Conocimientos sobre el aborto inducido y opiniones sobre el uso del misoprostol en Aguascalientes / Knowledge about induced abortion and opinions about the use of misoprostol in Aguascalientes

Resumen Antecedentes: El misoprostol es un medicamento de fácil acceso con el que se puede tener un aborto seguro. Objetivo: Explorar los conocimientos sobre la situación legal del aborto en el Estado de Aguascalientes, en donde el aborto está penalizado, así como los conocimientos y opiniones sobre el misoprostol. Método: Se aplicó un cuestionario en línea a 208 adultos. Resultados: La mayoría de las participantes no conocía la situación legal del aborto ni del Estado de Aguascalientes ni del país. Cerca de la mitad conocía el misoprostol, y sus principales fuentes de información fueron Internet y redes sociales. Aproximadamente la mitad de estos participantes no supo qué complicaciones puede ocasionar que requieran atención médica. Conclusión: El conocimiento sobre la situación legal del aborto y sobre el uso del misoprostol como método abortivo es limitado. Existe consciencia de la importancia de la supervisión médica cuando se usa, aunque esta se dificulta debido a la ilegalidad del aborto en Aguascalientes.

Abstract Background: Misoprostol is an easily accessible medication with which to have a safe abortion. Objective: To explore knowledge about the legal situation of abortion in the state of Aguascalientes, where abortion is criminalized, as well as knowledge and opinions about misoprostol. Method: An online questionnaire was administered to 208 adults. Results: Most of the participants did not know the legal situation of abortion neither in the state of Aguascalientes nor in the country. Almost half of them knew about misoprostol, and their main sources of information were the Internet and social networks. About half of these participants did not know which are the complications that misoprostol may cause that require medical attention. Conclusion: Knowledge about the legal situation of abortion and about the use of misoprostol as an abortion method is limited. There is awareness of the importance of medical supervision when misoprostol is used, but obtaining this supervision is difficult due to the illegality of abortion in Aguascalientes.

Secular trends in age at menarche in 20th century Mexico: Differences by ethnicity, area of residency, and socioeconomic status.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to assess the secular trend in age at menarche (AAM) in Mexico over the 20th century, and compare the patterns according to area of residence (rural/urban), socioeconomic status (SES), and ethnicity (indigenous/nonindigenous). METHODS: Data on AAM from 24 380 women aged ≥20 years born between 1906 and 1986 were obtained from the Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey 2006. Birth cohorts were compared to test for a secular trend and differences in mean AAM by area of residence, SES, and ethnicity were evaluated using the Welch test for heterogeneous variances followed by Tamhane T2 for post hoc comparisons. RESULTS: Mean AAM declined from 13.3 years among Mexican women born before the 1940s to 12.56 years among those born in the 1980s. Across birth cohorts, urban women had significantly earlier AAM than their rural counterparts. Nonindigenous urban women reached menarche the earliest and rural indigenous women the latest of all groups. Nonindigenous urban residents experienced a comparatively earlier decline, while that for the indigenous rural women occurred last. High SES women reached menarche the earliest and low SES women the latest. The historical decline in AAM for high and medium SES groups occurred relatively early, whereas that for the low SES occurred last. CONCLUSIONS: Mean AAM was associated with area of residence, ethnicity, and SES. Our findings indirectly suggest that advances in living conditions experienced in Mexico during the 20th century appear to have been insufficient to overcome the social and biological inequalities accumulated over centuries in some groups.

Psychosocial barriers associated with organ donation in Mexico.

INTRODUCTION: There is a severe shortage of organs for transplantation worldwide, and Mexico has one of the lowest organ donation rates. In this study, we explored the psychosocial barriers that prevent posthumous organ donation by Mexicans. METHOD: We asked 218 adults who were not willing to be donors to complete the sentence "I don't want to donate my organs after death because organ donation is…" The data were analyzed using the Natural Semantic Networks Technique. RESULTS: The most important answers given by the participants were related to mistrust. Older participants and those with limited education gave more answers that reflect misconceptions about organ donation. Many participants acknowledged its benefits, even though they did not want to be donors, especially the youngest and those with a higher education. CONCLUSIONS: Mistrust and poor education are problems that urgently need to be addressed in order to increase acceptance of organ donation and transplantation.

