1
artículo
Publicado 2023
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Introduction: In Peru, a high proportion of fully immunized people against COVID-19 has been achieved, which has mitigated the severity of the disease. Thus, under the recommendation of experts, the Peruvian government issued Supreme Decree 118-2022-PCM, which indicated that the use of masks is optional in open and ventilated enclosed spaces as of October 1, 2022. Objective: The aim of the present study was to find out the reasons why people continued to wear masks even though it was not mandatory in outdoor environments. Methods: A total of 335 people participated, with an average age of 26.11 years (73.1% women). A data collection form was prepared where sociodemographic and health information was requested; in addition, the question "Why do you continue to wear mask despite it being optional in open and closed ventilated spaces?" was included. The data obtained from the last open ques...
2
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Publicado 2025
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Loneliness and depression are the most prevalent mental health issues among older adults, and their relationship has been documented in studies using reflective psychopathological models based on the total scores. However, mental health problems should be investigated at the level of individual symptoms in order to develop intervention strategies aimed at mitigating the adverse impact of both variables. The goal was to examine the extent to which symptoms of loneliness relate to symptoms of depression in elderly Peruvians using the network method in 328 Peruvian adults with an average age of 68.44 years (SD = 7.64). The participants were selected through non-probability convenience sampling, which may limit the generalizability of the results. The Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) and three-item UCLA Loneliness Scale were used in this study. Network analysis was used to identify cen...
3
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Publicado 2023
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Introduction: Psychological research can be developed by researchers and also by undergraduate or postgraduate students. In an undergraduate level, psychological research is specially challenging due to the limited ability of students to develop coherent and logical research problems and methodological approaches. Objective: The objective of this study is to identify the main research trends in undergraduate psychological theses from Peruvian universities. As a specific objective, quantitative and qualitative research design trends were distinguished. Methods: A descriptive and retrospective systematic review of psychological research thesis of Peruvian undergraduate students was conducted, starting the data extraction process starting with RENATI database for an initial screening phase. Data analysis was conducted in two phases. Results: First, data was organized in relation to its freq...
4
artículo
Publicado 2024
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Background: Depression and anxiety are two of the most prevalent and disabling mental disorders worldwide, both in the general population and in outpatient clinical settings. Objective: This study aimed to analyze the psychometric properties of the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) based on network analysis metrics. Methods: A total of 911 Paraguayans (23.71% women and 76.29% men; mean age 31.25 years, SD = 10.63), selected by non-probabilistic convenience sampling, participated in the study. Network analysis was used to evaluate the internal structure, reliability, and measurement invariance between men and women. Results: The results revealed that the PHQ-4 is a unidimensional measure through Exploratory Graph Analysis (EGA). Reliability, through structural consistency, identified that 100% of the time, only a single dimension was obtained, and all items remained stable, as they w...
5
artículo
Publicado 2024
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Background: Depression and anxiety are two of the most prevalent and disabling mental disorders worldwide, both in the general population and in outpatient clinical settings. Objective: This study aimed to analyze the psychometric properties of the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) based on network analysis metrics. Methods: A total of 911 Paraguayans (23.71% women and 76.29% men; mean age 31.25 years, SD = 10.63), selected by non-probabilistic convenience sampling, participated in the study. Network analysis was used to evaluate the internal structure, reliability, and measurement invariance between men and women. Results: The results revealed that the PHQ-4 is a unidimensional measure through Exploratory Graph Analysis (EGA). Reliability, through structural consistency, identified that 100% of the time, only a single dimension was obtained, and all items remained stable, as they w...
6
artículo
Publicado 2023
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The present study evaluated the predictive capacity of fear of Monkeypox (MPX) on the intention to be vaccinated against MPX and the influence of conspiracy beliefs as a mediating variable in this relationship in 516 Peruvian sample with an average age of 27.10 years participated. Monkeypox Fear Scale, MPX Conspiracy Beliefs Scale and a single item of intention to be vaccinated against MPX were used. Statistical analyses have included estimation of descriptive statistics for all variables in the model tested and Structural Equation Modeling to predict intention to be vaccinated against monkeypox. It has been found that fear has a positive impact on conspiracy beliefs about MPX and intention to be vaccinated against MPX. Finally, conspiracy beliefs are negatively related to intention to be vaccinated. As for indirect effects, both are statistically significant. The model explains 11.4% of...
