Predictores y correlatos del comportamiento prosocial de adolescentes mexicanos / Predictors and correlates of prosocial behavior of Mexican adolescents

La conducta prosocial comprende comportamientos altruistas en favor de otras personas y conlleva un beneficio social mayor como la cooperación y el apoyo y cuidado de los demás. El comportamiento prosocial resulta también en un beneficio personal al tener éste un efecto social positivo para quien lo realiza, asociado a resultados significativos para el ajuste psicosocial de los jóvenes. El objetivo de este estudio fue identificar predictores de la conducta prosocial en adolescentes mexicanos que viven en condiciones de pobreza. Se analizaron los datos de 1093 adolescentes, provenientes de una muestra nacional probabilística de hogares de localidades rurales y urbanas que están inscritos en un programa gubernamental de combate a la pobreza (55.8% hombres, 61% urbanos, edad promedio 14.92 años y escolaridad promedio 8.33 años cursados). No se encontraron diferencias en conducta prosocial por tipo de localidad; pero sí por género en favor de las mujeres, aunque el tamaño del efecto fue pequeño. El modelamiento de ecuaciones estructurales mostró que niveles más elevados de conducta prosocial dependen de mayor competencia social, relaciones positivas con los pares, apoyo social general y de amigos, estilo parental permisivo y soledad; así como de menor oposicionismo y menor cantidad de menores de 12 años en el hogar. El modelo explicó el 60% de la varianza de la conducta prosocial en los adolescentes. Los mejores predictores de la conducta prosocial fueron el comportamiento social y el apoyo percibido: Quienes son socialmente más eficientes, exitosos y más apoyados, tienden a retribuir con mayor altruismo hacia sus pares.

Prosocial behavior refers to altruistic behavior in favor of other people. Prosocial behavior also results in a personal benefit for those who perform it, because it has a positive social effect and plays a transcendental role in the development of young people and their psychosocial adjustment. The present study analyses some social behaviors of adolescents living in poverty, with the aims of determining the predictors of their prosocial behavior and possible differences in prosocial behavior by gender and by type of place of residence. Two hypotheses were tested: that there are gender differences in the prosocial behavior of adolescents and that the social behavior of adolescents predicts their tendency towards prosocial behavior. No hypothesis was established for the type of locality. In this survey participated 1093 adolescents, 55.8%men, 61% from urban localities, average age of 14.92 (SD = 1.29) years, and average schooling 8.33 (SD = 1.71) years. Access to the national registry of the government's poverty reduction program was attained, from which a probabilistic selection of registered households was obtained, with national representativeness for the rural and urban domains. Households with adolescent children were selected from the national sample of households, to visit them in a second survey to interview the children of the heads of these households. Analyses were conducted to determine differences in prosocial behavior by gender and urbanization. Results showed that male and female scores differed significantly, in favor of females. However, the prosocial behavior scores of rural and urban youths did not differ significantly. To identify potential predictors of prosocial behavior, a structural equation modeling was performed. The model included a latent variable called Socialization, which was made up of scales that measure social competence, positive relationships with peers, social support and support from friends. Permissive parental style, oppositional behavior, loneliness, religiosity, and the number of children under 12 in the household were also tested. The resulting model showed that Socialization was the main predictor of the prosocial behavior of adolescents. Permissive parental style and loneliness were also positive predictors of prosocial behavior; while oppositional behavior and the number of children under the age of 12 in the household predicted it negatively. The tested model reached an adequate fit and explained 61% of the total variance of prosocial behavior. The present data supported the hypotheses of the study since we observed gender differences in the prosocial behavior of adolescents; and the structural equations modeling confirmed the relative importance of indicators of social behavior, grouped into Socialization, in the prediction of prosocial behavior. However, prosocial behavior did not differ by type of residence. The findings confirmed the close relationship between interpersonal relationships, social support, and prosocial behavior; since those who were socially more efficient and successful, and received more support tended to reciprocate with greater altruism towards their peers. Additionally, less oppositional behavior was associated with greater altruism. The positive relationship between loneliness and prosocial behavior indicated that the tendency towards social isolation promotes altruistic behavior. Results also suggested that less disciplinary parental control promotes behavior in favor of others; but not the coexistence with young children. No direct relationship between religiosity and prosocial behavior was found. Among the strengths of this study should be mentioned that the results obtained came from a national probabilistic sample of households and the large size of the sample; as well as some caveats like the cross-sectional design of the survey and the use of self-reports. However, we consider that it is possible to use the present results in the planning of intervention strategies with adolescents, with the purpose of stimulating prosocial behavior in future generations.

