Prevalence of Anxiety Symptoms and Associated Clinical and Sociodemographic Factors in Mexican Adults Seeking Psychological Support for Grief During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the greatest challenges in modern history, with more than four million confirmed deaths worldwide. To date, evidence regarding the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on grievers is scarce for developing countries such as Mexico. This study aimed to assess the levels of anxiety and associated concerns in a sample of Mexican adults bereaved during the COVID-19 outbreak. A cross-sectional study was conducted through the Duelo COVID (COVID Grief) platform, which is a self-guided online treatment. A total of 5,224 participants reported their anxiety, depression, sleep quality, avoidance, and arousal, prolonged grief symptoms, and medication consumption. Independent sample Mann-Whitney U-tests, chi-square tests, and Kruskal-Wallis tests, as well as multinomial logistic regression, were conducted. Results indicated that 90.4% of the participants reported clinical levels of anxiety, depression, and sleep affectations. The people who lost someone during the last 5 months scored higher in normal grief symptoms compared to the people whose loss was 6 months ago or more, and 9.8% of individuals reported the use of prescription medication, with anxiolytics and antidepressants being the most common. Females, younger respondents, unemployed people with a lower educational level, and participants who disclosed a recent suicide attempt were among those who reported medication consumption. Sleep problems were more frequent in older participants.

A Self-Applied Multi-Component Psychological Online Intervention Based on UX, for the Prevention of Complicated Grief Disorder in the Mexican Population During the COVID-19 Outbreak: Protocol of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: COVID-19 has taken many lives worldwide and due to this, millions of persons are in grief. When the grief process lasts longer than 6 months, the person is in risk of developing Complicated Grief Disorder (CGD). The CGD is related to serious health consequences. To reduce the probability of developing CGD a preventive intervention could be applied. In developing countries like Mexico, the psychological services are scarce, self-applied interventions could provide support to solve this problem and reduce the health impact even after the pandemic has already finished. Aims: To design and implement a self-applied intervention composed of 12 modules focused on the decrease of the risk of developing CGD, and increasing the life quality, and as a secondary objective to reduce the symptomatology of anxiety, depression, and increase of sleep quality. The Intervention Duelo COVID (Grief COVID) follows the principles of User Experience (UX) and is designed according to the needs and desires of a sample of the objective participants, to increase the adherence to the self-applied intervention, considered one of the main weaknesses of online interventions. Methods: A Randomized Controlled Trial will be conducted from the 22nd of December of 2020 to the first of June 2021. The participants will be assigned to an intervention with elements of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Mindfulness and Positive Psychology. The control group will be a wait-list condition, that will receive the intervention 1.5-2 months after the pre-measurement were taken. The Power Size Calculation conducted through G*Power indicated the need for a total of 42 participants, which will be divided by 21 participants in each group. The platform will be delivered through responsive design assuring with this that the intervention will adapt to the screen size of cellphones, tablets, and computers. Ethics and Dissemination: The study counts with the approval of the Research Ethics Committee of the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez, México, and it is registered in Clinical Trials (NCT04638842). The article is sent and registered in clinical trials before the recruitment started. The results will be reported in future conferences, scientific publications, and media.

Psychological Aggression, Attitudes About Violence, Violent Socialization, and Dominance in Dating Relationships.

Psychological aggression is a widespread form of abuse in dating relationships, especially in collectivist societies with ties to patriarchal beliefs. Despite the prevalence of psychological aggression, it has seldom been studied in connection with known antecedents of interpersonal violence, including dominance, attitudes supportive of violence, and violence socialization processes during childhood. The present study sought to test relationships among these variables in young men and women. A total of 500 Mexican undergraduate students in northern Mexico reported on their experiences with psychological aggression, the dominance of a dating partner, and violent socialization during childhood, as well as on their approval of violence within and outside the family. The results indicate that the dominance of a dating partner is directly linked to male and female intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. Violent socialization and proviolent attitudes appear to be related to female dominance. Female and male psychological aggression victimization was predicted by the participant's own perpetration. In general, a dyadic approach appears to be useful for explaining psychological aggression perpetration and victimization in a collectivist society, in light of recent changes in normative beliefs held by young educated Mexicans. Implications for future research and public policy are discussed.

[Prevalence and associated factors of intimate partner violence among elderly Mexican women]. / Prevalencia y factores asociados con la violencia de pareja en las adultas mayores mexicanas.

Using information from the National Survey on Household Relationship Dynamics (Encuesta Nacional de la Dinámica de las Relaciones en los Hogares 2016), this study examines the prevalence and factors associated with emotional, physical, and sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization among a representative sample of elderly Mexican women (n=7,410), using an ecological approach. Prevalence rates and related risk factors for IPV among younger women served as a basis for comparison and were contrasted with data from elderly female participants. Results show that 16.3% of women aged 64 and over had experienced some form of intimate partner violence during the previous year, with emotional violence as the most commonly occurring form. Furthermore, there was a significantly lower prevalence of emotional and sexual IPV among elderly women than among younger women. Some risk factors for IPV victimization were similar across both groups of women, mainly individuals' personal histories and immediate social context. On the other hand, differences were found regarding factors related to the broader social context. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed, specifically with regards to their usefulness in violence prevention and response programs.

