Using hypnoanalysis and guided imagery to identify and manage emotional aspects of multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: To date, no studies have used hypnosis to examine and manage the potential emotional causes of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the scientific field; therefore, we decided to compare the effectiveness of hypnoanalysis and guided imagery for determining and manage these emotional causes. METHODS: Fifteen participants with severe MS were included and assigned into 2 groups: hypnoanalysis and guided imagery. In the hypnoanalysis group, the participants underwent 10 hypnotic sessions to understand events related to the cause of the disease, which were restructured (the events were modified by adding the psychological resources that each involved person needed); in addition, other techniques were used to investigate the causes and solutions according to the participants' unconscious. The guided imagery group received 10 group sessions of body relaxation and guided imagery, which were recorded for practice at home. Outcome measures, namely, disability (the Expanded Disability Status Scale, EDSS), quality of life (QoL, measured with the SF-36) and number of relapses, were evaluated 4 months previous the intervention, at baseline, post-intervention, and 3 months later. RESULTS: Hypnoanalysis revealed that stressful events and psychoemotional maladaptive patterns acted as causal, detonating, or aggravating factors of disease, and psychoemotional changes were the most frequent and varied solutions. No changes were observed in disability between the two groups. The guided imagery group showed an improvement in 2 subscales of QoL when compared with the hypnoanalysis group (which disappeared at the follow-up); this difference is probably due to the increased number of sessions and probably due to psychoemotional maladaptive patterns being more frequently mentioned than difficult circumstances in life and/or unsolved past events. However, the techniques used in hypnoanalysis were effective in understanding the potential emotional causes of MS, which showed high intra- and inter-participant consistency. CONCLUSIONS: The daily use of guided imagery overcame the restructuring of negative past events to improve QoL in patients with MS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ACTRN12618002024224 (retrospectively registered).

Psychological responses to COVID-19 in a Mexican population: an exploratory study during second and third phases.

This work constitutes an exploratory study during the second and third phases of COVID-19 in Mexico, characterized by local transmission and untraceable cases, respectively, with an incidental sample of 666 participants. The 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale was used to assess depression, anxiety and stress associated to COVID-19. Additionally, the Impact of the Event Scale-Revised was applied to assess the impact of the event, and the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale was employed to assess resilience. Participants' levels of traumatic impact (21.7%), severe depression (7%), severe anxiety (9.4%) and severe stress (5.4%) were revealed to be lower than other populations. Comparison of means and effect size η2p of the data shows that women and young people (18-39 years) suffer the greatest negative effects. Individuals with higher levels of resilience experience fewer psychological consequences confirming its importance in the face of the adversities. These findings provide valuable information on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic in the Mexican population, allowing a comparative analysis at an international level which can be helpful in the development of appropriate sanitary policies.

Impacto psicológico de la pandemia COVID-19 en cinco países de Latinoamérica / Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on five Latin American countries

Resumen Introducción: El distanciamiento social y la cuarentena han probado tener efectos negativos en la salud mental de las poblaciones, a saber: miedo, ansiedad, depresión y sintomatología de estrés postraumático. La resiliencia emerge como variable amortiguadora del impacto. El objetivo del estudio fue comparar el impacto psicológico del COVID-19 en varios países latinoamericanos. Método: se obtuvo una muestra de 1184 participantes de México, Cuba, Chile, Colombia y Guatemala; cuya edad osciló entre 18 y 83 años (M = 38.78, DT = 13.81). Se aplicó una encuesta sobre síntomas médicos asociados al COVID-19 con tres instrumentos para evaluar: (1) síntomas de depresión, ansiedad y estrés, (2) impacto del evento y (3) resiliencia. Resultados: Las personas más jóvenes, con mayor cantidad de síntomas médicos y con mayores puntajes de impacto del evento tienden a presentar mayor sintomatología depresiva, ansiosa y estrés, siendo el impacto del evento el predictor más determinante. La resiliencia fue el predictor protector contra la depresión, ansiedad y estrés. Conclusiones: Los resultados muestran las diferencias en la respuesta psicológica ante la pandemia del COVID-19 en cada país, y sugieren la necesidad del desarrollo de políticas públicas enfocadas en la prevención y la promoción de la salud integral ante emergencias sanitarias.

