. Purpose: Demographic changes make it necessary to improve communication with older patients and design gender sensitive health promotion. The present article aimed to explore how general practitioners see old age and what role gender may play in their representations of aging. It also looked whether the gender of the older patients played a role for how general practitioners treated them. Methods: Episodic interviews were conducted with 17 women and 17 men who worked as general practitioners in Romania. Thematic coding was used to analyze data. Results: Findings showed that general practitioners saw old age as negative no matter their gender. Older patients were perceived as difficult and mostly older women were given as negative examples to illustrate treatment non-adherence and psychological or social problems related to aging. Conclusion: Negative aging views combined with a (de)gendering of aging patients may lead to maintain negative aging stereotypes and gender inequality in old age. Implications for preventing this from happening are discussed
The Partial Credit Model applied to the Lie Scale of the Big Five Questionnaire
The Partial Credit Model (PCM) of the Item Response Theory was applied to the Spanish Lie Scale adaptation of the Big Five Questionnaire. The scale measures individuals’ tendency to provide a distorted profile. The sample comprised 1592 adults from the general population (55% females). All analyses were performed by means of Winsteps software. The PCM exhibited satisfactory goodness-of-fit for all items. However, a considerable proportion of respondents had incongruent response patterns which were not in agreement with the model’s expectations. Five items presented inversions in the order expected for the estimated values of threshold parameters. These findings show the scale weaknesses and yield useful information to guide possible changes in future research.
Influence of motivation towards sports in alcohol, tobacco and cannabis consumption in adolescent students
One of the most serious problems faced by our society is the use of drugs by young people. Sports practice can act as a preventive factor being one of the most representative habits of a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, the objective of the study is to analyze the relationship and influence of motivation towards sports practice in the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis of school sports adolescents. The results reveal significant influences of intrinsic, extrinsic motivations and lack of motivation in the different prevalence of consumption in more or less self-determined and adaptive behavior patterns.