Attitudes associated with risky injection practices in people who inject drugs in Palma de Mallorca. / Actitudes asociadas a las prácticas de inyección de riesgo en personas que se inyectan drogas en Palma de Mallorca.

The goal of this study was to explore the attitudes of people who inject drugs (PWID) and carry out risky practices, identifying underlying factors in their speech that sustain those attitudes. We proposed a qualitative research design with PWID focus groups (n = 34) and interviews with experts (n = 3). The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed following the principles of grounded theory and thematic analysis methodology. A total of 17 risk categories were identified and grouped into six dimensions: Drug Consumption, Knowledge, Trust In Other People, Access To Unused Syringues, Personal Situation, and Random. These dimensions would modulate the magnitude of the attitudes towards the different risky injection practices or act as barriers that limit the intention of PWID to inject themselves in a safe way. The analysis of the narratives suggests that many PWID have developed slightly negative, neutral, or even positive attitudes towards some risky injection practices, mainly towards carrying them out in certain situations and even when knowing of their negative consequences. Characterizing the attitudes associated with risky injection practices not only contributes to understanding them more thoroughly but will also allow preventive programs to be better suited to the specific needs of PWID.

El objetivo de este estudio fue explorar las actitudes de las personas que se inyectan drogas (PID) y realizan prácticas de inyección de riesgo, identificando los factores subyacentes a su discurso que sustentan esas actitudes. Se planteó una investigación cualitativa con un diseño de grupos de discusión con PID (n = 34) y entrevistas a expertos(as) (n = 3). Los grupos y entrevistas fueron grabados, transcritos y analizados bajo el enfoque de la teoría fundamentada y el método del análisis temático. Se identificaron 17 categorías de riesgo, agrupadas en seis dimensiones: Consumo de drogas, Conocimiento, Confianza en otras personas, Acceso a jeringuillas nuevas, Situación personal y Azar. Estas dimensiones modularían la magnitud de las actitudes hacia las distintas prácticas de inyección de riesgo o actuarían como barreras que socavan la intención de las PID de inyectarse de manera segura. El discurso analizado sugiere que muchas PID han desarrollado actitudes poco negativas, neutras o incluso positivas hacia algunas prácticas de inyección de riesgo, principalmente hacia su realización en situaciones determinadas y aun conociendo las consecuencias negativas que estas entrañan. Proponer una descripción diferenciada de las actitudes asociadas a las prácticas de inyección de riesgo no sólo contribuye a profundizar en su explicación, sino que permitirá una mayor adecuación de los programas preventivos a las necesidades específicas de las PID.

Qualitative Analysis on cycle Commuting in Two Cities with Different Cycling Environments and Policies / Análisis cualitativo sobre la movilidad al trabajo en bicicleta: Comparación de dos ciudades con diferentes infraestructuras y políticas ciclistas

This work presents the results of a qualitative study of the rating of the bicycle as the transport mode to travel to the workplace. Twenty-one semistructured interviews were performed in two Spanish cities, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Madrid, with different cycling infrastructures and percentages of bicycle usage. The results were categorized and interpreted within the framework of the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991). The results indicate that the bicycle is considered a reliable and flexible transport mode in instrumental terms, and that providing objective information about its advantages could increase its attraction for non-cyclists. Other intrinsic benefits, such as its effects on physical fitness, are highly valued. The benefits of bicycle usage on the environment do not seem to be aspects that directly motivate its use. These symbolic beliefs contribute to its revaluation as a transport mode, and may increase the acceptance of public policies favoring it. The analysis also shows a prototypical image of the cyclist as a young, active, and socially aware person. The perception of risk of accidents is the main obstacle for non-cyclists, but not among riders. The latter make internal attributions about their personal safety, choosing routes with less traffic, riding the bicycle in a safer way. Control beliefs distinguish between beliefs associated with external factors (like infrastructure and other measures provided by public bodies to increase cycling) and those attributed to internal factors (perception of self-efficacy in the face of drawbacks, clothing, climatology, or insecurity). Presenting these coping strategies to people contemplating the possibility of cycling can increase their motivation. These results may be particularly useful when designing measurement instruments that take these differences of perception of control into account.