Mexican Men's View of Vasectomy.

The present study explored the views of Mexican men concerning vasectomy. One hundred and five men who had not had a vasectomy were asked to complete the following phrase "If you no longer wanted to have more children and a vasectomy was suggested, you would react with . . . or you would think . . . " with at least five different answers. Participants then had to rank each of their answers according to how well they describe the participant's feelings in the hypothetical situation. The results were analyzed using the Natural Semantic Networks Technique. The most common words used by participants with a limited educational background were reject, followed by fear and anger, and they did not use any words that implied acceptance of vasectomy. In contrast, the most common words used by participants with higher education were curiosity, followed by acceptance and interest; however, they also used the words fear and insecurity. The most frequent attitudes reported by men with limited education were negative, whereas participants with a higher education reported more ambivalent attitudes. These findings are discussed in light of sociocultural features and could be helpful in designing reproductive health programs with more effective counseling to diminish negative views about vasectomy.

Body appreciation and attitudes toward menstruation.

Menstruation is an important function of the female body, yet it has rarely been included in research on body image. As women's attitudes toward menstruation are so often negative, this study was designed to examine whether women with positive body image would have more positive attitudes toward menstruation. Seventy-two American women, ages 18-45 years, were recruited online to complete the Body Appreciation Scale (Avalos et al., 2005) and the Beliefs about and Attitudes toward Menstruation Scale (Marván et al., 2006) and to answer some questions about their interest in menstrual suppression. Linear regressions showed that higher scores on body appreciation predicted more positive attitudes toward and beliefs about menstruation, but were not related to interest in menstrual suppression. Our findings may be useful in designing interventions to increase women's comfort with their bodies and bodily functions.

Validación en México del inventario de ajuste de Weinberger (WAI) / Validation of the Mexican version of the Weinberger Adjustment Inventory (WAI)

Introducción La incapacidad para aprender a regular los arranques emocionales y la inhibición excesiva de emociones se asocian con una gran variedad de problemáticas personales e interpersonales, así como con alteraciones psicológicas y de salud. Weinberger desarrolló un inventario que evalúa dos aspectos centrales del ajuste socioemocional: la experiencia subjetiva de distrés y la contención emocional. El inventario sólo existía en inglés, por lo que resolvimos traducirlo al español y validarlo en una población de hispanoparlantes mexicanos. Método El cuestionario traducido y revisado se aplicó a 452 participantes, respetando la escala Likert del cuestionario original de cinco puntos. Los participantes fueron personas adultas (mayores de 18 años) sin distinción de sexo que tenían un nivel de escolaridad mínimo de secundaria. Resultados Tras el análisis de la capacidad discriminatoria de los reactivos por el método de grupos extremos y el análisis factorial por el método de componentes principales, el cuestionario quedó conformado por 44 reactivos, agrupados en cuatro factores: 1. Dominio de sí mismo con un total de 19 preguntas que explicaron 18.68% de la varianza, 2. Experiencia subjetiva de distrés, compuesto por 12 preguntas que explicaron 10.84% de la varianza, 3. Defensividad, el cual constó de siete preguntas que explicaron 7.10% de la varianza y 4. Consideración hacia los demás, que agrupó seis preguntas que explicaron 6.54% de la varianza. Finalmente, se evaluó la confiabilidad del cuestionario utilizando el alpha de Cronbach, y quedó como sigue: Dominio de sí mismo 0.89, Experiencia subjetiva de distrés 0.84, Defensividad 0.69 y Consideración hacia los demás 0.74. Conclusiones El Inventario de Weinberger es una herramienta útil para evaluar el ajuste socioemocional, así como para determinar la magnitud de la inhibición emocional en una población, abordar su prevención e instrumentar acciones para la atención de los casos que lo ameriten.