Abstract Introduction: Social distancing and quarantine have proven to have negative effects on the mental health of populations, namely fear, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Resilience emerges as a buffering variable for such impact. The objective of this study was to compare the psychological impact of COVID-19 in several Latin American countries. Method: A sample of 1184 participants from Mexico, Cuba, Chile, Colombia and Guatemala was obtained; whose age ranged from 18 to 83 years old (M = 38.78, SD = 13.81). A survey on medical symptoms associated with COVID-19 and three instruments to evaluate: (1) depression, anxiety and stress, (2) impact of the event and (3) resilience were administered. Results: Younger people, with more symptoms associated with COVID-19 and those who reported higher scores of impact of event tended to present greater depressive, anxious and stress symptomatology. The impact of the event was the most determinant predictor. Resilience was protective against the impact of event, depression, anxiety and stress. Conclusions: The results show the differences in the psychological response to COVID-19 in each country and suggesting the need to develop public policies focused on prevention and promotion of integral health when facing sanitary emergencies.

Precautionary Behaviors during the Second and Third Phases of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparative Study in the Latin American Population.

The population's behavioral responses to containment and precautionary measures during the COVID-19 pandemic have played a fundamental role in controlling the contagion. A comparative analysis of precautionary behaviors in the region was carried out. A total of 1184 people from Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Cuba, and Guatemala participated through an online survey containing a questionnaire on sociodemographic factors, precautionary behaviors, information about COVID-19, concerns, maintenance of confinement, and medical symptoms associated with COVID-19. Cubans reported the highest scores for information about COVID-19. Colombians reported less frequent usage of precautionary measures (e.g., use of masks), but greater adherence to confinement recommendations in general, in contrast to the low levels of these behaviors in Guatemalans. Chileans reported greater pandemic-related concerns and the highest number of medical symptoms associated with COVID-19. These findings allow a partial characterization of the Latin American population's responses during the second and third phases of the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight the importance of designing and managing public health policies according to the circumstances of each population when facing pandemics.

Validación del "Índice de calidad de vida, versión en español" (QLISp) en una muestra mexicana / Validation of the Quality of Life Index, Spanish Version (QLI-Sp) in a Mexican sample

El objetivo de este estudio fue la validación del "Índice de calidad de vida, versión en español" (QLI-Sp), con una muestra no aleatoria de 3384 estudiantes del nivel técnico y universitario que informaron estar sanos, además, se recogieron datos de 386 estudiantes que informaron tener hipertensión. Se utilizó una batería de pruebas psicológicas que median calidad de vida, bienestar psicológico, satisfacción con la vida y estrés académico. Los análisis factoriales exploratorio y confirmatorio ratificaron la naturaleza unifactorial del QLI-Sp apoyando su uso para medir percepción de calidad de vida en estudiantes universitarios. La fiabilidad fue adecuada (alfa= 0.93). Para explorar más la validez del QLI-Sp, se examinaron los datos de 396 estudiantes que informaron hipertensión. El grupo relativamente sano tuvo puntuaciones más altas en todos los ítems del QLI-Sp en comparación con el grupo hipertenso. El modelo final indicó que la calidad de vida se relaciona de manera positiva con el bienestar psicológico (autopercepción, autonomía, dominio del entorno, propósito en la vida) y la satisfacción con la vida, y de manera negativa con el estrés académico

The objective of this study was the validation of the Spanish version of the Quality of Life Index. A non-random sample of 3384 technical and university level healthy students was selected, in addition, data were collected from 386 students who reported being hypertensive. A battery of psychological tests that mediate quality of life, psychological well-being and life satisfaction as well as a measure of academic stress were included. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the unifactorial nature of the QLI-Sp and support its use to measure perception of quality of life in university students. The reliability was adequate ( alpha=0.93). To further explore the validity of the QLI-Sp, data from 396 students who reported being hypertensive were examined. The relatively healthy group had higher scores on all QLI-Sp items relative to the hypertensive group. In the final model, positive correlations were found between the QLI-Sp items with psychological well-being (self-perception, autonomy, mastery of the environment, purpose in life), with satisfaction with life and negative correlation with academic stress

Relaxation with heat and procedural information to diminish anxiety in presurgical patients of hernia surgery.

