Criminality rates in those sentenced for femicide in Mexico / Niveles de criminalidad en personas sentenciadas por el delito de feminicidio en México / Níveis de criminalidade em pessoas condenadas pelocrime de feminicídio no México

Introduction:Violence against women is a problem that affects the worldwide population, with its maximum expression being femicide. Due to the recent and unequal legislation regarding this phenomenon, recent studies have focused on identifying types of aggressors where criminal behavior plays an important role as a risk factor. Likewise, very few studies exist with people who have committed femicide. Objective:To determine the criminality rates in those sentenced for the crime of femicide. Materials and methods:A list with 20 dimensions was used to evaluate 62 people arrested for the crime of femicide. Results:4 levels of criminality were found, which can be classified from low to high; the principal indicators that marked differences between these levels where domestic violence and a history of alcohol and drug use. Conclusion:The indicators that marked the differences between the levels of criminality are a history of intimate partner violence used to resolve conflicts which is associated with use of alcohol and psychoactive drugs.

Introducción: La violencia en contra de la mujer es un problema que afecta a la población mundial, teniendo su máxima expresión a través del feminicidio. Debido a la reciente y desigual legislación de este fenómeno, estudios al respecto son recientes y han girado en torno a determinar tipologías de agresores donde la criminalidad juega un papel importante como factor de riesgo. Así mismo, existen muy pocos estudios directos con personas que han cometido feminicidio.Objetivo: Conocer el nivel de criminalidad en sentenciados por el delito de feminicidio. Materiales y métodos: A través de una lista con 20 dimensiones se evaluó a 62 personas privadas de su libertad por el delito de feminicidio.Resultados: Se encontraron cuatro niveles de criminalidad que van de baja a muy alta, los principales indicadores que marcan la diferencia entre estos niveles son los que se refieren a la violencia de pareja e historia de consumo de alcohol y drogas.Conclusión: Los indicadores que marcan la diferencia entre los niveles de criminalidad, se encuentran una historia de violencia hacia la pareja como una forma de resolver conflictos, asociada al consumo de alcohol y sustancias psicoactivas.

Introdução:A violência contra a mulher é um problema que afeta a população mundial, tendo sua expressão máxima por meio do feminicídio. Devido à recente e desigual legislação sobre o fenômeno, os estudos a respeito são recentes e têm girado em torno da determinação de tipos de agressores onde a criminalidade desempenha um papel importante como fator de risco. Da mesma forma, são poucos os estudos diretos com pessoas que cometeram feminicídio. Objetivo:Conhecer o nível de criminalidade em condenados pelo crime de feminicídio. Materiais e métodos:Através de uma lista com 20 dimensões, foram avaliadas 62 pessoas privadas de liberdade pelo crime de feminicídio. Resultados:Foram encontrados quatro níveis de criminalidade, que variam de baixo a muito alto, sendo que os principais indicadores que fazem a diferença entre esses níveis são aqueles relacionados à violência por parceiro íntimo e histórico de uso de álcool e drogas. Conclusão:A criminalidade surge como uma categoria de análise, que busca explicar algumas características nas pessoas que cometeram esse crime, porém, é preciso considerar outros fatores como cultura, estrutura social e características da população reclusa por feminicídio.

Past Child Abuse and Neglect in Adults From Northern Mexico: Development of a Scale and Prevalence.

Child abuse has been present in Mexico but there have been few studies that analyze its effects in adults. There are no Mexican validated scales that measure the relationship between abuse experienced in childhood and its effects into adulthood. The purpose of this study is to develop a past child abuse and neglect scale to measure these phenomena in adults and also to analyze the relationship the effects have with other psychological variables (e.g., anxiety, depression, self-esteem, partner-violence, personality, and fatalism). There were 763 participants from Juarez City, located on the northern border of Mexico. All participants were above the age of 18 years. The scale was developed, and its psychometric properties were analyzed. A first analysis consisted of analyzing the factor structure of the scale items with an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), and then a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to corroborate the factor structure. The resulting factors were guilt, relationship with parents, strong physical abuse, sexual abuse, mild physical and verbal abuse, and basic care. The internal reliabilities for all factors in both analyses were between Cronbach's alpha values of .77 and .92. Correlations of these factors with psychological variables were analyzed, and several statistically significant correlations were found. The scale has a good factor structure that correctly reflects the indicators of child abuse and neglect with good internal reliability values. The analysis showed that the prevalence rates of child abuse and neglect in Juarez were higher than those reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) in other locations worldwide. Actions by governments, universities, and civil associations should take place to reduce these rates, especially because of their long-term physical, emotional, and psychological consequences.

