ABSTRACT
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a very negative impact on people's overall mental health and psychosocial well-being, but the study of available social support to cope with such an adverse situation has received hardly any attention. Objective: To exa-mine the psychometric properties of the MOS Perceived Social Support Questionnaire among the Mexican population in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Non-experimental cross-sectional study. A sociodemographic questionnaire and the Medical Outcomes Study were applied in a non-probabilistic sample. A total of 898 people from different regions in Mexico, 258 males and 640 females, participated in the study in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The analysis yielded a bi-factor model with two factors, Emotional/informational support and Tangible support, with satisfactory goodness of fit indices. Reliability was adequate with a high hierarchical omega coefficient, as well as in the factors. Likewise, the H coefficient was adequate in the general factor and its dimensions. Conclusions: Results showed that the scale is a valid and reliable measure of perceived social support among the Mexican population. © 2022 Fundación Universitaria Konrad Lorenz.
ABSTRACT
Post COVID-19 syndrome has been recognized as a condition that can have a great impact on the health of individuals, their families and society at large. Although numerous international studies on this emerging public health problem are known, the Latin American region is lagging behind. We conducted a narrative review, where the search and retrieval of information in regional databases such as Scielo and Redalyc failed to identify more than 15 papers on post COVID-19 syndrome in Latin American countries. In light of the lack of information on this condition in Latin America and the Caribbean, we would like to call for more studies to be carried out and for the establishment of public health policies for specialized care. Copyright © 2022, Circulo Medico de Rosario. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The objective was to evaluate the psychological variables of older adults in Argentina during COVID-19 pandemic, and to identify psychological predictors of fear of COVID-19. 198 older adults from Rosario, Argentina participated (Mage= 66.6 years old, SD = 4.8). The tests and questionaries used consisted of The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, The Patient Health Questionnaire -9, Medical Outcomes Study-Social Support Survey, Purpose in life Test and Fear of COVID-19 Scale. 25.1% and 19.1% of the population presented a potential diagnosis of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Major Depressive Episode (MDE), respectively, 71.4% enough social support, and 40.8% indefinite life purpose. Fear of COVID-19 presented a negative correlation with life purpose and social support, and positive correlation with anxiety and depression. Life purpose predicted fear of COVID-19 (beta =-.229, t =-3.38, p = .001). State policies are required to mitigate and restrain isolation subjective effects in older population.
ABSTRACT
This study assesses the relationship between COVID-19 anxiety and subjective well-being in terms of the mediating role of COVID-19 preventive behaviors. Additionally, the contribution of sociodemographic factors (sex and age) and risk perception on COVID-19 anxiety and its potential measurement invariance was tested in 5655 participants from 12 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. A mixture of both latent and observable variables were analyzed using a system of structural equations. The Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS), Preventive COVID-19 Infection Behaviors Scale (PCIBS) and single-item measures were used to assess the perceived probability of death, perceived severity and concern about transmitting COVID-19. The results indicated that there is a significant and relevant direct effect of COVID-19 anxiety on participants' well-being. Furthermore, COVID-19 anxiety significantly predicted both preventive behavior (beta = .29, p < .01) and well-being (beta = -.32, p < .01). The effects of COVID anxiety and preventive behavior explained 9.8% of the variance in well-being (R-square = .098);whereas, 8.4% of the variance in preventive behavior was associated with COVID anxiety (R-square = .084). Likewise, perceived likelihood of death from COVID, perceived severity of COVID, and concerns about COVID transmission were positively related to anxiety. Age was negatively related to anxiety, with men being less anxious than women. The results are invariant by country, i.e., the broad relationships found in the combined sample are also present in each individual country. The findings indicate that, although the exact relationships between variables may vary between countries, there are enough similarities to provide useful information about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in each of the countries included in the study.
ABSTRACT
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has become a global health crisis. The scientific community has responded with a sizable level of research and publications, many of which are beginning to be identified and analyzed in systematic reviews of the literature and bibliometric studies. No readily identifiable, comparable study focused on Latin American scientific literature has been undertaken thus far. Therefore, this article analyzes such literature, focused on COVID-19, and one that has been published in the scientific journals of the region. A search with the keyword “COVID-19” in the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) database resulted in the identification of 261 documents. Following PRISMA guidelines, the total number was reduced to 117 for the purpose of the bibliometric analysis (i.e., elimination of preprint duplicates). Such analysis resulted in the following findings: 69 publications were editorial or individual commentaries, and 48 were original articles. The male authors totaled 280, contrasted with 169 female authors. Two Brazilian journals led in the number of publications: Cadernos de Saúde Pública and Clinics. Even though the Latin American scientific productivity regarding COVID-19 is not well represented in the different databases of the region, it is expected that these scientific publications will achieve increased visibility in the coming months. The article emphasizes the importance of systematic and bibliographic reviews of the scientific literature in Latin America in order to evaluate the public health achievements of the region.
ABSTRACT
In this paper, we offer an in-depth analysis of relevant scientific literature and a series of critical reflections based on a narrative review of the impact that the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic had on Latin American psychology. We performed a non-exhaustive search, selection, and analysis of different documentary sources in scientific databases, institutional repositories, and websites of national and regional psychology organizations between May 25 and 31, 2020. In particular, we consulted SciELO, Redalyc, Dialnet, and Google Scholar using the following individual key words associated to psychology: “Coronavirus”, “Covid-19” and “Pandemic”. Various types of documents were retrieved for a subsequent in-depth analysis (e.g., articles, institutional documents, notes, bulletins, recommendation guides, etc.). Our review allowed us to identify three challenges for psychology in the region: (1) insertion of psychology in public policies;(2) construction of an own agenda of psychological research;(3) evaluation of practices and reorientation of professional training processes. © 2022