Expectativas laborales en la adolescencia: Correlatos psicosociales / Employment expectations in adolescence: Psychosocial correlates

Las expectativas laborales positivas representan la confianza que tienen los jóvenes de un futuro prometedor en términos de desarrollo laboral y económico. La obtención de un trabajo cualificado y un mejor ingreso es importante en el ajuste social adecuado en la vida de los jóvenes. Este estudio analiza la influencia de distintas variables psicosociales de hijos y padres sobre las expectativas laborales de los hijos adolescentes de beneficiarios del Programa Oportunidades. Los hogares inscritos en este programa son considerados como hogares que viven en condiciones de pobreza. Se analizaron datos de 1.093 jóvenes (55.8% hombres), con un promedio de edad de 14.92 (±1.29) años y de 1.049 madres y 545 padres con una edad promedio de 46.21 (±13.43) y 49.58 (±14.17) años, respectivamente. Se realizaron regresiones lineales múltiples con variables medidas en los padres y las madres por separado, con las que se identificaron predictores significativos de las expectativas laborales positivas de adolescentes que viven en condiciones de pobreza, provenientes de entornos tanto urbanos como rurales. Los resultados indican que la esperanza de obtener estabilidad económica en el futuro en estos jóvenes depende más bien de aspectos personales, por ejemplo, habilidades sociales y de aspectos familiares, por ejemplo interacciones familiares no punitivas ni coercitivas; más que del género o de sus habilidades cognitivas, aunque los jóvenes de localidades urbanas reportan perspectivas laborales más optimistas. Los datos provienen de una muestra probabilística nacional de hogares beneficiarios del Programa Oportunidades en México, lo que permite extender los resultados a otros jóvenes que viven en condiciones similares.

Positive employment expectations represent the confidence that young people have of a promising future in terms of employment and economic development. Obtaining a skilled job and a better income is important in terms of the adequate social adjustment of youth to the adult life. The aim of this study was to determine what factors may predict positive employment expectations in the adolescent offspring of beneficiaries of the Opportunities Program of Mexico. Households enrolled in this program are considered as households living in poverty. The program aims to reduce poverty in the current generation by conditioned cash transfers; in order to alleviate poverty in the next generation through investment in the offspring’s human capital (education, nutrition, and health). The participants come from a probability sample of beneficiaries of Opportunities households with program-recertification data and proceeding from non-indigenous communities with 45 or more households. From this selection, a national sample of 2112 households was obtained. Of these 2112 households, in the first survey were interviewed the program household holder, which is usually the wife or a single parent, and the spouses, if they were available. Subsequently, from the original 2112 households there were selected those households with teenage children and we returned to those households in the second survey to interview the teenage children of the program household holder interviewed in the first survey. Data of 1093 children, 1049 mothers, and 545 fathers were obtained from both surveys. The sample of children had an average age of 14.92 (± 1.29) years, 55.8% of them were male, and 55.2% lived in an urban area. The sample of mothers had an average age of 46.21 (± 13.43) years, and the sample of fathers had an average age of 49.58 (± 14.17) years. Self-reports from both children and parents were obtained separately from both surveys. Self-reports from the children measured work expectations, cognitive abilities, psychopathology, social competence, school attitude, relationship with peers, social support, adverse life events, and perceived parenting practices and family conflict. Self-reports from the parents measured self-control, achievement motivation, social maladjustment, and social competence. Two models of multiple linear regression were performed to analyze the influence of the variables measured in the mother and father separately, in addition to the measured variables in the children.The results showed that the perception of social competence at school, positive attitude toward school, and social support consistently played an important role in predicting positive employment expectations. Positive peer relationship also has a positive influence; so that higher perceived social popularity predicted higher level of positive work expectations. Additionally, behavioral control parent practices, as perceived by the children, positively influenced the employment expectations of the adolescents. In contrast, the report of externalizing symptoms reduces their employment prospects. Likewise, maternal practices of autonomy, parental psychological control practices and conflicting family relationships, as perceived by the children, negatively affect the positive employment prospects of young people. Neither the gender of the adolescents nor their intellectual abilities influenced their work expectations; but the type of locality they live in did: the urban adolescents reported higher levels of positive work expectations. In summary, this analysis allows to identify significant predictors of positive work expectations of adolescents living in poverty, from both urban and rural settings. The results suggest that increasing the hope of gaining economic stability in the future largely depends on stimulate the social skills of young people and on eradicate punitive and coercive family interactions. It can be expected that interventions to improve social skills of the adolescents and to encourage more positive family interactions would promote greater economic stability in the future of young people living in poverty.