Presurgical anxiety has been associated with postsurgical pain and complications, therefore we decided to compare two psychological interventions in order to reduce presurgical anxiety-state and pain in patients undergoing hernia surgery. Patients undergoing the presurgical consultation for hernia repair (umbilical or inguinal), were invited. The group of procedural information consisted in administering an informative brochure after the presurgical consultation, while the relaxation with heat group (RWH) consisted in giving a heat pack to the patients while asking them to think in the benefits of the surgery and instructions of relaxation were given, this was performed at the operating theater before surgery. Anxiety-state and pain levels were measured after presurgical consultation and a day after just before surgery. Ninety-five patients were included in 3 groups of study (control = 36, procedural information = 31 and RWH = 28); when we included only those individuals with moderate or high anxiety at the presurgical consultation, we found that procedural information (-4.72 ± 6.10) and RWH diminished anxiety (-9.29 ± 6.91) but only RWH group reached statistical significance when compared with control group (-9.29 ± 6.91 vs -0.56 ± 9.82, p = 0.007). In conclusion, RWH produced a significantly higher reduction of anxiety-state before hernia surgery.

Association between personal, medical and positive psychological variables with somatization in university health sciences students.

OBJECTIVE: To measure personal, medical and psychological positive and negative variables and to determine their relation with somatization in a sample of health sciences students. Subjects and methods: A total of 594 (34.43%) of the 1725 health science students of a public university answered an online survey with personal and medical information as well as the following psychological variables: phsychological well-being, five facets mindfulness questionnaire (FFMQ), life satisfaction, depression, and academic stress. Additionally, the presence of 11 somatic symptoms and 11 diseases during the last year was measured. Results: Most students were women (74.06%) who were 19.96 ± 4.28 years old. The global frequency of somatization in the previous year was 66.59%, and the presence of any measured disease 14.75%. With the multivariate analysis, self-acceptance was the most related variable (negatively) with somatization, followed by the sum of diseases, female gender, academic stress, smoking, and depression, in a model with an R-value of 0.634, self-acceptance was also the most related variable (negatively) with depression, being this last the most related variable with academic stress. Conclusions: After analyzing all variables considered in this study, self-acceptance was the most related variable with somatization and depression; this highlights the importance of strengthening the acceptance of the self in the student population in order to prevent these conditions and their consequences.

Perception of risk as a mediator between personality and perception of health: test of a model.

BACKGROUND: This research article addresses the relationships among personality, risk perception, and health perception. The personality construct has been one of the main topics of research in psychology throughout history and is understood as the set of traits or cognitive, affective and behavioral characteristics that an individual possesses. Important relationships have been found that show the impact of personality on people's health as well as the impact of health conditions on the configuration of personality. This research investigates the perception of risk as a mediating trait between personality and perception of health. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To achieve this, a cross-sectional study was conducted in which 398 Colombians from all regions of the country were evaluated. The NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and Health Risk Perception Test (HRPT) tests were used. RESULTS: The data were analyzed with multiple regression and path analysis. The findings using multiple regression show that neuroticism and the personal meaning of risk affect the perception of health; however, using path analysis, model fit with the proposed model was not achieved with no mediator effect of perception of risk. CONCLUSION: It is necessary to focus on relationships between neuroticism and perception of health in future research.

