Influencia del tiempo psicológico y el autocontrol en el malestar psicológico en adultos argentinos / Influence of psychological time and self-control on psychological distress in Argentinian adults

Resumen El objetivo de este estudio fue conocer si la temporalidad subjetiva -perspectiva y foco temporales- y la capacidad de autocontrol e impulsividad repercuten en el malestar psicológico, en particular durante la pandemia por COVID-19. La conjetura teórica es que el tiempo psicológico está estrechamente vinculado a la autorregulación, que influye en el desarrollo de la impulsividad y el autocontrol e impacta en el malestar psicológico. Se diseñó un modelo y se realizó un estudio empírico cuantitativo, no experimental y transversal (. = 279; 78 % mujeres; ME = 30.14 años; DE = 11.21). Los resultados del análisis de correlación mostraron relaciones significativas entre las variables de interés. Para determinar las variables predictoras del malestar psicológico se realizó un análisis de regresión lineal múltiple. El 48 % de la varianza del malestar psicológico fue explicado por el pasado negativo, autocontrol e impulsividad, y focos temporales futuro y presente. Finalmente, se probó el modelo teórico diseñado para analizar los efectos directos e indirectos del malestar psicológico a través de un análisis de senderos que presentó un buen ajuste a los datos, ya que explicó el 50 % de la varianza de aquel. La perspectiva y el foco temporal explicaron el 53 % de la variabilidad del autocontrol, y presentaron efectos indirectos sobre el malestar psicológico a través del autocontrol. El autocontrol influyó de manera inversa en el malestar. Los hallazgos indican que el tiempo subjetivo y el autocontrol sirven para explicar estados psicológicos, incluso en pandemia, lo cual confirma estudios previos que muestran la importancia de las variables de personalidad -además de las biológicas y contextuales- en la aparición de malestar psicológico.

Abstract Psychological time is an essential aspect of humans. Two of the most important notions of subjective temporality are time perspective and temporal focus. Time perspective is a process by which the flow of personal and social experiences are framed in five different temporal categories: past negative, past positive, present hedonistic, present fatalistic and future. Temporal focus refers to the attention people devote to thinking about the past, present, and future. Previous research shows there is a strong relation between psychological time and self-regulatory processes, specifically self-control and impulsivity. Self-control is the ability to inhibit impulsive behaviors or reactions that can keep the person from pursuing the proposed goals. On the other hand, impulsivity refers to a short attention span and a tendency to engage in risky behaviors, and to prefer immediate rewards. Both subjective temporality and self-regulatory processes influence behaviors and psychological states such as psychological distress. In particular, the objective of this study was to find out if subjective temporality -time perspective and temporal focus-- and self-control and impulsivity have repercussions on psychological distress, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, in an Argentinian sample. The theoretical conjecture is that subjective temporality is closely linked to self-regulation, which influences the development of impulsivity and self-control, and impacts psychological distress. A quantitative, non-experimental, and cross-sectional empirical study was carried out (. = 279; 78 % women; ME = 30.14 years old; SD = 11.21). Firstly, the results of the correlational analysis showed significant relations between the variables. Then, to facilitate further analyses, an index variable of self-control was created, which included the scores of self-control and three dimensions of impulsivity. An optimal parallel analysis was performed. It indicated the existence of a single dimension. Then a semi-confirmatory factor analysis was ran, which showed acceptable results (KMO = .68; X. (6) = 198.8, . < .001; GFI = .99; RMSR = 0.03). Thirdly, to determine the predictive variables of psychological distress, a multiple linear regression analysis was performed. It was found that 48 % of the variance of psychological distress was explained by negative past, self-control index, and future and present temporal focuses (. (4, 266) = 64.66, . < .001, R. = .49, R. adjusted = .48). The best predictor variable was past negative. Afterwards, a theoretical model was tested to explain the direct and indirect causes of psychological distress. It presented a good fit (X./gl = 1.63; GFI = .99; RMSEA = .04). Time perspective and temporal focus explained 53 % of the variability of self-control and presented indirect effects on psychological distress through self-control. Self-control inversely influenced psychological distress; more self-control generates less psychological distress. The model explained half of the variance of psychological distress (R. = .50). The findings indicate that subjective temporality and self-control explain psychological states, even during a pandemic, which confirms previous studies that show the importance of personality variables -in addition to biological and contextual variables- in the manifestation of psychological distress. The results support the theory that psychological time can be considered as a personality trait underlying self-control and psychological distress. A theoretical and practical discussion of the results is presented.