Este trabajo presenta los resultados de un estudio cualitativo sobre la valoración de la bicicleta como modo de transporte para viajar al lugar de trabajo. Se llevaron a cabo veintiuna entrevistas semi-estructuradas, en dos ciudades españolas, Vitoria-Gasteiz y Madrid, con diferentes infraestructuras ciclistas y porcentajes de uso. La categorización e interpretación de los resultados se realizó bajo el marco de la teoría de la acción planificada (Ajzen, 1991). Los resultados indican que la bicicleta se considera un modo fiable y flexible en términos instrumentales, y que facilitar información objetiva acerca de dichas ventajas podría incrementar su atractivo entre los no usuarios. Otros beneficios de carácter intrínseco, como sus efectos sobre la forma física, son muy valorados. Los beneficios del uso de la bicicleta sobre el medio ambiente no parecen ser aspectos que motiven, de forma directa, a su utilización. Estas creencias simbólicas sí contribuyen a su revaloración como modo de transporte, y pueden incrementar la aceptación de políticas públicas que lo favorezcan. El análisis también muestra una imagen prototípica del usuario de la bicicleta como alguien joven, activo y consciente. La percepción de riesgo de accidente es el principal obstáculo para el no usuario, no así entre los usuarios. Estos realizan atribuciones internas respecto a su seguridad personal, y eligen rutas con menos tráfico, manejando la bicicleta de una forma más segura. Las creencias de control permiten distinguir entre aquellas asociadas con factores externos (carriles-bici, servicios de préstamo de bicicletas) de las atribuidas a factores internos (percepción de autoeficacia para afrontar inconvenientes, como indumentaria, climatología o inseguridad). Dar a conocer estas estrategias de afrontamiento a aquellas personas que contemplan la posibilidad de utilizar la bicicleta, pueden elevar su motivación. Estos resultados pueden ser especialmente útiles a la hora de diseñar instrumentos de medida, que consideren estas diferencias en percepción de control.

Why don't girls choose technological studies? Adolescents' stereotypes and attitudes towards studies related to medicine or engineering.

Gender differences in choice of studies emerge already in adolescence. Two studies with adolescents are presented, the goal of which is to explore the influence of gender by assessing males and females who choose studies related to Medicine or Engineering. Study 1, correlational (N = 330, mean age 15.9, 56.7% girls), shows that girls who choose technology are more poorly appraised than girls who choose other studies. Study 2 (N = 130; mean age 16.77, 56.2% girls), experimental, measures implicit attitudes (using the IAT) towards males and females from Medicine and Engineering. Implicit attitudes are more favorable towards women if they are studying Medicine and towards men if they study Engineering. The results are analyzed with relation to the percentages of boys and girls in the different fields of study.

Evolution of gender stereotypes in Spain: traits and roles.

The aim of this study is twofold: to determine whether (and how) gender stereotypes have changed over time through a comparison of two different sets of data collected in 1993 (N=1255) and 2001 (N=1255) from a representative sample of the Spanish population, and to examine the relation between gender traits and roles and its stability over time. In addition, special attention is paid to the psychometric properties of the measures of gender traits and roles used in the study. The content of gender stereotypes was found to remain stable over the target period of time, confirming the classical typology (a higher assignment of expressive-communal traits to women and of instrumental-agentic traits to men). The structure of the gender-role questionnaire allows us to distinguish between family-role and work-role stereotyping. Gender-role stereotyping shows a marked decline between 1993 and 2001, a result that contrasts with the stability of trait-role stereotyping. The fact that a very low correlation is observed at the two time points between these two components of gender stereotyping strongly suggests their independence.