Elaboración de una Escala de Apoyo Social (EAS) para adultos / Elaboration of a Social Support Scale for adults

El apoyo social se ha definido como las transacciones interpersonales instrumentales que implican ayuda en todas sus vertientes, tales como emocional, económica, implícita, explícita, etc. La presente investigación tuvo como objetivo elaborar una escala que midiera el apoyo social para la población mexicana en situación de pobreza. Se tomaron como base dos instrumentos: la Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support y el Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviors. La muestra la conformaron 913 personas de ambos sexos. Un análisis factorial permitió observar la emergencia de tres componentes: 1) apoyo social, 2) apoyo familiar y 3) apoyo de amigos. Los tres factores explican el 66.24 % de la varianza y tienen índices de confiabilidad adecuados que oscilan entre 0.71 y 0.94.

The social support has been defined as the interpersonal instrumental transactions that involve help in any of its forms, such like emotional, economic, implicit, explicit, etc. The present research was aimed to devise a scale to measure the perception of social support in Mexicans living in poverty. The scale was based on two instruments: 1) The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and 2) The Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviors. The sample was conformed by 913 people, men and women. A factorial analysis resulted in an internal structure of three components: 1) Social support, 2) Family support, and 3) Support from friends. The three factors explain 66.24% of the total variance and have adequate alpha coefficients that oscillate between 0.71 and 0.94.

El tratamiento del alcoholismo en la República Federal Alemana / Therapy for alcoholics in East Germany

El alcoholismo es una de las conductas adictivas más generalizadas. Esta monografía describe el tratamiento formal del alcoholismo en Alemania Federal; es decir, el otorgado por profesionales de la salud dentro del ámbito hospitalario, así como el tratamiento informal del alcoholismo implementado por los mismos alcohólicos, y los resultados que se obtienen con ambos enfoques. La preocupación por los efectos del abuso del alcohol data del siglo pasado. Esta se ha manifestado en la creación y extensión de servicios tanto de los grupos de autoayuda como de las clínicas creadas exprofeso. La creación de clínicas de tratamiento también se remonta al siglo pasado, observándose su acelerada proliferación a partir de la posguerra. En la actualidad hay aproximadamente 250 clínicas especializadas, mientras que tres agencias de consejo están destinadas a asesorar a los posibles usuarios de terapias hospitalarias. En cuanto al tratamiento informal, hay cuatro grupos reconocidos de autoayuda. El tratamiento formal del alcoholismo y del abuso del alcohol, en Alemania, incluye desintoxicaciones hospitalarias, asesoría para la psicoterapia, psicoterapia hospitalaria y en menor grado, seguimiento postratamiento. Las clínicas son tanto privadas como de financiamiento bipartita, pero el tratamiento es cubierto por el seguro de pensiones. El tratamiento hospitalario tiene una duración promedio de sies semanas a seis meses; por lo general el tratamiento es de seis meses y con un costo aproximado de 3 235 a 13 235 dólares. Los resultados de los estudios de seguimiento indican que hay un porcentaje de abstinencia que oscila entre el 67 por ciento a los seis meses y el 41 por ciento al cabo de cuatro años después del tratamiento hospitalario. Los resultados obtenidos son muy alentadores cuando se les compara con los obtenidos en las investigaciones anglosajonas. Sin embargo, es posible que haya cierta autoselección de pacientes, ya que aquellos que desean ingresar a una terapia hospitalaria primero deben lograr que se les admita por medio de las agencias de consejo, por lo que desiste una buena parte de los aspirantes. El modelo de atención al alcoholismo en Alemania Federal es integral, con intervenciones a varios niveles, desde la desintoxicación hasta el apoyyo postratamiento. Este modelo requiere del trabajo coordinado de varias instancias y se considera como muy costoso