Introduction The inability to control emotional outbursts and the excessive inhibition of emotions are associated with a variety of personal and interpersonal problems, psychological disorders and health status. Weinberger developed an inventory to assesses two central aspects of socio-emotional adjustment: the subjective experience of distress and restraint. As the inventory was in English, we decided to translate it into Spanish and validated it in a population of Spanish-speaking Mexicans. Method The revised Spanish WAI was applied to 452 participants using the same Likert scale used in the English WAI, in which each answer was given a score of five points. The participants were adults (over 18 years) of either sex with a minimum educational level of high school. Results After analyzing the discriminatory power of the questions by the method of extreme groups and factor analysis by principal components analysis, the Spanish WAI was composed of 44 items, which were divided into four factors: 1. Restraint, which grouped together a total of 19 questions, which explained 18.68% of the variance, 2. Subjective experience of distress, consisting of 12 questions, which accounted for 10.84% of the variance, 3. Defensiveness, consisting of seven questions that explained 7.10% of the variance, and 4. Consideration for Others, which grouped six questions that explained 6.54% of the variance. Finally, we assessed the reliability of the questionnaire using Cronbach's alpha as follows: Restraint 0.89, Subjective experience of distress 0.84, Defensiveness 0.69, and Consideration for others 0.74. Conclusions Weinberger's Inventory is a useful instrument to assess restraint as an important aspect of emotional distress of individuals, and to measure the magnitude of restraint in a population, and thus allowing preventive and therapeutic actions in cases that deserve it.

Ambivalent sexism and attitudes toward women in different stages of reproductive life: a semantic, cross-cultural approach.

College students in southeastern Mexico (n = 185) and the northeastern United States (n = 96) utilized a semantic differential scale to rate subtypes of women: a menstruating woman, a menopausal woman, a pregnant woman, a premenstrual woman, a woman with a hysterectomy, a teenage girl, a woman in love, and a woman with a young baby. Americans reported significantly more negative attitudes than Mexicans did toward a menstruating woman, a premenstrual woman, a teenage girl, and a pregnant woman. Participants chose more positive words to describe a teenage girl, a woman in love, a pregnant woman, and a woman with a young baby, which is suggestive of a pronatal bias. Participants also completed the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI). Men scored significantly higher than women on hostile sexism. Mexicans scored significantly higher than Americans on both hostile and benevolent sexism. Sexism scores are related to attitudes toward premenstrual, menstruating, and menopausal women; women with a hysterectomy; and women with a young baby.

Knowledge about cervical cancer prevention and psychosocial barriers to screening among Mexican women.

The objectives of this study were to evaluate: Mexican women's knowledge about cervical cancer prevention; psychosocial barriers to screening; and the relation of both to cervical cancer screening behavior. Three hundred and eighty-four rural and urban women who had achieved a basic or higher educational level were surveyed. Almost 80% of the women had a Pap test but rural women were less likely to have done so. Although most women had received their most recent Pap within the last three years, only 29% had had their first Pap in accordance with the official Mexican norm. Participants showed inadequate knowledge about the risk factors for cervical cancer, especially women with only a basic educational level, irrespective of residence in an urban or rural area. Factors associated with non-screening were poor knowledge about Pap testing and about the risk factors for cervical cancer, as well as the following barriers: believing that Pap testing is too embarrassing; believing that men do not want them to have a Pap test; and believing that the test is painful. In light of these socio-cultural influences, our findings could be helpful in designing effective programs to increase Pap screening.

Mexican beliefs and attitudes toward menopause and menopausal-related symptoms.

The objective of this study was to explore the beliefs and attitudes toward menopause among young and middle-aged Mexican women and men, as well as the menopausal-related symptoms that middle-aged women report or expect and that other participants think a menopausal woman experiences. The beliefs about and attitudes toward Menopause Questionnaire and the Greene Climacteric Scale were answered by 395 Mexicans between the ages of 20 and 60 years. Comparing middle-aged participants, the most negative attitudes toward menopause were held by surgically menopausal women, and the most positive attitudes by naturally postmenopausal women. Younger participants showed more negative attitudes when compared to those in middle age (with exception of surgically menopausal women). There was a positive correlation between negative attitudes and menopausal-related symptoms either experienced by perimenopausal and naturally postmenopausal women, or expected by young and premenopausal women. No significant correlation was found between attitudes and symptoms in the groups of surgically menopausal women or the men. These findings are discussed in light of differences between genders and age cohorts.