Problemas comportamentales en la infancia: conceptualización, evaluación e impacto / Behavioral Problems during Childhood: conceptualization, evaluation and impact

Los problemas comportamentales en la infancia suponen todos aquellos comportamientos persistentes en los que se repiten conductas que no respetan las normas o las reglas sociales propias de la edad. La detección temprana de estas dificultades permite controlar en cierto modo la gravedad del asunto ya que, de no trabajarse sobre la sintomatología del niño, las posibilidades de desarrollar un trastorno mental severo son mayores. Así, la identificación y el diagnóstico de los problemas conductuales se ha vuelto una meta de gran significación para la disciplina psicológica. El objetivo de este estudio fue realizar una revisión de la literatura reciente para sistematizar la información referida a las diferentes conceptualizaciones teóricas que existen sobre los problemas comportamentales desde diversas escuelas psicológicas y las respuestas terapéuticas que ofrecen, identificar los instrumentos de medición validados para su evaluación en Argentina, y describir la importancia de su detección temprana y posibles áreas de incidencia(AU)

Behavioral problems in childhood involve all those persistent actions in which activities that do not respect the norms or social rules of the age are repeated. Early detection of these problems makes it possible to control the severity of the problem to a certain extent. If the child's symptoms are not elaborated, the chances of developing a severe mental disorder are greater. Thus, the identification and diagnosis of behavioral problems has become a goal of great significance for the psychological discipline. The objective of this article was to carry out a review of the recent literature to systematize the information referring to the different theoretical conceptualizations that exist on behavioral problems from various psychological schools and the therapeutic responses they offer. Also,to identify the measurement instruments validated for their evaluation in Argentina and describe the importance of its early detection and possible areas of incidence(AU)

Experiences of distortions to the passage of time during the Argentinian Covid-19 pandemic.

The Coronavirus-19 global pandemic has forced many governments around the world to enforce "lockdowns" to curtail the spread of the virus. Studies conducted in the UK, France, Italy and Brazil have demonstrated that one consequence of these lockdowns is significant distortion to the speed of the passage of time. The current study sought to establish how the passage of time was experienced during the Argentinian lockdown. An online questionnaire was used to measure passage of time judgments for the day and the week, physical activity, satisfaction with social interaction, the extent to which daily routines had changed due to covid and demographic data. The results show that distortions to the passage of time were widely experienced during the lockdown in Argentina. There was a tendency for participants to report time passing more quickly than normal. A faster passage of time was associated with being a woman, of younger age and more physically active. A slower passage of time was therefore associated with being a man, of older age and less physically active. The results indicate that whilst distortions to the passage of time during the covid-19 crisis appear to be a global phenomenon, cross-cultural differences are apparent in the factors which influence temporal experience.

Adaptación lingüística, estructura factorial y fiabilidad del Inventario de Perspectiva Temporal de Zimbardo para Buenos Aires / Linguistic adaptation, factorial structure and reliability of Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory for Buenos Aires