Con base en la información de la Encuesta Nacional sobre la Dinámica de las Relaciones en los Hogares 2016 (ENDIREH) y desde un marco ecológico, el presente estudio busca conocer la prevalencia y los factores asociados de la violencia emocional, física y sexual de pareja durante el último año en las mujeres mexicanas mayores de 64 años (n=7.410). Para tener un marco de comparación, se contrastaron los resultados de mujeres de la tercera edad con los de grupos de mujeres más jóvenes. Los resultados muestran que el 16,3% de las mujeres mayores de 64 años han experimentado algún tipo de violencia de pareja durante el último año, siendo el maltrato emocional el más frecuente. Además, dicho grupo de mujeres experimentó la prevalencia más baja de violencia emocional y sexual, comparados con las mujeres más jóvenes. Por otra parte, algunos de los factores asociados con la violencia fueron similares en las adultas mayores y los grupos de mujeres más jóvenes, principalmente, los relacionados con la historia personal y el entorno inmediato. Por el contrario, los factores del entorno social más amplio fueron distintos. Los hallazgos se discuten teóricamente y en virtud de su utilidad para los programas de atención a la violencia.

Physical Intimate Partner Violence and Controlling Behavior in Mexican University Students and Their Attitudes Toward Social Limits.

This study explored patterns of controlling behavior, physical violence, and attitudes toward social limits in young Mexican university students in light of the effect that socialization processes have in attitudes toward social norms and violent behavior as indicated in some of the literature. A total of 437 male and female heterosexual participants residing in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, provided information on their perpetration/victimization experiences of controlling behavior (by means of the Controlling Behaviors Scale) and physical violence (using the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales [CTS2]) and their attitudes toward social limits (using the Attitudes Toward Social Limits scale). Results indicate similar chronicity levels of experienced controlling behavior and physical violence perpetration/victimization between the sexes. Participants expressed major tendency to adjust to a social norm rather than overstepping it. Males tend to overstep social limits more often than females, although no significant linear relationship was found between abusive behavior and attitudes promoting the infringement of social norms. Higher chronicity levels were rather found by dyadic type, relationships with mutual physical intimate partner violence (IPV), and controlling behavior in comparison with relationships where unidirectional violence prevails. Implications of findings involve the acknowledgment of change in dynamics used by more educated young Mexicans, and the recognition of IPV in these populations as a heterogeneous phenomenon for primary and secondary interventions.

Prevalencia y factores asociados con la violencia de pareja en las adultas mayores mexicanas / Prevalence and associated factors of intimate partner violence among elderly Mexican women

RESUMEN Con base en la información de la Encuesta Nacional sobre la Dinámica de las Relaciones en los Hogares 2016 (ENDIREH) y desde un marco ecológico, el presente estudio busca conocer la prevalencia y los factores asociados de la violencia emocional, física y sexual de pareja durante el último año en las mujeres mexicanas mayores de 64 años (n=7.410). Para tener un marco de comparación, se contrastaron los resultados de mujeres de la tercera edad con los de grupos de mujeres más jóvenes. Los resultados muestran que el 16,3% de las mujeres mayores de 64 años han experimentado algún tipo de violencia de pareja durante el último año, siendo el maltrato emocional el más frecuente. Además, dicho grupo de mujeres experimentó la prevalencia más baja de violencia emocional y sexual, comparados con las mujeres más jóvenes. Por otra parte, algunos de los factores asociados con la violencia fueron similares en las adultas mayores y los grupos de mujeres más jóvenes, principalmente, los relacionados con la historia personal y el entorno inmediato. Por el contrario, los factores del entorno social más amplio fueron distintos. Los hallazgos se discuten teóricamente y en virtud de su utilidad para los programas de atención a la violencia.

ABSTRACT Using information from the National Survey on Household Relationship Dynamics (Encuesta Nacional de la Dinámica de las Relaciones en los Hogares 2016), this study examines the prevalence and factors associated with emotional, physical, and sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization among a representative sample of elderly Mexican women (n=7,410), using an ecological approach. Prevalence rates and related risk factors for IPV among younger women served as a basis for comparison and were contrasted with data from elderly female participants. Results show that 16.3% of women aged 64 and over had experienced some form of intimate partner violence during the previous year, with emotional violence as the most commonly occurring form. Furthermore, there was a significantly lower prevalence of emotional and sexual IPV among elderly women than among younger women. Some risk factors for IPV victimization were similar across both groups of women, mainly individuals' personal histories and immediate social context. On the other hand, differences were found regarding factors related to the broader social context. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed, specifically with regards to their usefulness in violence prevention and response programs.