Comparison of subjective health between personality prototypes extracted from general population of Mexico / Comparação da saúde subjetiva entre protótipos de personalidade em população geral do México / Comparación de la salud subjetiva entre prototipos de personalidad recuperados en población general de México

Abstract The objective of this study was to extract personality prototypes from general population of Mexico and to compare subjective health indicators between these prototypes. Participants were 994 individuals (aged 14 to 63 years). Five personality traits (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness) were assessed with the NEO-FFI. Subjective indicators of health (self-rated health and psychological distress) were assessed with a question regarding health status and the GHQ-12. To verify the consistency of the prototypes, the sample was divided into two age groups, young (14 to 25 years) and mature (26 to 63 years.). Three stable prototypes were recovered from both groups. Resilient individuals (low neuroticism and high in other traits) had the best subjective health; the Non-Resilient individuals (high neuroticism and low in other traits) had the worst subjective health; and Self-Disciplined individuals (high conscientiousness and medium scores in other traits) were in the middle of these extremes in subjective health. Self-discipline and resilience were most discriminative in terms of subjective health. Findings are discussed in terms of the generalization of prototypes across cultures.

Resumo O objetivo deste estudo foi obter protótipos da personalidade em população geral do México e comparar a saúde subjetiva entre eles. No total, participaram 994 indivíduos de 14 a 63 anos. Avaliaram-se cinco traços de personalidade (extroversão, neuroticismo, abertura à experiência, conscienciosidade e amabilidade) com o NEO-FFI, e a saúde subjetiva com o GHQ-12, e uma pergunta sobre o estado de saúde. Para corroborar a consistência dos protótipos, dividiu-se a amostra em dois grupos de idade: jovem (de 14 a 25 anos) e adulto (de 26 a 63 anos). Como resultado, obtiveram-se três protótipos em ambos os grupos: as pessoas resilientes -baixo neuroticismo e alto nos demais traços-, os que tiveram a melhor saúde subjetiva; as não resilientes -alto neuroticismo e baixo no restante dos traços-, que apresentaram a pior saúde subjetiva, e as pessoas disciplinadas -alto em conscienciosidade e média nos outros traços-, que apresentaram uma saúde subjetiva intermediária em comparação com os outros protótipos. Finalmente, a autodisciplina e a resiliência foram os traços que melhor discriminaram a boa saúde. Os achados são discutidos em termos da generalização de protótipos através de culturas.

Resumen El objetivo de este estudio fue obtener prototipos de personalidad en población general de México y comparar la salud subjetiva entre ellos. En total, participaron 994 individuos de 14 a 63 años de edad. Se evaluaron cinco rasgos de personalidad (Neuroticismo, Extraversión, Apertura, Responsabilidad y Amabilidad) con el NEO-FFI, y la salud subjetiva con el GHQ-12 y una pregunta sobre el estado de salud. Para corroborar la consistencia de los prototipos se dividió la muestra en dos grupos de edad: joven (de 14 a 25 años) y maduro (de 26 a 63 años). Y como resultado se recuperaron tres prototipos en ambos grupos: las personas Resilientes -bajo neuroticismo y alto en el resto de los rasgos-, quienes tuvieron la mejor salud subjetiva; las No-Resilientes -alto neuroticismo y bajo en el resto de los rasgos-, que presentaron la peor salud subjetiva; y las personas Disciplinadas -alto en responsabilidad y promedio en los otros rasgos-, que presentaron una salud subjetiva intermedia en comparación con los otros prototipos. Finalmente, la autodisciplina y la resiliencia fueron los rasgos que discriminaron mejor la buena salud. Los hallazgos se discuten en términos de la generalización de prototipos a través de culturas.