Psychological meaning of a woman with a hysterectomy among Mexican physicians and women.

The psychological meaning of women who have had a hysterectomy, and attitudes toward them, were explored in 121 Mexican gynecologists, 155 women who had undergone a hysterectomy, and 115 women who had not had a hysterectomy. The surveys were completed between January and May 2011. Both groups of women defined a woman who had had a hysterectomy using words with positive meanings (healthy, happy, reassured, and complete), as well as words with negative meanings (sad, incomplete, and irritable). However, the participants who had not had a hysterectomy defined a woman who had had a hysterectomy using more negative words and showed more negative attitudes toward such a woman with a hysterectomy than those women who had undergone a hysterectomy. Among participants who had undergone a hysterectomy, those who were premenopausal prior to the surgery and those who had undergone bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy defined a woman who had had a hysterectomy in a more negative manner and showed the most negative attitudes. The gynecologists did not use words with emotional content regarding women who had had a hysterectomy and showed more neutral attitudes toward such a woman than did both groups of women. These findings could be helpful in designing support programs for women facing a hysterectomy.

Menstrual socialization, beliefs, and attitudes concerning menstruation in rural and urban Mexican women.

Women living in rural and urban areas of Mexico answered a questionnaire about what they were told at home about menstruation before their menarche (first menstruation), and answered the Beliefs About and Attitudes Toward Menstruation Questionnaire. Around half of both urban and rural women were told that they were going to experience negative perimenstrual changes. There were fewer urban than rural women who were advised to do or not to do certain activities while menstruating. Menstrual socialization affected the beliefs and attitudes concerning menstruation held by women as adults. These findings are discussed in light of the sociocultural background of the participants.

Premenarcheal Mexican girls' and their teachers' perceptions of preparation students receive about menstruation at school.

This survey explored how fifth-grade Mexican premenarcheal girls (N = 80) and their teachers (N = 16) view the preparation students receive about menstruation at school. The most discussed topics in class included hygiene and body functions. The main discrepancies between girls and teachers were as follows: (a) more teachers than girls reported that they discussed the emotional aspects of menses, (b) teachers indicated that their pupils were better prepared than the students themselves believed. (c) more teachers reported that the girls acted ashamed during the classes, and (d) more girls perceived that boys behaved in a mocking manner, whereas more teachers thought that the boys acted nervous. In conclusion, teaching about menstruation is problematic, but these findings provide information for teachers to meet the needs of girls more efficiently.

[Validation of a scale measuring coping with extreme risks]. / Validación de una escala de afrontamiento frente a riesgos extremos.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to validate, in Mexico, the French coping scale "Echelle Toulousaine de Coping". MATERIAL AND METHODS: In the fall of 2001, the scale questionnaire was applied to 209 subjects living in different areas of Mexico, exposed to five different types of extreme natural or industrial risks. The discriminatory capacity of the items, as well as the factorial structure and internal consistency of the scale, were analyzed using Mann-Whitney's U test, principal components factorial analysis, and Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: The final scale was composed of 26 items forming two groups: active coping and passive coping. Internal consistency of the instrument was high, both in the total sample and in the subsample of natural and industrial risks. CONCLUSIONS: The coping scale is reliable and valid for the Mexican population. The English version of this paper is available at: http://www.insp.mx/salud/index.html.

Validación de una escala de afrontamiento frente a riesgos extremos / Validation of a scale measuring coping with extreme risks

OBJETIVO: Validar, en población mexicana, una escala de afrontamiento, adaptada de la escala francesa "Echèlle Toulousaine de Coping". MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: En el otoño de 2001 la escala se aplicó a 209 sujetos que habitaban en diversas zonas de México, expuestos a cinco diferentes tipos de riesgo extremo, entre los cuales se distinguen riesgos naturales y riesgos industriales. Se analizó la capacidad discriminatoria de los reactivos, así como la estructura factorial y la consistencia interna de la prueba. Se emplearon los métodos U de Mann-Whitney, análisis factorial de componentes principales y alpha de Cronbach. RESULTADOS: La escala final es de 26 reactivos que se agruparon en dos factores: afrontamiento activo y afrontamiento pasivo. La consistencia interna del instrumento es muy alta, tanto en la muestra total como en la submuestra de riesgos naturales y riesgos industriales. CONCLUSIONES: La escala de afrontamiento que proponemos es confiable y válida para la población mexicana.