Resumen La perspectiva temporal es un término psicológico que refiere al modo en que las personas ordenan sus experiencias en categorías temporales. Se asocia con la salud mental, las conductas de riesgo y los proyectos a futuro. El Inventario de Perspectiva Temporal de Zimbardo (ZTPI; Zimbardo y Boyd, 1999) es un cuestionario autoadministrable que evalúa la perspectiva temporal. En este artículo se informan los resultados del estudio psicométrico del ZTPI, realizado en Buenos Aires, sobre la base de la adaptación española del inventario. En este sentido, un propósito fundamental fue analizar si la adaptación española del ZTPI es igualmente válida para su uso en Argentina. Para ello, se llevó a cabo una adaptación lingüística del instrumento que redundó en cambios en la redacción y contenido en la presente versión para adecuarlas a las particularidades del habla en Argentina. Con esta versión, se realizó un estudio piloto con una muestra de 323 personas adultas cuyos datos permitieron el análisis básico de sus propiedades psicométricas. Las evidencias de validez interna corroboran la estructura de cinco componentes del estudio original. La fiabilidad de los ítems en cada factor fue satisfactoria (valores α entre .59 y .78). Los resultados de validez externa muestran asociaciones significativas entre pasado negativo y malestar psicológico (r = .43; p < .005), presente fatalista y locus de control (r = .45; p < .005), presente hedonista y autoeficacia generalizada (r = .31; p < .005). Respecto a la variabilidad obtenida en las puntuaciones del ZTPI se sugiere que, en parte, se debe al nivel educativo y, secundariamente, al sexo. Conforme aumenta la edad, el patrón de orientación al presente hedonista decrece. Lo contrario sucede con el predominio de la orientación futura.

Abstract Time perspective is a psychological term that refers to the process by which a person sorts out personal experiences into temporal categories. It is associated with mental health, risk behaviors, cognitive and emotional empathy, and future goals. The Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI) from Zimbardo & Boyd (1999) is a self-administered questionnaire consisting in 56 items with 5 answer options. It examines time perspective in a quantifiable way. The questionnaire was translated and adapted to many languages and cultures, most of which reported satisfactory psychometric evidences. The Spanish version of the ZTPI was first made in Spain by Diaz-Morales (2006). Based on this version, two other Spanish speaking countries, Chile and Mexico, made their own version of the questionnaire. In Argentina, there is a version of the ZTPI valid only for teenagers. In the present work the original ZTPI was translated by 3 experts and a linguistic adaptation was done in order to adequate the items to Argentinean speech. A pilot test using the Diaz-Morales version was carried out. Based on the independent and blinded translations, and on the results of the pilot test, an analysis was made. Many items of the Spanish versions were kept, but 34 of the 56 items were changed so as to be compressible for Argentinians. This work resulted in an Argentinian version of the ZTPI, specially done for that culture. Using this version, a pilot study was done with a sample of 323 adults from Buenos Aires. The analysis shows that the reliability of items was satisfactory (values between a = .59 to a = .78). Internal validity evidences confirm the 5 factors structure shown by the authors. External validity was analyzed showing significant associations among negative past and psychological distress (r = .43; p < .005), present fatalistic and locus of control (r = .45; p < .005) and present hedonistic and Self-efficacy (r = .31; p < .005). To study the error variance due to passing of time, test-retest was carried out, showing high and positive correlations. This means that scores of time perspective show time stability. In conclusion, the results of the psychometric analysis are satisfactory. This indicates that the ZTPI is a reliable and valid instrument that can be used to evaluate time perspective in adults from Buenos Aires. An analysis of the variability of ZTPI punctuations was done. It suggests that they are due to two main reasons: educational level and sex. Regarding educational level, significant variations were shown in four of the five factors. The only factor that showed no difference was the positive past. Considering sex, significative differences were shown in four of the five factors of the test, in which medias were higher in women than in men. No differences were shown in hedonistic present factor. With respect to the age, present hedonistic orientation decrease as age grows. On the other hand, as age grows future orientation grows too. These three variables (educational level, sex and age) explain the variability, but it is a partial significance. This implies that time orientation can be understood as a personality characteristic. Consequently, the different punctuations people get in the ZTPI are due to individual differences. Suggestions are made in order to make a definitive adaptation of the ZTPI for Argentina. The most important are increasing the sample with people from other regions of the country and increase the sample to make test-retest. Finally, future research could be oriented to make a short version of the ZTPI and use the questionnaire for evaluation in clinical samples to understand how time perspective works in psychopathologies and then use time orientation as a valid variable for diagnosis and treatment.