Relationship Between Different Types of Violence and Mental Health in High School Students From Northern Mexico.

Different types of violence have been present in Mexico but there have been few studies that have analyzed their relationship with mental health in adolescents, especially in cities with high rates of social violence. It is important to compare different violence types and their relationship with mental health since not all relationships are the same. It appears that social violence has a stronger relationship with mental health, and for this reason it receives more attention, but other types of violence have a stronger relationship and do not receive as much attention. Chihuahua has been one of the most violent states in Mexico, and Juarez has been the most violent city in the world in 2009 and 2010. The purpose of the study is to compare the relationship of different types of violence (social, cyberbullying, partner violence, and child abuse and neglect) with mental health indicators (depression, anxiety, stress, self-esteem, and paranoid thoughts). There were 526 high school students, from the cities of Juarez (n = 282) and Chihuahua (n = 244). The mean age was 16.5 (SD = 1.4) years and 50.6% reported being males. The relationships among the variables were analyzed using Pearson's correlations and multiple linear regressions. Both cities that have experienced social violence like carjacking, kidnapping, and sexual assault, but they have very small or no relationships with mental health indicators. Other types of violence have stronger correlations. Our findings suggest that interventions should not focus only in preventing and dealing with social violence, but that other types of violence must also be addressed in adolescents.

Propiedades psicométricas de la escala de adherencia terapéutica basada en comportamientos explícitos / Psychometric properties of the therapeutic adherence scale based on explicit behaviors

RESUMEN Fundamento: El estudio de la Adherencia Terapéutica es de vital importancia si se quiere que un paciente con condiciones crónicas se ciña a un esquema de tratamiento y es una de las áreas de investigación en la psicología, que permite la exploración e investigación para la implementación de pautas en esta área, por lo que contar con instrumentos que tengan adecuadas propiedades psicométricas facilita la labor de conocimiento sobre el tema. Objetivo: En esta investigación, se estudiaron las propiedades psicométricas de la Escala de Adherencia Terapéutica, en personas con diferentes enfermedades. Método: Se realizaron análisis factoriales, uno inicial de tipo exploratorio y luego uno de tipo confirmatorio. Se obtuvieron los estadísticos de bondad, así como la confiabilidad y la validez de la escala en su versión final. Resultados: En una primera fase se realizó un análisis factorial exploratorio con 193 participantes; los reactivos tuvieron un buen ajuste, agrupándose en una estructura de dos factores. En una segunda fase se confirmó la estructura de la EAT con 231 participantes. Los resultados demuestran que los estadísticos de bondad de ajuste fueron buenos; la confiabilidad de la EAT (Factor 1 α = 0,93, Factor 2 α = 0,76 y fiabilidad global α = 0,83), es adecuada con dos factores. En la tercera fase, se efectuaron análisis descriptivos, se compararon algunas variables sociodemográficas y se realizaron correlaciones entre variables, demostrándose que hay diferencias significativas por la presencia o no de hijos y que el puntaje total de la EAT se relaciona con la edad, la escolaridad y el número de hijos. Conclusiones: La EAT, tiene adecuadas propiedades psicométricas para su utilización en investigación sobre la adherencia al tratamiento en algunas condiciones médicas y probó que su modelo en dos factores, tiene adecuada bondad de ajuste.