7
artículo
Publicado 2023
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Deaths from COVID-19 have exceeded 6.5 million people globally. Although many people are mourning the loss of loved ones to this deadly disease, little is known about the validity of measuring coronavirus-related anxiety with this particular group of people. Therefore, the objective of this study is to determine if the coronavirus anxiety scale (CAS) measures the coronaphobia construct the same way for mourners with and without dysfunctional levels of grief. The results indicated that the four-item version of the CAS has acceptable fit indices and is partially invariant between people with dysfunctional and non-dysfunctional grief. Moreover, the CAS demonstrated adequate criterion validity and reliability with this group of bereaved adults. In conclusion, the CAS can be used to measure anxiety due to COVID-19 in people who are going through dysfunctional and non-dysfunctional grieving pr...
8
artículo
Publicado 2023
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Objective: The objective of this study was to identify predictors of intention to be vaccinated against Monkeypox (Mpox) in a sample of Peruvian citizens. Methods: A set of sociodemographic and psychological predictors were used, such as sex, sexual orientation, educational level, previous diagnosis of COVID-19, marital status, complete vaccination against COVID-19, employment status, living with vulnerable people, presence of chronic disease, area of residence, perceived usefulness of COVID-19 vaccines, fear of Mpox, conspiracy beliefs about Mpox, among others. A total of 472 Peruvian adults participated, selected by non-probabilistic snowball convenience sampling. A sociodemographic survey, the Mpox Fear Scale, was used. Conspiracy Beliefs about Mpox was assessed using three questions created specifically for this study. For inferential purposes, simple ordinal regressions ("crude mode...
9
artículo
Publicado 2023
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The objective of this study was to translate and psychometrically evaluate a Spanish version of the Grief Impairment Scale (GIS) using a sample of bereaved adults from El Salvador (N = 579). The results confirm the unidimensional structure of the GIS, and solid reliability, item characteristics, and criterion-related validity, where the GIS scale significantly and positively predicts depression. However, this instrument only showed evidence of configural and metric invariance between different sex groups. Overall, these results support the Spanish version of the GIS as a psychometrically sound screening tool for health professionals and researchers to use in their clinical work.
10
artículo
Publicado 2024
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ntroduction: The presence of fear of an infectious disease triggers psychological factors associated with perceived behavioral control over vaccination acceptance, subjective norms of vaccination acceptance, attitudes toward vaccination acceptance, and perceived infectiousness from disease. Objective: The study evaluated how symptoms of fear of Monkeypox specifically relate to intention to be vaccinated against Monkeypox in a sample of 506 Peruvian individuals with a mean age of 27.11 years (SD = 9.77). Methods: Participants responded to the Monkeypox Fear Scale (MFS) and a single item of Intention to be vaccinated against Monkeypox. Using network analysis, central fear symptoms and associations between symptoms and intention to vaccinate were identified. Results: The results suggest that the node with the highest centrality was item 5 of the MFS. Regarding the connection between the int...
11
artículo
Publicado 2024
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This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Grief Impairment Scale (GIS) using a network psychometric model. A total of 1048 individuals from Peru and El Salvador participated. A network psychometric model was used to determine internal structure, reliability, and cross-country invariance. The results indicate that the GIS items were grouped into a single network structure through Exploratory Graph Analysis. Reliability was estimated by structural consistency, and it was found that when replicating the network structure within an empirical dimension, a single network structure was consistently obtained, and all items remained stable. Furthermore, the network structure was invariant, thus functioning similarly across the different country groups. In conclusion, the GIS presented solid psychometric evidence of validity based on its internal structure, reliability, and c...
12
artículo
Publicado 2024
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This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Grief Impairment Scale (GIS) using a network psychometric model. A total of 1048 individuals from Peru and El Salvador participated. A network psychometric model was used to determine internal structure, reliability, and cross-country invariance. The results indicate that the GIS items were grouped into a single network structure through Exploratory Graph Analysis. Reliability was estimated by structural consistency, and it was found that when replicating the network structure within an empirical dimension, a single network structure was consistently obtained, and all items remained stable. Furthermore, the network structure was invariant, thus functioning similarly across the different country groups. In conclusion, the GIS presented solid psychometric evidence of validity based on its internal structure, reliability, and c...
13
artículo
Publicado 2024
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The Grief Impairment Scale (GIS) is used to measure functional impairment due to grief following the death of a loved one. However, there is no information on its cross-cultural utility. Thus, this study assessed the measurement invariance of the GIS using a large sample of bereaved adults (N = 2060) from Peru, El Salvador, Ecuador, and Colombia. Specifically, we employed two measurement invariance techniques: multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CFA) and the alignment optimization method. The results indicated that the GIS demonstrated configural and metric invariance, but not scalar invariance through MG-CFA. The alignment optimization method indicated the presence of an approximate invariance. Therefore, the results suggest that the GIS measures grief-related impairment similarly across the four Latin American countries. Among the countries examined, Peru reported the highest ...