Propiedades psicométricas del "Cuestionario de cinco facetas de la conciencia plena" (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, FFMQ-M) en México / Psychometric properties of the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-M) in Mexico

Este trabajo pretende analizar las propiedades psicometricas del "Cuestionario de cinco facetas de la conciencia plena" (FFMQ-M) en Mexico respondiendo a limitaciones metodologicas previas. Participaron 1210 estudiantes mexicanos y se realizaron analisis factoriales confirmatorios multigrupos. El analisis factorial en la muestra de calibracion (n1= 620) mostro como mejormodelo cuatro factores de primer orden (Ausencia de reaccion, Ausencia de juicio, Actuacion consciente y Descripcion), sin la dimension de Observacion, agrupados en un factor de segundo orden (conciencia plena) con un total de 19 items. El analisis factorial con la muestra de validacion (n2= 590) replico el buen ajuste de este modelo y el analisis de invarianza indico invarianza estricta. Finalmente, se analizo la validez concurrente de la conciencia plena con medidas de autoinforme de calidad y satisfaccion con la vida, afecto positivo y depresivo y la percepcion de situaciones/estimulos estresantes academicos. Estos resultados informan sobre los componentes de la conciencia plena en personas nomeditadoras y su relacion con diferentes indicadores de salud y bienestar

The aim of the present study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire in Mexico (FFMQ-M) solving previous methodological limitations. A transversal study was carried out with 1210 Mexican students and a multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was performed in Mplus 7.0. A confirmatory factor analysis in the calibration sample (n1= 620) indicated as best model a total of 19 items structured into four first order factors (Nonreacting against internal experiences, Nonjudging internal experiences, Acting with awareness, Describing own experiences), without Observing dimension, loading in a second order factor (mindfulness). This model also exhibited good model fit in a second confirmatory factor analysis in the validation sample (n2= 590). The invariance test indicated the existence of strict invariance. Finally, the concurrent validity between the indicators of mindfulness and the self-reported measures of life quality, life satisfaction, positive and depressive affect and the perception academic stressors was analyzed. These results provide information about the components of mindfulness and their relationship with health

Validez factorial del inventario de burnout de psicólogos en una muestra de psicólogos mexicanos / Factorial validity of the psychologists burnout inventory in a psychologist mexican sample

The aim of the current study was to test the factorial validity of the Burnout of Psychologist Inventory (IBP) in a sample of Mexican professionals. The sample consisted of 454 Mexican psychologists. For this, a factor analysis using principal components and Oblimin rotation and a confirmatory factor analysis was carried out. The internal consistency of the scales evaluated by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient showed high reliability, over the 0,70 minimum established. Together, the three dimensions of the IBP were able to explain 46,95 percent of the variance. The results obtained reveal that the model that best meets empirical data was the one with items 2, 14 and 17 removed, which provided a superior fit than the original one. The CFI (comparative fit index) and AGFI (adjusted goodness of fit index) fit indices showed values of 0,92 and 0,89, respectively, an RMSEA (root mean square error of approximation) has a value of 0,053. The present study showed that IBP seems to be a valid and a reliable measure for burnout in psychologist.

El objetivo de este estudio fue examinar la validez factorial del Inventario de Burnout de Psicólogos (IBP) en una muestra de profesionales mexicanos. Los participantes fueron 454 psicólogos mexicanos. Para ello se realizó en primer lugar un análisis factorial mediante Componentes Principales y rotación Oblimin y posteriormente un análisis factorial confirmatorio. La consistencia interna, evaluada mediante el alpha de Cronbach, mostró una elevada fiabilidad, por encima del valor habitualmente requerido de 0,70. Las tres dimensiones del IBP explicaron el 46,95 por ciento de la varianza total. Los resultados pusieron de manifiesto que el modelo que lograba un mejor ajuste a los datos empíricos era el que elimina los ítems 2, 14 y 17, debido a que posee un mejor ajuste que el modelo teórico original. Los índices de bondad de ajuste (CFI) y el índice de bondad de ajuste corregido (AGFI) mostraron valores de 0,92 y 0,89, respectivamente. Mientras, el promedio de los residuales estandarizados (RMSEA) indicó un valor de 0,053. El presente estudio mostró que el IBP parece ser una medida valida y fiable para evaluar el Desgaste Profesional o burnout en psicólogos.