Impact of quarantine due to COVID-19 pandemic on health and lifestyle conditions in older adults from Centro American countries.

BACKGROUND: The impact of quarantine in older adults have been reported in several studies with contradictory results, reporting from negative effects to no significant outcomes or even beneficial consequences. Heterogeneity in aging plays a role in each region, the aim of this study is to analyze the impact of quarantine on health conditions (physical and mental) and lifestyle in older adults in five Centro American countries during COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: In this cross-sectional study, n = 712 older adults 60 years and older from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica were assessed by telephone. Sociodemographic data, physical and mental health, lifestyle and quarantine conditions were asked previous informed consent. RESULTS: In general, mean of days in quarantine at the moment of the study was 142 days (approximately four months and three weeks). In the analysis of the impact of the days in quarantine effects were found on the frequency of falls, functional ability in Activities of Daily Living (ADL), general cognitive function, memory, orientation, language, frequency of drinking alcohol, having a balanced diet, and being active cognitively. Some differences were found between countries. CONCLUSIONS: Effects of quarantine on older adults in Centro America, requires attention of governments and healthcare to prevent long term morbidity and disability, and to promote healthy aging.

Análisis psicométrico de la Escala de Machismo Sexual (EMS-Sexismo-12) en estudiantes universitarios de Arequipa, Perú / Validation Psychometrical analysis of Sexual Machism Scale (EMS-Sexism-12) among university students from Arequipa, Peru

Introducción: El machismo sexual es una forma de discriminación de género basada en creencias, estereotipos y actitudes que limitan la autonomía y devalúan a las personas con base en su género. Objetivo: Conocer la validez de la estructura interna y la confiabilidad del EMS-Sexismo-12, para medir machismo de tipo sexual en población peruana. Método: El diseño del estudio fue instrumental, la muestra fue aleatoria y estuvo conformada por 2470 estudiantes de una universidad pública de la ciudad de Arequipa, de los cuales el 50% fueron hombres, con edad (M =20.53; DE = 2.64) y el otro 50% mujeres, con edad (M= 19.95; DE = 2.27), estudiantes de las áreas de ingenierías y ciencias sociales. El instrumento utilizado fue la Escala de Machismo Sexual (EMS-Sexismo-12) construida y validada en su versión original en México. Resultados: Los datos fueron analizados a través de un AFC y un estimador WLSMV y matrices policóricas con el software libre Rstudio, encontrando un modelo unidimensional con buenos índices de bondad de ajuste, en hombres (CFI= .924, TLI = .907, SMRM= 0.069) y en mujeres (CFI= .936, TLI = .922, SMRM= 0.051), además, se evidencia confiabilidad por consistencia interna buena, en hombres y mujeres respectivamente (ω = .969; ω = .897), se adjunta baremos por hombres y mujeres. Conclusión: La escala de machismo sexual, muestra evidencias de validez y confiabilidad similares y con los mismos ítems en hombres y mujeres de Arequipa, Perú.

Background: Sexual masochism is a form of gender discrimination based on beliefs, stereotypes and attitudes that limit autonomy and devalue individuals based on their gender. Objective: To determine the internal structure validity and reliability of the EMS-Sexism-12 to measure sexual machismo in the Peruvian population. Method: The study used an instrumental design with a convenience sample of 2470 students from a public university in Arequipa, Peru. The sample consisted of 50% men (M = 20.53; SD = 2.64) and 50% women (M = 19.95; SD = 2.27), representing engineering and social science disciplines. The instrument used was the Sexual Machismo Scale (EMS-Sexism-12), originally constructed and validated in Mexico. Results: The data were analysed using CFA and the WLSMV estimator along with polychoric correlation matrices in the open-source software Rstudio. The analysis revealed a unidimensional model with good fit indices for both men (CFI = .924, TLI = .907, SMRM = 0.069) and women (CFI = .936, TLI = .922, SMRM = 0.051). Furthermore, evidence of internal consistency reliability was observed for men and women, respectively (ω = .969; ω = .897). Gender-specific norms are included for reference. Conclusions: The sexual machismo scale shows evidence of similar validity and reliability with the same items in men and women from Arequipa, Peru.