14
artículo
Publicado 2023
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Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate the measurement invariance of a general measure of the perception of governmental responses to COVID-|19 (COVID-SCORE-10) in the general population of 13 Latin American countries. Methods: A total of 5780 individuals from 13 Latin American and Caribbean countries selected by non-probabilistic snowball sampling participated. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed and the alignment method was used to evaluate invariance. Additionally, a graded response model was used for the assessment of item characteristics. Results: The results indicate that there is approximate measurement invariance of the COVID-SCORE-10 among the participating countries. Furthermore, IRT results suggest that the COVID-SCORE-10 measures with good psychometric ability a broad spectrum of the construct assessed, especially around average levels. Comparison of COVID-S...
15
artículo
Publicado 2023
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The present study aimed to evaluate the measurement invariance of the Obsession with COVID-19 Scale (OCS) among seven Latin American countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Although the OCS has been used in several countries and languages, there is a need for approaches that better integrate the cross-cultural equivalence of the scale. A total of 3185 people participated in the study. The results indicated the presence of a unidimensional structure and good reliability indices for the OCS in each country. The alignment method indicated that the OCS is an invariant measure of COVID-19 obsession among the populations of seven Latin American countries. The findings based on IRT analysis indicated that all OCS items had adequate discrimination and difficulty parameters. The findings contribute to the understanding of the internal structure of the scal...
16
artículo
Publicado 2024
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This study aimed to characterize the network structure of pandemic grief symptoms and suicidal ideation in 2174 people from eight Latin American countries. Pandemic grief and suicidal ideation were measured using the Pandemic Grief Scale and a single item, respectively. Network analysis provides an in-depth characterization of symptom-symptom interactions within mental disorders. The results indicated that, “desire to die,” “apathy” and “absence of sense of life” are the most central symptoms in a pandemic grief symptom network; therefore, these symptoms could be focal elements for preventive and treatment efforts. Suicidal ideation, the wish to die, and the absence of meaning in life had the strongest relationship. In general, the network structure did not differ among the participating countries. It identifies specific symptoms within the network that may increase the likel...
17
artículo
Publicado 2025
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The present study aimed to apply a network analysis model to provide an exploratory empirical conceptualization of dynamic networks of posttraumatic growth (PTG) symptoms in 7,434 people who experienced the death of a loved one from COVID-19 in 16 Latin American countries. The Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory: Short Form of Eight Items was used. A non-regularized network with partial correlation coefficients was estimated through the ggmModSelect algorithm. The network architecture was analyzed for each country through its local properties and global properties. The results indicated that the networks differed significantly between countries. The core dimensions in the networks were relating to others, personal strength, and life value and opportunities, which were more related dimensions that reinforce the emergence of PTG in all countries. The findings may be useful to motivate research...
18
artículo
Publicado 2023
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The present study explored the predictive capacity of fear of COVID-19 on the intention to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and the influence in this relationship of conspiracy beliefs as a possible mediating psychological variable, in 13 Latin American countries. A total of 5779 people recruited through non-probabilistic convenience sampling participated. To collect information, we used the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Vaccine conspiracy beliefs Scale-COVID-19 and a single item of intention to vaccinate. A full a priori Structural Equation Model was used; whereas, cross-country invariance was performed from increasingly restricted structural models. The results indicated that, fear of COVID-19 positively predicts intention to vaccinate and the presence of conspiracy beliefs about COVID-19 vaccines. The latter negatively predicted intention to vaccinate against COVID-19. Besides, conspiracy bel...
19
artículo
Publicado 2023
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The present study aimed to apply a network analysis model to provide an exploratory empirical conceptualization of dynamic networks of posttraumatic growth (PTG) symptoms in 7,434 people who experienced the death of a loved one from COVID-19 in 16 Latin American countries. The Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory: Short Form of Eight Items was used. A non-regularized network with partial correlation coefficients was estimated through the ggmModSelect algorithm. The network architecture was analyzed for each country through its local properties and global properties. The results indicated that the networks differed significantly between countries. The core dimensions in the networks were relating to others, personal strength, and life value and opportunities, which were more related dimensions that reinforce the emergence of PTG in all countries. The findings may be useful to motivate research...