ABSTRACT Foundation: the study of therapeutic adherence is of vital importance to ensure that a patient with chronic conditions adheres to a treatment scheme. This is a research area of psychology, which allows exploration for the implementation of guidelines in this regard. Having instruments that have adequate psychometric properties facilitates the work of knowledge on the subject. Objective: to describe psychometric properties of the therapeutic adherence scale, in people with different diseases. Methods: analyzes of factors were performed, an initial exploratory and then a confirmatory one. Goodness statistics were obtained, as well as the reliability and validity of the scale in its final version. Results: an exploratory factor analysis (first phase) was carried out with 193 participants; the reactive had a good fit, grouping into a two-factor structure. In a second phase, the scale structure was confirmed with 231 participants. Goodness-of-fit statistics were good; the scale reliability (factor 1 α = 0.93; factor 2 α = 0.76 and overall reliability α = 0.83), is adequate with two factors. In the third phase, descriptive analyzes, correlations between variables were carried out and some sociodemographic variables were compared. There were significant differences due to the presence or not of children; the total scale score is related to age, schooling and the number of children. Conclusions: the therapeutic adherence scale has adequate psychometric properties to be used in research on treatment adherence in some medical conditions; its two-factor model has adequate goodness of fit.

Direct and indirect victimization and post-traumatic stress symptoms in university students in Northeastern Mexico / Victimización directa e indirecta y síntomas de estrés postraumático en estudiantes universitarios del Noreste de México

Abstract In recent years, violence has been exacerbated in several northeastern states of México, with implications for the mental health of young people, as is the development of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The present study aims to identify the types of victimization (direct or indirect) experienced by university students, determine the symptoms of post-traumatic stress they present and see the relationship between the types of victimization and PTSD symptoms. The Victimization Scale and the Short Scale of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder were applied to 500 young people of Tamaulipas. The university students report on average 7 direct and indirect victimization events, the indirect being more frequent. Although there is a relationship between direct and indirect victimization, with the presence of PTSD symptoms, only indirect victimization is a predictive variable of PTSD symptoms in university students. It is proposed that, together with policies of crime prevention and reduction, policies of the reduction of fear of crimes should be created.

Resumen En México, sobre todo en los estados del noreste del país, en los últimos años la violencia se ha exacerbado y, a su vez, ha incrementado sus implicaciones en la salud mental de los jóvenes, principalmente con el desarrollo de síntomas del trastorno por estrés postraumático (TEPT). Teniendo esto en cuenta, en el presente estudio se tuvo como objetivo identificar los tipos de victimización (directa o indirecta) que viven los jóvenes universitarios ante la violencia comunitaria, así como determinar los síntomas de estrés postraumático que presentaban, e identificar la relación entre los tipos de victimización y los síntomas del TEPT. En total, participaron 500 jóvenes universitarios de un estado del noreste del país, a quienes se les aplicó la Escala de Victimización y la Escala Breve del Desorden del Estrés Postraumático. Como resultados, los participantes reportaron un promedio de siete sucesos de victimización tanto directa como indirecta, siendo más frecuente la indirecta. Aunque se observa una relación directa e indirecta entre la victimización y la presencia de síntomas del TEPT, solo la victimización indirecta resultó ser una variable predictora de síntomas del TEPT. Se propone que, junto a las políticas de prevención y reducción del delito, deben crearse políticas de reducción del miedo al crimen en la población.

The Possible Protective Effect of Marital Status in Quality of Life Among Elders in a U.S.-Mexico Border City.

The purpose of this study was to determine how marital status may have an impact on quality of life in a group of older adults living in a U.S.-Mexico border city. Two-hundred and seventy-six older adults completed the Spanish version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment, composed of four domains: physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment. Participants answered a measure of sociodemographic variables. In the psychological health component of quality of life, single and married older adults had the highest scores as compared to widowed and divorced. Similarly, married older adults had the highest quality of life in social relationships. Marital status may play an important role when analyzing quality of life among older adults, this study suggests that being married may offer a protective mechanism against depressive symptoms and therefore against mental illnesses during late adulthood.