Menstrual-related changes expected by premenarcheal girls living in rural and urban areas of Mexico.

Most women experience changes surrounding the start of menstruation. These changes are influenced by sociocultural context. Consequently, certain changes are more pronounced in some cultures than in others. Girls enter menarche with a clear set of paramenstrual expectations that may alter their menstrual cycle-related experiences when they become postmenarcheal. This study explored expectations concerning the paramenstrual changes of 1,173 premenarcheal girls living in rural and urban areas of Mexico. In accordance with the findings of studies conducted in other countries, Mexican premenarcheal girls associate menstruation with a set of mostly negative expectations. A comparison of the results from urban and rural girls revealed that urban girls expected negative paramenstrual changes more, while rural ones expected positive changes more. These differences suggest that the cultures in which girls are brought up have an impact on their expectations. Urban girls are more exposed to media which present a picture of menses as a debilitating event, while rural girls link menses with health because it is associated with the ability to have children.

Inescapable shocks accentuate fluctuations of forced swimming immobility in different phases of the rat estrous cycle

The forced swimming test is an animal model that is sensitive to the different antidepressant treatments. On the other hand, it is also sensitive to the characteristics changes suffered by animals that have been previously exposed to different depression models. In the present study we xplored the effects on inescapable shock on the forced swimming test, during different phases of the rat estrous cycle. There was an increase of the immobility during diestrus as compared to estrus. Furthermore, inescapable shock increased the immobility, byt only during diestrus. Thus the differences found between both phases of the estrous cycle were accentuated. Due to the fact that diring diestrus there is an absence of progesterone, and that depressed women exacerbate their symptoms during the premenstrual phase, the authors suggest that the immobility registered during the forced swimming test may be useful in the study of premenstrual depression

Depresión y vacio existencial em mujeres profesionales que no ejercen su profesión / Depression and existencial emptiness in women out of practice

Diversos estudios han mostrado que cuando no se encuentra un significado en la vida, surgen la depresión y el vacío existencial. Se analizó el nivel de depresión, de vacío existencial y la búsqueda de metas en 120 mujeres mexicanas casadas. Se formaron cuatro grupos de sujetos considerando el hecho de ser o no profesionales, y si trabajan o no fuera del hogar. Se observaron mayores niveles de depresión y de vacío existencial, así como una menor búsqueda de metas en las mujeres profesionales que no trabajan fuera del hogar. En contraste, las profesionales que sí ejercen su profesión fueron las que mostraron menor depresión y vacío existencial, así como mayor búsqueda de metas. Se concluye que a pesar de los problemas que implica desarrollarse como ama de casa y trabajadora, el tener una profesión y ejercerla es un estímulo para desarrollar la propia identidad, autonomía e independencia.

Depresión y vacio existencial em mujeres profesionales que no ejercen su profesión / Depression and existencial emptiness in women out of practice

Diversos estudios han mostrado que cuando no se encuentra un significado en la vida, surgen la depresión y el vacío existencial. Se analizó el nivel de depresión, de vacío existencial y la búsqueda de metas en 120 mujeres mexicanas casadas. Se formaron cuatro grupos de sujetos considerando el hecho de ser o no profesionales, y si trabajan o no fuera del hogar. Se observaron mayores niveles de depresión y de vacío existencial, así como una menor búsqueda de metas en las mujeres profesionales que no trabajan fuera del hogar. En contraste, las profesionales que sí ejercen su profesión fueron las que mostraron menor depresión y vacío existencial, así como mayor búsqueda de metas. Se concluye que a pesar de los problemas que implica desarrollarse como ama de casa y trabajadora, el tener una profesión y ejercerla es un estímulo para desarrollar la propia identidad, autonomía e independencia. (AU)